Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alden Palmer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alden, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I like this question because the answer changes on a daily basis. In the past, I wasn’t very happy as a creative because I was forcing myself to put my creativity into a box in order to monetize it and maximize its opportunity for recognition.

Making art was always a life source. Some people want it to feel like a debit card but to me, it just feels like water. When I was still living in Nashville, writing poetry and making music made me just enough money to cover groceries, but ramen and cold brew aren’t the reasons I kept showing up to workshops and spent my entire quarantine online finding new ways to develop my craft. Writing and releasing poetry just feels like therapy, and I’ve happened to have a lot to heal from.

Now that I’ve decided to change career paths and go back to school to earn my degree as a marine biologist, art has taken on a new role in my life. I’ve grown really tired of making art out of expectation or for someone else’s cause, and I’m annoyed at myself for writing poetry that’s reminiscent of tantrums on paper. I want to turn my poetry into something that is still therapeutic for me, but in a positive light that reflects my new mission. I want to talk to my notebook the way I talk to the ocean.

I’m not happy as a creative today, but I’m trying very hard to find peace as one, knowing in every way that I’m in charge of my own story. I remind myself to make a practice of writing down my thoughts like I used to, not because it’s a job, but because it’s how I learn from myself. I just want to make sure that I continue to be a positive influence.

Alden, 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?

My name is Alden Palmer and I am a 20-year-old artist, entrepreneur, and college student. I’ve wanted to study marine biology ever since I can remember, but spoken word poetry took over my life when I moved with my family to Nashville at the start of high school. I spent the next four years developing my writing and performance talents along with entering the music business, taking on internships, and learning to produce music. I took advantage of my entrepreneurial spirit and resources at hand to launch a record label while completing internships, cohortships, and fellowships with companies like Apple Music, BMG, and the Americana Music Association. I also started competing with my poetry and made it to the International Youth Slam Poetry Competition with one of my pieces in 2022. I closed out my time in Nashville as a music production mentor at the Nashville Public Library working for Southern Word, independently releasing my debut single, and earned my certificates in Music Business and Music Composition at Dark Horse Institute and Recording.

Now I am back in my hometown in Connecticut and will be going to Cape Cod to study Marine Science and Environmental Protection as a cadet at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy this fall. As a creative I am closing out old projects and building new ones around my new life that I have finally built for myself. Being on the water is so inspiring to me, and there are few things I am more passionate about than marine conservation.

One of my newest projects revolves around an Instagram account I created about a month ago. @eastcoast.treasures is a treasure-hunting account I designed to inform beachcombers, advertise conservation efforts, and showcase unique finds.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

While every artist deserves an income, most artists that I’ve met don’t sign up for countless hours pondering the tiniest detail just to end up earning a couple of pennies. We do it for ourselves, we do it for culture, and we do it to build a community. Personally, as previously mentioned, I create art in all forms to not only express myself but learn about myself. However, there are also many times I make art as a gift or to show something to someone else through a unique lens. I also use it to inform and inspire. History has shown that art has the power to generate movements both big and small.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I love exposing myself to all different forms of art, media, and literature, but above all else, I am inspired by other young women. Some of my favorite artists are models, poets, digital designers, and musicians I find just by scrolling through Instagram or trying to learn something new on YouTube. I love discovering people online with similar passions as myself who are driven to create art in a way that’s never been done before and use social media to share it with the world and build a broader audience.

Contact Info:

• Website: aldenpalmer.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maldenpalmer/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aldengilbert/