Living in Rhythm: Interview with Avila Santo
It all begins with an idea.
CREO CHANGEMAKERS had the opportunity to interview Avila Santo who won a Generative Artist Grant in 2023. Check out his work (www.avilasanto.com). In addition to solo works, Avila is a creative collaborator. He recently collaborated with Terrence Nance [Random Acts of Flyness, Season 2, HBO] and with Alison Saar [Rise, LA County Museum of Art & Snapchat] ). FOLLOW CREO ON MEDIUM
CREO CHANGEMAKERS: Avila, Thanks for making time for this interview and congrats on winning a Generative Arts Grant from CREO! Your career has been expanding and you’ve been moving across mediums through collaboration. Changes in the world often begin within. You recently began identifying as a conceptual artist. What materials, tools, and languages do you use to create art? What spaces do you activate with your creativity?
AVILA SANTO: Identifying as a conceptual artist is new for me. In the past I’ve identified as a music producer, composer, capoeirista and drummer. I never felt like identifying as any one thing could accurately describe the way that I work until I began identifying as a conceptual artist. It’s a larger container that holds space for my multi-disciplinary practices. At the moment, I am working with music, lens based work, writing, and movement.
CREO: Your life appears to be borderless. What are your connections to place, and how do these connections influence your artwork (music, movement, fashion, and writing)?
Avila: I traveled a lot as a kid and because of that I didn’t feel confined to Los Angeles, where I grew up. Another piece to the borderless thinking is tied to me having more family outside of the U.S. than inside of it. I always knew that I was deeply connected to other lands, like Brazil and Israel, because that’s where my folks are. The vastness of existing across language and culture was, at times, difficult to navigate but now feels like a north star. My diasporic existence allows for my work to be in conversation with different places, languages, people and cultures in authentic and personal ways.
“My diasporic existence allows for my work to be in conversation with different places, languages, people and cultures in authentic and personal ways.”
CREO: You have created live performance, television, film, and AR. What are some examples of “creative world building” through your music that excites you most? What do your worlds sound like, and where do you see them moving?
Avila: I am blessed to have had opportunities to create across mediums. The key to sustaining an authentic multi-disciplinary practice is to find the larger ideas and concepts that ground your identity. I am interested in highlighting the beauty and absurdities of diasporic existence. I also am excited to work across mediums within the simplicity and vastness of my interests in rhythm.
CREO: How do ancient and cutting edge technologies inform your creative process?
Avila: The relationship between antiquity and modernity is something I circle back to all the time. In many ways my process is inspired by making sense of being a practitioner of ancient indigenous spiritual practices while growing up in modern LA. Being deeply involved with the structure of Hip Hop, I learned to look at the etymology of sounds and samples. My current viewpoint is looking at myself and others as libraries of sounds, stories and technology.
CREO: We hear lots of layered instrumentation and languages in your vocals. How do languages and instrumentation speak to your multiple diasporas?
“Being deeply involved with the structure of Hip Hop, I learned to look at the etymology of sounds and samples. I look at myself and others as libraries of sounds, stories and technology.”
Avila: I layer instruments in my compositions as a sort of puzzle. I love the possibilities of counterpoint and conversation within the structure of call and response. I liken languages to instruments, and I’m particularly interested in implementing the instruments and languages of my personal and ancestral lineages. I think that each language and instrument has a specific access point to particular truths.
CREO: Your new EPK includes the cuts: “Elea’s String, “Groove,” “Wole,” and “Space + Time,” work that is global, upbeat, and danceable. How can people hear more and connect with your work?
Avila: Thanks for your support and for your thoughtful questions. People can find me online @avilasanto and in real life if you’re lucky!
Bio: Avila Santo is a conceptual artist from Los Angeles, California. His practice exists at the intersections of music, movement, fashion, writing, visual art and creative strategy. As a child of immigrants, my current fascination lies in creative world building, as a means to highlight the phenomenon of diasporic identity. Learn more about Avila Santo @avilasanto or www.avilasanto.com.
[Invest in cutting edge creatives who are creating fresh, abundant futures! Your tax deductible donation to Generative Arts Grants will go directly to the hands of creative change makers. Email info@creochangemakers.com to make your contribution today.]
Blog Post Title Two
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Blog Post Title Three
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Blog Post Title Four
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.