Gozie Ojini has been studying art since he was a child, but always felt like he had to have a plan B. “A lot of times artist or art students, especially people of color, have to defend art to people in their lives who may not understand the choice to study in this field. I've spent a lot of time trying to compromise with either family members or myself,” he says. When he graduated high school he planned to study chemistry, and then went to architecture, then graphic design, and then finally settled on art, and transferred to the UCLA Department of Art in the fall of 2017. While each of these fields of study have influenced his art practice, he is now confident in calling himself an artist. At the beginning of spring quarter, Gozie spoke with UCLA Arts in his painting studio for Distinguished Professor Lari Pittman’s advanced painting course about what drew him to the department, and how liberating it is to assert his desire to become a working artist. Read more…