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

Marte, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

I had no idea how vastly living alone as a young person in a big city, New York, would reveal the incredible capacity for kindness in humanity. There are so many moments where strangers helped me get through times when I was not sure how I would move through. I know for certain there are hundreds of kind New Yorkers, despite what you may have heard.

But what sticks with me is going downtown five days after 9/11 to play a concert of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, an opera about the destruction of an iconic city, at Trinity Wall Street, located right in the heart of Ground Zero. I was physically prepared to play the music, and to walk several more blocks than had been necessary before the appropriate train station was no longer part of the subway map. But I was not emotionally or mentally prepared for what I discovered when I hopped off the train.

My friend and I stepped into what looked like a movie set. The smell was overpowering. Every surface was coated with inches of thick white dust, pileups of abandoned cars, and the files and papers in every possible place where they clearly didn’t below—accounting statements, timesheets, office memos, notices about what not to leave in the fridge or cook in the company microwave, reports, and other paperwork. On the grass, in the trees, on the street, in the sewer grates, suspended on air conditioners three or five or ten stories up. Everything about it was wrong, and it was all cruelly frozen in time. People were posting Lost Person notices on windows and places on the street where candles were lit and information and memories shared in hushed tones, and most of us were just there, crying in the weirdly silent streets.

We turned down the street to the church and I couldn’t take another step. I was overwhelmed by the insanity, horror and tragedy of it all. I was ready to turn back and go home. What did music matter at that moment? At that moment, someone tapped me on the shoulder. A member of the National Guard. He made eye contact with me, nodded, and handed me a tissue. And I cried. We both did. And that small act of kindness and tenderness, against that tragic backdrop, gave me hope that humanity would rise to meet this, and would somehow summon courage and determination to go on. It inspired me to keep going toward the church, because that night, I suddenly felt we all needed something to help us make sense of what had happened—and that is what music had always done for me.

That night we played. We cried, and we played, and cried some more. It was not our finest performance, but it was the one at which I remember being the most present of all. And as Dido sang her final aria, “When I am laid in earth…” and her final words rang out, “Remember me, but ah, Forget my fate,” I made a commitment to never forget the power of human creativity to uplift and connect us, despite even the most unthinkable of tragedies.

Marte, 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?

Through my coaching and consulting firm, Cultured Innovations, I work primarily with creatives, nonprofit leaders, and small business owners. I help creatives monetize their work and help leaders grow their organizations. Others bring me in to navigate periods of high-stakes growth, change, and transition, or to help them realize projects that have been in their hearts but they’ve been hesitant to pursue as a result of fear, or just not knowing how to get started. As a creative and a business owner, the currency and power of what I do often starts with what’s intangible, and bringing it into physical manifestation. I love helping others do just that.

My approach starts with listening. I believe anything is possible, and the best solutions always align with a client’s core values, gifts, and authenticity. I aim to develop a deep understanding of each client’s purpose, mission, and work that translates to abundance and opportunity through: values-based storytelling; individualized business growth consulting and one-on-one technical assistance; high-impact convenings; and strategic or business planning training.

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

Hands down: pay creative people. What they generate—art and creativity—become inspiration capital for the rest of our society. Especially when times are hard, people look for inspiration capital. That’s usually when the most powerful creativity is flowing and keeping the rest of us going.

And like any other part of our economy, financial capital is required to keep inspiration capital going. You wouldn’t try and run a business without financial capital, so why wouldn’t money be part of the equation when the nature of a business is creative or artistic?

Artists and creatives are workers who transform the world around us. The nature and methods of their work may look different from the norm, but like other workers, they deserve to be recognized for their contributions, to rest, take time off, retire, and be fully and fairly compensated all along the way. Investing in supporting creative workers is a socially responsible practice, and it’s good for your business too.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

As a trained artist, the technique I use most for transformation comes naturally for me: creativity.

Creativity is the most transformative force in the world. It has improved every aspect of my life and business, bringing me to unexpected places, and often helping me to recognize my next move, where a pivot was necessary, and how to get there. It’s my strategy for creating success, satisfaction, and thriving in a career I dearly love.

And even though studies prove over and over that creativity results in innovation and success, not enough people yet take it seriously in the business context or look at it as the incredibly practical tool it is. It can feel intimidating, tough to know where to start, or for some, it can be too intangible to tackle without guidance. That’s why I call my approach Practical Creativity. It is a playful approach that harnesses the power of creativity, strategy, intuition, and business to help individuals and companies become more prosperous and successful on purpose.

My passion, my story, and my work in creativity are all rooted in transformation. The arts started it all, transforming me personally and deeply, and setting the course for my non-linear career, spanning classical music, arts education, strategy, fundraising, nonprofit executive leadership, consulting, and coaching. Transformation is incredibly exciting. It’s equal parts inspiration, possibility, intuition, courage, learning, and integration. It fuels me to work with it as a force for positive change. My personal journey of transformation was merely the beginning, however. I’ve discovered my true power and motivation is my ability to be a catalyst for transformation in others. I could not imagine a more beautiful, satisfying, and desirable endeavor than that!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.culturedinnovations.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/culturedinnovations
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CulturedInnovations
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marte-siebenhar/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/coach_marte
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/culturedinnovations

Image Credits
Ekaterina Juskowski Eva Hart