We were lucky to catch up with Arleena recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Arleena thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Ive been creating ever since I could conceptualize my existence as a human. I think that the social environment I grew up in really took a toll on my self acceptance and kind of made me feel like I wasn’t “good enough” to be a full time creative. Thankfully, I’ve healed from those circumstances and that voice of doubt is basically non existent at this point but I had to really take the time and understand that I don’t do this for anyone else, I do it for me and I love this sh*t and myself! flaws and all!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

In a nutshell; I sing, rap, sew, design, paint, and write but those are all just surface level labels. I’m truly dedicated to testing the limits on what a jack of all trades can be. The Arleena Universe is a place where people can take their mask off and let themselves be free and comfortable in who they are, at least that’s the goal (we’re still pretty early in development so if you’re new here, what’s up! you’re here before everyone else). I also throw shows currently in the SoCal area, but I’m looking to expand that across the world. Music is my first love and my favorite way to express my soul. I love building real life communities through these shows that I put on for me and the homies to showcase our talents. I post about them on my instagram (@arleelee) if you ever wanna come and check us out!

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The concept of stoicism is something that I’m still learning but I really resonate with the stuff I’ve read about so far. Stoicism really focuses on the character of a person rather than their inevitable success. Abundance and community is our birth right, it’s what we do with our blessings that makes us cool or uncool. I don’t want to be rich with fake friends, nor do I want to grow into somebody I’m not because of clout or popularity. I want my success to actually help communities who need it and to unite humans. Everyone deserves a safe space.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Funding. Funding. Funding. Respectfully, I was not put on this earth to work for somebody else from 9-5 to just to pay for my bare minimum NEEDS (food, water, and shelter) and barely get by. Creatives make the world go round and if there were more resources for affordable creative housing that would be awesome. I know a lot of people who would benefit from that, especially in the early stages of their career (myself included).

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/arleelee
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arleelee/?hl=en
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/62UMp9zxiK6tUy9OZ7wmHi?si=-Neopm00SsimXGx9pNoitA

Image Credits
main image: Geldoe @g.eladoe on instagram other images: Sinah Ober @sinahschnitzel