We recently connected with Keen Khalid and have shared our conversation below.
Keen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I’ve always wanted to pursue a professional path in a creative field. I started off by wanting to be a cartoonist, then a photographer, blogger, graphic designer, YouTuber turned ‘High Fashion Model’ lol. Still open to all those fields and more. So the title Artist, rather it be professional or not, suits me well. I truly want to spend my time creating and using my artistic skill sets at work and off the clock. Full time artistry sounds like a beautiful bliss and blessing for sure.
Keen, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hey readers, my name is KEEN (Keen Khalid). I am a young black artist from Detroit, Michigan. Primarily known for runway and print modeling. Being or becoming an artist was truly an inner feeling I’ve had my whole life. Through wanting to express myself with fashion, movement, colors, and even singing. . .
Which later, growing with the times as a millennial, my artistic expressions moved to digital formats. I began fashion blogging on Tumblr and WordPress to fulfill my modeling/styling dreams. Uploading YouTube lip syncs, cus they were all the craze in the early 2000’s, and vlogging before it even had a name too it. All – in – all i’m a creative at heart and cant help but to pursue my passions.
I currently have a focus on Fashion Modeling. Which encompasses print, runway, catalog, commercial, beauty, promo and more. I ALSO fashion style, creative dir, photography, graphic design, content creation, and model coaching.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Yes. I feel like the journey of an artist, especially a model, is constant pivots. Or they at least slow down but a pivot is bound to come. I’m currently going through a pivot moment now. New hair direction or no? Move to LA or NY? High Fashion model or Clean Cut commercial?
Working in a fast paced, creative field, there are always fresh new trends. You should keep up with trends; to stay relevant to wider audiences, and book new fresh work. Which keeps us creatives in a constant pivot. Challenging for sure but the changes keeps things exciting for me.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Keeping it short – My creative journey has been a dream of mine. I would like for my “dreams to come true” really.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://keenkhalid.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keenkhalid/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/keenkhalid