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.

Rachel Haywire

I grew up going to underground concerts and festivals. I had lots of artist friends who were making incredible work yet not getting proper recognition because they didn’t go to the right institutions. The mainstream art world had become sterile and I wanted to bring it to life with a vitalist force that transcended the political binary. I decided to take my experiences as a an artist and musician and bring them to life as a curator to form my own art gallery. I wanted to do things my own way, having always been fascinated by the scene Andy Warhol created, yet also envisioning a new type of art scene that mixed transgressive performance art with high fashion in a luxury gallery setting. This became known as the Fiume Gallery. Read more>>

Laura Ekstrand

I went into college an English major, and by sophomore year I had declared Theatre Studies as my major. There was a magnetic pull that I couldn’t deny; all over campus there were flyers posted with auditions for all kinds of shows, and I couldn’t keep away from them. I took the introductory Theatre Studies class, and my section was taught by a student in the Yale Drama School MFA program. It felt challenging, exciting and essential. After that class, students had to audition to remain in the program, and I made it into the sophomore year acting class, and also an advanced class that focused on physical acting of all kinds. My pursuit of acting gained momentum, as I performed in five plays a year while doing classwork and working on and off-campus. Read more>>

Iliana Jazel

I’ve been creating for as long as I can remember. It wasn’t one single moment that made me realize I wanted to pursue art, but a series of small ones that kept leading me back to it. When I was little, doodling felt like a natural way to hold onto memories and the small moments of growing up. I was lucky to have access to a whimsical little space where children could create freely, with art supplies, sensory corners, and workshops where it didn’t matter how old you were. You could simply explore whatever you were curious about, and there was so much to learn and love while being there. Read more>>

Jesse Fox

When I was a little kid I was always fascinated by music in general, but specifically the guitar. My dad played a bit, there was always music on in the house, I grew up in church and would study the people playing.
When I was 8 I got my first guitar, from the scratch and dent section. They had no left handed guitars, so I learned how to play right handed.
I didn’t put it down except to eat and sleep. When my dad saw I was obsessed, he introduced me to some of his favorite artists. Jim Croce, James Taylor, Bill Withers, Billy Joel, etc. Read more>>

Malcolm Hinton

My grandmother was into African American art. I grew up naturally watching anime with friends and started coming up with creative drawings in my spare time. In addition to art, she also pushed me to play the violin and to join the festive plays at the private schools that I attended. I fell in love with hip-hop when I first listened to A Tribe Called Quest’s “Electric Relaxation”. From there my influence became Kanye West, N.E.R.D, and De La Soul. I began to mimic their rhymes which lead to me becoming a musician. Read more>>

Vlad Levine

I remember exactly when I started to think about pursuing this path professionally. Our production studio was open, and we saw many different types of clients coming through for productions, portrait sessions, and smaller projects. This let us see firsthand different creatives, meet them in person, and understand what they were about. I already knew I really liked artists. I was involved myself in creating my own hand-painted canvas backdrops that I used for my photography. A long time before that, I took some art classes, so I always considered myself an artist. I see photography and videography as my medium now. Read more>>

Rashik Razzaque

Back in lockdown due to Covid-19, the isolation and solitude made me realize the importance of Human Relations, Emotions, Communication and Empathy. I felt like, the best way to connect to these aforementioned topics were through Art, a way of my expression. Read more>>

Da’Shown Rawl

I started dancing and teaching hip-hop at the same time at the age of 13. After I got accepted into the Baltimore School for The Arts. I knew then, that I wanted to choreography and start my own dance company. The reason was simple to me. Make it out of Baltimore and have something I could call mine. So, freshman year of college that’s what I did once accepted into George Mason University in 2014. At the start of 2015, I launched RawArts Dance Company. However, I also fell in love with teaching. It offered me a way to be creative without having to commission new works. I also, knew at 13 that I wanted to create for as many people as I could.  Read more>>

Ryniee DeCheser

I had enjoyed drawing in my childhood, but never thought I could pursue it as a career. In college, I was a business major at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania so my path towards business was almost etched in stone. But I took an exchange year in France to study liberal arts as time to explore what I was craving to round out my education – modern philosophy, French literature, and to revisit my love for drawing. Surely, I thought this was a temporary detour. But I was swept away by the romanticism and beauty of Paris, which fueled my drawing efforts. Art was everywhere there- all the museums to devour, public gardens, the architecture… and the food! I literally ate my way through Europe! Read more>>

Bill Blood

I think I always knew that I wouldn’t be happy with a regular 9-5 kind of job. I grew up in an artistic family, so I was drawing and experimenting with different mediums for as long as I can remember. My grandfather was a talented illustrator, painter, and sculptor who often worked with multimedia projects. He was a retired machinist, but from as early as I can remember he was always working on some form of artistic work. My father was a mechanic, but on his off hours he’d also draw and paint, as well as helping me make stickers and t-shirts. When he retired, he spent a lot more time painting and working on other artistic endeavors, which he still does. I’d watch both of them and learn from what they were doing, and through trial and error of my own. Art was just something that was always there while I was growing up. Read more>>

Jared Mosley

I began my music journey in the church, where the heartbeat of the service the drums first caught my soul. I was just 7 years old when I started learning how to play, taking music lessons and studying the craft with a seriousness that surprised even me. Every Sunday, as I sat behind the drum kit, I felt something spiritual an indescribable high that connected me deeply to the music, the message, and the people in the room. Read more>>

Ivan Vazquez

I came across a 8th grade graduation picture of my group of friends where my best friend Luis trueuba who was murdered at age 17 was wearing a white angelic suit. I was 30 years old and for 13 years I let his death hold me back. In that moment holding the picture I felt an indescribable warmth fill my body and his presence. Felt him saying it’s not your fault and do this for me! He always cheered me on .Just like turning on a switch I knew my art would be a tribute to him and others who share a similar story. A story of a kid full of life, love and potential who was taken from us too soon. My art became a way to turn something so horrible into something so beautiful . Art therapy to heal and finally grieve. Read more>>

Maria Surratt

Growing up, I watched my parents live the life they wanted to live. They structured their work around their lifestyles and desires rather than trying to fit their dreams into the corners around work. I well remember the smell of the wood shop while skating circles around all the different tools and sawdust piles as well as the taste of sunflower seeds sneaked from the bird feeder while helping mom in the gardens. Read more>>

Susan Semenick

I was born in Pennsylvania and grew up playing in the verdant fields of my home. I developed a love and connection with the trees surrounding my home and always kept in mind how they transformed my thoughts. In my art, I attempt to portray trees as a representation of the love I experienced during my childhood. Read more>>

Joi Marchetti

I was very young, maybe 11 or 12, when I started working in theatre as a performer. For me, it was much more about the process and the community than it was about being on stage. I fell in love with the environment of having this quirky group of misfit people all come together for a few months and inject their souls into the same story while being led by a fearless director or choreographer. I was hooked immediately and I never questioned it – I knew this was the world I would live in. After many years of performing, I made the switch to composition and scoring and all of the aspects that I loved about theatre came into focus in a way that I never could have imagined I was capable of, not to mention I just felt so much better at it. Read more>>

Padina Bondar

I was born into a family of artists, so creativity has always been a natural part of my world. Even as a toddler, I was given real professional art tools to play with, and my family encouraged me to pursue my artistic interests with the same dedication as my academics. I spent most of my childhood crafting, drawing, sewing, sculpting, and experimenting with textiles. By the time I was 12 years old, I had already developed intermediate skills in these areas. Read more>>

Erick Salazar

After graduating from university I had kinda grew away from art making but I never stopped using my skills and creativity in everything I did.
With the encouragement of my wife I created an instagram account and started posting older work that I had saved. little by little I started making work again and eventually began applying to open calls, doing art walks, and markets. I took it one week at a time one rejection at a time.
Once local artists in my community were asking why I wasn’t doing more with background in art is when I knew I needed to start taking things a little more seriously. Read more>>

Mildred Mariel Perez

I think the first time I really wanted to pursue this path professionally was when I was 17. I had just finished high school and had started studying a degree in Communication Studies at a university. But I wasn’t happy. All I could think about was playing music. I was taking bass lessons at another school, and that was what truly called to me. Read more>>

Avalon Ashley Bellos

I moved to Washington, D.C., with the conviction that I would change the world. My early years were not spent in the spotlight, but rather behind the scenes—helping to draft legislation that quietly moved across congressional floors. I was devoted to the rights of the marginalized, working within the system to effect meaningful change, even if my name was never attached to the bills. It was noble work, but over time, I began to sense that my true impact would come from a different kind of advocacy—one rooted not in policy, but in culture. Read more>>

Natasha Barnes

I first knew I wanted to pursue this journey personally to get myself out there. I have been in many bands over the years playing other artists music recording, singing and writing for other people. It was good experience and fun for a while. I had been sitting on my own music and not doing anything with it. My band at the time had broken up and I was trying to figure out my next moves and what I really wanted to do. I finally had to make a decision and make goals for myself and put my path into perspective. Once I did that and made my music a priority my path was very clear. I put out my first original album in 2016 and it kickstarted my journey. I always knew I wanted to sing and do music on a big level. I dreamed of performing on the MTV awards show and huge stadiums filled with people rocking out to my music. Read more>>

Michael Perdomo

It was 2009 and I had just returned from my first trip to Europe and the travel bug bit me hard. The novelty of everything being new was a feeling I was actively invested in and I wanted more. A realization hit me as I was researching potential trips: I have the privilege of living in New York City, a place many people dream of experiencing or even seeing once in their lives. I’ve been here my whole life and had never even been to the Statue of Liberty. Read more>>

Tisha Smith

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally came not from a personal artistic revelation, but from a moment of realization in my clinical work. I was working as a clinician in a therapy program designed to support adjudicated youth—young individuals navigating the aftermath of tough choices, trauma, and systemic challenges. The program provided mentorship, structure, and much-needed mental health support. We were doing good work. On paper, it looked successful. But something felt incomplete. Read more>>

Aurelia Gillium

I’d like to say that acting found me during one of the most trying times of my life, when we gave up everything and moved to Memphis, TN in 2017. At the time, I wanted to throw in the towel and give up after being diagnosed with PCOS and becoming seriously ill, losing so much hair, fatigued, bloated, and in pain constantly to the point it affected my work. I’d always tell jokes and perform at work in the warehouse. People would gather around and say, “You seriously need to get into acting and stand up” and I’m thinking “No, not me. I just enjoy putting a smile on people’s faces because I know what it feels like to be lonely and depressed”. One day, I finally decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and dived into the craft. I turned my pain into jokes and scripts. I would do background work to pay bills and gain experience on set. All of a sudden, it became a part of me that I couldn’t live without. Read more>>

Alex

I’ve been making art for as long as I can remember. From a very young age, I dreamed of becoming a professional artist. One of my earliest and most vivid memories is painting happy little trees along with Bob Ross on TV when I was just three or four years old. Growing up, I was always known as the “art kid” — designing school yearbook covers, getting recognized for my creativity, or even getting in trouble for doodling during class. Read more>>

Inbar Hagai

My first love was the cinema, I remember being drawn to it from a very young age. I used to rent DVDs of indie films and watch them by myself every Friday night in the basement of my childhood home. I was mostly science-oriented growing up, but my deep passion for cinema led me to choose film as my major in high school. I loved it, but was also taken aback by some of the production methodologies we were taught, including the need to work in a defined film set hierarchy, which didn’t feel right for me. I wanted to make a cinema by myself. Only later, when I chose to attend art school for my undergraduate education, was I exposed to video art and introduced to DIY approaches to filmmaking, where I truly felt at home. Read more>>

Leah Kohlenberg

I didn’t become an artist until I was 32. Before that, I was a journalist, which is the childhood career I’d always dreamed about.
I worked for small daily newspapers across the US and in Hong Kong, where I helped cover the handover to China in 1997 for Time Magazine. At age 30, I received a scholarship to teach journalism in Mongolia. That was an amazing experience for me, and it turned everything upside down. Mongolia is a beautiful and very artistic country. A lot of journalists were also poets and singers and painters. I began to question whether journalism was still the career for me, but I wasn’t sure what was next. Read more>>

Charles Autry

It started way back in 1981. There was this artsy girl….even though I was sort of engaged I somehow knew we needed to become acquainted. It’s now 42 years later. That artsy girl became my wife. What a ride! I am not naturally artistic. I have an engineers brain. Logic, clarity and order are my super powers. As I’ve watched her develop a successful art business and teach art classes in our home, I have accidentally learned some stuff…For example, I’ve learned not to critique her work until she asks me to. I have an eye for accuracy and have been able to help her see what needs changed in her paintings. She also drags me along doing Plein Air competitions. We go do these amazing photo shoots and then I win money! Well, logic dictates that I keep doing Photography and winning money! So almost by accident I am now an Artist! Wow! Who knew??? Read more>>

Elise Lee

Art and music have always been a part of my life since childhood. While I dreamed of becoming a pianist, my sensitivity to sound eventually led me to realize that pursuing music might not be the best fit. This shift naturally brought me toward art. Drawing, painting, and creating were activities I always gravitated toward, and as a child, I was deeply fascinated by fashion. I loved collecting dolls and experimenting with their outfits, hairstyles, and colors. Fashion became a form of artistic expression for me—something that fueled my love for beauty and design. Read more>>

Ramya Kapadia

When you are a child, and a perceptive one at that, you pick up a lot of things unknowingly. Early on in my life, I understood that artists didn’t earn as well as professionals in other fields. Fortunately for me, I loved science as much as I did the arts, so I studied Biomedical Engineering, Medical Physics and Neuroscience with enthusiasm, while simultaneously pursuing vocal music and dance with equal gusto. In 2008, I moved to Durham, NC from Madison, WI. The plan was to work on my CV and apply for research positions either at Duke University or UNC-Chapel Hill. However, I was offered a 3 month Europe tour, singing for a renowned Bharatanatyam dancer Rama Vaidyanathan. That tour led to many more and I never really applied to those research positions. Read more>>

Georgiana Loi

I can’t really pinpoint a single moment when I decided to follow a creative path. It’s more like something that’s always been a part of me. I’ve wanted to be a dancer since I was three years old. Growing up in a family of dancers and dance teachers, movement and music were part of my everyday life. My uncle was actually my first teacher in Greek folk dance, and I was the youngest in the class. I even used to call him “Sir” instead of his name, which everyone found hilarious. Read more>>

Nick Bunch

A young, spry 18-year-old Nick Bunch joins the Air Force after declining a full-ride scholarship to college. After almost 8 years of service, I was faced with the decision. To stay on Active Duty at my current job (Combat Arms Instructor) with a promotion and reenlist OR get out of the Military with a clean record, accolades and not a day left owed to the Government. This decision took some time and serious thought but was clear what I had to do. When I showed up to work, I couldn’t help the overwhelming feeling of being in a place so different than who I actually was and around people I was nothing like. I knew something had to change and it wasn’t going to be the job or the people. Thus I had to change me and my situation. Read more>>

Kendra Kallevig

I think the margins of my class notes knew well before I did. I was a doodler. The gravity of blank space pulled my pen until the page was submerged in inky illustrations of covalent bonds, comic strips, clouds. I was utterly unaware that this could ever coalesce into something more. I played it safe on the sidelines. Assumed I would get a random office job, because that’s the adult thing to do. The first leap of faith I took as an artist? Claiming to be one in the first place. And my “claim” didn’t come until partway into my first semester of college when I shifted my courseload from generals to an AFA in Theater Production and Design. Read more>>

Shawna Hatton

I knew from the time I was in elementary school that I was an artist. I did not know what path that would take, but I knew I would go into the arts. My teachers and parents supported and encouraged my talents and interests. I decided to go to a liberal arts collage and focus on a BFA, as opposed to art school, because I thought it would give me more experiences and options. I was able to study in Rome my sophomore year and being exposed to so much art and history really opened up my mind. My passions are painting and photography, but took the “safe route” after college and worked as a graphic designer. Once I had children I focused on photography and started teaching photography and design, and found I loved being an educator as well. Read more>>

Aric Lopez

A good start is that growing up I never considered myself creative and certainly didn’t dream of becoming an artist. I could be best described as a dilettante who went where his interests took him. At age 15, I almost committed wholly to pursuing law school. The problem was that I was a TERRIBLE student. I was constantly distracted by my interests — one of which was making music. On my mom’s side, a musical sense runs in our DNA: my grandfather was a part of a traveling band, my uncle plays percussion in a salsa band, and my brother and I have played various instruments most of our lives. But I never saw myself becoming a musician because I was always a step removed from the required commitment. I’d get bored, move on to the next thing, and pick up a new skill or area of study that moved me at the moment. Read more>>

Ellen Sherman

It was about mid-way through my first year of college at Arizona State University in 2003. I have always processed emotion, memory, and my response to the world through making things, (predominantly through painting and drawing) but it usually took a backseat to school work. At some point during that year, nestled in the Sonoran, the drive to make things became impossible to ignore. I enjoyed my classes (I had previously been a good student on track for a major in Biology) but I found myself consumed with a need to draw, a need to paint. And as such my grades began to slip. I was cataloging my existence in graphite and oil, processing new adulthood on canvas and everything else began to fall by the wayside. Once I was placed on academic probation, I realized I was following someone else’s path – this would not work for me. Read more>>

Jazeon Johnson

I am a lover of movement. From dancing when I was little, to joining multiple sports in high school (though I was never any good at them), to now having the honor of teaching both yoga as well as social dances like Kizomba, Urban Kiz, and Tarraxo. My decision to follow this path in teaching both movement practices is rooted in the fact that yoga saved my life, and Kizomba saved my soul. I had a yoga practice at home on my own for years. Nothing structured. Just free flowing, listening to my body and what it needed. Then a car accident in the summer of 2021 brought my life to a screeching halt. An awful concussion took me out of work for what I didn’t know would be 4-5 months of trying to recover in both body and mind. Read more>>

3vd

I knew I wanted to pursue music professionally when making beats and writing bars stopped feeling like a hobby and started feeling like purpose. Around 14, I realized expressing myself through sound was the only thing that made sense—and I’ve been building ever since. Read more>>

Bo Bridges

In my senior year of college, I was working on getting my pilot’s license. One day, my instructor tossed me a couple rolls of expired slide film. I hadn’t really taken photography seriously before — just messed around with it here and there. But I brought the camera up with me on a flight, and something clicked. Read more>>

Dorly Jean-Louis

My interest in the performing arts began when I was 7 years old. As a child I was fascinated and in awe of the cinematography of silver screen classics. To me the filmmaking process was so magical. I was excited to see Hollywood starlets who looked like me in big budget productions. I used to pretend I was the heroine of the film reenacting the scene. I was also enchanted by the glamorous costumes, set decor, vocals and dance routines of musicals. I kept quiet about my dream until I graduated from high school. I worked two jobs, seven days a week one summer to save enough money to register at the Richard Robinson Fashion Design Academy. From then, I continued my postgraduate studies in creative fields; broadcast journalism and acting. Passion and action propelled me to where I am today, living my dream of working in film, television and fashion industries in Hollywood North. Read more>>

Ashwini Ganpule

Growing up, I wanted to be just like my uncle: my dad’s brother was 11 years older than my father and was everything I wanted to be – retired, happy, able to fall asleep at any time, cozy, and most importantly free to do whatever he pleased. Because was a family tradition to have a cup of coffee with a loving dose of cream and sugar and watch the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, I grew up imagining myself as one of the glamourous guests: hearing the announcer read my name, strolling across the stage to the armchair where tales of my work would charm audiences in-person and at home. I thought to myself that once I was retired I could pursue my dream. Read more>>

Liz Maugans

I was little, like five years old and I was drawing with crayons at a family friends on their card table. I was lost 100% completely in the trance and I knew that it felt good and that this was my calling. It was the only thing I wanted to do. Many years later, when in college, I saw a lithograph by Fairfield Porter called Lizzie Drawing and it looked exactly like me. That led me on a mission to study art in college, which led me to pursuing printmaking, and led me to continue through graduate school. Read more>>

Sandra Miland

I can remember when I was a kid, my mother signing me up for 4-H, which is where I first learned to sew. If you are not familiar, to quote from their website, 4-H helps kids find their spark, build real world skills and become resilient, adaptable, lifelong learners. My first experience learning to sew was in 4-H. I was a kid, so I found sewing kind of fun, but it didn’t really stick. One of those things where your mom made you do it, so you rebel against it. Many years go by, and I’m now a grown woman married to a great guy and, his mom is wicked talented behind a sewing machining. This great guy husband of mine just so happens to LOVE his overly broken-in outrageously worn-out jeans and, constantly was asking his mom to “mend” his jeans.  Read more>>

Zack Albetta

Drumming was all I ever wanted to do. I never had illusions of being a rich rockstar, although I certainly wouldn’t have turned that down. As a kid, I observed jobs the adults around me had and just thought, “not an option.” My dad was a lawyer. While the law can be a calling the same way music is, sitting behind a desk reading and writing all day felt like a perpetuation of school. My mom worked a lot of retail jobs. I could tell it wasn’t fulfilling for her, it was just a means to an end. I had a drum teacher from an early age, Jeff Sussmann, who served as a realistic example of what it looked like to be a self-employed creative. He was involved in all sorts of creative projects, he was known and respected in his community, Read more>>

Koree L. Thatcher

From a young age, I knew that creativity would be at the heart of my professional journey. It all began at my 6th grade graduation, and I had to envision and write down what I imagined my future would be 15 years down the line. For an ambitious 11-year-old, that was quite a far-reaching journey but exciting as well. Read more>>

Tenley Kellogg

It all started with one summer day camp at a musical theater when I was four years old. I remember having a blast on stage and spending the whole day using my imagination – that was awesome!
I kept asking to go back and eventually was old enough to auditon and to be a part of the shows that the local theater would produce. It was there, that I learned how to tell stories, get “off book” and feel that rush of storytelling. Read more>>

Osadumebi

Growing up in Nigeria, I always had a flair for the creative. Whether singing in choirs or performing with drama groups, I was happiest when immersed in artistic expression. However, pursuing a creative career wasn’t exactly on the table. Back in the day, and to some degree even now, it was seen as a lovely hobby – constructive, even – but professionally? High risk, low yield. In a resource-limited environment, the collective wisdom was to choose a path that promised stability and a reliable income. Read more>>

David Church

Great question! For as long as I can remember, I have loved movies, and I always enjoyed watching making-of/behind-the-scenes documentaries about the making of those movies. The fact that there are so many parts in putting together a film is really fascinating. Not only is it a creative endeavor, but a technical one, too. Read more>>

Matti Baine

Artistically speaking, I was always recognized for having a gift to create… always drawing and even recognition for my handwriting skill. As long as I can remember my Mother would always have pencil and paper on the ready for me… constantly drawing and sketching. Art courses in college while working at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts helped me find a path. A path that eventually took me out of suburban America and deep into a culturally rich world of art. I don’t think it was ever a choice for me. I have lived and breathed art as long as I can remember. Read more>>

Erin King

Oh gosh. I have loved to create art for as long as I can remember—beginning formally in high school, then studying Studio Art at Indiana University, exploring Art & Architecture while studying abroad in Vienna, Austria, and ultimately beginning my studio practice in 2016. As a kid I thought I wanted to be an interior designer. I was never much into “make believe” and was really all about designing and curating my real world. Organizing my dollhouse, painting and selling rocks, and daydreaming about decorating or re-shuffling the furniture in my room. I have a vivid memory of enlisting my friends and begging my parents to let me tissue paper a colorful collage in my bedroom. And when they said no, I was like “Ok, how about my closet? The basement? The unfinished basement bathroom?” ha! It never happened, but I was so desperate to create.  Read more>>

Dulce Mejía Morales

When I was in elementary school, I made an illustration book of original fashion designs and the last page was my biography. In it I wrote: “I want to be an artist when I grow up.” It really speaks to me that I didn’t specify that if I wanted to be a filmmaker, painter, singer, writer, performer, etc. I simply knew I was going to be an artist. Now in retrospect, I can definitely say that my love for the arts has been greatly influenced by the trajectory of my childhood when growing up in different countries that taught me to cherish the cultural richness that surrounds me. Read more>>

Ashly Dudel

I’ve always loved film and TV. The first movie I ever owned was TITANIC and when I was in middle school, I remember begging my mom to buy me THE RING. Remarkably, I recently discovered that one of my favorite actors Brian Cox, from the masterpiece SUCCESSION, was in THE RING. I also have fond memories of watching FRIENDS and THE SIMPSONS and falling in love with the characters and their stories. However, I didn’t consider a career in film until I was writing my master’s thesis. I studied South and Southeast Asian Studies at one of the top German universities Humboldt University of Berlin and my master’s thesis focused on the film CRAZY RICH ASIANS and Asian American representation in Hollywood. Read more>>

Cindy Pierce

Even though I was juggling a busy life, a group of friends bullied me into doing a solo show with stories about my life as an incident magnet. My first solo show, Finding the Doorbell, ended up selling out in my community, with 840 people in the audience who were grateful that someone else would tell on herself about s*x, relationships, birth, female pleasure, and stumbling into many awkward and hilarious situations along the way. This led to presentations for college and high school students and ultimately for parents and educators, covering topics such as healthy relationships, online influences and influencers, consent, screen time, and social media. This all began when my husband and I were innkeepers responsible for the cooking, Read more>>

KOURAJ

I always knew that I wanted to sing ever since I was a little girl. I come from a long family history of musicians, and music lovers so music runs through my veins. I went to the music high school, GAMP, and trained in classical music and musical theater most of my middle school & high school career. I participated in the high school Concert Choir, and participated in the Philadelphia All City Choir. I had so many cool opportunities to perform on different stages all over the city at such a young age. It only grew my desire to perform the older I got. Read more>>

Norma Fayak

I can still remember the exact moment when I knew I wanted to pursue photography professionally. It was in 2011, when I had my first son, Brayden. Like any new mom, I wanted to document every tiny detail—his little fingers, his sleepy smiles, the way he fit so perfectly in my arms. But I didn’t just want quick snapshots on my phone. I wanted beautiful, intentional images that I could print, frame, and hold in my hands. I wanted to create something timeless. Read more>>

FENIX & FLO

We both as children knew that music was our path and woven into our life’s purpose. Both in separate places singing and rapping honing our crafts along the journey until meeting eachother in Atlanta.

After meeting we collaborated on a few photography projects. Flo being a photographer and Fenix being a model, the creative collaborations began there.

It was after a few collaborations that led us to just hangout together and began to support eachother’s main focus which is music. Read more>>

KeShun Freeman

My mother says that she always knew that I would be an entertainer. As a child, she would catch me quoting scenes from ‘The Color Purple or standing in the mirror saying “Hi, I’m KeShun Freeman and you’re watching Disney Channel.” I did a few small plays and then in the 7th grade I did my first community children’s theater show “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”. From that moment, I knew that I wanted to perform and that became my prayer. I begin taking risks and trying to learn how to better my voice to become a better performer. I took a break for years to take care of family and play sports. However, through sports, things turned around fulled circle and I was able to take a further step and perform on bigger stages and do tv/film. Read more>>

Johnny Britt

I knew that I wanted to be a professional musician in high school. I realized that I had natural ability in music. I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to study music in Paris, France and signed my first recording contract in Paris, France.  Read more>>

Joey Doherty

I imagine there were plenty of clues along the way. Plenty of holy breadcrumbs God placed in the form of teachers or school assignments or brightly-colored birds making me ponder this whole existence but not knowing how to channel this creative energy. I was the teenager who sat at a window as time flew by while watching the trees sway with the wind, and that thinker has not left me. The difference is, now I know how to channel these inner stories into writing instead of allowing them to crash around in my head like wind against a boat with unraised sails. Read more>>

Belle Hulne

Growing up, I felt intrinsically tied to art. As an only child, it was something that I was able to accomplish independently that brought me joy and validation from the adults in my life who encouraged my artistic pursuits. It was never something growing up that I had considered could actually be my future as a career path. Art wasn’t a career, it was a passion! When I was attending high school at Maple Grove Senior High, Chad Manders was the one and only art teacher at the time so I ended up having him all three years I was there. He was and still is an incredible teacher and mentor who saw my potential and cultivated it through encouragement and critique alike. Read more>>

Pam Kravetz

Throughout grade school I struggled with my ABC’s and 1,2,3’s – school was hard for me! I was so lucky that I had a supportive family and wonderful teachers along the way that helped me understand my gifts were in creativity and personal connections. I think even then, I knew that my path would be different & I was being drawn to a career in art. My kindergarten teacher let me use the painting easel every day, my 5th-grade teacher let me do my book reports using drawings and my own storytelling. My senior year in high school, my ceramics teacher Pam Hall let me come to the art room and create anytime I was struggling with other classwork. I had a safety net, a support system, a group of amazing people in my life that helped me celebrate my gifts, support me, and elevate me. By the time I graduated high school I knew that was a key part of me & my future. Read more>>

Min Kim

When I was in kindergarten in Korea, we did an activity where we had to answer basic questions about ourselves on a piece of paper – from my favorite color to my favorite animal to what I want to be when I grew up. For most people that’s probably when you first become privy to the notion of identity. The funny thing is that now I don’t remember any of the things I wrote down – I don’t remember things like my favorite color or my favorite animal that my effervescent baby mind would have conjured up – except I do remember what I wrote I wanted to be when I grew up: a movie director. I have no idea why I wrote that. Read more>>

Tim Ratliff

In January of 2020, I was not doing the best in terms of my mental health and work-life balance. I was putting in at least 60 hour work weeks and wasn’t checking in with myself. I had planned on taking a one month break from my day job and just kind of….recalibrate. Read more>>

Jake Brotter

From as early as I can remember, I have always been drawn to art, music and science. The field of architecture and design then came into focus when I was 10 years old, and I was given the opportunity to attend an after-school program led by a local architect. I was so enthralled by the experience that after the first session, I literally shook my own hand and made a promise to myself to someday become a professional architect. Read more>>

Mike Hurst

I’ve always enjoyed art and felt I’m creative, although I never anticipated being where I am today. I took pottery and photography in high school. They were fun classes, but I never had a desire to do either otherwise. Read more>>

Tandy Kunkle

I grew up loving stories more than anything and my little kid routine was to always ask people lots of questions about themselves to learn more about them. I also would look at tons and tons of pictures. Product packaging, newspapers, my dads comics and art books and my favorite hand me down picture books. Whatever it was, wherever it was, I would find myself captivated by an image and study it intensely; always wondering about the story behind it. Read more>>

Sofía Ko

I think I always knew I wanted to be in the arts. I feel like I was one of the lucky ones that knew what they wanted to do from a very young age and stuck with it. One of the earliest memories I have was when I was probably four years old and I was playing with this tiny toy piano. My mom had “Mary Had a Little Lamb” on in the background, and I remember listening to it over and over again until all of a sudden, I started playing it on the keyboard. I remember my parents being shocked that a literal child was able to pick up on the tune just by ear, and put me in classical piano classes pretty quickly. From then on, I played the piano for many years, learned the guitar, started vocal lessons, and started writing music. Read more>>

Alexis Dominique Limpiado

For the longest time I knew being an artist would be a path that I would naturally gravitate towards. Growing up I always found joy in the arts, joining art clubs and summer art classes every chance I get. Being a professional painter has been a dream of mine. I use the word “dream” and not ambition as even back then I knew how far fetched it was. Living in a country where it’s a challenge to find work as a traditional artist, I’m compelled to focus on finding balance between what I love to do and finding a more practical career. Read more>>

Lindsay O’Keefe

It all started with a head. A mannequin head, that is. When I was twelve, my mom bought it for me to practice braiding hair. Instead, I painted its eyes red and created a horror film. Shot on an iPad and edited on iMovie, that short film eventually screened at the Cleveland International Film Festival FilmSlam. Read more>>

Deja Good

So I’ve always known that I wanted to make a full-time living off my creativity since I was a kid. Growing up i was influenced by Miley Cyrus’s, That’s so Raven, London Tipton, Sharpays, The Cheetah Girls, Mean Girls (I can go on for days) ICONS, IT girls! all shows & women that showcased young women in the coolest creative way. I wanted that. I wanted to be cool for being cool! Their confidence, their aura, I knew who I was from a very early age, a star! & I was going to be great by any means. I just knew I was different. Read more>>

Gigi Dossey

I grew up in a home filled with Music and Jesus! My father was (and still is) the worship pastor at our church as I grew up, and he spent the majority of his career in music professionally. I have watched him play guitar, write music, and lead worship all of my life. He is the most talented musician I know, and has always been the biggest inspiration and musical influence in my life. Read more>>

Moon Han

Death made me a composer of music. At 9 years old, the weight of understanding death came from witnessing my elder brother’s life taken by a reckless driver. Chinese culture forbids the mere mention of “death” as inauspicious, filling me with loud, unspoken loneliness and unseen pain. This ubiquitous grief, which almost killed me, was a constant, haunting presence sealed in silence. Each note of my first piano composition became a bridge to my brother: a sonic transformation where our souls entwined, a requiem where longing found solace and loneliness met healing. Layers of emotions surged through my fingers, dancing freely across the ivory, channeling from the depths of my being, a buried and bursting torrent. Read more>>

Nevin Stoltz

Ever since I was a child, I knew that art and creativity would be a part of my life in some form. I would spend hours building massive LEGO creations in my basement with my brothers and I loved to draw things from the world around me or from my imagination. I spent time after school painting along with Bob Ross and I found joy in building models or crafting things with wood. Read more>>

A.I. Bayroff

I was a horrible student. I would read, study, re-read, and study more, yet digesting the minutia of math and chemistry and memorizing the specifics of US history, such as dates and names of the generals, alluded me. When I took my first Writing Composition class in grade school, I found I could create a world that had never existed. Characters, plots, themes, all at the end of my pen. That, and watching my mother read eight-hundred-page books one after another, I thought, “Hmmm, maybe I could write something that she’d read.” Read more>>

Sherjan Ahmad

I think the moment I truly knew I wanted to pursue music professionally happened when I was performing with my first band, The BeStills, in Rockland County. We had this unity concert at the First Reformed Church in Nyack and something about that night—maybe the energy, the connection with the crowd, or the sheer joy of playing live—made me realize that music was more than just a passion. It was a purpose of bringing people together from different backgrounds and connecting as one. Later, as I transitioned to exploring my Pakistani and Sufi roots, that feeling deepened. Music became a bridge between cultures, a way to tell stories that mattered. Read more>>

Lindsey Kaye Pace

I first realized I wanted to become an artist at the age of eight. It was during an event at my elementary school called “Art in the Park.” I had the opportunity to perform “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child, I was in my Beyoncé role then lol and I did the rap verse on Kirk Franklin’s song “Stomp”. That day marked a significant moment for me; it was then that I recognized my ability to entertain on a stage, I saw how people responded to it with so much joy. I knew then that, that was what I wanted to do, Read more>>

Robby Busick

I’ve been a singer my whole life. My whole family sings. I never thought I’d go into the music business or be a creative. When I went to work for a label I fell in love with helping artists and songwriters grow, creatively and business-wise. The passion for the business side came when I realized how fear gets in the way of creativity. When money is involved, everyone gets scared. I want to eradicate that fear as much as possible. Read more>>

Sandra Ventura-Benitez

I’ve been very fortunate to be surrounded by family, teachers, mentors, and community members who supported and nurtured my creativity from a young age. I can’t say there was a single “aha” moment when I knew I wanted to pursue photography professionally—it was more like a series of small affirmations over time, moments that reminded me I felt alive when I was creating. Read more>>

Niya Butler

I didn’t always know I wanted to pursue a creative career, nor did I even envision being able to call myself a Director and Screenwriter. Growing up, I was pulled to the world of science and everything that encompassed it. In my preschool years, I dreamed of becoming an astronaut. I loved watching The Twilight Zone (1959) with my grandmother. My youthful brain equated the science fiction to outer space, birthing my love for the genre. Overtime, that dream of floating through outer space turned curiosity for veterinary medicine. I loved watching Brave Wilderness on YouTube in my free time – my curiosity for animals remained steady and still does today. But that professional curiosity turned out to be only a fleeting though as it slowly turned into a love for medicine during my adolescent years.  Read more>>

Lilith Grace

I genuinely think the desire to be an artist is something you’re born with. I’ve wanted to perform for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I used to put on little shows with my brother for our family, and it was my favorite thing in the world. Read more>>

Victor Selin

When I was barely tall enough to reach the piano bench, I lived in the soft glow of the opera house wings, where my father conducted grand arias and my mother taught young choristers their first scales. Music wasn’t just what we did — it was the air we breathed. By age six, I was giving my own recitals on our family’s grand piano, each performance a blend of my parents’ encouragement and the thrill of sharing sound. Read more>>

Luke Barstow

I remember clearly I was about 12 or 13 years old, 8th grade, and I was sneaking into the local teen center to see high school night which consisted of some touring bands, a lot of local bands, and bands that were close to the state of Wisconsin. I got caught going to high school night the week before the show that really wanted to see. I was hanging out with a lot of high schoolers and not a lot of kids my own age. They had been hyping up a certain show for weeks. Since I got caught, the lady that ran the teen center made me volunteer so that I could continue to see shows. Read more>>

Lisa MM Butler

I am a transracial adoptee. When I was young…pre-K age, I looooooved to read and I loved to draw/color. I have vivid memories of lying prone, my sketch paper or coloring book spread out in front of me. As an adoptee though, I was always scanning the room for a way to make myself feel safe. I lived with a lot of fear as a child both because of my relinquishment and because of my Dad. My Dad, before I entered about middle school, was mean. He was an angry white man who didn’t want or enjoy children. I feared him. As a way to gain his favor…I stopped being an artist. He was the kind of person who gave great adulation to scientists and thinkers. I think art is part of my personal blueprint now, but for a long time, I ignored it. Read more>>

Emma Sherr-Ziarko

The short answer is: as long as I remember. I’m quite fortunate- as a creative person- that I am the child of creative people. Both of my parents are classical musicians, and, while there was some expectation that I might go into academics, I’ve always had the support and example of my parents to follow. I was raised doing all sorts of artistic pursuits: music, visual art, dance, creative writing, and- my personal favorite- theater. I pursued all these endeavors to varying degrees, but it was always acting that compelled me most. Read more>>

Scotty Praise

I knew I wanted to be a singer since I was a lil’ kid; like, way back, before I even knew what it really meant. But when I realized I wanted to be a gospel singer, I was 16 years old, locked up in uptown Charlotte, sittin’ in the hole. Read more>>

Cindy Cooper

My love for music was born at home, long before I ever stepped on a stage. My father, a trained and degreed music teacher, filled our house with melodies and method. My mother, with her natural gift for song, made every room feel like a concert hall. Music wasn’t just something we listened to—it was part of the air we breathed. Read more>>

Alex Lane

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally was in high school when I picked up my first camera. I’ve always been surrounded by the arts — my mom put me in dance at an early age, so I was constantly involved in music and performance. My grandmother bought me my first camera after I decided to quit drumming and explore photography. At 15, I realized I had a passion for capturing the world around me. Photography allowed me to tell stories and express myself visually, which felt like the perfect creative outlet. Read more>>

Malinda Lisette

I have known I was meant to play flute from the moment I chose it in band class, but really, when I would hear it in the music my mom would listen to like salsa, RnB, Bachata, and more. I was fascinated with how small and cute it was, and I thought because I was able to make a sound on it, that it was meant for me to play. As I invested more into the idea of being a professional musician, the cost of lessons, instruments, and summer festivals felt like a bill I couldn’t continue to ask my parents to pay. I was recommended to audition for the Primavera Fund, which completely funded my music education for the rest of High School. Read more>>

Destiny Moore

I truly realized I wanted to pursue photography professionally when I decided to study art as a major in college. I was originally a graphic design major because I believed it would give me more artistic career opportunities. However as I began taking classes on graphic design I soon realized I could not stand coding, and I always loved photography but was too shy to go into college a a photography major because I was scared of what the job market would look like for photographers. But I soon threw caution to the wind my junior year in college and fully switched my major to photography. I realized just how much I loved taking photos as a hobby then when I began taking photography classes I realized I loved studying and learning about photography. This is where my passion truly came in and I just decided to truly purse photography full time professionally. Read more>>

Tommy Strazza

Martin Luther King Day… 1979. I was seven years old. I wanted to buy an album with my own money. My dad took me to Harmony Hut in Brunswick Square Mall. My cousin was a big KISS fan, so I wanted to buy a KISS album that he didn’t have. The artwork reached out and grabbed me. The album: Rock & Roll Over. I brought it home, put it on my turntable, and those sounds transformed me on the spot. It was a life-defining moment. I knew by age seven what I wanted to do with my life. Read more>>

Megan Barry

I’ve always been a creative person, working in different mediums throughout my life. I studied art at Columbia College Chicago before graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin. I loved art school—it gave me the freedom to explore—but at that time, I hadn’t yet found the medium that truly spoke to me. Like many artists, I struggled with the question of how to do what I love and make a living from it. So for a while, I lost touch with my creativity. Read more>>