Self Enhancement, Inc. - Youth Potential Realized

A lot of people try to be artists… and then there are the lucky few like Self Enhancement Post High Student Felicia Capuia who are simply born to it. Felicia discovered her natural talent in college but her work shows a color and compositional maturity beyond her years… and it's keeping her very busy. She was the featured artist at the City of Portland’s 2009 Black History Month Celebration and at a recent benefit for Children of the World, and she has launched her own business, Capuia Artistry.

A first-generation American whose family fled Africa in the 1980s, Felicia has a story as remarkable as her art. Her interview is below:

What were some of your most important lessons/experiences from Self Enhancement?
SEI taught me a lot about life and gave me the chance to create my identity and prepare for school. I was selected while a student at Ockley Green Middle school, and I was blessed to have three wonderful coordinators – both in middle school and high school. I became involved in a lot of activities, I was selected as a Pamplin Fellow, and I got the chance to go on the Historic Black College Tour.

How would you describe your art?
Art has different interpretations and meanings to all types of people regardless of race or a person’s upbringing. Even though the word “art” is small, it opens up so many big ideas and thoughts. Sometimes when we look at a piece of art we understand it – its meaning is obvious to us. Sometimes we do not understand it on a rational level; we simply feel something when we look at it. We can’t always tell why. Artists rarely provide a clear explanation of what their work is about. The only thing we can say is that there is a reason behind it. No act of creativity can be said to come without meaning or substance.

What is your ultimate goal with your art?
My goal after graduation (Summer 09) will be to work on opening a gallery, Capuia Artistry Gallery. I started my business, Capuia Artistry, in January 2009, and I have been to numerous art shows and I will continue to get involved in any and every opportunity I can. I have an international mindset – my future goal is to start an import and export business mainly with Angola and Zambia (the two places where my life began).

Tell us about your parents’ journey to American and how it has shaped you?
Back in 1969 my father Estevao Capuia was in the war in Angola, Mushiku province where he stayed for 3 years. He was studying to be a veterinarian, but he and my mother had to flee to Zambia and live in a refugee camp. During this journey my family experience hardship and tragedies – people gunned down, lack of food and water. In Zambia my father was given 3 things – an ax, a shovel and a number plate (so he could be identified).

He was an educated man and a manager of a cooperative building in Meheba, but he was arrested by the government in 1987 and spent a year in prison. After his release, my father was told by the government to leave or he and my family would be killed. Fortunately, he was able to get a visa to come to the United States.

Even though I was not born during this time of turmoil I still feel it. When my parents tell stories about what they went through to come to the US, I am grateful that my family and I had a second chance. Mistakes happen, but we sometimes don’t know what the outcome will be. In my family’s situation, the Zambian government’s mistake helped us come here and give us an opportunity for education and life. But sometimes, mistakes are just evil—like the effects of slavery and what people are still going through now. I hope that when you consider something that might be a mistake, you think about the outcome (and think twice) before you make it.

You can find more of Felicia’s work at www.myspace.com/capuia_artistry.