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.

Fina Zhou

Theater first struck me when I was 15, sitting in a West End theater, watching The Phantom of the Opera unfolded in front of me. That was the moment everything started. In high school and college, I participated in multiple productions and realized that my love for theater wasn’t just about the spectacle but the process. With those long rehearsals, the late-night production meetings, the collective energy of people working toward the same vision, I fell in love with the way theater builds communities and brings people together under a shared passion. That was my first instinct about working for theater: it wasn’t just about what is on stage, but the world created behind it. Read More>>

Bad Gyal Rozay

Rooted in my Jamaican heritage, creativity isn’t just a passion, it’s my essence. From an early age, I knew I was destined to share the fire of my culture with the world. Dancehall pulses through my soul, Afrobeats fuels my rhythm, and together they inspire my artistic journey. But beyond the music and movement, it’s about empowerment, owning my voice, my energy, and my space as a woman in a bold unapologetic way. I want to inspire other women to embrace their power, their confidence, and their culture fearlessly. My mission is to ensure our sound, our style, and our spirit continue to shape the world on our terms, one bold step at a time. Read More>>

Nick Isham

Funny thing is, I started out as a football player. I played high school football and got a full scholarship out of a high school to play at Louisiana Tech University – where I actually became the 2nd youngest starting quarterback in NCAA history at the time. But I had always been drawn to the arts and specifically to music.

As I started playing college football, I started to learn how to play guitar and sing. Inspired by three particular artists – Jack Johnson, John Mayer and Jason Mraz – as I learned how to play guitar and sing, I just naturally started writing songs, because I have always loved writing… Read More>>

Bobby Appelbaum

Asking me why I pursue an artist career makes it sound like I had a choice in the matter, when I truly believe I had no choice. I can’t for the life of me imagine another path. An office job working 9 to 5 sounds would be my own personal hell. A life in the creative field means to me the ultimate freedom. With that freedom comes the most beautiful offering life has to offer and that is connection. When I was younger and felt different, I noticed art’s ability to bridge gaps and brings people together. Whether it’s through the creative process itself, the observation of a performance, or the discussion that follows any consumption of art, the shared experience allows us humans to feel less alone. Art uses our thoughts, intuition, and emotion to do the impossible, travel space and time. Basically artist are magicians and I still believe in magic. Read More>>

Sumit Singh

Honestly, I think I’ve always been drawn to stories. Even as a kid, cinema just made sense to me. I didn’t watch movies just for fun. I watched them to understand life, to process things, to dream a little bigger. And science fiction, especially, helped me a lot. It gave me a framework to think about the world, about humanity, technology, the future… all the big questions I didn’t have answers to. It made me feel like I wasn’t alone in being curious. Read More>>

Amanda Deal

I’ve worked a lot of day jobs. So many customer service roles where I had to be a barbie voiced version of myself to the public.
I hated it so much.
The only thing that kept those jobs fun was shooting the shit with my coworkers. Doing silly voices and characters/impressions.
In school everyone felt awkward and all I wanted to do was break the tension and make my peers laugh. Or at least smile. Read More>>

Josueños

Growing up I think we all draw to certain creative outlets even if we don’t recognize it off rip. As a kid I was always singing, never equated it to being a career path but rather found myself first year in college realizing I wanted to spend all time doing music and creating it with people that also had a genuine love for. Soon as I came to that I moved and got to pursuing a life of music, however that looked. Read More>>

Tamiyka White

I chose to pursue an creative career because once I introduced to the arts and that I loved being creative as a way to express myself and that it really made it me happy whenever I had the chance, I knew that I didn’t want to do anything else. I loved performing. And even though I had come to the realization at the age of 7 years that I wanted to be an actor, that awareness of myself at such an early age stayed with me. I was very determined to make that dream a reality and I’ve been in pursuit. Read More>>

Kathaleena Thirtle

I belonged to a family with very few financial means – we primarily lived in motel rooms, moved every 28 days from room to room and motel to motel. Our food was sourced from expired goods that grocery stores throw away or church donations, and we lived penny to penny through welfare. It was especially difficult in high school. It was around that time that my mom was recovering from two brain aneurysms, and I was living with my older sister. This meant that more often than not, it was the social responsibility of community members to raise me – girl scout leaders, teachers, coaches, neighbors, the parents of my friends. Read More>>

Sophia Smith

There is a saying that hits home for me. “Everything you ever wanted is on the other side of Fear”
I pursued this creative path, because I was scared of it. Often, the thing that we fear the most, is what we should be doing.
It was highlighting something I really cared about. I knew I had to lean into my fears, otherwise I would never have known what was on the other side. Read More>>

Bobby Easton

I’ve been an artist ever since I was very young. Drawing, painting, creating. When I went to college, I was an art major. I was getting more into playing music, and soon I was just drawn to music as a much more powerful a medium than any that I had created with before. Soon, I had converted completely to an artist using music as my medium. I began playing in bands with musicians who were much more experienced than me, which pushed me to get good fast. After years of playing in bands, years of touring, I found myself immersed in a world as a working musical artist, and here I am still to this day on the same path. Read More>>

Jennifer Daranyi

Being able to do gymnastics and dance and taekwondo growing up I had a taste of the creative side of life + and then wanted to stick with it, but have a career that had a little more longevity than a dancer who back then retired in their early 20’s. Read More>>

Cayci Jean

I have been in love with Special Effects Makeup since as long as I can remember. A dedicated theater kid growing up, I was no stranger to performing on stage and had big dreams of one day becoming some sort of superstar. When I was twelve years old, my best friend and I signed up to audition at the local haunted house, not thinking anything wrong of two clearly underage children working in such a setting. We had tricked our parents into taking us to the audition and by the time my mom realized what kind of audition it actually was, we had run into someone we knew; the owner. Being a close friend of ours, it was a little easier to get my mom to say yes to allowing me to audition and try my hand at this kind of acting. Read More>>

Alicia Han

When I was a child, my dad used to tell me, “If you can turn what you love into your career, then you’ve made it.” That idea stayed with me as I grew up — from the little girl who loved to draw princesses, to the illustrator I am today.

To me, illustration is more than just making pictures — it’s about building a connection between the artwork and the viewer. I hope that when people see my work, they feel something: the joy of a dog playing in the park, the warmth of a flickering flame, or the quiet emotions in a character’s eyes. I want my illustrations to be a bridge — one that brings people closer to stories, feelings, and maybe even to themselves. Read More>>

Nanwei Cai

I pursued a creative career because I’m drawn to solving complex problems through creativity and technology. To me, creativity means shifting perspectives, challenging conventions, and reimagining solutions. It offers a unique lens through which I understand and shape the world. Design gave me a language to explore emerging technologies like AI through a human lens, allowing me to empowers people with technology while driving both business and social good. I really enjoy creating things that are aesthetically pleasing—but more importantly, things that bridge logic with intuition and transform complexity into intuitive, accessible experiences. Read More>>

Maya Irons

There was never a moment in my life where I wasn’t expressing myself through creativity. As a kid, I had a new art project brewing pretty much every week. There were hand-drawn comic books, clay sculptures, stop-motion camcorder movies, and Barbie clothes sewn together with scrap fabric. There was never a doubt in my mind that I would end up in a creative field. Getting to spend my time writing and creating content for a living is the very predictable result of a very long journey! Read More>>

Jackie Donovan

I pursued an artistic career because I’ve always felt a deep connection to creativity—it’s been a part of me for as long as I can remember. As a child, I was always drawing, painting, writing poems, or making something. Art was my way of seeing the world and expressing what I saw, and it was pure joy for me. But as I got older, I felt the pressure to follow a more “practical” path, one that fit societal norms—something more stable, like a traditional 9-to-5 career. So, I put my art on the back burner for a while. But deep down, I always knew I couldn’t ignore that creative spark for long. Read More>>

Ladan Sedighi

As an American-Iranian who grew up immersed in both cultures, I was deeply influenced by the rich artistic heritage of Persia, from its intricate miniatures and textiles to its mesmerizing tiling and architecture. From a very young age, I knew that art and design were my true passions, and there was never a question of pursuing anything else. Being an artist isn’t just a career—it’s an inherent part of who you are. It’s not something you become; it’s something you’re born with. My artistic journey has always been about exploring, creating, and bringing beauty into the world in my own unique way. Read More>>

Richie Swift

I chose a creative career because early on in my life, I could not see myself sitting behind a cubicle. I don’t remember when I had that thought but I was fairly young; at least about 10 or 11. I’ve always enjoyed singing, creating melodies and writing scenes for my imaginary characters that I thought up in my head. One of the things I noticed as I started getting a little bit older after watching plays, going to see musicals, or going to the movies was why I was always so excited to go. As a teenager I would always find myself in the movie theater and wondering how and why I was so moved by the performances I was seeing a screen, until one day it finally hit me. Read More>>

Anastasia Washington

I don’t think I had a choice. When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was entertain. My mom tells this story about how when I was 3, I was at SeaWorld, and instead of watching the whale show, I was tap dancing and singing for the crowd. When Shamu did a big leap in the air, the crowd went wild and I thought it was for me and my dancing and singing, so I took a bow. My mom said she got me a manager the next week. I always wanted to be an entertainer. I had many people give me outs as a kid actor, and I never took it. It’s my passion to make people feel things and to start conversations. Read More>>

Steve Seagreen

I was always interested in the arts visual arts, performing arts etc. I think it was the challenge that attracted me and it was fun too. I started art school in the degree program of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with thoughts of becoming a painter back in 1978. But after art school I got into standup comedy. Made a living doing that for about 20 years. Eventually that evolved into acting for about another 20yrs. Then when I retired from that I returned to painting. That’s been my main focus since 2018. Read More>>

Carjanae

Singing has always been an essential part of my life, and I’m deeply grateful to God for blessing me with this talent. It has always felt natural to me, and pursuing a career in music allows me to share that gift with the world. I believe my voice was given to me for a reason, and using it to inspire, uplift, and connect with others is truly fulfilling. For me, living my best life means doing what I love, creating music. Writing and performing allows me to present my beautiful memories to the world as well as heal, and relive special moments. Read More>>

Dante Marino

I’ve always been creating art since I was a kid. I would film videos with friends and make music in my spare time. I don’t feel fulfilled if I’m not creating something, so I knew I had to pursue an artistic career. Film is such an exciting medium to me, because it encompasses so many different art forms. It’s also extremely collaborative, so I get to work with other amazing artists. Filmmaking is something I just feel compelled to do. I can’t imagine doing anything else. Read More>>

ILU

The interesting thing about being an artist is that it really is not a choice. Being an artist comes with this primitive and primal feeling deep inside of me that yearns to be fed and nurtured. When I am not making art it feels like the batteries have been taken out of me or like there’s a void inside of me that cannot be filled by anything other than creating something new. I pursued a creative career because creativity has always been a self-fulfillment need of mine that can never be entirely satisfied for too long. Creativity is both a choice and a calling that I can never ignore, even if I try. If I do not pursue creativity the quality of my life and self-identity will be deeply compromised. I purse a creative career daily because without doing so, honoring the healthiest and most authentic version of myself would not be possible. Read More>>

Kyle Young

I pursued an artistic career because creativity has always been in my DNA. Growing up, I was surrounded by art and storytelling, which showed me how powerful they could be. But for me, it wasn’t just about visuals—I found my voice through music, film, and digital art.

Music, in particular, became my way to express emotions, tell stories, and challenge ideas. It’s therapeutic, but also a responsibility—I create with purpose. Whether through lyrics, visuals, or storytelling, my goal is to connect with people on a real level. Read More>>

Maedeh Ojaghloo

I’ve been passionate about art since I was a child, but life initially took me in a different direction. At 18, I was studying Avionics for my undergraduate degree, but around the same time, I became involved in social work — one of my first experiences was volunteering with children who had cancer. That experience opened my eyes, and it was also when I started photography.
From the beginning, photography felt like more than a creative outlet — it became a way to give voice to people who are often unheard. My passion for storytelling and my commitment to social issues naturally came together through art. Over the years, my work has focused on topics like child labor, women’s rights, and marginalized communities. Read More>>

Ping Wang

I grew up in an art family—so art became a language for me before I fully understood how to articulate complex emotions or experiences in words. I was trained in painting and drawing from an early age in China, which gave me a strong foundation in technique and discipline. Later, moving to the states deepened that impulse; navigating between cultures, art became a way for me to process identity, displacement, and belonging. Over time, my curiosity pushed me beyond the flat surface. I began exploring ceramics, light, sound, and digital media—working more in 3D and immersive formats to give shape to the things we feel but can’t always name. Read More>>

Yuxin Li

Ever since I was a child, I’ve had a wide range of interests—I tried everything from dancing to playing musical instruments. But in the end, the only thing I truly stuck with was drawing. When it came time to choose a major in high school when applying for college, I found myself torn between pursuing something I loved and opting for a more financially rewarding path. But as you can see, here I am. I’ve never been one to enjoy feeling constrained—life is short, after all. Doing what I love allows me to live authentically and at peace with myself. Read More>>