multi-disciplinary artist + cultural worker + designer
/ let’s talk about: art history, community, figurative art, drawing, design, literature, music, modeling, poetry, storytelling, writing. /
Naira Diptee (she/they) is a Caribbean-American artist, writer, and contemporary arts professional currently based in Oakland, CA. With a deep connection to her Saint Lucian and Trinidadian roots she has a passion for nurturing the arts community, supporting artists of all disciplines and backgrounds, and advocating for artists; especially those of the Caribbean, Africa, and its diasporas.
Diptee views learning and artmaking as a lifelong process. She is constantly reading, writing, and engaging in dialogue about the arts and its role in our everyday lives. She is especially concerned with the connections between oppressed peoples around the globe and how our solidarity with each other can lead us to a more enriching and pluralistic society.
Alongside writing, graphic design, music making, and modeling, she is also a figurative artist. Life drawing and painting to her are a mindfulness practice and are a chance to realize the commonality between the body and everything else in the world. She currently facilitates figure drawing sessions and a reading group centered around art & the body at Bathers Library, an art community space and bookstore in Oakland, CA.
Diptee sees artistic expression as a necessity for our existence and persistence, and is always happy to connect with others who feel similarly.
Photo by Sheilby Macena
DESIGN WORK
I aim to integrate my soft and illustrative style into my design work. I have worked with non-profits, educational institutions, small businesses, music labels, and radio stations, as well as simply creating designs as part of my personal practice.
YOUTH CLIMATE FINANCE ALLIANCE is a coalition of climate justice groups that are teaming up to target financial institutions that are funding the fossil fuel industry. I designed their branding including logos, typefaces, and colors. The following show my final designs, my drafts, and process. Inspiration for the branding came from Corita Kent an American artist, educator, and activist.
DAVID BROWER CENTER is a non-profit art gallery focused on environmental activism located in Berkeley, CA. The following graphics were designed as promotional and educational content for their gallery exhibitions and fundraisers.
THE PRAXIS PROJECT is a national nonprofit organization that works in partnership with national, regional, state, and local partners to achieve health equity and justice for all communities. I created their Working Process Manual as as well as various charts and infographics, while maintaining brand consistency.
JOHANSSON PROJECTS is a contemporary art gallery that represents established and up-and-coming artists through exhibitions, online platforms, art fairs and programming. I’ve taken and edited professional photos of their exhibitions, as well as created 2D & 3D mockups for everything from art fairs to client proposals.
CARLETON UNIVERSITY’S Latin American & Caribbean Studies Department is in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Through this logo I aimed to represent the unity and culture of the Caribbean while also drawing upon Carleton University’s logo and colors.
PERFECTLY PICKLED A logo created for a small pickling business based in Atlanta, Georgia.
A collection of fan-made-posters I designed in celebration & appreciation of musical artists I like.
In order of left-to-right: Frank Ocean, Raveena, Kali Uchis, Princess Nokia.
ILLUSTRATED TAPES is a collaborative project exploring the intersection of music and illustration. The theme of my playlist was Alone & Unafraid after the song by ELIZA. Read my interview where I talk about my musical and artistic inspirations and listen to the full playlist here.
