We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Samer Ghani a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Samer, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
Becoming a full-time artist in one of the lowest art-funded cities, and states in the nation was the largest risk I ever took. March of 2019 I was laid off from a small tech firm in Milwaukee, WI. I had been shooting (photography) by this time for 4 years, much of that was cutting my teeth…shooting small acts and local shows in small venues across Milwaukee, for free. By this time, I had made far less than 500$ in those 4 years combined, however, when I was laid off in March of 2019, I had a choice.
I could find another tech job, or beg for my old job back that I had previous to the one I just lost, or, I could take the leap, and turn what was a passion into a business.
At the time, there wasn’t a real scope of the leap I took, I was quantifying my small wins by the dollar amount I was making (which at the time was basically nothing). What I didn’t know, is that right around the corner were huge community projects, work with Giannis, the Bucks, with firms in Milwaukee, Fashion Week in NYC, and so much more was around the corner. Taking the leap was the biggest win I’ve ever had in my life, and while I struggled those first few years after March of 2019, it changed my life for the better, forever.
Samer, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m a first generation Palestinian artist in Milwaukee, WI. As a, Director, Producer, Photographer, Videographer, and Journalist, you could say I’m a story teller of sorts….I document life. For the art of the world, I document the beauty, the moments in between, the things that feel otherworldly. But to be frank, I built my business on creating media assets for businesses, non-profits, and artists big and small. I come in, document the things you do/represent, and I create easy to use and digest media that can be used for website content, socials, marketing, etc.
The work I’m most proud of is shooting 414-Day (Milwaukee Day) Videos 3 years in a row, having my footage of Milwaukee be shown nationally on the Rachel Maddow show, my work of Milwaukee has been used by the Biden Administration during Bidens Inauguration, and I’ve been awarded the “Dear MKE Award” for single handidly bringing national attention to Milwaukee (for the things described above)
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
As a first generation, artist of color, the goal of my creative journey is to blow the doors wide open, and create strong pillars in my community for the next generation of artists that will sustain what is left behind by us.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
My reputation in my market has been established by building meaningful connections with my peers and my community leaders. It’s not always about the money, and thats the tough thing in the arts. But it’s important to choose your battles, and support your community when it counts the most.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.samerghani.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/samerghani
- Facebook: facebook.com/samerghani
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samerghani/
- Twitter: twitter.com/samerghani
Image Credits
Picture of me by Isaiah Joseph The rest of the pictures are examples of my work