We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kristin Washington a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kristin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
I wouldn’t point to one particular piece of my work and say that’s the most meaningful because I believe all of my work is impactful from tackling racism, and by association black maternal health and environmental justice (etc.) to tackling sexual abuse. Even conversations between creatives is impactful because you get to see the behind the scenes life from the highs to the lows. You get to see the community. I think it all matters because with what I do, almost every issue gets to be heard and everyone gets to see themselves.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I go by Kae Lee and I’m a podcaster. I was taking sociology classes and I was on a mission to help people learn what I was learning, to change minds and to open hearts. That’s still my intent but I’ve also shifted it to become a platform for the black community and to be more black-centered. I feel like we need more spaces for ourselves so I created a space. A for us, by us type of thing (shoutout to FUBU).
I think if I had to name something that makes me stand out from others I would say it’s my heart. When I put out an episode my heart is in it and I’m extending that to the world. I’m not making any money from it. I’m doing it out of love for the community and love for the craft.
That would be the main thing I want people to know. I would also want them to know that I do these episodes to connect and speak to the people. For anyone who is ever lonely, with few friends or what have you, they can tune into an episode and hear stimulating or familiar conversation.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I’ve had to unlearn my idea of what’s an accomplishment. I credit Beyoncé for this but I’ve learned it’s not about the numbers. It’s not about how many people are talking about it on the timeline. It’s not about how many listens I get, though I truly appreciate each one. It’s about creating a body of work that speaks to you and connects to other people. That’s it. That’s an accomplishment. If people are enjoying what I do then I’ve won.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Share your favorite artist or creative’s work. Boast about them. I see on social media how some get stuck in the “day 1” , “real fan” hype because they knew an artist/creative first. That’s cool but you should be happy they’re blowing up. Don’t get caught in that mind trap because that’s pigeon holding talent and blocking a creative ecosystem from thriving.
Contact Info:
- Website: kaewhocreates.com
- Instagram: kaewhocreates_
- Twitter: kaewhocreates_