Today we’d like to introduce you to Afia Chin.
Alright, thank you for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
My desire to become an artist is a genetic predisposition that starts in the environment. I was born in a Mecca of creativity (Brooklyn, NY) to artistically inclined immigrant parents. My Ghanaian mother was once a dancer and a fashion icon amongst her peers, and my Trinidadian-Chinese father is a closeted poet and culinary artist. Unfortunately, cultural expectations limited their abilities to pursue their heart’s deepest desires and passions, shaping how they raised my younger brother and me.
After our family moved to Queens, NY, I began diving into various forms of artistic expression. I began studying martial arts, multiple dance styles, and gymnastics at around age four. Amid my practices, my dad taught me to fold each element of these expressions into one another, as they are all connected. For example, the balance from ballet would hold hands with the discipline of Judo. My body, made of pure creative energy, remained thirsty to learn more. I began quenching that thirst by learning the violin and shortly after participating in theater. Every moment of my childhood was filled with creative expression. I remember writing my first poem at age five. It was about my mom, and I’d compared her to the night sky in about five lines. The way my parents responded to it led me to believe that this was the best way to write about my thoughts on the people in my life and the experiences I would have on my own.
Sadly, after my grandfather’s death in 2001, we moved to Northern Virginia. I spent the rest of my adolescence using creative outlets such as painting, singing, learning to play cello and guitar, and joining theater, film, and music production. Most of all, poetry to survive the small suburbs, which were indeed a teenage wasteland at the time. In 2014, I attended my first open mic poetry event, Spirits & Lyrics. I’d read a piece I scribbled on the back of a wrinkled post-it note I had found in my pocket. It was about the murder of Mike Brown. The platform host, Jeff Johnson, encouraged me to keep coming back and to share more often. In 2016 I became intentional about my writing and began to pursue spoken word poetry as my primary outlet to heal and build community.
After a tumultuous few years of being in professions that didn’t serve my end goal of being a full-time artist, a few poetry slams, and a stint in California that ended in tragedy, I became reclusive in my pursuits to perform. Thankfully my community was highly supportive during my healing process, and in June 2019, I was a spotlight artist and opened for sister in poetry Baltimore-based artist Luki. It was probably one of my worst performances to date. Thankfully, Luki and veteran poet Orville Walker pulled me aside after the show and gave me a gem that helped shape the rest of my career, “Simplicity is key; the poems will explain themselves.” I began practicing my sets and letting my words and presence do the heavy lifting. That August, I produced my first fashion show and cultural arts showcase called the “Drummers’ Beat,” based on a poem I had written called “Magic,” a piece devoted to empowering all BIPOC backgrounds. All the funds from the showcase were donated to our family charity, Labour of Love, and fueled a year’s worth of electricity for our community school in Tumfah, Ghana.
As the year progressed, I stepped onto the stages of multiple platforms, some of which included; Spirits and Lyrics, various Busboys and Poets locations, Pure Poetry DC, Poetic Vibes, Camp Fever, and more. When the pandemic hit, I took to the virtual world and co-hosted virtual open mics and workshops. I featured and hosted for multiple platforms worldwide and curated my open mic platform (After the Mic) for the folks who needed a late-night place to breathe. The summer of 2020 was the beginning of re-entering the world of film. I was part of the first season of a budding digital DMV platform, Elevate (curated by Luki), where I performed my piece “Stormborn,” a take on the Game of Thrones series, later I produced a poetry short film of my first published work, “Paradise” which can be found in the 2020 Arlington Anthology. Shortly after its release, I had the incredible honor of working with the first black Poet Laureate of Alexandria, Virginia, KaNikki Jakarta, on her poetry short film project “Harvesting a Legacy,” where with veteran artists 13 of Nazareth and Pages Matam, reveal the history of Alexandria’s involvement with the Trans-Continental Slave Trade. I closed 2020 by moving to Austin to live with my cosmic sister in creation, Liam.
In January 2021, Liam and I collaborated with PSA Gallery and curated the first black female-hosted open mic celebrating the Age of Aquarius. That event opened the door for amazing headlining opportunities on multiple platforms, such as Encore ATX and RedLight Lit, and with my flair for theatrics, I won first prize at the Austin Poetry Slam in August 2021. After taking a brief hiatus from performing, in June 2022, I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to open for international poet and sensation Rupi Kaur at Bass Concert Hall. I am where I am today because of my lifelong love for the arts and the power of community and platforms. Liam and I are co-founders of a multimedia consulting and production company, Telepathica Entertainment. Our mission is to help our clients see their future in the present.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think the journey for any of us in this existence comes without challenges. As a neurodiverse, first-generation American, bisexual woman, and BIPOC, every personal and societal challenge has imposed its weight in various forms. I believe that with every challenge comes a reward. The reward is that I am now learning how to healthily navigate these inevitable ways of being, even when my basic functionality is deeply affected.
However, one struggle that I still haven’t quite learned to overcome is loss. Since the passing of my grandfather on September 11, 2001, on an almost annual basis, I have attended funerals and memorial services for family members of all ages, friends and peers in my age group, some who’ve died of natural causes, some who’ve had their lives taken by others or by their hand. Even from the start of this interview, I’ve had two family members enter eternal rest and a close family member who just brushed past it due to a stroke. Yet, as much as death has taken away amongst my reflections, I realize it has also brought me new life. For example, I moved to California because of the passing of my adoptive Aunt, Winnie Yu. She’d asked me to move in with her, and sadly I didn’t make it in time. So in her honor, with the help of her brother (my adoptive uncle, Fred Yu), I followed her teaching of “living life without fear.” I took the leap of faith on April 3, 2018, and almost like a last gift from Winnie on April 13, 2018, at the Powell Street Bart station, I met my best friend, Liam.
Even in our creative bliss, we were the true embodiment of the starving artist trope. As the fires of creation ignited, they were just as quickly put out. One week before receiving my acceptance letter from film school, I came into close contact with death and was raped at knifepoint in front of my home in Oakland, CA, on December 17, 2018. I spent the first five days of 2019 undoing my life in California. I deferred from school, quit my new job, broke my lease, and left my soul twin to return to Northern Virginia. The police did nothing; to this day, my case is considered unresolved. Fortunately, Liam and I never lost touch, and the readers now know that the dream didn’t die. Challenges and rewards.
Even when broken down to seemingly nothing, I have risen stronger and wiser than before an obstacle placed itself before me. I am the human embodiment of a phoenix, and through the power of poetry and other creative outlets, I have discovered that I am stronger than my greatest weakness. The past versions of myself deeply need the clarity that I continue to obtain through the practice of self-love and the love bestowed onto me by others.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a spoken word artist, motivational speaker, and multimedia consultant. In all elements of my work, I focus on highlighting my culture and the communities I am proud to be a part of. I am most proud of my dedication to my craft, and opening for Rupi Kaur and starting a company with my best friend are the most prominent results of that focus at this time. I am known for quantum leaping, or in the words of my friend Diandra, “Doing a year in less than a year.” What sets me apart from others is the awareness of how deeply connected we are in our existence within the collective consciousness.
What makes you happy?
I create in every sense of the word because I can create whatever I want, whenever I want, with the people I want to be with.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/AfiaChin
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afia.chin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afiachin94/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@afiachin5200/videos
Image Credits
Tumi Adeleye (Feature Photo), Derek Admana (Paradise Poster), Ihssan Singleton (Drummer’s Beat w/Microphone), Robert Woofter (Harvesting A Legacy Still), LIAM (Audacity Open Mic Post), A. Gyimah Chin (Childhood Photo), Afia Chin (After the Mic Flyer Design), The Color Duchess (Photographer), Chris Thomas (Black Beans Flyer Design), and Afia Chin (Drummer’s Beat BTS)
