Artistic and creative careers are among the most rewarding, but they also come with unique challenges. We asked some of the city’s best creatives to tell us why they choose to pursue a creative career.

Anabel & Matthew Detrick | Violinists, Apollo Chamber Players

Matt and I both come from artistic musical families. In mine, my father’s side of the family are all classical musicians. I started reading music when I was practically a toddler and began formal lessons at age 6. Back in Mexico in the 1980’s, my uncle founded an orchestra and invited my extended family members to play; I had multiple opportunities to appear as soloist in his orchestra. My husband’s mother was a public school music teacher in Pennsylvania. Even in retirement she maintains a private studio of over 30 students. She started Matt and his brothers on violin at the age of three. His father Joe considers himself a ‘folk’ musician, and he plays the guitar, banjo and sings. As a family, they would create and perform musical programs for the community. It seems we were destined to be in the arts world from a very early age! Neither one of us can recall a time without music or violin playing. Read more>>

Tifarah Naava | Artist, Creative Director, Producer & Actress

I pursued an artistic/creative career because it is apart of my very being. I am a creator. I am visionary. I am imagination. I am an artist. Creativity was bound to be a part of my life – one way or another. It feels organic, simple, powerful, spiritual, and like freedom. I feel my true self when I’m creating. Read more>>

Valencia Brown | Photographer

One of the reasons I pursued a artistic career because my mother and I went on a mini road trip so she could get her military id card. As we approached this bridge I just snapped a picture of and put a filter over it and posted it on Facebook. The feedback that I got back from that image was so amazing but I didn’t pay that much attention to it then. What really made me pay attention was when I went to my hometown and I saw this little pond. I took a picture of it and did my edit once I printed it out and put it on my wall every time someone visited me they would always ask where did I get the picture from. I would say I did that and they said oh you have a good eye so that is what really made me get invested in it. I started to look at things differently and when people would stand in certain lighting I would try to pose them in my mind. So it was like my creative process was starting to be more open. Read more>>

Will Wright | Chief Creative Officer for Galveston Historical Foundation

There’s probably a little bit of the “did I pursue it or did it pursue me” comment here. Without sounding too cheesy, I enjoy the feeling that comes when a creative thought starts to present itself to you. I try to let the unexpectedness of it drive as long as it can and learn from where it’s taking me. Career-wise, I was really fortunate. I was largely self-taught when I started and was able to find a job that let me learn from some fantastic mentors and grow my skill-set. That feels like a lifetime ago now, but without a lot of people who were very open to mentoring and guiding me, it would have been a much harder road. I had a lot of good luck and it’s something I try really hard not to take for granted. That good luck made the hard work much more enjoyable. Read more>>