Today we’d like to introduce you to Tamyia Allen. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Ta-Myia Allen is a freelance photographer, videographer, model, visual artist, and yoga instructor in Columbia, S.C. She is the only daughter of Dwayne Bryan and Stephanie Allen, born September 9, 1990, in Orangeburg, SC. She was raised in North Charleston, S.C., with her parents and two brothers. As a child, I was very athletic; she played basketball year-round from Rec League to AAU and attended summer basketball camps. Once she decided to attend Benedict College in 2009, she explored the world of Fine Arts. It was this life-changing experience that sparked her creativity and drive for success. She was consumed with so many hidden talents in the Arts that she decided to begin her journey with photography. This allowed her to express herself like never before.
Ta-Myia has always had an interest in fashion and design. As a new photographer, she found it very difficult to direct clients with posing and other areas of photography. So she decided to step in front of the camera, leading to modeling. Modeling became another outlet for her to show her feminine side and network and collaborate with creatives in the city. After doing at least 50-plus fashion shows and building my modeling portfolio, she is booking jobs out of state as a freelance model. Although Visual Art is her true passion, she is exploring all areas still to this day.
Ms.Allen is happy to work with local fashion designers as a brand ambassador and content creator. She has worked with 100.1 The Beat and Hot 103.9 in assisting them with highlight videos of community outreach events. She is also excited about being an artist facilitator for Amplify Columbia, a partnership between One Columbia and The City Of Columbia to develop cultural resources for a Columbia Compass Envision for 2036, which will serve as a blueprint to help navigate the city’s future. Also, as a new member of the Benedict College Fine Arts Advisory Council, which strives to guide the institution in improving the quality of the Arts program, which includes Music and Studio Art where they discuss internships, extra-curricular activities, and apprenticeships, she has been asked to join organizations and businesses by producing so much content within the city, such as The Hilltop Glove Podcast on I Heart Radio and Spotify and the Aspire Wellness team as a Yoga Instructor. As a Co-Host on The Hilltop Glove Podcast, they discuss adulting, current events, and everyday issues millennials face. As a member of the Aspire Wellness team, I enjoy doing weekly Chair Yoga classes with senior citizens in the community, helping them improve their mobility, and practicing breathing techniques. As the owner of The Art In Me Yoga, she focuses on a Vinyasa Flow for Beginners. Her goal is to cultivate creativity and curiosity in others to improve self-awareness. Her love for stretching led me to pursue a field in Yoga.
Since receiving her certification in February of 2022, I have appeared on WIS 10 News “Soda City Live” segment showcasing her talents and techniques. I am currently teaching weekly classes at Aloft Yoga every Wednesday. Ultimately, her goal is to become a filmmaker like Ava DuVernay. She admires how she displays a sense of culture, pride, and family values while breaking every stereotypical Hollywood representation of ethnicity. What excites her the most about Ava is that her all-female staff of writers and producers effortlessly captivate women’s undeniable power and strength without emasculating the headship and authority of masculinity. As an African American woman and a minority in America, she believes her voice, stories, and personal experiences should be expressed and properly told in a way that’s uniquely different from my ancestors while supporting the common goal of change, justice, and racial and sexual equality. She was exposed to art, fashion, sports, traveling abroad, inclusiveness, tolerance, self-pride, and heritage at an early age.
As a result of being exposed to new things, Ta-Myia was able to break every generational curse and not become a product of my environment. She believes it’s ok to be different, set goals, break barriers and boundaries for how she treats herself, and allow others to treat her. Ms.Allen wants to tell her own story, how she sees and represents herself in everyday life. Her mission is to create her narrative and allow minorities to tell their truth without being ashamed, embarrassed, or misunderstood. Her duty, goal, and purpose in life as a content curator is to break boundaries while pushing the edges of diversity simultaneously. As a creative, she is open and willing to allow the Arts to move and shift her in ways she cannot see for herself. Ta-Myia’s passion for a creative environment will allow her to connect, network, and learn from peers, professionals, and like-minded individuals seeking the same outcome. Every lesson that she learns within this process, she will also teach someone shortly. She believes knowledge is best when it’s passed along. By creating content, we are answering unsolved questions and allowing viewers to see themselves as those being displayed. She wants every inner-city child to learn to dream without limits, learn the power of positive affirmation and dare to be different. Ultimately she wants to assist in creating a generation of free-thinking, creative entrepreneurs that create jobs for others. She wants them to experience the freedom to express their unique gifts and talents beautifully without conforming to someone else’s standards for likes, followers, or monetary gain. She wants musicians to understand the universal strength of lyrical content and build a body of work that can be seen, heard, and felt. She wants every individual to know and understand the power of their voice while using my voice to tell my story.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
No, it has not been a smooth road. Learning to have faith and trust in the process will always be an ongoing challenge. Self-confidence and present-moment awareness are other factors I continue to work on daily. Unfortunately, doing creative projects while not having enough sleep to properly process my thoughts and ideas still happens to me.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am creative. I am a model, photographer, videographer, yoga instructor, podcaster, and visual artist. I am most proud of the jobs and opportunities I have been able to participate in and collaborate in the last few years. As a creative finding jobs in your field can be difficult. I have created opportunities where I didn’t qualify and also brought people together to network and collaborate on future projects. I am known for my modeling and podcasting. What sets me apart from others is my work ethic. I continue to grow in each area of my work, and I bring others to experience the journey with me by keeping my viewers engaged on social media.
Any big plans?
I want to begin painting again as a visual artist; that is my true passion. I am also looking to work more in the community. I just started a nonprofit organization called Cre8—creatives for resources equity for black creatives in the community. We specialize in establishing social infrastructure connecting subcultures, and multidisciplinary collaborative projects, facilitating access to audiences such as funding and providing career exploration opportunities for groups and individuals interested in content creation and the Arts, as well as expanding The Hilltop Glove Podcast as we get ready to start Season 4 in September.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cre8sc.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myia_byia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tamyia.allen/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ta-myia-allen-7a87b6168/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hilltopglove
- Other: https://hilltopglove.com/
Image Credits
Photographers: Kevin Staggers, Dion Burton, Christopher Harris, Damon Howard, Will Hawkins
