Episode 2 - Raph Draws

Images used with permission of the artist.

In this episode we dive into the 5 dimensional reality of Raph Draws, a Haitian-American self-taught digital illustrator and muralist who sees Vermont as a blank canvas. Raph takes us into the divine feminine, identity as a dance, and making consciousness and liberation digestible through creative expression.

Here’s an artist statement from Raph Draws:

”Raph Draws is a Vermont-based digital illustrator and muralist who moved to Vermont in 2020. They interweave their love for global-culture, community, spiritual, and mystical concepts with their art pieces. They describe their style as “cultural-psychedelic” — where culture meets the surrealism of her inner and outer expression of the world. Drawing knowledge from their Haitian-Catholic background, their art celebrates the human consciousness shift that is currently happening in the world today. Their work is inspired by the global-cultural symbol of resilience & empowerment, "The Black Madonna," unscathed by the perils of powers & principalities of this Earth.

In a time where the COVID-19 pandemic revealed faults in the powers & systems that be, their art bridges history, identity, and the sacred, offering a bold, contemporary vision that speaks to the heart of our shared human experience. Although they began their visual art journey in Vermont, their love for community, culture & inner-city life stems from their upbringing as a first-gen Haitian-American from Bridgeport, Connecticut. In their youth, they were greatly involved in performing arts and studied Dance at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School in New Haven, Connecticut. They hold a B.A in Global Studies & Communications with a minor in French from Manhattanville College. During their time in undergrad, they worked as a Resident Advisor for Residential Life and studied in KU Leuven’s Study Abroad Programme in European Culture & Society in Leuven, Belgium. Following graduation in 2019, they participated in TAPIF (Teaching Assistant Program in France), where they worked as a teaching assistant for high school students in a small rural town called Le Quesnoy. Now settling into Vermont, they like to devote their time between creative pursuits and recurring community side quests.”

More about Raph Draws here: https://raphdraws.com/ and @raph.drawsss on Instagram.

This episode was produced and edited by HB Lozito, with advisory and project support from Claire Wheeler, and features original music by This Could Be It.

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Episode 1 - Isora Lithgow