Meet Dorian Harris of The Art Dealer in Augusta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dorian Harris.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
As a child, I was raised in a very creative environment. My mother is a trained classical pianist and my father is a photographer and both of them encouraged me to follow my creative passions. My first creative passion was drawing cartoons. At 12 years of age, I was drawing my own comic books and even contacted the local tv station about a job as a cartoonist. The tv producer was so amazed at my ambition that he called and asked my father if he could meet me. In my family, I had older cousins who were listening to rap music and that was how I was introduced to the hip hop culture. I was instantly hooked and wanted a career as a rapper. Those passions led to me becoming a hip hop artist, a freelance graphic designer and event curator under the brand called The Art Dealer, Inc.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not at all, after graduating high school, I wasn’t sure how to monetize or how to have a career in either of my passions. So I got a job at a local record store called 4Korner Records and that opened the door to the business side of my creativity. I was attending Augusta Technical College for Printing/Graphics Tech. A friend saw some of my design work at the store I was working at and asked to hire me for a graphic job. That was the beginning of my graphic design endeavors.

From there, I formed a music group called the Dynasty with some childhood friends and met my first music producer at the same store. We went on to create a couple of albums and performed heavily in Augusta. But everything was trial and error. I didn’t have a sure plan of action and had a lot of setbacks.

The money wasn’t consistent and that was a real struggle that I fought with for a long time. But my love wouldn’t let me quit at all.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
So The Art Dealer is a hip hop artist who’s a freelance graphic designer and event curator. My design work is predominately advertisements for event promoters and small businesses. In my career as a hip hop artist, I developed a skill for event curating by creating my own events. The highlight of my event career is an event called The Mahogany Lounge which is a poetry and live music experience I started in 2010 with radio personality Kydd Joe. As an artist, I took a hiatus while promoting events but I released a couple of solo albums “Life Love Loyalty” in 2016 and “I’m Not Ross” in 2019. I’ve also released a group project called Me Fi Me with a friend, Mike Huncho in 2018.

The music and events are tailored for everyday people. People from all walks of life can embrace the message as well as the vibes of my events. I think sometimes creatives forget about the people they’re creating for. They tend to get caught up in the sensationalism and forget to give their supporters the content that everyone can connect with.

What were you like growing up?
Very eager to create, and if it didn’t involve creativity, I didn’t like it. The same interests I have today are the same as they were as a child.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.artdealergfx.com
• Instagram: Instagram @artdealerinc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtDealerMusic1

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