Shaunte' Levine
BFA in Studio Art: Printmaking
Shaunte' Levine is a printmaker raised in Charleston, South Carolina who now resides in Wichita, Kansas. She uses different printmaking processes including lithography, silkscreen and relief to create her multi-layered works. Influenced by the prints of Delita Martin and the representational paintings by Amy Sherald, Levine creates prints to inspire and showcase the beauty of people of color. Her work has been exhibited at multiple galleries around Wichita including ShiftSpace Gallery, CityArts and Mulberry Gallery. Shaunte' currenty works as the Lead Front Desk Associate at CityArts in Wichita, Kansas.
Where are you from?
I’m from Charleston, South Carolina.
When did you attend Wichita State? When did you graduate, and with what degree?
I attended WSU from 2016-2021 and graduated in 2021 with a BFA in Studio Art-Printmaking Emphasis.
What's your preferred method of artmaking?
My preferred method of artmaking is either a linoleum relief print or lithographic print.
Tell us a bit about your creative career since graduation. What are you up to now?
Since graduating, I was lucky enough to find a studio with a printing press thanks to OpenStudios ICT. The only stipulation was that I had to get the press back into working order, which I did! In the beginning, I worked on 2 linoleum block designs based around hair styles I had as a child, and also created monoprints based on the same designs. I’ve taken a break over the past couple months, but now I’m getting back into the studio to create new work for a group show I have in November and for shows next year.
Outside of the studio, I’ve been working with Harvester Arts as Site Manager for Chainlink Gallery Place. CGP is a creative oasis downtown that is free to the local community where they can host events, paint, create and play! I also work with CityArts which is a government owned art building, so my jobs since graduating have been centered around art as well.
What are you most proud of when it comes to your current creative career? Do you have any specific accomplishments or accolades you'd like to share?
- Fixing the press I use in my studio is one. I had to call a few companies and get specific tools and measurements to make sure it ran smoothly. It took me about 2 weeks to fix.
- Launch Award from Harvester in 2021
- I’m just happy to have a studio space and to still be feeling creative in today’s world.
How was your experience with the School of Art, Design and Creative Industries? What specific knowledge or tools of the trade learned in the program benefitted you most after graduation?
My undergrad career at ADCI was pretty good now that I’m looking back on it! In the beginning I knew next to little about artmaking, it’s history or what I would do with an art degree, but as I went through the classes and met teachers who challenged me, I started to find myself. I had a few professors that I enjoyed taking class with: Art History w/ Dr. Brittany Lockard; Printmaking with Marco Hernandez; Mixed Media Drawing w/ Megan Ewert. Also the chance to work with ShiftSpace, the student lead gallery, was instrumental in giving me behind the scenes knowledge to understand what it takes to run a small gallery and how I should behave as an artist in that setting.
Knowledge that’s benefited me:
Specific to my studio practice: I’ve used press maintenance skills to fix a press; knowledge of inks; solutions and chemicals to create work; knowledge of safe/healthy studio practices to stay safe; knowledge to mat, frame and ship completed works for shows.
Career Wise: Gallery Preparation, Administrative work, Communication Skills, Coordinating events with multiple people, Social & Community art practices.