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

Jennifer, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

At the age of 12, I had a near fatal horse accident. It ended up that my jaw was broken, my ear drum busted and severe skull fractures. My mouth was wired shut for nine weeks and the recovery was absolutely brutal. My parents told me that I could watch any movies that I wanted in order to try and give me something to look forward to during this trying time.

They would go to Blockbuster Video and rent anything that I requested and I began devouring films. Using art as a form of distractive therapy probably was born into my being sitting on that couch and watching those movies. It did not occur to me that the direction of my life would follow this path but the seed was planted.

Five years later, at the age of 17, I watched David Lynch’s WILD AT HEART and my life was forever changed. I wanted to tell stories like that, I wanted to direct and build worlds just like that, I wanted THAT! I always say that David Lynch is truly the God Father of The Art of Elysium because he is the reason that I went to Emerson College and majored in film and minored in writing and philosophy. His work was my ultimate calling to leave Mississippi and pursue film. That is what landed me in Los Angeles and lead to the creation of The Art of Elysium.

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?

The Art of Elysium is a non-profit organization and our mission is, very simply, ART HEALS. We believe that artists hold the gifts to transcend any situation by creating in the moment and inspiring others to also create. We work with artists of all disciplines, musicians, actors, writers, fashion designers, dancers and sculptors and ask them how they want to share their creative talent with communities in need. Our program staff trains these artists for the area in which they want to serve and then take them into children’s hospitals, eldercare facilities, homeless shelters, veterans centers, inner-city youth programs and support groups.

We ask artists to reach into their own creative process and tap into what made them want to be an artist in the first place and decide how best to use their personal talents to be of service to others. It is our fundamental belief that by asking artists to create from a place of service this act can change the world. We aim to build an artistic community that serves without ego and inspires others to come together and create a better world. We want to empower them to come together and create HEAVEN on EARTH.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I believe the best way for society to support artists is to consume their work. Go out and buy art, go to the theatre and watch movies and stage performances, go and see live music. Make it absolutely impossible for anyone to think that the world can exist without artists putting original art out into the world. If you have the financial resources, be a patron to the arts. If being an overall patron to the arts is too intimidating, support one artist that you believe in and give them the financial freedom to create.

Art is not a luxury, it is as necessary as the air we breathe. We have to instill that in everyone. We have to get art programs out to the young, in the schools and in the hands of all. We can not disengage from the act of creation because we ourselves have been created to be creators and not destroyers. There is so much destruction in the world and we must all decide to create something new together and not continue to destroy what has been given to us.

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

I moved to Los Angeles because I wanted to write and direct. My journey went in an entirely different direction pretty much right when I arrived. Since August of 1997, The Art of Elysium has been taking artists into workshops to be of service to others. Seeing artists connect to people in need and then walk out with them and hear how the experience changed their own creative process made me realize that the only people who can truly change the world are the artists and creators who tap into the divine and bring something into the here and now that did not exist before.

I still love to write and, hopefully, one day I will find the time to write and direct my own projects but my drive has become to bring artists together and empower them to heal others and be the change in this world. I have laid down my own creative desires to focus on supporting an artistic community who feels called to use their creative talents for the greater good. Every program we do reconfirms that drive and calls me deeper into action.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theartofelysium.org
• Instagram: @theartofelysium
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheArtofElysium
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-howell-a998a536/
• Twitter: @TheArtofElysium
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheArtofElysium?app=desktop

Image Credits
Jane Owen PR