Meet Trailblazer Corianne Wright

Today we’d like to introduce you to Corianne Wright.

Corianne, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I graduated from School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I met my best friend and forever creative collaborator, Kristopher Wright. After graduation in 2014, we were looking to move somewhere new together and landed in Denver. I had never been to the state of Colorado when we packed up our little mustang with all our possessions and cat. 🙂 It quickly became our home! We both had a background in art event creation and community engagement in Chicago and were looking for our community in Denver. We built a website and presence to give us a reason to know the community, get in artists studio and learn more about the resources available to us. We shared those experiences as we went and ended up getting to the place where we could supply resources and opportunities to the emerging artists. Now, Odessa works with visual artists on forward-thinking art exhibitions, critical discourse, and community enrichment. Using storytelling to support artists in communicating their value to new audience members all while making the process more transparent, more creative and more experimental! When I’m not working on Odessa, I am in my own studio and have my first solo show in Denver this July.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, and it never is a smooth road, especially in a creative career. There is no road map but the fun is making up your own! I’ve experienced artists dropping out, while basements flooded and bank accounts plummeted. Spent way too many days on the floor wondering what in the world I wanted my life to look like.

My best advice is to DO the work. To show up every day and ask yourself what the best version of yourself would do, then DO it. The only hope is that if you are consistent enough at demanding a creative life, you’ll make work that matters, have a damn opinion and lead a life you love.

Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am an artist and a curator. So, there are a lot of aspects of the work I do. First and foremost, meeting myself in my studio, painting and being an artist is the foundation to everything. From there, I partner with my husband to support other artists and their projects. We like to focus on storytelling in everything we do. Art can feel isolating if there isn’t an entry point to access the work. My specialty is to be an enthusiastic translator, celebrating and calling out the marks and moves that creatives are making and others should notice.

Which women have inspired you in your life?
I am grateful to have been raised by three incredible women, my mom, my aunt, and my grandmother. Who taught me that my weird was wonderful and what a fiercely independent woman looks like (i.e. – changing the tires alone by 14).

I love looking at and drawing inspiration from visual artists: Anne Harris, Jordan Casteel, Kennedy Yanko.

Laura Victorè, Jen Sincero, Marlee Grace are all fierce creators, writers, and dancers that I look to when I need a reminder of my badassery.

Some women on the badass Denver list: Moe Gram, an artist, teacher and huge supporter of my practice and creatives in Denver! She is also a collaborator with Odessa on Creatives at Roundish Tables, a monthly community event.

Gretchen Shaffer, an early supporter of Odessa, an artist and the director of the visiting artist’s program at RMCAD. I’ve always looked up to the way she is able to sustain her practice and community organization
Sammy Lee is a Denver artist that runs a residency space on Sante Fe, she is always supporting creatives in their vision and she gave Odessa our first curatorial residency.

Contact Info:

• Website: coriannewright.com odessanomadic.com
• Phone: 7207997286
• Email: contactcorianne@gmail.com
• Instagram: @corianne.der @odessa.nomadic

                Image Credit:
Photos Courtesy of Odessa & From the Hip Photo

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