We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nadja Sayej a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Nadja thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I take a risk every single day that I choose to pursue my career. Every flight I book, every meeting I attend, every event I go to is a risk–because I could always be somewhere else, or doing something else. I have to actively take steps to take a risk every single day, basically. It never stops. But it’s always worth taking a risk for your career. You have to keep hustling. Never give up on your dreams, no matter how big the obstacle is in front of you. You have to never stop believing in yourself. And let’s face it, if you’re a creative or an artist, you truly have a gift. Use it. Get out there and share your beauty with the world. You never know what’s next on your path if you pursue your passion.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a culture journalist, book writer and photographer. I’m based in New York City, but I’m from Toronto, Canada, and I spent almost a decade living in Paris and Berlin. I got into the media by relentlessly pursuing my career in the face of rejection. I was told “no” over and over again. But I didn’t give up and I educated myself on my industry and kept with it. I shoot celebrities for a living and I interview them as well for top publications like Forbes, Shondaland, and Barron’s. When I interview celebrities, I always ask their advice for young artists to see what they have to give back, as well. The results are astounding, and worth listening to. I plan on hosting a podcast soon about this, so stay tuned.

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

Artists can best help themselves. They can’t have this hero complex, waiting to be saved or discovered by society or anyone else. Discover yourself. I self-release all my own books and organize all my own book launches and do all my own PR for them. I don’t sit around waiting for a literary agent to discover me, I hit the ground running. I’m sure that down the road someone will notice me and offer me a golden opportunity, but I’m not sitting around waiting for it. I’m too busy making things happen. And I hope that artists and creatives do the same thing for themselves–be a self starter, generate ideas, execute them, and treat your work with the utmost respect. And allow yourself to grow.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I think they’re good and bad, but from the perspective of an artist, they can easily be a warning of a volatile market. On one hand, always protect your work and its ownership. Always think about contracts and who owns your work, both online and offline. But also, do your research when it comes to blazing hot trends that seem too good to be true. Artists don’t normally jump on a bandwagon, they’re free, independent thinkers who carve out their own path. I’m sure the next gen of an NFT is going to be invented by an artist, not a tech professional.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nadjasayej.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nadjasayej
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nadjasayej

Image Credits
Black and white photos taken by Nadja Sayej