Meet Johnathon Washington | Creative

We had the good fortune of connecting with Johnathon Washington and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Johnathon, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I pursued an artistic or creative career because it was my first love and how deep the impact can go. Every since I was young boy I was into popular culture. I wanted to be an actor the moment I saw the tv show ‘All That’ on tv I knew that was my calling. As a kid I spent a majority of my time writing and coming up with different tv show ideas. My favorite thing to do was to come up with a concept and think about how I would make it. Then when I went to college and took a sociology course, I realized the true impact of media. Once I realized just how much of our world view is shaped by media I knew I had to be apart of it. As a queer Black male I felt like there wasn’t enough of us in a creative role, and I wanted to change that. I have a specific voice that is my own that I want to share with the world and perspective. To be able to use art to express my story and hopefully inspire others like me to tell there’s has always been the goal.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
-What sets my art apart from others is my perspective. I have a world view that is not always represented in media and my art allows me to take a space in a creative way. I enjoy writing both personal and fictional stories and telling Black and Queer specific stories. I’ve gotten to where I am by hard work and dedication and learning from others. It has been school, learning from older media and doing my homework on what stories have not been told. In a media landscape that doesnt always see me that has been the biggest challenge. I have had to fight and defend why my stories are important and why Black Queer voices are important. I want the world to know that I am Black Queer Creative ready to make an impact.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
-Some of my favorite spots in the city are just exploring all the different neighborhoods. I don’t have a specfic favorite but I would take the to all the trendy spots like Catch One, or queer bars like Akbar on the east side and the Hollywood Sign. There are so many spots in LA that are hidden and waiting to be uncovered. I would just walk around with my best friend maybe stopping at LACMA or Griffith Park. We could go to the north side and explore studio city and Burbank to see where all our favorite shows film. Maybe we would do a universal tour as well.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
-The GLADD Communities of Color and Media Department. Last year I was able to attend the Black Queer Creative Summit which allowed me to be around other Black queer creatives and learn and grow with them.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnathon-washington-a3450b171/

Image Credits
Myself.