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

Karen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I have had the luxury of working on several projects professionally, personally, and within the community. To date, the most meaningful project I worked on was my book launch for my most recent book Fire: Poetic Memoirs of a Movement in April of 2022.

It took about two years to complete writing the book. The summer of 2020 in Columbus, Ohio and across the nation began a specific movement around protesting murders of Black folks at the hands of police. Day after day, we were seeing footage of police brutality and excessive force on Black and Brown folks and it was very heavy. We also were at the forefront of a pandemic that would end up lasting for three plus years. It was a highly stressful time for me and my community. So I healed and coped in the only way I knew how. I supported grassroots efforts, I supported families of those who lost their loved ones in this city, and I wrote about it.

For my book launch, it was important for this to be a collaborative community event. I wanted to embrace the reality of the heaviness of this time as well as the resilience and joy present in our community when we come together. I knew the place it had to be was at the historic Lincoln Theatre in King-Lincoln Arts District (Bronzeville). I also knew I had to include certain pieces in my show flow.

I don’t just do poetry by myself for a show; I was accompanied by my guitarist and dear friend, Anthony. My comrades and siblings in this work, Paisha, and Tylur sang with me. So it was full on performance time. I started the show with a slideshow curated by Katie Forbes, Columbus’ own movement photographer. Katie created a slideshow with twenty minutes of pain, grief, resilience and joy. There were two dancers (Bri and Thaliyah) performing to the slideshow, while having a drummer (Devon Shaw) interpret musically. It was the perfect opening to make sure the space was in honor and sacred presence of all the boots on the ground organizers, family members of the lives lost to police brutality, and our community coming together.

We sang, I shared poetry from the book, we created improv poems together based off of crowd prompts, artists shared original music and poetry, there were snacks, vendors (my cover artists Gabrielle and Kaleema), and standing room only. This show is one of my most memorable moments and when I think of all the people that contributed and supported in their best way, it is really mind-blowing. The whole event was a magical combination of a kickback, church, a protest, and a nap. People ask when the next one will be and I imagine that will be 2025-ish.

The next book is called Flow and will be about my softening era and my expansion around experiencing a ‘soft-life’. Stay tuned for that experience!

Karen, 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?

A lot of my work professionally and artistically is very intertwined and creative. I work in Culture and Diversity Management as a corporate executive. My superpower is that I come from the non-profit sector. I have roots in college athletics, education and workforce development. I always choose people over profit and try to connect and create solutions, one interaction at a time.

I am a perpetual learner and educator. I thrive in building community and relationships that expand , individuals, communities, and organizations. I am a practitioner and facilitator in the spaces of Culture and Diversity Management, Leadership Development, Transformative Justice, and Healing. Specific to Culture and Diversity Management; I specialize in Gender and Sexuality, and Intersectionality. I am a non-negotiable stand for the most vulnerable and I center the wisdom of Black, Queer, Trans, Enby (Non-Binary), and NGC (Non-Gender Conforming) experiences. I am an invitation into what is possible when we connect with our inner radiance.

I am a curious leader, eager to interrogate the systems, the status quo, and then deconstruct what that means and who it impacts. I am a visionary that looks hopefully into the future to imagine what is possible. I am a space holder, able to hold rooms of energy and often discomfort to unify around the dignity of every human life. I am a catalyst, igniting the spark of those I come into contact with to go and create sustainable change wherever they are. I am a spiritual gardener, preparing the soil for fertile conversation. I am a ‘Vibe Meister’, ready to make any situation a party and a learning experience, creating the perfect atmosphere for growth and development. I am a great connector, finding all the links between all the people that can maximize the most good. I am a linguist, a writer, a poet, an artist, painting words with my heart, channeling synthesis. I am fluid. I am a spirited seer. A hearer. A healer. A doer. An intergenerational spiritual plane jumper. I am a powerful creatrix.

I am inspired by the awe and wonder of every moment. Of all the choices that find us together at any given time. We have this life, this moment. I am committed to making the most of it. I always discuss my life and stand back and look at it in wonder. This is really my life. I have experienced so much, lived so many lives already. I am so excited to see what else is possible. Working with me unlocks an ocean of possibility into desires you may not even know you had. I love creating room for people to think about their own lives differently and what is available in community.

I am most proud of my consistency and my word. I do what I say I am going to do. I am honest and fair. I am disciplined and rigorous. And I am serious about my work. I don’t do anything half stepping and expect the same from those working with me. I am an intense communicator and expect people to rise to the occasion whether it be emails, text, calendar invites, rehearsals, etc. I love to have fun as I work. That is probably why I can work so deeply.

I am most proud of my relationships. My wife is a whole goddess and my deepest and most committed relationship I have ever experienced. My support system is my chosen family and actual family and I am so blessed to have people that tell me the truth and love me and hold me accountable and tenderly. Ultimately, I want us all to thrive. I know something else is possible. I keep people around me that know something else is possible, too.

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

I just had the chance to talk about ‘reverie’ at Creative Mornings Columbus last week. We talked of dreaming and creating space to dream. Dreaming is its own process, and requires both rest and spaciousness.

Then we talked about resources required for the execution of dreams. Dreams require access to finances, influence, space, investment and collaboration to come into fruition. It is rare that someone fulfills a dream fully on their own. It is often done in community and collaboration.

When schools cut funding and programming, the first thing they cut is the arts. That is heading in the exact opposite direction. Children should always have space to create and think artistically. I believe this is why a lot of the workforce has trouble thinking creatively and with innovation. We are conditioned. It starts in school, and this is coming from a person with a degree in mathematics and education.

Encourage the creatives in your life. Encourage multiple ways of creative thinking within yourself and others. Don’t dismiss the ideas of the loved ones around you. Check in with yourself about what limiting beliefs you have about creativity, art, and being creative professionally. Check in with yourself about your mindset around scarcity and abundance. Are you a visionary? What dreams lay dormant within you?

Find ways to amplify voices of those who historically have not been represented. As a society, we should create more space for the arts, for entrepreneurs, and for creatives. If you are able to, buy from small businesses. If you can mentor someone because you have financial and business acumen and resources, do it!

Creatives are often looked down upon and scoffed at because they are willing to take untraditional risks to see their vision fulfilled. If we combine strengths and resources in community, I think we can all connect to our creativity and make some really amazing things happen.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My social media presence has grown into a trusted space where I will educate, amplify others, and share my healing journey. This has taken time.

I have always had friends, but the engagement I have on social media has been built. I first had to be who I said I was.

I created an environment that was considered a safe space and people know how to exist within it respectfully and intentionally and people chose in.

I share a lot of my life on social media. Not just the wins. To people in the community that maybe I don’t get to see as often, they can catch up on social media and also interact deeply until we get to see each other in person.

Building a social media following has taken time. It has also required me to be in Right Relationship with myself and others.

I recently got a coach and am trying to grow my Tik Tok and Instagram following for my new platform The Culture of You. It is a podcast and a professional platform that really gets underneath how we want to show up in the world as our favorite selves. This has been the most challenging to think about from a perspective of not slowly building my audience. I have to commit to a message, a promise and deliver on it consistently.

I have no desire to be a content creator, but I definitely see the value of growing your audience and expanding your reach. If you have a message that you want to share with more people, find all the ways that make sense to you and go after it!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/cultureofyou
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecultureofyou/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karen.hewitt.5
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-hewitt-m-ed-13b07128/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CuriousK11
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ECozf6aUBCmhTmPeNFA7Q

Image Credits
Erin Upchurch