Omar Rashan, nicknamed “O the Creator,” is on a mission to develop the Indianapolis community through authenticity and creativity.
Rashan is what many would consider a jack of all trades—to him, no medium or art form is off-limits. The Indianapolis-based mixed-media creative has worked to create traditional art, augmented reality art, a wine brand, candles, a podcast, and so many more projects. Rashan said his open-minded approach to creating art through all forms comes from his belief system.
“There’s no boundaries,” Rashan said. “You shouldn’t put any limitations on these things. As you learn one thing, you can easily learn the next thing just as fast. Me, what I’ve learned on a spiritual level, everything is connected. So there’s no reason to overthink. You just gotta be bold enough to take the step.”
Within his creation process, Rashan intentionally incorporates connectivity between his projects, particularly through finding different channels to distribute art. The work he does is layered, with each project being tied back to his goal of adding to Indianapolis’ culture and aiding his community by providing artists with platforms and steady income.
Most recently, Rashan has been working to introduce augmented reality art to the Indianapolis community in hopes of sparking increased engagement with art and culture.
“It gets people’s attention,” Rashan said. “It’s also a level of telling a story, not just from the framework—what you see in the front from the first look—but with augmented reality, you can expand and tell a story.”
Augmented reality art adds another dimension to physical pieces of visual art. Rashan uses his background in animation and design to create digital artwork that he is able to superimpose on top of canvases. Then, when they are scanned with a smart device, viewers can see digital additions appear from the artwork.
Soon, Rashan plans to debut a collection of abstract-based augmented reality art, which he hopes will spark people’s creativity and generate new ideas.
“Hopefully, it will influence people to be like, ‘I didn’t know this could be done. What else can we do?” Rashan said.
Bringing new ideas to the forefront of the Indy community is a huge focus of this creative. A podcast he’s been working on, “It Needed To Be Said,” is meant to do just that. Rashan described the podcast as a platform for accountability, where hard conversations are had with the intention of expanding to new levels of consciousness and understanding.
This opportunity to problem-solve in the creative space came from an idea Rashan’s brother, Raynandole Poindexter, had. Together, the two are drawing from their life experiences to help others better understand one another. Rashan said through their lives, he and his brother have come to understand that nobody is truly right or wrong—you just have to listen.
“It’s really about just sharing perspective,” Rashan said. “If you truly respect this person, it’s not about if they are valid. In conversations that I’ve had where I didn’t see [their perspective] then and there, I look back and I try to be fair and I understand. That’s the component you learn to develop. Like, ‘Nah, this person might have something, I might have got a little bit ahead of myself.’ Admit that.”
Through these difficult conversations, Rashan hopes to uplift creatives and entrepreneurs in their careers, giving them new perspectives and opening their minds to new opportunities.
Many of Rashan’s other projects also operate with this goal in mind—namely, his partnership with his brother’s wine brand, Raynandole. It features visual artwork in its branding, existing as an opportunity for artists to have their work displayed on the labels. In doing this, the artists will have an opportunity to develop another stream of income.
“That’s how you be authentic,” Rashan said. “You give people another opportunity to create generational wealth for them themselves as well. It’s bigger. A lot of this is thinking about community. That’s part of everything that I do.”
Across his work, this intention is apparent. Whether he’s trying to expand the arts through his candle brand, Elevated Culture, or introducing art into digital spaces through creating NFTs and augmented reality art, his open-minded approach to creativity is meant to encourage others to participate.
Above all, Rashan hopes his career serves as an example for others. Through sharing his story and work, he wants to provide inspiration and encouragement.
“It was once told to me that you couldn’t be this type of artist,” Rashan said. “There’s a part of me to want to say ‘You’re wrong.’ I think it’s divine to be all things. And sometimes people put limitations on you. You can’t put limitations on me because my life has always been about climaxing and trying to get through that thing that you said couldn’t be done. I want to be an inspiration to all those people that have doubt.”
To keep up with O the Creator, check out his website and follow him on Instagram.
