Meet Leilani Derr | Visual Artist, Illustrator, & Designer

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

Hi Leilani, what matters most to you?
Interdependence and the value of community.
I grew up thinking that independence and bootstrapping was the most honorable way to achieve anything in life. Asking for help was a sign of weakness or made you into a burden to those around you. The only thing I achieved with this belief in fierce independence was making my life significantly harder and lonelier. Community activist Mia Birdsong refers to independence as a “form of self-hatred.” The more I grow, the more I find joy and purpose in cultivating my sense of community. It’s hard work, don’t get me wrong, but the reciprocity, love, and sense of place are well worth the effort.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a visual artist, illustrator, and printmaker who got my professional start as a designer. I moved to Denver in 2010 after graduating with a BA in graphic design. I dove headfirst into agency life working for a branding and marketing firm in Five Points, but quickly discovered that kind of hustle wasn’t my jam. I shifted into nonprofits and worked as a Creative Lead for the Adams County library system for a decade. While I absolutely loved the work and the community, I was feeling stagnate. I had been helping others tell their stories for so long that I had neglected my own. I wanted to be a better creative, not just for myself, but for others too. I took the clumsiest, most terrifying leap into freelance to focus on illustration and fine art.

My current body of work explores thought-provoking themes of belonging, cultural connections, and empowerment through whimsical illustrations. I draw inspiration from an interweaving of my multi-cultural “hapa” upbringing, relentless curiosity, and mythology. Most recently I’ve been focusing on surreal, illustrative multi-media projects exploring my journey to seek belonging and identity as a Japanese-American artist and what manifests when those connections are diminished through assimilation, racism, objectification, and confusion. I love using saturated hues that tend to vibrate next to each other or are intentionally ambiguous. It’s both a reflection and celebration of the vague spaces I often fall between with my cultural and racial identities. The very physical act of laboriously hand-carving and replicating my work through printmaking is a meditation of love, validation, acceptance, and empowerment while processing these issues.

I wish I could offer encouragement to others interested in artistic professions by saying it’s been easy. While I don’t regret my path, there have been many days when I do miss the predictability, stability, and health insurance benefits of a salaried government job. My main struggle was being kind to myself while I learned to decouple my self-worth from preconceived notions of what I thought productivity and career achievements were supposed to be. I felt like a failure (and I still do on my worst days, to be honest), regardless of any successes or encouragement from friends and family. I just couldn’t hear it over my negative thought-spiraling. My fear of failure kept me from embracing opportunities and fed my tendency to self-sabotage. Practicing self-compassion was the only way I’ve been able to exit that spiral. I don’t need to be perfect to move forward.

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?
I’d definitely take them on a little art excursion to places like RedLine (of course), Alto, RiNo Art Park, DAM, MCA Denver, Clyfford Still, Bell Projects, Leon Gallery. There is never a shortage of incredible exhibition openings to attend every week. We’d hit up a First Friday on Santa Fe for the spectacle and drop into ESP HiFi for my audiophiles friends.

Speaking of music, we’d hopefully catch a show at any one of our awesome local venues (Lost Lake, The Gothic, Bluebird, hi-dive, Globe Hall etc.). Mellow out for a fancy evening of jazz at Nocturne.

Mid-week, we’d road trip to the San Luis Valley to soak at Joyful Journey hot springs for a couple nights. We’d take scenic 285 and stop in Salida for sandwiches and a walk around town. While we’re out there, we’d visit the Great Sand Dunes and peep some 4ft tall birds (migrating Sandhill cranes in spring or fall).

Back in Denver, Denver Botanic Gardens, of course. The gardens are top-notch, but I have also been loving their art exhibitions the past few years.

For great food, we’d absolutely sample every cuisine in Mango House and happily go into a food coma from fry bread and hominy at Tocabe. Also, Edgewater Marketplace for the variety, but mostly because I can’t stop myself from ending up at Gladys every. single. time.

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?
RedLine Contemporary Art Center!

I definitely want to make a massive shoutout to RedLine and all the beautiful people involved in keeping it running. RedLine is a non-profit arts organization that focuses on education and artist-community engagement to foster positive social change. Their programs include Youth Art Mentoring to support neighborhood schools and the Reach Program that supports artists who are experiencing financial hardship, are unhoused, or are in recovery. I’m fortunate enough to be selected as a part of the immensely talented 2024-2026 Artist in Residence cohort. I truly feel like my family has expanded in the best way possible. I’ll have a studio there for the next two years. Feel free to visit whenever the gallery is open!

And, of course, to all my family and friends who have believed in me even when I do not.

Website: https://leilaniderr.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leilani.nobuko.derr

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leilani-derr/

Image Credits
Leilani Derr