Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Salonica Hunter. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Salonica , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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.

Moving to Los Angeles for an unpaid internship was the biggest risk I’ve taken in my life so far. In December of 2019, I received the call that I’d been accepted into the MACRO Spring Internship class. Two weeks later, I packed all of my belongings and moved from Gainesville, Florida to Inglewood, California where I’d rent a room from a friend of a friend I’d met the summer prior. I had no idea that two months after arriving in Los Angeles, the world would completely shut down.
I’d no paying job in my new location and I was stretching the last of my graduate school assistantship stipend to survive. I took this risk with full confidence that an opportunity like that wouldn’t come around twice and that I’d every reason to believe that I would figure out the next best moves after taking the risk.
That is exactly how things turned out. A second internship in the summer with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would be my reason to stay and see the journey play out until this day.

Salonica , 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?

I identify as a multimedia creative which means that I enjoy storytelling using both traditional and new technologies. Funny enough, I didn’t purchase my first iPhone until freshman year of college nor did I own my first DSLR until my first year of grad school. Those tools gave me a reason to explore a new kind of self-expression outside of the on-stage storytelling I was used to. I quickly started creating content without knowing that it would become my part of my life forever.
I remember my first portrait photography shoot. It was a practice session that a friend agreed to do with me back in Gainesville. I’d only watched a few hours of YouTube videos about lighting and posing before going out to an open field and snapping various shots during golden hour. My friend’s reaction to the results was the first time I truly realized that I had a creative eye and the ability to see a vision bloom from concept to reality.
Since then, I have experimented with different programs and platforms – figuring out my style, understanding my audience and really honing who I am as a creative.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the ability to create something that lives in someone’s mind, even if only for a few seconds. In a time where there is content everywhere, being able to capture the attention of even just a few individuals is a gift and a privilege. The ability to show something from a new perspective that could potentially trigger a thought that might change a life is what makes being an artist so incredible.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Increasing school funding for classes that center the arts has the benefit of infusing communities with young people who feel seen and heard. Supporting these kinds of programs into early adulthood is so crucial to providing an outlet that can save lives and be a healthier alternative to how young people engage with each other and with the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.salonicaah.com