Podcast Episode 1 - AddyeB


Guest Bio:

Beauty, power, transformation: These good things sit at the heart of A’Driane Nieves’s multidisciplinary work. Nieves is an award-winning artist, activist, speaker, U.S. Air Force veteran, and mental-health advocate. A survivor of abuse who lives with bipolar disorder, she channels the lessons of her multifaceted life experience into creativity for the sake of justice and healing.

Through her own painting, Nieves excavates everything that she hid for so long, in both body and mind, to endure. Her work focuses on the impact of trauma—inherited, historical, personal—exposing how it shapes, alters, and redefines identity over the course of our lives. Through abstract, figurative forms and composition, she gives visible shape to the internal biological and emotional processes of adaptation, recovery, and transformation.

Nieves also leads Tessera Arts Collective, a not-for-profit she founded in 2018 to serve women-identifying and non-binary abstract artists of color in the Greater Philadelphia area. She believes that creating and viewing visual art that addresses difficult topics can serve as a catalyst for personal growth & social change. She uses both storytelling and visual art to amplify the voices, visions, and experiences of those marked as Other in society. She’s particularly passionate about empowering WoC artists to speak their truths and transform the brokenness in their lives, helping them to celebrate their resiliency and find their joy.

An acclaimed writer and speaker, she has been named BlogHer Voice of the Year and won an Iris Award for Most Thought-Provoking Content at the Mom 2.0 Summit. Nieves lives in New Jersey with her husband and three boys.

Support her on Patreon


In this Convo:

In our very first episode, we talk with AddyeB about her creative journey including her family’s history and legacy and the origin story of her nickname, her multi cultural identity and background, what it was like growing up Black in Texas, as well as the middle school origins of her activism. A'Driane also shares openly about her struggles with mental health and how that has impacted her work. She also talks about the joy of building an inspiring creative life from all of these life mixed experiences.


Special thanks to our Sponsor, Lady Dye Yarns who creates colorful street art inspired indie dyed fiber, fun pop culture knitting clubs and new membership community, and is the creator of the craftivist media platform, Rebel With A Cause. Original podcast music is by SHK Productions and editing support by Jen Lee Productions.