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

Aniyah , appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I’ve always known I wanted to pursue some sort of long term career in an art, whether that be as a back-up dancer or team director, and most of the things that usually appeal to other people. But I didn’t actually realize that I wanted to pursue a full-blown creative career until recently. I decided to go on a mental journey, learning myself, diving deep into what makes me, well me. I went on a search to find my purpose, and find the things that make me feel whole, it wasn’t until then that I discovered what creating meant for me and how to go about it. I started going on more walks, taking intimate solo trips, taking time to be more active and intentional in my every day-to-day life, and I discovered that creating for me doesn’t necessarily bring just happiness but peace. And it came naturally because creating no longer meant to build with the intention of capturing the attention of other people but what speaks to my soul. When I discovered that, I realized I could actually do this full-time, and be happy with it.

Aniyah , 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 provide creative services ranging from dancing, choreography, creative concepts and styling. I’ve been dancing since I was able to walk, and I started being professionally trained at 14.
The thing that sets me apart from others is that I stand solid in who I am and what/how I create, with no limits or bounds. That’s the main thing that sets me apart from others and it’s also the thing I am most proud of when I create, whether it be choreography or a photoshoot or channeling a certain energy on set. I come with all of the crazy ideas and ‘out of the box ideas’, adjusting when needed. I am a sole believer that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. Another attribute of mine that heavily inspires the way I create is being carefree of being judged or misinterpreted by other people. It helps me live and put out art freely, and most authentically, all of which I have my family to thank for constantly instilling that mindset within me. My parents always preached and displayed the importance of being raw and authentic to my siblings and I, along with the freedom and constant support to follow our wildest dreams and a push to accomplish them. As long as I put in effort, they’ve always poured into my creative journey.
I want my followers and supporters to know all of my work is a direct display of my free spirit, it will always be 100% authentic. And y’all stay authentic, stay hard working and always put your best foot forward, there is nothing you can’t accomplish. There is absolutely no limit to art and self expression.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I am on journey of self acceptance and spiritual freedom; I would say ‘self love’ but I believe solely in order to truly love yourself at the fullest you have to know yourself. In the past I would try to jump straight to loving myself and expecting things to change but I am taking baby steps. I believe society molds us to be accommodating of the intangible expectations of the world but without all of the social constructs we are free beings, that is how I exist. So I divided my journey into different categories, until I get to the point of my own individual freedom. The last 2-3 years of my life have been fully focused on self discovery; paying more attention and taking notice and interest in myself as I would a friend or a romantic interest, free of judgement. More recently I’ve transitioned into a period of healing and focusing on self improvement, putting action to my words. This time I am taking to actively and fully embrace myself. Doing that I naturally feel the need and want to create more, intensively and extensively. A recent photoshoot I did, where I doused myself in colorful paints and picked an urban area that matched my aesthetic. Displaying my own personal growth/life stages on the front lines, as the path and journey of life is unpredictable. Never perfect and never linear but it’s always full of colors, unexpected turns and twists and all in all beautiful. I create choreography and concepts based on how I think and where I am at different stages in life, so my art is pretty sacred to me in more ways than probably expected.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

As creatives, we often get so lost in the sauce of the details and getting everything perfectly executed in one fashion, we often forget we have resources all around us.
Thankfully, because I’ve been able to stay on dance teams and in dance classes, I’ve always been surrounded by other creatives just about all day everyday. For me personally, at some point I was looking for a mentor… crazy right? But then, a close friend gave me a reality check and she said, “We are all your mentors, we’re here for you. We are literally surrounding you already.” It made me reflect on my approach, I started out dancing in competitive environments like competition teams, where we were a family but also constantly competing against each other too. There was a ‘survival of the fittest’ mentality I had adapted, but I wish I was aware sooner that it is OKAY to rely on your community. You have community for a reason, it is okay to use each other (healthily of course), uplift and support one another, do collaborations and trade energies, talents and services. It is really that simple, because everyone provides something unique that can always be resourceful. You don’t have to search so far.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamaniyahk/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aniyah.kolen/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@iamaniyahk
• Other: TikTok- https://www.tiktok.com/@iamaniyahk