We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Santo Donia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Santo, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I am currently working on a longform project called “The Pink Camera Project” that I unexpectedly started in 2016. I have been creating a time capsule of my experiences in the local music scene on a pink Kodak point-and-shoot, paired with small audio interviews on a cassette tape recorder. For 5 years, up until the pandemic, this was simply a way for me to connect and learn more about the wonderful artists that I was growing up with. Looking back, I was really gathering material to define a universal experience of growth in the most accepting and open minded communities.

The music scene dissolved for almost and entire year; we watched our safe spaces disappear and our community fall apart. I am collecting more resources post-pandemic to really describe that time period of hardship and the triumphs that followed. I hope to make something of a documentary showcasing the heart of our community and the will to bring it back after so much was lost.

Santo, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I bought my first camera when I was 16 (2016) after spending an entire year working odd jobs and borrowing gear from friends to work shows. While growing up in south jersey, I found that my skills and eagerness to create set me apart from my peers. I always felt comfortable getting to know people and striking up a conversation to make friends, but was always the odd one out in the room. In a room full of musicians, I was the only creative. In a room full of my classmates, I was the only one interested in the music that I liked (pop punk, emo, rock etc.). I never took this negatively, instead fueling a flame inside of me to continue on my path to create.

I am a freelance content creator that specializes in graphic design, music video production, concert photography and eCommerce management. I have been documenting the local music scene (NJ / PA) since 2016, but my main focus has shifted to securing more freelance opportunities. I am at a very crucial point of my career, where the only boundaries are those that I am setting for myself. I hope to one day grow into the world of creative edutainment and help share the knowledge of the arts to those who aren’t as adapt to learn from a book. I idolize YouTube creators like Vsauce and Mark Rober for their easy to comprehend videos, and their knack to make learning fun!

I am the most proud of my commitment to my craft, and wish nothing more than to grow into it. At only 23 years old I am figuring my stuff out while trying to maintain work-life relationships. I have always been an ideas person and will never shy away from a project. I just received a full time job, and I spend most of my days working and learning new skills to adapt in this current media climate. I have been a huge supporter of VR/3D printing for the past few years. I believe that being and early adopter to these mediums has helped me to set so many new goals for myself that I otherwise would have never experienced (learning CAD, re-introducing math into my day-to-day….)

Overall I wish to just create. I hope to create my own media production company within the next few years to share the stories of media professionals and the mediums that are developing everyday.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I want to make learning new skills and mediums as relatively accessible as possible. While I have no foundation at the moment to do this myself, I aspire to one day be able to teach about the creative arts in non-traditional ways. I have always been confused by formal teaching (aside from the fundamentals, of course) of anything art related. I realized at a super young age that if I was to ever make my passions my career, I could never take a course on them. This was both my stubbornness to teach myself, but also saw so many of the adults in my life fall out of their passions simply because it became to much for them to manage alongside families. I seriously am under no basis to start anywhere with this goal on my creative journey, but I know with time I will share resources to learn with a new generation of creators.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Growing up, watching live sets in my living room was something me and my friends did all the time. Like little time capsules, we would watch these cultural moments and wish to be a part of something larger than ourselves. Previously, I had only filmed sets to pass on the opportunity for others to enjoy within the endless catalogue of shows and events on YouTube. It wasn’t until the pandemic stopped my entire career that I realized how important these truly are. I had recorded the DIY Superbowl at Underground Arts when shows were just starting to open back up. That moment of sharing love and a sense of belonging to a community that almost dissolved was for sure one of the most rewarding feelings. Accessibility also plays a big role in why I want to get back into the swing of things. Connecting people from across the globe with these videos is something I am very proud of. No one should be left out, and these little snippets of time act as a reminder that it’s not just the show that matters, but the people and fans that make it a reality!

Contact Info:

• Website: santodonia.com
• Instagram: @santo_donia
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrubX05i-gXcn-xyU_gs9iQ
• Other: my 3d printing page on IG: @g4rudamon

Image Credits
Me with gimbal: AnnaMarie Otor