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

Hi Street, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
What matters to me most is a world where all people are confident in their creativity. I attended 8 different schools before college. Out of the 8 schools, only kindergarten offered me an art class. If I and many others in the hood are meant to be artists but we don’t have the means or encouragement to grow & sustain ourselves, what will become of our futures?

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
It seems the world is always “on fire”. Every time that fire reaches a level of “virality” that no one can ignore, the question “what can I even do about this?” becomes even more popular. My answer: don’t wait for the next viral fire, find the answer within your creative power and build what is needed of you to build before needing an extinguisher. I created Militia to encourage artists from the hood/unrepresented artists to create their futures. Militia is packaged/disguised as a streetwear brand & digested through a creative movement. I believe artists from the hood are the most creative people on the planet. And I believe it is because of the need for us to find creative ways to survive in almost every situation. While we are the most creative, creativity is not encouraged in these hoods -seen as unattainable due to the financial AND self affirming restrictions needed in order to survive. Most of these creatives believe they do not have a hand in creating the structures of the future. Militia is an initiative to remind these creatives that we do have an opportunity to create futures. Art is not only for the rich, art is for the people.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to give a shoutout to every artist I’ve ever met and every person who has ever encouraged me to create.

Website: WWW.MILITIACOLLECTIVE.COM

Instagram: @MILITIASTREETGEAR

Image Credits
@YELLOWHITEPROTOGRAPHY @TWIGGYWILL @DR__HANDSOME

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