Do you remember the moment you realized what you wanted to do professionally? Was it magic? Was it scary? We wanted to hear from some of the most talented artists and creatives in the community and so we asked them to tell us the story of the moment when they knew they were going to pursue a creative career path.

Paige Williams

I can pinpoint my artistic beginnings on one very specific event: reading the Warrior Cats series in elementary school and wanting to draw my own character. Read more>>

Ingrid Yi-Chen Lu

Growing up in a design family, I’ve always known I wanted to pursue a creative path. I got into graphic design and illustrative work in high school. It wasn’t until I moved to New York City to attend art school that I realized I wanted to build a studio practice professionally. Read more>>

Simran Pal Kaur

Being an artist was never an option for me. At least not until I moved to New York from India. I come from a family full of folks that I like to call the “self-rejected artists”, because all of them had to reject the artist in them to live a “normal life” – a life that was better approved by the society. Read more>>

Reese Rand

As the child of two creative parents, I’ve been drawing since I could first hold a pencil. From making a self-insert “Harry Potter” comic series from the ages of roughly 6 to 10 (that included inserts of friends and even collaborative comics!), Read more>>

Leigh Costa

I honestly don’t know if there was ever a time in my life where I considered pursuing a non creative/artistic path professionally. As early as I can remember I was obsessed with movies and the idea of “Hollywood”. Read more>>

Segun Akeredolu

I guess I have had the opportunity to say I can draw since I was about 7 going on 8 years old. I drew a VW Beetle, first by copying reference, and then afterwards from memory. Read more>>

Erin Miller

I grew up in Texas dancing in a local studio and performing at a community theater from the ages of 3 to 18. My mom was the director of my dance studio and I loved being there–so the arts have always been a big part of my life. Read more>>

Tasanee Durrett

From a young age, I felt a deep connection to art and creativity. But it wasn’t until after escaping an 8-year abusive relationship in 2022 that painting became my true outlet – a way to release pent-up emotions, regain my strength, and embrace my authentic self. Read more>>

Taylor Wells

I’ve known since a young age that creating art was all I wanted to do. In elementary school, a close friend and I would daydream about starting a band and becoming fully-fledged rockstars. He already had a guitar and was taking lessons, so it was up to me to buy a drum kit and learn how to play. Read more>>

Wayup Rui

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue being a creative was around the age 14 years old. I have been always into sports art the time. But I started hanging around older friends who were into music. Read more>>

Vicky Rei

I was always creative and crafty as a kid, writing short stories, painting or doing diy projects. But I have started to take my passion more seriously after I had my baby. Read more>>

Andrew Lembo

At the age of 14, my parents suggested we rent a video for the weekend and at the time, the first Pirates of The Caribbean movie was just released on DVD. Upon watching that movie with my family, it was the first time in my life where I asked myself, “Where does the background music come from?” Read more>>

Filip Roos

I always wanted to pursue something creative/artistic ever since I was a child, but didn’t exactly know what. Always loved performing be it through stage acting, dancing or singing. Read more>>

Gina Tyquiengco

I always knew I wanted to pursue a creative path. My father was a musician and a cook, and my mother was a hairstylist, so creativity runs through me, and I was surrounded by it my whole life. Read more>>

Samantha Girard

I was always very creative, even as a kid. I loved to paint, draw, sing, dance, but I think I really knew I wanted to be a creative professionally when I was 16. I was cast as Ariel in the little mermaid at my local theater, and it was honestly the most rewarding experiences of my life. Read more>>

Laura Galli

For the longest time, I thought being an artist only meant working with galleries. It may sound silly now, but as a teen it was hard for me to imagine that all those book covers, games, and animated movies were created by professional artists. Read more>>

Xinqian Li

I first discovered my passion for music when I was just 13 years old. It all began with my introduction to the guitar. Right from the start, I displayed an extraordinary level of enthusiasm and dedication towards mastering the instrument. Read more>>

Paige Dentice

My interest in pursuing a creative career was sparked by the realization that artists can earn a living at whatever they put their minds to. During my middle school years, I discovered my passion for art, and it has brought me so much joy. Read more>>

GrimmWubs

I knew I wanted to go full force into the EDM industry when. I got my first 10k streams in a month. And it wasn’t just plays it was people as well I had some sort of gift making edm. I was addicted instantly. Read more>>

Alex Clark

I grew up in a studio. My father, James Clark, was an Abstract Expressionist painter in NYC in the late ‘40’s/50’s. He had a studio in Greenwich Village; I used to draw while he worked. Read more>>

Francesca Escarraga

After watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on the big screen when I was nine years old, I vividly remember scrolling through IMDb and reading numerous articles about the film all day, deeply engrossed and utterly captivated by the intricacies of the filmmaking process. Read more>>

Gabriel Uribe

As a child I always knew that I wanted to do something creative, perform, make people laugh and be silly. I have this core memory of being in elementary school and the after school program putting on a show for the school. Read more>>

Attallah McGuffie

I have had a love for music since I was about 4 or 5 years old. I remember running around the house singing the old school music my parents listened to. Read more>>

Jeff Smudde

I started taking pictures very young. When I was a kid, I bought a point-and-shoot film camera at a garage sale a neighbor was having – a whole $2 well spent. Read more>>

Jennifer Fernandez

This is a really interesting question because for me it’s been one thing to know that I wanted to have a creative life and another thing for it to be something real to pursue. Read more>>