We recently connected with Quaran Ahmad and have shared our conversation below.
Quaran, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is BURN, which is a docu-series and event series describing the lives of Howard students and artists in the DC-Maryland-Virginia area. Inspired by the “burning bowl” ritual, this project looks to help inspire individuals to dispel toxic traits and visualize a path for their future. The project, so far, has premiered three seasons and three sold-out premiere events over the course of a year and a half.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Quaran Evyn Ahmad and I’m an artist from Chicago, Illinois. I’m currently studying Architecture at Howard University in Washington D.C. I specialize in photography, videography, poetry, music, event curation, and directing. My purpose in making art is to tell authentic stories and display how we can all learn from one another. Art is one of the most important things that humanity has ever created, and I believe through visionaries like myself, we can make the world a better place. I’ve always been a creative kid, one of my first creative explorations was creating comic books with my own original characters. Eventually, I fell in love with music in middle school, and I started producing beats and rapping/singing over them under the pseudonym “Vynni”. In high school, I started playing around with photography as a medium, which eventually became a side hustle for me in college. At this current stage of my life, I’m constantly working to find new ways to express myself in virtually every medium imaginable. As an artist, I view these mediums like different paintbrushes helping me paint my life’s work. If I were to describe my artistry in one word, it would be the African word “ubuntu”, which means “i am because we are”.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
Recently, I’ve started writing reports on books I read this summer and put them on my website under my blog. Most of these books revolve around financial accumulation, manifestation, or spiritual wellbeing. It’s important for everybody to learn how to market themselves efficiently and advocate for what they believe in. Here’s some book I’ve read and in the process of reading:
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My mission is to become one of the greats, like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Steve Jobs, Issey Miyake, Isamu Noguchi, Pablo Picasso, Gordon Parks, Kanye West, Virgil Abloh, & Frank Lloyd Wright. My name will be synonymous with greatness one day. I really see this happening for me and I’m truly grateful for all the people in my life who saw this in me before I came to this conclusion. My mom is my superhero and she influenced me to strive for perfection in any practice I choose. My support system is amazing as well; my family and friends have always been supportive and nurturing of my unique personality and ideations.
I will show the next generation of Black kids that they don’t have to fit inside a box of what society influences them to be. I plan to be a success story of rejecting status quo and paving your own way. My life goal is to fly past the known.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://quaranahmad.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quaranahmad/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quaranahmad/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@quaranahmad
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/@BURNDocumentaryhttps://www.instagram.com/burndocumentary/
Image Credits
Kelis George
Harrison Linden
Emmarah Kouadio
Katelyn King
Nova Johnson
Quaran Ahmad