We were lucky to catch up with Sway Maldonado recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sway, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

StreetMeet is currently dealing with its most unexpected issue. For years we’ve watched as other like-minded creatives began to host meetups with the same name and following much of what we started in DC. Many of them start off like we did – making space for creatives to gather, connect and create. With a couple of exceptions (StreetMeetWA and StreetMeetMD) no one reached out to see if they can copy the same name and model. While we love that others want to bring communities of creatives together we are protective of the StreetMeet name and brand.

Of course, as creatives we know the importance of IP (intellectual property). So we went ahead and secured a registered trademark fortifying the fact that StreetMeets (as they relate to photography) were started here in the DMV. We’re a community building organization and the IP holders of the brand. For almost two years we have been involved in a legal fight to ensure that our IP is not infringed upon. This has lead to us having to retain legal counsel, use two years worth of our operating budget to protect the brand from individuals who have taken it upon themselves to charge for events and meets without any consideration that they’re using a brand and model that was already established.

The process has taken somewhat of a toll in being able to focus on our communities more intently and provide them with the programming we feel will continue to expand the community and their experiences. But it has also shown us who is in it for the same reasons that StreetMeet was started. We’ve had to deal with the loss of a number of hosts and may continue to do so. But we believe that we’ll come across others who want to foster the same depth of community, incredible creative experiences, and make space for creatives of all skill levels to feel welcome.

Sway, 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?

Who am I? Well, I’m Josue ‘Sway’ Maldonado. I was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico and raised in Miami, Florida. On the professional side, I have been working within digital media and communications for 13 years, but before then I experienced my fair share of living in the grey. Plenty of fun nights, nights I can’t remember, and nights where I didn’t know what to do with my life. But as time always proves, it passes and I got back to the things that made me feel traction in life and found a field I could make a career out of. Aside from my career as a digital communications professional, I am a co-founder of StreetMeet | Put the City On®. Our mission is to bring creative individuals throughout the U.S. together to network and create visual art.

My personal art revolves around film photography, which has been a constant learning experience over the past six years. I’m far from where I started, but still not close to where I would like to be. I enjoy producing events and video content. My latest creative appetite revolves around audiobooks (the longer the better). When I hit a rut with the camera or production I take my talents to the pen and marker and create one-of-a-kind ‘Munny’ pieces that I like to give to close friends as a thank you for their friendship and inspiration.

If there’s one thing I want people to know about me, is that it’s not about me. It’s about the goals we set, the people we work with to reach them, and learning any and everything we can from our experiences and those around us.

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

Buy our art! For regular price, no discounts, no exposure payments, no BS. And if you don’t want to buy it then don’t rip it off. Appreciate the fact that you could’ve done it, but you didn’t and they did and you get to look at it. Also, stay the hell out of our way. We know what we are and aren’t “supposed” to do. But if my experiences in life have shown me anything, it is that we have to go beyond regular conventions to experience life’s moments of inspiration and translate that to those who don’t want to jump a fence, explore a bando, tag a wall, or whatever. Just because you can’t relate, can’t understand, or can’t appreciate it does not mean it doesn’t hold any value.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Seeing it complete. Whether it’s an event, a photograph, a mural, a video, a smiling participant, a child with eyes wide, a love letter, or something a little more private. the completion of an idea brought into this world is where the reward for me is.

It also doesn’t hurt to get a check for it either. But If it started in my head and made its way into this existence then it’s a win.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.streetmeet.com

Image Credits
Josue ‘Sway’ Maldonado