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

Amarachi Crystal, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I’ve always been a creative child. I can’t remember when I didn’t draw on everything. It came to the point where I took pens, pencils, and paper with me everywhere. I remember when my mother bought me a blue creative activity bookcase in elementary school. I think I spent more time in that briefcase than I did in front of the television, doing activity books, coloring, and crafts. At that point in time, I didn’t consider myself an artist, but I knew that art was going to be a part of my life forever. It wasn’t until after middle school, when we got the chance to choose our high schools, that I chose to pursue art seriously. That was when I decided on attending a visual arts and design high school, and since then I’ve been creating art professionally.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My journey into the creative industry started by putting myself out there. In college, I started experimenting as an event and stage photographer, capturing actor and musician friends when they performed and uploading what I captured on Flickr and Youtube, just to build my portfolio. I still have a lot of those images and footage uploaded. Through my online portfolio, I was about to get hired to do freelance work for individuals and start-up companies. I lasted a while but then my interest slowly went away from being a freelance photographer, which turned into a seven-year artistic hiatus. I completely didn’t create any form of art for anyone or myself. But luckily, after that seven-year break, I was able to get inspired enough to zero in on a personal niche and medium, which was graphic collaging. Through graphic collaging, I was able to get back to painting and am now developing a mixed-media medium where I use raw materials to collage. Getting to this point where I’ve found my own style has been my proudest artistic moment. Along with finding my own style, I was able to apply to artist calls online, where I was invited to participate in both group and solo exhibitions, which gave me the opportunity to get my name out there a little more in the industry. To add to being an exhibition artist, I decided to open an online shop where I sold merchandise and prints to make my art available to more people. My online shop is artxamarachi.etsy.com.

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

There are plenty of things but I can list about three that I feel are very important. 1. Arts classes are something I valued as a child. I strongly advocate that art should be integrated more into early education, which can nurture future artists and foster an appreciation for the arts across the board. 2. Artists should have easy access to training programs that focus on the business side of the arts, where they can learn about marketing, copyright, contract negotiation, and financial management, which would help them manage themselves more professionally in the creative industry. 3. Mentorship programs are also an important tool where emerging artists can connect with experienced mentors and professionals who can assist them in navigating the creative industry and developing their own personal styles.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most satisfying aspect of being an artist or creative is being able to bring my ideas and feelings to life in ways that express my internal world and resonate with others. It is the process of transforming abstract thoughts, feelings, and visions into something real that others can experience, relate to, and interpret in their own way. There’s a pleasure in seeing how art affects people, especially when it’s my art. It is extremely rewarding to know that my art has touched someone, whether it brings them joy, encourages thought, or provides solace.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artxamarachi
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artxamara
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/artxamarachi

Image Credits

Amarachi Crystal Esowe
Jose Ruiz