We had the good fortune of connecting with Kallie Foltz Bahorich and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kallie, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
They say when you start a company in your early 20’s, the company grows up with you. This has certainly been the case in my life. To give some context, RECESS is a nonprofit that seeks to provoke and propel this generation to live fully + freely in God’s love. We do this through art, community, teaching, and creating meaningful experiences and activations. Given that we are a faith-based organization, one might imagine what some of our core values are. In fact, most are easy to imagine because they are values you’d find in almost all company work cultures: integrity, intentionality, tenacity, ingenuity…But there’s one concept that has emerged preeminent over the years, and not through convenience, but through fire:

“To love at any cost.”

I, like most of us, had developed throughout my life a pretty strong survival tactic of “loving at little cost.” If someone is rude to you, you are rude back. If someone is good to you, you return the favor. It’s transactional, low to medium effort, logical… But it is not love. Real love is a sacrifice – of your time, your desires, your need to be right, your defense when wronged.

I’ve learned throughout these past 7 years that people are not changed – genuinely changed – by great teaching, compelling presentations, a dynamic community, provoking artistic displays, baller branding, and so on, but by the power of real, sacrificial love at work in their lives. This principle holds me accountable. I know that if I want to see a generation rise up in unity, freedom, power and wholeness, I myself will have to go low and let God first work out this kind of love within me. I am far from achieving it, but I am learning, and I am so thankful for these years of witnessing the power of love to transform, equip and release people into their fullness.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I’ve always valued creativity and have seen it as a key component in what we do here at RECESS. I grew up in a home where creativity and imagination were encouraged and am extremely grateful for that, especially these days. I’ve found that much of life exists in the realm of dissonance and not understanding, and art and creativity can be a way for us to try to find the resolve. I’ve seen this play out time and time again, from writing the RECESS Book, to the music we’ve released, or the art pop-ups we’ve done on the streets of Montrose in Houston, etc. Art, in its purest form, serves as a bridge, giving way to greater understanding of self, others, our history, our destiny, and beyond.
Given this, I’ve become (increasingly) passionate about empowering artists to create from these pure places. I believe artists should live as and be treated as vital teachers and shepherds, giving proof through their created things of deeper, unseen longings or realities. This echoes the words of abolitionist Frederick Douglass – “All wishes, all aspirations, all hopes, all fears, all doubts, all determinations grow stronger and stronger precisely in proportion as they get themselves expressed in words, forms, colours, and action”– and the words of author Kurt Vonnegut –“Artists…should be treasured as alarm systems… When a society is in great danger, [they are] likely to sound the alarm”. Unfortunately, the role of the arts in many cultures is deemed expendable, which has grave impact. When the system undervalues the artist, the artist, then, undervalues himself. Rather than serving as a priest in the house of God (go with the metaphor), he lives as a beggar in the stable. Like a millionaire starving to death because he never went to the bank to withdraw his money, the artist has access to great cultural impact, but he settles for influence and clout because he does not understand his worth.
I do not want to live as a beggar when God has called me friend. I do not want myself or others to sell our creative abilities for scraps when our birthright is to reign as kings. I want to see artists of every kind awaken with conviction, integrity and a clear sense of responsibility for this generation and the ones to come. We, the artists, are the Moses’ of this day, born to deliver people from our slavery to depression, fear, anxiety, self-hatred, division, tyranny, and shame. We are leaders, and it’s time for us to rise.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m a lover of Montrose, through and through, so to start, I’d take them to Cafe Brasil – mostly in hopes of seeing the owner’s English Bulldog “Boo,” but also because their back patio and pizza is the move. Then I’d make them shop the local vintage shops – starting in Montrose, and then heading to the outskirts of town. Then, while we’re on the Beltway, I’d have us hit China Town for soup dumplings (ty Sarah Hageman for opening my eyes) and tea. If we were to explore the downtown area, I’d show them Post Htx and grab some @RaphaKitchenandCo off of Dart St. (best organic, locally sourced goods in town).

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Hands down, my husband Eric who’s championed me, given me space, taught me faithfulness, and consistently been what I needed. We’ve been married eight years now, and I genuinely mean it when I say my admiration and appreciation of him has only grown with time.

Website: www.recessmovement.org

Instagram: kalliebah

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4TuitDb6ZT_eYpCd6qDhjA

Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6FYzzcrPcLqD3nuo6i8ekT?si=XqnHMLwBT8-hwMtGY5OELg

Image Credits
Bri Costello Nicolas Torres RECESS MVMT RECESS Women Abigail Kirchhoffer

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