Meet Camille Ragland: Artist, Curator, and Adventurer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Camille Ragland and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Camille, how do you think about risk?
I think of risk as an opportunity for adventure and education. As an Aries Sun and Moon, chaos is my comfort zone and I have an affinity for high stakes. I believe that the universe has a lot in store for all of us, but we have to step out of our comfort zones to receive its gifts, Risk taking has taught me some of the most valuable lessons in life. Among those lessons, I have learned that I must be willing to follow through in the face of fear. I’ve learned that failure should be viewed as a learning experience rather than a dead end. Most importantly, I learned the value of being prepared *before* I take a risk. I found out early in life that I can play risk like a game of chance, and sometimes it’ll work out in my favor, but after missing out on some opportunities that I really wanted, I learned that thorough preparation is the key to a high success rate.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As a multimedia artist and curator I am still grinding to get to where I want to be in my career and it is not easy. I identify as an adventurer and, through my work, I want to inspire people to explore all that the world outside has to offer and everything that is inside us as living beings. I love to stumble upon things that stimulate me because of sheer feeling. I tend to focus thematically on narratives that make me feel my favorite things– rage, sleep, and intimate connection. I love the warm and fuzzy feeling I get when I’m asleep, and the refreshed awake that follows. Depicting sleeping people helps me to recognize that feeling as a pleasurable necessity and not a gluttonous luxury. I love the feeling of meeting new people that I vibe with. The pins and needles. The goosebumps, The butterflies. Sometimes I feel things so good that I want to linger in those moments forever, but of course that is not the nature of such interactions. So I paint them to savor the memories for a little bit longer. One of the greatest things about experiences and feelings is being able to share memories and stories with others. I like to do that through my art.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My best friend actually did visit me recently, though sadly we did not have enough time to do all that I wanted to do. One of the things on my list that we did get to do was go on a lil nature walk through some of Atlanta’s beautiful trails. There’s nothing like sitting in nature with a close, long time friend and catching up over a homemade cocktail. We went thrifting in Little Five Points and Buckhead followed by a frozen daquiri fueled turn up and Krab Queens. We spent a good amount of time on Atlanta’s famous beltline checking out all of the art and The James Room. If we had a little more time I would have taken her to Little Trouble or the Polaris Lounge. Those are two of my favorite spots right now. Little Trouble has some great photo opportunities and Polaris’ cocktails are just delicious. And of course you can’t leave Atlanta without brunching somewhere (shoutout to @officialbrunchqueen for putting me on to the spots). I would love to hit Poor Calvin’s. Ms. Icey’s Kitchen, or Le Petit Marche.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shout out to my mom and dad for exposing me to art of the African Diaspora at an early age. Shout out to Spelman College, the Spelman Museum of Fine Arts, and the Atlanta University Center Art Collective for keeping me educated and engaged with current discourses on art. Shout out to Charly Palmer (@charlypalmer) for teaching me how to hold a paintbrush. Shout out to Atlanta’s hottest DJ, Aharown Sparrow (@djahadaamazing), for the unwavering support and advice. Shout out to my girls for being phenomenal women in their fields and inspiring me everyday (@yvesstlauren_, @jasstepney, @_joala, @imyourdestinii, @mango64jessica, @raining_pavements, @dunn_diggity, @steven_elison). Shout out to all my fellow creators for giving me feedback and giving me new ways to understand art. Shout out to Michael (@original_dapper) for everything that you do. I truly appreciate all of you with all of my heart.

Website: https://camille-ragland.wixsite.com/home
Instagram: @milliebanillie
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camille-ragland-8b2861145/
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Image Credits
Kenny Stodghill