Today we’d like to introduce you to Spirit Adams
Hi Spirit, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Spirit Adams: A Journey of Art, Ancestry, and Abundance
My story begins 35 years ago at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore, where I entered this world against all odds—a true miracle. It feels poetic that I was born in a place called Mercy because that was the very energy that carried me into existence. I was born to Athlea Renea Patterson and Charles Adams in a city alive with the pulse of art, music, and culture.
Raised by my grandmother, Nadiyah Clark—an artist, green thumb master, singer, spiritualist, and phenomenal cook—I was immersed in Black traditions, African history, and cultural pride from an early age. Our home was a living museum of ancestral reverence. Djembe drums lined the stairs, walls bore images of African American icons, and the spirit of Black legacy was ever-present. I attended Maarifa, an African-centered preschool and kindergarten, where a lot of my foundation in ancestral veneration and cultural preservation was laid—lessons that continue to shape my work today.
From the beginning, my energy, charisma, and passion were undeniable. My grandparents, Gordon & Nadiyah Clark, and teachers recognized that art was a natural outlet for my creative spirit. My grandmother encouraged me to audition for TWIGS, the afterschool theater program at the Baltimore School for the Arts. For my audition, I transformed Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings into a monologue—and I got in. A year later, I was accepted into the high school’s program, where I trained intensively in theater.
After graduating in 2009, I continued my artistic journey at the California Institute of the Arts, focusing on acting. However, by 2014, while still living in Los Angeles, I felt a calling beyond theater. I returned to my first artistic love—photography. As a child, I had taken photos for my church Bethel A.M.E., displaying a natural talent for capturing moments. Over the next few years, I honed my skills in photography before moving back to Baltimore, where my family remained.
Back home, I stepped into the role of an educator, teaching theater and photography at the Creative Alliance and the Baltimore School for the Arts. Working with the youth through these artistic mediums was a beautiful way for me to reconnect with the city and see Baltimore through fresh eyes. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic—a transformative period that led me to deepen my study of Herbalism. During this time, I founded Herblendz, a small wellness business offering herbal supplements, pressed juices, smoke blends, and more.Herbelemdz gave me the opportunity to both learn and share my knowledge of plant medicine and its healing benefits while fostering connections within my community. My relationship with food deepened as I experimented in the kitchen, cooking with high-end ingredients, sourcing fresh produce from local farms and farmers markets, and trusting my spirit and intuition. It felt as though my ancestors were whispering in my ear, guiding my hands, and expanding my palate.
Returning to the Land: Farming & Culinary Arts
The year 2022 ushered in abundance and opportunity. Determined to learn more about food and plant sovereignty, I was accepted into the Black Butterfly Farm Academy, where Myeasha Teyler became my mentor. The moment my hands touched the soil, something awakened in me—a deep, ancestral remembrance. I discovered a natural gift for farming, which felt both surprising and inevitable. Actually In retrospect ,it’s not surprising. My grandmother, the home I grew up in were filled with lush, abundant green plants, and the food she cooked was always infused with love, wisdom, and grace. This time has felt like coming home—reconnecting with the land, its thriving plants, the food, and my love for cooking.
That same year, I landed my first professional culinary job at the Sagamore Pendry Baltimore, where I expanded my culinary skills and deepened my knowledge of food. Although that period at the restaurant wasn’t ideal for my emotional well-being, I gained valuable insights into fine dining, French recipes and techniques, and the broader kitchen culture.
Now, I cultivate my own plot in a Black elder community garden, growing an array of crops—tomatoes, eggplants, leafy greens, herbs flowers more. My journey as a storyteller continues to evolve, expanding beyond performance and photography into archival preservation, curation, and culinary artistry.
Curating Sacred Spaces & Honoring Legacy
Recently, I have been creating and activating sacred spaces that honor history, memory, and community. I designed an altar for Black History Month at Alma Cocina in collaboration with Chef Cat, paying tribute to the intertwined influences of Latin and African diasporic food traditions. Additionally, I curated the family archive wall, bar decorations, and Henry Phillips Gallery Wall at Rooted Rotisserie restaurant near Hollins Market.
Over the years, I have had the honor of working with partners such as the Baltimore Museum of Art, Creative Alliance, Arena Players, The Baltimore Times, Lexington Market, Baltimore School for the Arts, Black Baltimore Digital Database, STABLE Arts, and the National Aquarium, among others.
Looking Ahead: Archiving & Future Projects
Currently, I am developing two major bodies of work. The first explores found objects and raw materials—soil, iron, mirrors, and plant life—to examine sustainability, ritual, documentation, storytelling, and ancestral land reverence. The second is a freelance archival and research service “Echoed Origins Archive” dedicated to preserving Black histories—highlighting POC farmers, artists, queer, and hoodoo practitioners, and more—through oral storytelling, archival preservation, and historical research. This initiative will launch this year, ensuring that our cultural legacies are not only protected but actively passed down for future generations. This is especially significant at a time when Black erasure is rampant and our histories are at risk of being forgotten.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My path to success has been neither easy nor linear—it’s been winding, unpredictable, and at times, heavy with loss. But despite the challenges, I wouldn’t choose to walk another road with the gifts God has granted me.
I lost my mother to addiction when I was just 10 years old—a pain so deep it defied words. From an early age, I had to learn alchemy and transmutation, finding ways to turn grief into growth. I approached my childhood and adulthood through the lens of Sankofa—reaching back to understand the past so I could move forward with purpose. I needed to make sense of my experiences, to justify why I had to carry and transform so much hurt and disappointment.
Art became my refuge. Learning the past became my refuge. Imagining a softer future became my refuge. These outlets were not just creative expressions but essential tools for my healing, guiding me toward my purpose—the highest calling in life.
I have faced a great deal of rejection, particularly in the art and academic worlds. But I’ve come to understand that rejection is simply redirection, steering me toward the right spaces at the right time. It ensures that when I arrive, it is through genuine invitation, allowing me to show up fully as my authentic self—bringing love, offerings, knowledge, and the gifts I have to share.
The road has been tough, but it has been worth traveling.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a multidisciplinary artist, archivist, food futurist, farmer, and storyteller whose work exists at the intersections of history, sustainability, and culture. My practice is deeply rooted in honoring ancestral knowledge, preserving Black legacies, and reimagining the future through art, food, and land stewardship.
I specialize in archival storytelling, curatorial work, and immersive installations. I am particularly known for creating spaces—whether physical or conceptual—that hold memory, ritual, and reverence. My curations, such as the altar activations, archival installations, and food alchemy embody this dedication to honoring lineage and fostering communal dialogue.
One of my proudest achievements is my ability to bridge multiple disciplines in a way that feels organic and intentional. Whether through farming, photography, culinary arts, or historical research, my work is a living archive—one that not only preserves but activates the stories and wisdom of the past, present and future.
What sets me apart is my ability to merge artistry with preservation, and activism with aesthetics. I don’t just create; I document, honor, and build. My work is not just about beauty but about legacy, sustainability, and the deep responsibility of remembering.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Luck, in both its good and bad forms, has played an interesting role in my life and work. I see luck as intertwined with timing, intuition, and preparation—moments of serendipity that align when I’m open and ready for them.
Good luck has shown up in unexpected opportunities—crossing paths with the right people; (elders, art historians, peers, strangers, cultuturists. etc.) stumbling upon archival materials that deeply inform my work, or finding myself in places that shift my perspective in ways I couldn’t have planned. Those moments have affirmed that I’m on the right path and have given me the momentum to keep pushing forward.
On the other hand, what might seem like bad luck—delays, rejections, or unexpected shifts—has often been a redirection rather than a setback. Those moments have forced me to adapt, rethink, and ultimately create work that is more intentional and resilient. In that sense, I don’t see luck as something random, but as part of a larger rhythm of learning, growing, and staying present to what unfolds.
I am indeed blessed and highly favored, though! I love the gifts that I have been granted to share with the world.
Contact Info:
- Email: spiritadams.art@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nameyaself
