Why they do what they do

We asked some of the city’s leading artists and creatives to tell us about how they decided to pursue an artistic or creative career. We’ve shared some highlights below.
I pursued an artistic career because dance gave me so much as a student, creator and a performer, I wanted to give that back to my community. I fell in love with dance in 8th grade. My childhood was a rollercoaster and at that time of my life I needed a way to express myself and build confidence… Soon I learned this craft was personal. I knew this was something that as long as I put the work in, I could grow in any capacity. The more I grew in foundation, the more I could play as an artist. Read more>>
When I was younger I always wanted to make music and be one of the best to do so. Music puts me in a good place in my mind when I listen to it and I want my music to put everybody else in a good head space when they listen to it. Read more>>
The main reason I pursued a creative career in the modeling world was to help boost my self esteem along with other girls who looked like me. I group up in a small Kansas town that lacked a black community, which lead to some self esteem issues growing up. I didn’t want other lil black girls to feel like they were less than Read more>>
Hi, my name is Daniel Rocha a metal artist born and raised in Houston. The reason why I decided to pursue an artistic career is because of the amazing people that I met along this journey. One day when I was sitting around in my apartment where I used to live rambling though some of my earlier artwork that I created during high school, I realized I came so far from not knowing how to draw during my youth to competing in art contests. Read more>>
I have been drawing all my life, I knew I wanted an art related career when I was very young. At first it was fashion designer, but later I discovered it is way more enjoyable to draw characters doing something or to communicate an emotion through an illustration. But art for me is a way to keep all the wrong things happening right now, from the outside of my mind, away from my thoughts and have a little moment of calm. Read more>>
This is kind of hard to answer but I believe I was born to be a dancer. I grew up hearing the saying “if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life” , and that’s what caused a click in my head to want to pursue professional dancing as a career. I always saw these dancers working in music videos, award shows, tv shows, etc. and thought to myself that’s going to be me one day. I also started to pursue dance as a career because I saw the ways it helped me find myself in different aspects of life. Read more>>
I never decided to pursue a creative career, it’s just something that has also been within me and apart of me. My career is way more than just a source of income. It’s a lifestyle, a way of expressing myself while motivating others through fashion to take on life’s obstacles & overcome them. Read more>>
Being an artist & creative is something that I flowed into naturally. I’ve always been interested in the arts since a child…lets just say its apart of me. As a child back at home in Chicago I was exposed to music, poetry, theatre, talent shows, beauty pageants. Growing up I also met a lot of other artists, entrepreneurs and creatives back at home which watered my interest and inspired my creativity. Read more>>
I pursued an artistic career because I have always been heavy into art and fashion! I’ve always been intrigued by the different elements of art and all that you can do with fashion, so I decided to teach myself how to paint and sew. Read more>>