Meet Kita Atabaki | ArtWitch

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

Hi Kita, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
First, the dreamy answer : Because i had to. Because i am the daughter of an artist and her creative spark lives on in me. Because folklore, mythos and legends are the loom that people weave their cultural narratives on…and i want to engage in the storytelling process or folklore. i want to challenge the voices legends are told in; i was constantly looking for myself and something i could relate to and engage with in archetypal, fantastical femmes but coming up short – which meant others must be feeling that too. There are stories and images in me that have to come out or else they stay caged up in my mind, all vying to be heard and tell their tale…which becomes a cacophony of voices and pictures until i release them onto paper.

Second, the confession: it can be really scary and vulnerable to proclaim yourself an “artist” and offer your creations up to the world for consumption, validation, or what feels like rejection. so in all honesty i half-heartedly pursued my art while simultaneously keeping myself so busy that i couldn’t possibly fully, authentically engage in creating for YEARS. It was a way of keeping myself and my art safe from rejection. I’d tell myself all i wanted to do was make art…but id be so busy id be left lamenting not having time to make that art. It was a feedback loop that insulated me from hurt, but also kept me stagnant and unfulfilled.
So i’d like to push back on the idea of what a creative career is. I still work in restaurants, so do i get to say I’m a career artist? Of course, but not because of any tangible division of time, not because its how i pay my bills…rather because of how i now engage with and make art. I AM an artist.

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.
I’m really proud of beautiful, corresponding story cards i include with each piece. I find that people love the images i create…but CONNECT with the subversive stories i tell – and that is thrilling to me. Giving people a portal to see themselves in folklore and fable is special, it roots people in the creative narrative of humanity, which we dont always feel included in. I also love how involved with all aspects of turning my ideas into tangible art i am. From story research, to questioning, retelling and writing, sketching, drawing, printing, hand gold leafing, screenprinting, sewing, die-cutting…eventually i’d really love to flesh out my fables and make a book or folklore/art…

Here I feel compelled to talk a bit about how I went from making art as a way to try on identities and styles to finding my own style and voice – my journey with my art parallels my process of growing into myself and my own skin in that way. When i wanted to really introduce myself to the world as *An Official Artist* i landed on simply using my first name as my “brand”: Kita. That was important because I’m Iranian-American – i was named after my beautiful Aunt Kita, i grew up eating Persian food, celebrating Persian new year…but i spent the majority of my life going by KC. It felt safer- KC asked less of people, KC didnt get wrinkled noses, furrowed brows, and requests to “say it again..?” KC was exoticized less and didn’t get asked “…but where are you REALLY from” when i said i’m from Virginia…this may seem trivial, especially as it looks like we are embracing diversity and culture more these days (in some ways…lets not go down the flip side to that coin…the worlds a scary place right now) But i grew up in the 90s amidst Iran Contra, and the Gulf War, straddling two worlds – the daughter of an Iranian immigrant father, and a redhead, blue eyed american mother – i didn’t “belong” to either identity fully. My cousins all spoke fluent Farsi, I dont. When i was out with my mother and my all-white friends, it was assumed i was the friend and they were her daughters. I grew up steeped in eurocentric beauty standards and diet culture a la heroin chic…i spent decades of my life trying to deny parts of myself and fit in but was always reminded on all sides that i in fact, did not fit in. Eating disorders, dysphoria, depression, denial, performative behaviors, unhealthy relationships…i tried it all to find a pleasing version of KC.
To bring it back – that tension showed in my art, which is how i express myself. How do you express yourself when you dont HAVE a sense of Self? My “brand” journey and artistic development has reflected my journey to find my Self. I received guidance from a few women to develop Kita as my brand. And it’s no coincidence that those women were all three women of color: hey Hana, Julia and Claudia. They all caught me each time i would try to downtalk or walk back the way i wanted to present as Kita. As Kita became a valid identity, my own artistic style and storytelling came into focus as valid as well.
Incredible how something as small as a logo can make you feel seen. Kita became the cape i could don to feel emboldened to create authentically…and somewhere along the way, I found my way back to actually BEING Kita.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My mind first goes to WHERE WOULD WE EAT AND WHAT COULD I COOK THEM. I’m going to try to keep it simple and not get into a fully emotionally raw saga here: food is a huge part of my story. Cooking the Persian foods i grew up eating has been a (delicious) part of my journey back to my Self, i lived through disordered eating but cooking has always been one of my love languages and a means of creative expression for me, i went to culinary school and have worked in phenomenal restaurants with amazing chefs for two decades as i live in Chicago, one of the greatest food cities in the world! So first off, i’d lay out a roster of places to eat along with meals i want to make them, and structure the week around the food hahaha. From fancy photo-worthy vegan dimsum at Planta Queen to my favorite mound of vegan nachos at my neighborhood joint, Handlebar, to my homemade Persian fesenjan and barbari bread…i could go on and on… Beyond food, I’d want to take them to my favorite local shops: Sideshow Gallery for oddities, art and occult goods, Challengers Comics to pick the awesome folks brains there for what to read next, a few small galleries, strolls through Garfield Park Conservatory and Humboldt Park, lots of local coffee roasters, visiting my friends’ shops like Her & Ziba vintage…i’d inevitably see what small, pop-up markets were going on to show them amazing local makers…and workshops or classes…i just saw a local practitioner post about a medicinal herb walk they’re putting on to help folks identify indigenous plant allies that grow wild within the city i’d love to drag a friend to…
Basically i’d try to brag about all of the incredible people creating beautiful art and experiences i have the honor of knowing. Gassing up your friends is the best.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to my mother: Cynthia Virginia Wyman. I grew up watching her make art not because she made money from it, not because she was getting gallery shows…but because she loved it, because she had stories to tell – she showed me that art purely for the sake of making art was valid, that there can be magic in the mundane, that fairies and unicorns are real when we breath life into them through telling their stories. My brown paper lunchbag was a canvas, my homemade halloween costumes were character studies… My mother is no longer in this corporeal world, but her stories live in me – they were the foundation for the tales i rewrite …the stories she told and exposed me to set the scene for the new chapters and volumes i add to our lineage of folklore. It’s as simple as that: when we engage in storytelling, we ARE storytellers. When we make art, we ARE artists.
I’d also be remiss if i didn’t recognize the community of artists, practitioners, art activists, witches, and creators i have stepped into and been embraced by in Chicago. The cycle of me living as my actual self leading to more genuine connections which then nourish all of us being ourselves is something i didn’t think id ever find *single tear and faraway gaze*

Website: kitachicago.com

Instagram: @kitachicago

Other: email kitachicagocreative@gmail.com

Image Credits
all photos taken by myself