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

Jahtiek , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Meaningful projects are my favorite projects to work on! One of the most meaningful projects I worked on is a poetry piece called “What It’s Like..” It speaks about looking at my hometown of Staten Island through a more nuanced lens. There’s a lot of stigma about the place and I wanted to provide another perspective. Since I released the piece, I’ve been told by many different members of my community that it’s inspired them. Some folks have even used it in their classrooms, whether in grade school or college. To me, that means the world, because now the work lives beyond me and is used as a tool to speak about the island.

The piece also inspired an ongoing photography series I’ve been working on that share’s the same name. The goal of the series is to show the people, places, and experiences of Staten Island through the lens of natives and with nuance. This series means a lot to me because I feel like as a subject Staten Island is viewed mostly negatively which is ironic because it has a rich tapestry of history and culture and every place has it problems. In my opinion, the island is such an interesting case study, it’s a medium-sized city that feels like a big-small town across the harbor from Manhattan and Brooklyn. In my work, I like to make the case that Staten Island and places that resemble it are worthy of exploration, funding, and respect.

Jahtiek , 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?

As a child, I always knew I wanted to be an artist! Since I was young I knew this was going to be the path for me and that in some way or form, I would be creating. My first discipline was visual art mostly centered around using spray paint, makers, and acrylics. After I started to learn more of the rules of visual art, I found myself interested in photography and the rest is history. Music and poetry always existed on the sideline but now I feel that I embrace that side of my work more.

Creative service wise I wear many different hats. Definitely a Renaissance man, but I feel I back it up. At the moment service wise I provide event production/organizing, curation, and photography services.
I think what sets me apart is my vision, my strongest quality is my creativity as cheesy as it sounds. Plus my experience in different mediums has given me flexibility and understanding of how a concept can take many different forms and distinct paths to get to the end result. I take pride in being able to turn ideas into reality.
I’ll be the first to admit that I dabble in quite a few different pockets. I’ve had my photography displayed in museums, appeared on TV for my poetry, and have put together events from book launches to street markets. I think with a range of execution this wide it gives me a competitive edge.

I think what I’m proud of most is that I’ve made an impact with my work while boosting the visibility of my hometown and displaying it with loving eyes. I take pride in the fact that my Staten Island-centric work has brought me to places I’ve never thought I’d be from the Supreme Court, Pix 11, to taking pictures in Mississippi for a photo assignment. I’m proud that people feel connected to the work I’m doing, I never take that for granted.
What I want people to know about my work is that it comes from a place of love. I just want to create and be free to make dope things happen and see my hometown win. I think staying in your hometown sometimes gets a bad rap and it’s unfair. How can things get better somewhere if people never pour into it? I want to show people that you have the power to show your community, and your home in a new light and that if the narrative isn’t inclusive, grab a marker and write those stories in.

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

To be honest, the mission driving my creative journey is to not only live off my art but also shift my hometown’s narrative. I want to make my city proud and show the world that Staten Island is pretty dope and that it’s cool to want to pour into the place where you have roots. Of course, I want to see the world but I also want to pour into my home and watch in grow. I’m a 5th generation Staten Islander so my roots are deep and I want people to see my work and feel like they are also home, whether they have been here or not.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My advice would be to be authentic, be yourself, and post your work. I built an audience by being myself mostly I feel like that’s the whole story. I kept being consistent and posting my work and what I’m up to!     

Contact Info:

• Website: www.JahtiekLong.com
• Instagram: @Jahtieklong
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jahtieklong/
• Twitter: @Jahtieklong

Image Credits
All the photo credits are in the image title, if it isn’t the photo was taken by me.