At the pop-up show Fragments, the founder of Kanvas X Vogue, KD talks about the art and clothing line that started it all, the people he wants to platform, and why one creative field was never enough.
The conversation at Fragments began in the middle of a busy room. Someone pointed out the well-dressed artist, Erin, whose show it was. KD, the organizer, needed to leave soon, so I asked if I could put my questions to him first.
The show was one aspect of something larger. KD had founded Kanvas X Vogue, an Austin nonprofit organization to ignite the unrepresented artistic community. I wanted to understand how he had arrived at this exhibition—and at the idea behind the organization.
“So tell me about how you got involved in curating the show and what your background is.”
KD explained while multitasking. “We’re a nonprofit at the intersection of all types of creativity. It’s called Kanvas X Vogue.”
I initially heard fashion in the name. KD stopped me there.
“People think when you’re Vogue, they think fashion, but vogue is like, what’s happening now,” he explained. “It’s across music, technology, art and all forms of art, not just fashion.”
“And the canvas? Where does that fit into vogue?”
“The canvas is a blank canvas, like, hey, anybody come and create. An artist, a developer, a fashion designer. So that’s the concept for the name.”
His answer described an organization deliberately open to more than one kind of maker. KD continued with the work Kanvas X Vogue does:
“We curate activations, art shows, fashion shows, music showcases, but we also do residencies and education. Everything is intersectional: creativity and technology.”
“And that’s here in Austin, or all over the country?” I asked.
“We do it across Texas, and we’re expanding across the country next year.”
“So it’s a nomadic thing?”
“Yeah, yeah. We’re based in Austin, but we’re expanding.”
Kanvas X Vogue has been around for about two years and became a nonprofit this year. The artist featured, Erin Jackson, was known to Kanvas X Vogue’s audience.
“He’s been in a couple of our shows,” KD said. “People loved his work.”
That history made me curious about KD’s own. I asked what he had done before organizing events and what had led him to this work.
“Before that, it was a clothing line,” he said. “I had been designing pieces for two years. We did a couple of shows at New York Fashion Week, and I thought this is dope. I want to do more than just fashion. I love art, music, and technology. How do I put it all together?”
The question led to the events. The events raised another question for him.
“Events were great, but I was thinking, how do we impact creators who are doing good work? How do we platform all types of people?”
That is the thread running from his first clothing designs to the show Fragments: KD kept seeing work he wanted more people to encounter. He began by making his own pieces, then started bringing artists and audiences together. Now, through Kanvas X Vogue, he is trying to give that effort a lasting structure.
Our interview was brief. People were waiting to speak with him, and another conversation was beginning nearby. But KD’s explanation of the name stayed with me. Fashion had given him a starting point; it had never been the boundary. For him, the canvas had to be big enough for the artist at Fragments, a fashion designer, a musician, band, or someone working in technology to find a place on it. Now and all the way into a future greater than what is being sculpted now.
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