Today we’d like to introduce you to Dwight White II.
Hi Dwight, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Houston, Texas (where my family still resides today). I moved to the Chicagoland area at the age of 18 to start my journey as a student-athlete at Northwestern University. Balancing the demands of athletics at the collegiate level had its challenges, but overall life was well understood with the mandatory routines, practices and schedules. That was until a career-ending injury ahead of my junior season. This significantly changed my life trajectory and led to me exploring the arts – at first for mental health and to help redefine my identity but eventually would go on to final deeper meaning and purpose for myself as an artist.
While trying to understand the potential of pursuing art as a full-time career, I began my career in marketing. I spent four years working on the corporate brand side of the Food & beverage industry. As a balanced my day job and art aspirations, I began to become overly stressed as time was never on my side. I recognized myself as not delivering my best in either role and felt the need to choose one. I chose my heart – the art. Today, I utilize learnings from these past experiences to provide structure and strategy to my art business while maintaining the drive to win as you can imagine many athletes have.
I’ve been inspired by the ways in which one can capture truth visually to engage and connect with people. I love the challenge of taking the consumer beyond just seeing the art – I believe they should feel it. This inspires my IRL experiences that I host regularly to bring the viewer into my world or to create unique safe spaces and celebratory moments for the culture. Each medium I chose to execute my art (murals, art on canvas, installations, etc) is purposeful to deliver on my role to create connected cultural experiences through art.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not the smoothest but that is what has made it so special. My biggest struggle was understanding identity – and for a long time, trying to understand how to shift gears at different life stages. From athlete to artist or corporate marketer to artist. Sometimes it was hard to make sense of and I struggled to convince others of this vision and dream I had. Eventually, I stopped trying to seek validation and became 100% dedicated to my own dream.
Mental health has been on ongoing journey for me. Dating back to 2014, when my football career ended. Now that I am well into my career as an artist, it is incredible to look back at how far I have come. However, at the end of the day, I am still an entrepreneur and there is nothing easy about that. Success is great but operating a business full-time (a creative business at that) in itself is a unique challenge.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a full-time artist and experience designer. I work on both personal collections and collaborate with community organizations and brands to deliver results within the creative space. I am most proud of being able to merge my passions for art, consumers and community. I feel what sets me apart from others is being able to identify a need or pain point and finding a creative solution to deliver it thoughtfully and beautifully.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I can find peace outside the comforts of my home. The arts are very present and inspiration is in abundance. Oddly, that may be what influences what I like least about LA as well… It is so hard to work! I find myself wanting to explore or just sit still and enjoy an iced coffee in peace with my lady. However, LA does wonders for my mental which is a great balance as I can’t seem to stop my brain from working when I’m back in Chicago (I split time between LA and Chicago). Chicago gives me Love and Los Angeles gives me Peace – a perfect balance.
Contact Info:
- Website: Dwhiteart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwhite.originals/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dwhite.original2/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwightwhite
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/_dwightwhite?lang=en
Image Credits
Jaylen Prater Maddy Boutros
