XX Files: Artist Kiki Symoné, artdealerchick

By Rebecca Wright

Kiki Symoné

Promoting Black Empowerment Through Art

Local millennial artist Kiki Symoné has been creating art since she was five years old.

“I used to draw on curtains and furniture in my childhood home, which was not praised — my parents encouraged me to draw on drawing paper,” Symoné recalls of her earliest years of artistic expression. “Every other weekend, my stepmom and I would take a trip to the dollar store to buy more supplies and/or we went to Michaels on craft days, typically on a Sunday. I also doodled in all my notebooks in class, even throughout my undergrad studies and in teacher’s college.”

Symoné fell in love with digital art three years ago and now has her own business called artdealerchick. She started the business in 2019 after gifting several selfportraits to family members.

“I’d say my art is faceless and minimalistic,” is how she describes her pieces. “I depict the everyday life of African-Canadians and African Americans.”

Symoné defines her art as: “Black people doing every day normal things,” and “being Black in its most uninhibited form.”

It’s her way to counter any stereotypes.

Her artwork has opened doors to many impressive opportunities, both in the community and abroad, with recent commissions in France, The Netherlands, Spain, Australia, as well as Canada and the United States for museums in Brooklyn, New York.

For the 2022 Juno Awards, Symoné participated in an online auction with the

Kiki Symoné holds up a piece of her artwork that was part of a series during her exhibition at Artcite Inc. Photo courtesy of Teajai Travis.

MusiCounts organization to help raise funds for music education.

She just finished a large commissioned piece for Canada’s National Ballet School to be showcased in their Shoe Room, where they sell and fit ballet slippers for the dancers.

Symoné also signed a consignment deal with Canada’s National Ballet School and has consignment deals with Black Owned Toronto and Whiskeyjack Boutique in Windsor as well.

But that’s not all!

“I just finished a project I did with the Downtown Windsor Business Association, along with other local and talented artists,” she adds. “I’m a Lampshade Artist with a piece in the Art Alley (see: DowntownWindsor.ca/art-alley) and I think it’s a public art space the city needs.”

Symoné also illustrated The Skin You’re In, a collaborative children’s book written by CTV Meteorologist Gary Archibald. in August 2021.

Also, last summer, she had an art exhibition at Artcite Inc. titled Emancipate the Landscape. It showcased a series of art pieces titled “young kamala harris watches fannie lou hamer” (shown in photo) and “an unknown black girl watches kamala harris.” These were her first ever gallery pieces sold.

Throughout her career she’s had many supporters, from teachers to mentors to her family — specifically her papa Rickie, who she says noticed her gift before anyone else — and her boyfriend, Dylan Timuik, who runs a lot of her business errands.

The world around her serves as her inspiration for her artwork, along with her family, friends and her personal experiences as an African-Canadian with Caribbean heritage, a woman of colour. However, she doesn’t really think that her work has one fixed meaning.

“I believe my work is multi-faceted, and like me, it’s constantly evolving,” she states. “I don’t think it’s up to me to tell the world what my art means. I think when a person views my art, they’ll have their own interpretation of it.”

If you are interested in learning more about this talented digital artist, her artwork can be purchased or commissioned on: ArtDealerChick.ca or through Etsy.