Bored Panda reached out to Kira, who shared more about her background.
Multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker Kira Bursky (aka All Around Artsy) is inspired by mental health, creativity, and magic. An award-winning creator, Kira has produced more than 60 short films that have screened globally. She’s gone viral with over 25 million views across her films, art, and fashion work on platforms like Reddit and YouTube. In addition to her cinematic accomplishments, she sold 2,500 art NFTs and developed an immersive projection-based installation. Kira expanded her artistic repertoire with the launch of All Around Artsy Fashion, a wearable art brand that reflects her passion for dopamine dressing: wearing what makes you feel good. She is now planning the 2025 gallery exhibition tour of her Hurricane Helene art collection with scheduled stops in NC towns including Asheville, Lansing, and Murphy, to name a few.
Kira explained what drew her to the world of artistry.
“I’ve been an artist my entire life. When I was a kid, I explored all different types of mediums, from music to drawing to animation to dance, etc. By age 13, I knew I wanted to pursue filmmaking because it was my way of combining all art forms into one, while also being able to go on adventures learning about the world and people. The life journey I’ve been on has definitely been a fun one… I’ve switched life path focus from filmmaking into wearable art, and now lately I’ve been most focused on my visual art. I am deeply inspired by mental health and with everything I do, I tend to explore themes of the subconscious, perception of realities, and emotions.”
We were wondering what emotions or thoughts inspired Kira to start drawing in response to Hurricane Helene.
She shared: “After Hurricane Helene, I felt such a deep heaviness from within, one that I had never felt before in my life. I did not know how to verbally process the feelings I was experiencing. That is why I turned to art. Through drawing, I can let my subconscious freely express itself, and more often than not, through the art process, I discover my own true feelings that had previously been hidden from myself. The art I drew was inspired by a mixture of my emotions as well as the stories and imagery I was seeing around me in my community and on social media. Honestly, a lot of what I was seeing felt unfathomable. I had never experienced firsthand such destruction and widespread tragedy around me. Creating art was the most natural way for me to process it all.”
Kira also described the themes and/or symbols that appear in her drawings.
“Some of the main imagery throughout the collection includes twisting trees and branches, overwhelming bodies of water, and people fleeing.
Thematically, the work explores the feelings of having to escape, the impending doom of water rising, the overwhelm of processing it all, journeying away from home, snapshots of things once loved being lost to the decay of water, as well as a community coming together to support each other through the aftermath.
There are other themes and symbols throughout, but those are just a few examples.”
As for the audience's takeaway, Kira wrote: “I hope those that went through Hurricane Helene or other experiences of unexpected tragedy and devastation feel less alone in their complex feelings of grief, processing, and making sense of it all in the aftermath. I hope people feel me giving them a hug through this collection. I hope my community feels their story is being told and that they are not forgotten. There is a lot of rebuilding that needs to be done in Western North Carolina as well as many other towns throughout the Southeast. We need your support as we process and rebuild.”
Lastly, Kira added: “12 x 12" signed art prints and the full art collection book are available in my online shop. 20% of profits will be donated to BeLoved Asheville and ArtsAVL towards Hurricane Helene relief efforts. Available on my website.”
