Drawing on Culture: West Africa is the first in what I see to be a series of artworks that explore various cultures from around the world, based on my own travels and experiences in those places.

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ARTIST STATEMENT

I make art that celebrates the legacy of imagination and spirit embodied in the world’s cultural diversity.

Around the planet, we are one people united by a shared spiritual adventure on Earth. Culture is an expression of that journey, and our cultural diversity is both our human legacy and a testament to the wide range of creativity and adaptivity we embody as a species.

Through my work as an artist, I aim to promote the need for diverse modes of thinking and being in the world — and nowhere is this diversity of thought better expressed than in the multitude of indigenous cultures still living in the world today.

Combining travel and research with my storytelling and art, I seek to reveal the faces of ancient cultures living in the modern world, and draw attention to their needs and challenges as they struggle to maintain their identity, lands, and heritage.

Through art that inspires and informs, I hope to evoke a sense of interconnectedness and compassion for all peoples by celebrating those things which unite us as humans: friendship and laughter, family and community, music and dance.

Finally, through my involvement with specific communities in places like Guinea, West Africa, I hope that the funds I raise through my work can be used to assist in projects in those communities, as expressed by the people themselves.

Dave Kobrenski, August 2016

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davekobrenski.com

drawingonculture.com