Isaac Coenca talks uplifting diasporic artists, taking risks, and their never-ending love for Brazil and Detroit
“I've started to do stand-up comedy because even if I suck, I get to talk. Even if they're not seeing me, I see me. I'm taking up space. Letting people see me truly is a privilege. It’s a gift.”
G: Thank you for being here, Isaac. Let’s start by having you introduce yourself. Tell us anything you think is important for someone that wants to know Isaac.
I: My little spiel is that my name is Isaac. I use they/them pronouns. I identify as a diasporic artist, an entrepreneur, and I am from Brazil. I identify as Afro-Brazilian, but I’m based in Detroit mostly now, and I'm 23.
G: Amazing. With all of the identities you hold, can you tell us a bit about your roots and where you consider ‘home’?
For me, home is like where my parents are or my community is and so I guess right now I kind of see my home as a few different places. Or places where I can be myself. That's my definition of home. I’ve moved a lot, so that changes how you think of home, but right now that looks like Detroit, that looks like Brazil with friends, and that also looks like here in New York being here with you both.
I was originally born in the state of Sao Paulo in a small town called Limeira, which means lime, like the lime trees that grow there. Brazil very much feels like home because I get to speak Portuguese, which I don't get to speak very often, and it's rare for me to hear Portuguese, so I really miss that.
I'm also adopted, which also makes my sense of home different, but the people that I have a really strong love and connection to, that's my home.
H: Can you tell us about the family that you recently saw in Brazil? Is that your biological family or your family through adoption?
I have no connection or idea about my biological family. I've thought about exploring that, but I haven’t because I have such a close connection with my parents, and my mom, like that's my mom who's always taken care of me and who's been there for me.
In Brazil though, you still can't have abortions, so I feel grateful that at least if my biological mother wasn't in a good position to take care of me, or was really young at the time, she did give me up for me to be able to have a really good life.
I feel so grateful for my parents because my dad decided to go be an engineer and always wanted to learn English, and had a vision and sense of the American dream. It’s really funny though because I was watching this show called the Hollywood Love Story, and at one point someone said it’s called the American dream because you must be dreaming to think that it's real *laughs*
Now living in America I’m really met with the reality of the American Dream...it’s not easy no matter what you do! And I think that’s what I’ve realized- Everything is going to be a challenge, it’s just what challenges do you want to pick.
H: I’m curious if you can tell us more about your trajectory as a creative?
Well, right now I’m working on an art residency and cultural exchange project for artists that identify under Diaspora. There are lots of loose and wide terms for diaspora, but the way I understand it is that you were born or have a deep connection to one culture, and then you move to another place for whatever reason, whether it be for refugee, economic purposes, or any reasons why you end up in a different place. You still have deep feelings and sentiments about your original culture, you still want to maintain your culture, but also feel a bit lost.
There’s a lot of people that feel that way and a lot of artists that are quite stuck or lost in the art scene, whether it's an artist in Detroit that's never left Detroit, or even left the country or an artist in Brazil who’s in a bad economic situation and can’t even charge for their art because of foreign meddling. That would be the other half of the residency, an artist could spend half of the year in Detroit or Brazil and I would split my time there to facilitate. I felt the same with starting with Ur Internet Friends, which is a zine platform and podcast for artists. I just realized that artists still need more than being impressed. They need actual support. They need a network. They need money. They need space to make their art, to grow, and to feel challenged. I’d also like to see more new and emerging artists have opportunities. I keep ending up having to create things because I want to see them. I created Ur Internet Friends because I was lonely and I wanted more friends and I had so many friends on the internet already.
G: I know you have a deep love for Detroit, and I’m wondering if you could tell us what makes Detroit different? Are there any similarities to Brazil? Is there anything that reminds you of resilience?
There are a lot of immigrants in Detroit, and also Detroit is super Black. There are so many Black people there, and there are so many artists there but it’s more competitive because there are fewer opportunities than there are in other art hubs. You have to be focused on your art and be a decent artist to make it in Detroit. Also, you have to believe in yourself because people in Detroit won't just fuck with you. If you don't fuck with the city or if you just come out of nowhere Detroit isn't going to fuck with you. Which I feel is really genuine.
G: What’s something that you feel you learned about yourself in the past year?
I feel like I’ve always known that I wasn’t very normal or neuro-typical, or did things as other people do. So over the past year, and through having more experiences, I've become way more accepting of myself and the ways that I'm different.
I've recently looked into getting tested for autism, but every place that I've called only tests kids or it costs like three grand. I also feel like I just now am realizing that having ADHD and being bipolar does classify you as disabled. I feel comfortable knowing I'm disabled and my brain doesn't work the way other people do. Which makes me realize why I'm so sensitive to, overwhelmed by, or even really reactive to certain things. I feel more comfortable now vocalizing my discomfort.
My mom's been encouraging me to go to Brazil to be an interpreter and teach English but I have normal depression like it doesn't stop me from enjoying pumpkin spice latte. People are like ‘are you feeling seasonal depression’ or ‘do you just have seasonal depression?’ I'm like, no, I'm just depressed all the time.
G: And so how does that play into how you feel seen? Or would you sometimes rather not be seen?
Yeah, well, certain people misgender me and don't see me, but I just think- you're unimportant, you don't matter, and I'm only going to know you for 2.5 seconds. But that does make me crave scenarios and situations where I can feel seen. We're only here for a certain amount of time. We should take time to create those spaces and find those people.
Which is why I've also started to do stand-up comedy because even if I suck, I get to talk. Even if they're not seeing me, I see me. I'm taking up space. Letting people see me truly is like a privilege. It’s a gift.
H: I’m curious if there’s anything else you think is important for people to know about you or you want to pass on to people?
If I could pass anything on to anyone else it would be to take risks and take more risks.
Our world is ridiculous. If you want to be a clown, go be a clown, like who gives a fuck? If your work is good, people are going to support it. And if you don't try, it's not going to happen. Actually, It's definitely not going to happen.
Rapid Fire
What is one thing that brings you joy?
My puppy Abel is the best investment. They say money can't buy happiness, but actually, it can. He’s fully employed now as my human serotonin antidepressant.
G: What is one song that you listen to on repeat?
Regardless of if you're going through a friend breakup or a relationship breakup, listen to traitor or good 4 u by Olivia Rodrigo. Friendship breakups are just as hard, so listen to break-up songs about your friends too!
H: If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be?
I: Untraditional.
H: I love that for you. Can you tell us where people can find you?
Find me on Instagram at @isaacoenca and @uninternetfriends, or on Twitter @genderlessfruit. I'm so funny on there.
*As the first profile in our series, we wanted to give everyone access to what our paid tier will look like. In the future, paid subscribers will have access to full interviews, photos, and reflections, while free subscribers will receive a preview.