We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Espi Love. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Espi below.

Espi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I grew up extremely studious and had aspirations of going far in the fields of Medicine or International Affairs. By 18, I was already very impressive on paper and was ahead on my path to excel in traditional fields. Frankly, though, I was a miserable person. I ended up taking a gap year and extending my college deferral to tend to my mental and physical wellbeing. It was only by healing from burnout and getting to know myself that I found art. I used to always say that I “didn’t have a single creative bone in my body” and fully believed this sentiment. But once I was only doing what I wanted and had no outside no one grading me, I naturally gravitated towards the arts. I didn’t even process what I was doing as creative, I just finally let myself…be. The anxiety that I thought was inherent to my personality, or just being alive, was really just a sign that I wasn’t being authentic to myself. As a creative, I am 1000x happier than I ever knew was possible. Anytime I think about what it would be like to have a conventional career, I only become more sure that I’m doing the right thing for me. Those paths would’ve required me to push myself in unhealthy ways. Doing what I do now, simply happened because nothing natural needs to be forced.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Espi Love. “Espi” is a shortening of my middle name, “Espoir”, which is French for “hope”. This artist name almost just “happened” but is simultaneously intentional because I truly believe love and hope to be at the center of my creations but also the air and water to our souls. I’m a creative of all sorts but primarily identify as a poet. I’ve been privately writing poetry since I was 10 but didn’t share any of my pieces until I randomly went to a poetry slam in 2023. I immediately fell in love with the art of spoken word and found myself on the San Diego Poetry Slam team in 2024. Competing poetry opened me to an entire world of poetry that I have since then committed so much of myself too. Through these connections, I also began to experience non-competitive forms of spoken word that have now become my full time job.
At the same time, I began to go out with a vintage typewriter and write custom poems for people on the streets of Balboa Park. I ended up compiling my work from this and published my first book on my 20th birthday. I feel like my poetry is unique in that I really dive into the versatility of the art form. Poetry is not only the tangible written form that can be blended with visual art but is also the audial form that can be blended with music, song, and performance. My poems have featured everything from song, instrumental accompaniment, multilingualism, colorful outfits, and mixed media art. I truly believe that poetry is not only the most ancient of art (oral tradition) but also acts as a glue or common denominator of all art forms. Since delving into this world, I have also reconnected with my past experiences as a dancer and musician but have also debuted as a vocalist and most recently, an actress. I think what sets me apart is that I’m very authentic and raw with my art. I’m not afraid to highlight some of the most uncomfortable and contradicting parts of being human. I love talking about the common experiences that we’ve been taught to hide. I also take an approach that is rooted in practices that are inspired from my upbringing as a Central African whose history relies on a type of oral tradition that is very different from the poetry that is commonplace in the western world. I think I also constantly surprised my audience because you never know that I’ll come out next. I’ve been known to drop songs, books, and entire organizations basically out of nowhere. In October of 2024, I started a community project called “Elevate”. The goal was to host events that create a third space for Black, queer, and disabled folks in particular. As a 20 year old, I had a difficult time finding spaces to socialize and I wasn’t looking forward to being 21 because I didn’t want to rely on the club scene to interact with people. “Elevate” events are all about decentering money and drugs/alcohol because I feel like everyone deserves spaces that are sober friendly and don’t require them to break the bank (especially in this economy). I am most proud of a backyard concert I threw called “Crowned in Creation”. It featured vocalists, cateurers, and vendors that were all local Black femme artists. All the ticket sales also went to the artists. It felt so healing because Black women and nonbinary people don’t regularly get to be platformed and supported by the community in that way. My disability events have been the most emotional because despite being a quarter of the country, disabled young adults don’t have safe spaces to commune.
I also have thrown Clothing Swaps that have done very well. It’s so nice to see people get to experience refreshing their wardrobes without feeling the pressure that comes with navigating fast fashion and having to spend money as a young adult. All my events are similar in that they tackle larger societal themes but allow for a tangible way for community members to “do their way”. One of the most stressful things about being aware of the issues in society, is feeling like you don’t know how to realistically make a difference in a way that’s accessible to you.
At the end of the day I am about blending art all ways. Art as activism, art as history keeping, art as therapy, art as community building, art as love.

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

I feel like the pressure of incentivizing our passion is something that any creative can relate. We want to just give ourselves into our art but the world is most survivable when we begin to put price tags on things that cannot be reduced to numbers. There’s also so much pressure to blow up on social media in order to be valid and financially secure. Also related to this is the misunderstanding of why art can be so expensive. Many complain about the prices that artists give their art but this treatment isn’t given to many other fields. I feel like the access to cheaply made products and media have given people inaccurate idea of what it takes to create these things. The average person will not only not want to spend $100 on a handmade craft that they can get for $7 on Amazon, but will also perceive the artist as overpricing. Overall, the amount of thought, time, emotion, and soul we give to our crafts is put in a box once you invite our economic system into the conversation.
We get so caught up in mainstream art that we forget about my local artists. The best thing people can do would be to support their local artists. Go to plays at your community theater. Follow local bands on Spotify. Buy your holiday and birthday presents from local artisans. Show up to events hosted by and featuring the creatives in your community. Hype up your friends’ businesses! This would not only create a sense of community but also take so much pressure of artists. There are so many talented people right in your neighborhood and your support goes so much further when given to them than it ever will with the celebrities that we give so much of our attention to.

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

The most rewarding part of being a creative is finding all the ways in which it helps people. It’s easy to believe that the only careers that help people are the humanitarian and healthcare ones. But at the end of the day, humans are social and emotional creatures. Art is not only revolutionary in being used for activism, but it helps people simply in that it connects us in our common experiences as people. I am always surprised that doing something as innate at expressing myself causes people to come to me in tears. In this day in age, vulnerability and care can go long ways. I’m constantly finding out the ways in which people feel touched by my works to depths I will never understand. I also just feel so amazed by other creatives. My favorite things about being an artist is collaborating with others. Whether it be an entire project, or a casual jam, I am in awe of creative minds coming together.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/espi_love
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/espi_love_/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EspiOuapou
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0975pHx9eCJh2guBmLkooW?si=ua1HmMwmRN2imPrM0qwDdA

Image Credits

Quan (Me with the mic and crown) (the scene from “Crowned in Creation”)