Meet Amina “Ami” Taylor, a Rising Creative in St. Louis

Painter, designer, and emerging cultural organizer Amina “Ami” Taylor is carving her own distinctive creative path, with a dope remix for Black artists in North County, St. Louis.

Many artists spend years – even decades – trying to define exactly what and who they are. Amina “Ami” Taylor decided she did not need or want to choose.

Painter. Designer. Crocheter. Jewelry maker. Cultural organizer.

At 26, the St. Louis creative moves across mediums the way some people move between conversations. Naturally. Curiously. Without much concern for where one discipline ends and another begins. If something sparks interest, she follows it.

That freedom shows up everywhere in her work. Some pieces feel light and playful, while others hold deeper emotional weight. All feels personal, as if the work is documenting a moment in her life, never trying to impress anyone watching.

For a long time, though, claiming that creative identity out loud felt harder than making the work itself. “I like doing everything,” Taylor says with a laugh. “But I had to learn to actually say it. I’m talented.”

“But I had to learn to actually say it. I’m talented.”

– Ami

After graduating from a graphic design program, Taylor found herself traipsing the quiet uncertainty that shadows many young creatives. She was producing work. Sharing it. Handing out business cards. Still, a lingering voice asked her the same question many artists face. Do I really belong here?

The answer arrived in a random moment she did not expect.

While reviewing her finances, a banker paused and pointed out something so simple. “You’re self-employed. You’re handing out business cards. You’re doing the work.”

The statement felt obvious once it was spoken aloud. “I remember thinking, wait,” Taylor says. “I am a designer.” The clearest turning points can arrive when someone else reflects you back to you.

Becoming All Along

Looking back, creativity was woven into Taylor’s life long before she realized it would become her path. Her earliest artwork appeared in the most distinguished of places: on the family carpet.

“My mom told me I drew a jellyfish on the floor when I was one or two,” she says. “And somehow she knew it was a jellyfish.”

Art also runs through her family. Her great-grandmother painted. Her grandfather taught watercolor classes. When Taylor was fifteen, he invited her to join one of those sessions.

That moment left a lasting impression. “I mostly work in watercolor now because of him,” she says. Today, her practice spans multiple media, but watercolor remains a steady thread. Especially in her self-portraits.

“I paint myself a lot because I’m the most familiar subject,” Taylor explains. “But when I look back at those pieces, I realize they were reflecting emotions I didn’t even know how to explain at the time.”

Art That Reflects Back

For Taylor, art is more about reflection than perfection. Paintings can capture the emotions she was unable to fully articulate when she first created them. Later, the meaning became clear. “There were pieces I made before where I couldn’t really explain them,” she says. “Now I look back and realize what I was processing.”

That awareness is something she hopes viewers discover in their own lives. “I want people to become more self-aware,” Taylor says. “A lot of people move through life without really stopping to reflect.”

Experimentation remains central to how she works. New materials, new textures, new techniques. Sometimes the results feel playful. Other times, they mark emotional shifts. “There is one piece where it feels like I’m climbing out of a darker space,” she says.

Moving With the Collective

Serendipitously, Ami’s creative path has crossed with the Black Creatives in the Lou. This vibrant artistic St. Louis collective, led by Yolanda “Yoro” Newson, amplifies the Black artists in St. Louis. The energy and inspiration she has gained from the group are meaningful for her.

That energy came into focus during the Black Creatives in the Lou Designer Showcase at Neiman Marcus St. Louis, where artists confidently stepped into one of the city’s most established retail spaces. For Taylor, the moment was proof that she is, in fact, extraordinarily talented.

Forging Black Joy

All that momentum is now pouring straight into her biggest project yet. This spring, she launches Forging Black Joy, an arts festival and exhibition designed to spotlight Black artists while bringing creative energy back to North County.

Running March 28 through May 31 at ERG Gallery in Delwood, the festival will feature exhibitions, artist talks, workshops, and gatherings that connect artists with the surrounding community.

The idea grew from a simple realization shared between Taylor and a childhood friend. “We always felt like we had to travel to Midtown or the city to experience art,” she says. “But there is so much talent in North County.”

The festival will feature eight artists, along with workshops in watercolor, collage, and conversations about building sustainable creative careers. The event is part of a longer vision to build creative infrastructure in the neighborhoods that shaped her.

Her goal is to eventually launch a creative agency and educational space where Black artists and designers can develop their work without feeling pressure to leave St. Louis.

“I want people to feel like they can build something here,” she says.