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.

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, Read More>>

Joe Marx

I didn’t have a choice! Music brings me so much joy and so much fulfillment — no matter where life has taken me, I’ve always found myself gravitating back to music. Even before it paid the bills, I spent all my free time practicing, writing, and booking flights to foreign countries just to street perform haha… playing music is overwhelmingly thrilling and I’m a thrill seeker… It didn’t take long for me to cut all my ties and completely dive in. Haven’t looked back since Read More>>

Journee

else. I feel like I’ve known since I was about 6 years old, that music was my passion, however I didn’t go all in until after I graduated high school and went to college 6 hours from home. There was a lot of self discovery happening in college and I wasn’t enjoying school, nor did I have a real drive to complete it. I decided to really hone in on my artistry, and beautiful things have blossomed from it. Read More>>

Peter Lechuga Lechuga

Right now, more than ever, community is necessary. We need to cultivate our communities and share knowledge we gather as individuals to keep us informed and protected. Community what keeps us tethered, it provides power in our numbers, and when nurtured will grow into something beautiful. As a spoken word artist and teaching artist, I help to build community through writing and the sharing of our stories and experiences, which strengthen us. In my poetry I touch issues that plague our community and I provide outlets for others to share their voices. Read More>>

Elijah Alhadji Gibson

I don’t feel like I chose an artistic or creative career. It feels like it chose me.

From as early as third grade, I always knew I wanted to pursue something in the medical field. However, every major step in my dance journey, from my first exposure to codified dance forms to studying dance in college, performing professionally, teaching in higher education, and even starting a professional dance company, happened through a series of unexpected turns.  Read More>>

Elizabeth Carrillo

Because I finally gave myself permission to. & ultimately, because of my partner Gilbert. I’ll explain later.

I never imagined pursuing a creative career. Growing up, I always thought people that were well off were the ones that pursued creative careers. I am a first generation Mexican American. When I was applying for college, I was pursuing a career that would give me financial security and good benefits. I studied Clinical Nutrition at UC Davis and I also double majored in Spanish.  Read More>>

Diego Scarparo

Nasci e cresci em uma pequena cidade no interior do Brasil na década de 1980, um lugar geralmente muito conservador e, ainda assim, um berço cultural para o país na primeira metade do século XX.
Entediado, procurei histórias em quadrinhos da Marvel e da DC, séries americanas como Airwolf e Creepshow, além dos japoneses Spectreman e Gundam, e alguns filmes como Star Wars e Goonies. Eu queria muito saber como aquilo era feito e por que me afetava tanto. Read More>>

Courtney Isham

I’ve always been an artist and performer. I was never afraid to get on stage, or make up a song and sing my heart out while getting ready for ballet class. It’s just who I am through and through and nothing makes me happier. So the idea of *not* pursuing it… well that’s just not a life I’d want to live. Read More>>

Jaime Gehly

Honestly, I pursued a creative career because playing drums is my favorite thing in the world—it’s what brings me the most joy. Being able to turn that into a career has been the most fulfilling and exciting thing I could have imagined. It definitely wasn’t the easiest path. There were times when it felt like no one believed in me but me, and I had a lot of chances to fail. But I didn’t really have a choice—nothing else was ever going to satisfy me. Read More>> 

Jordan Sandoval

All of my life I’ve always believed that all art that doesn’t already physically exist, exists somewhere else. There are so many special people that act as a vessel to capture those pieces of art that haven’t been created yet. Whether it be music, painting, cooking, drawing, etc. I’ve always felt that I’m one of those vessels. It’s just a gut feeling. Read More>>

 L3NA

Okay, looking back, I’d honestly laugh in anyone’s face who told me that I would become a DJ and producer. It wasn’t something I considered quite literally ever. Not even when I was starting to play house and hip hop at my friend’s birthday parties in San Francisco for fun — not even then. Life is insane. Read More>>

Joe Ded

I chose the path of the creator because I have always been a creative person. I enjoy the process of manifesting the ghouls from my thoughts to a visual representation. Read More>>

FACETAT Sauce & Deja

Because the world don’t make sense unless we bend it to reflect our truths. FACETAT was born from the chaos — a rebellion against silence, conformity, and playing small. We didn’t choose art to entertain. We chose it to expose, to heal, to scream when we weren’t allowed to speak. Music, fashion, and visuals became our weapons. Creativity saved us from self-destruction and gave us a language for the rage, the love, the lust, and the scars.  Read More>>

Chris Moore

When I was 12, my mom moved us from Wisconsin to Ghana so she could teach English at the University. The city couldn’t afford power 24/7, so they only turned it on for a few hours a night. That meant no TV and no video games for most of the day, and since I was new and didn’t have a lot of friends, it meant I didn’t have anything to do for fun. Read More>>

Mariam Kabba

I didn’t necessarily choose a creative path—Allah placed it in me. Speaking, storytelling, creating—it’s always been a part of me. I just didn’t realize it was a career until I started seeing how my voice impacted people. I pursued this path because I got tired of seeing the same narratives, the same boxes people try to put Black Muslim women in. I knew I had something different to offer. Read More>>

Yichen Qu

I think I never really *chose* to pursue an artistic career in the traditional sense—it just unfolded naturally. Music has always been an essential part of how I perceive the world. I was drawn to sounds, to textures, to the emotions they evoke. I remember being fascinated not just by melodies but by the atmosphere a certain chord progression or a layer of noise could create. Read More>>

Eric Reed

As a young boy growing up I spent a lot of time with my grandmother who was an amazing artist. She painted these beautiful paintings that left me in awe. She always filled up my time with art while I was around her whether it be painting or playing guitar in which she bought me my first at around 11 or 12. It was then that I fell in love with the guitar and began to speak through it. It was always in me so it just felt natural to pursue a career in music. Read More>>

Ariana Kaufman

It has become more clear to me that we are all born with a deep knowing of how we move through the world and understand it. For me, art has always been the key to processing my day and understanding relationships. Although, I do not have a “successful” career I have made it part of my daily journey to make art in some capacity. Read More>>

Yosh Hase

Honestly, I’m still on that journey. I currently work full-time at a bank, but my passion lies in photography, and I’m working hard to transition into a professional creative career as soon as possible.

My love for photography began back in high school, developing black-and-white prints in a tiny darkroom. It was just a hobby back then —Read More>>

J.Outlaw

My style is somewhat unorthodox. I structure my records differently then most and I don’t ride waves. I create for the purity of the art. I’m a street journalist reflecting on my reality , this gives my composition substance. I live to love the music and more importantly myself because without true vision and context the music has no meaning. I’m most proud of my determination to thrive,it fuels me to stay consistent. Read More>>

Michael Gao Shan

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions a person can make in their life. It shapes not only our professional journey but also our sense of identity, fulfillment, and contribution to the world. For me, choosing to become an artist is not just a career choice; it is a deep calling, a form of expression, and a lifelong journey of discovery, creativity, and connection. Read More>>

Noelia Estrada

I knew I wanted to be a part of the entertainment industry as early as elementary school after I watched HOOK and tried to memorize all the names in the credits. I couldn’t believe there were real human people behind the making of such a spectacularly magical thing. I desperately had to figure out how to be a part of it.  Read More>>

Justin Quizon

I was always an artistic person who was interested in stories. As a kid, I wrote and drew my own picture books. I remember the epic adventures I dreamed up with my action figures. It became very obvious to me that doing some kind of artistic job was the future I wanted to have. Read More>>

Anusha Bhattacharyya

I always knew I wanted to pursue an artistic career ever since I was a little kid. I was always so dramatic and super animated whenever I talked — I just loved telling stories. I initially wanted to be an actress (which little kid didn’t want to be famous) but I quickly learned that I didn’t have the knack for it. I did however, love the process as a whole.  Read More>>

Angie Guo

I believe every artist carries a vision that’s deeply personal, and their work becomes a kind of tunnel connecting who they are to how they see the world. Art feels like a language that exists intrinsically within each of us, and for me, creating has always been how I explore and express that language. It’s a way for me to see how I think and to process abstract emotions on paper.  Read More>>

Alicia Dattner

My mother is a visual artist. I spent a lot of time as a kid in her art studio in rural Connecticut, surrounded by canvases, paints, paint brushes, colored pencils and markers. A woman next door was a potter, and she taught me to throw pots on the wheel. I did every kind of art from collage to intricate book binding, crochet to black and white photography, making quilts to drawing miniature comic books. Read More>>

Steve Sherrell

I am an artist working in the Chicago scene. I have been involved in the arts my whole life.
I was born and raised in Muncie Indiana in 1950. My father was an artist. He grew up poor, my grandmother worked for the Ball Brothers Canning Jar company and raised my father as a single mother until he was a teenager.
The Ball family, now of Ball Corp., built Ball State Teacher’s College (now University) where they put their collection of art.  Read More>>

Edyn Bryant

I hate to be one of those people that starts a story with “from a very young age” but I don’t think people fall into creative careers it’s a part of you. I was in pageants, a competitive cheerleader, and went to a performing arts magnet school. YouTube has been a way to perform on my terms in the most authentic way. I only have to take my own direction. It started as an outlet and overtime became something I was able to do full-time. Read More>>

Rebecca Forstadt Olkowski

For the last 40 years, I have worked as a voiceover actor and did theater in my younger years, so I’ve always worked in a creative capacity. I guess you could say it’s in my blood. I found writing to be a creative outlet as well. I became a single mother after my husband passed away in 2001, and needed to supplement my acting career to survive living in Los Angeles. Read More>>

Christy Mac

I still have a 9-5 because who doesn’t loved guaranteed money every week or bi-weekly. I have always been a creative since I was a kid and I felt like I should be able to express through content creation. What I love about content creation is that, there is no blueprint. You can literally create whatever visual you want and the right audience will follow and fall in love with you. Read More>>

Nicholas J.M. Cloutman

I don’t feel like I’ve ever actively pursued an artistic ‘career’, but it seems to have pursued me. I think art is in all of us, and all around us, but for those of us who embrace an artistic lifestyle, it becomes kind of a compulsion. At a young age I couldn’t stop drawing. I went to school for writing. And then wondering how the hell anyone makes money as a writer I decided to make my ‘career path’ a bit more divergent and rejoin a band I started early in college. Read More>>

Gaby Martinez

As a native New Yorker and graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, I spent over 15 years immersed in the fashion world, splitting my time between New York and Los Angeles. While I loved the creativity and energy of that industry, the constant travel took a toll on my skin and hair. Despite visiting some of the most beautiful salons across the country, I struggled to find a space that truly catered to working professionals—Read More>>

Hannah Bell Tringham

I’ve always been drawn to creating—whether it was baking, painting, or building something from scratch, I’ve had a natural drive to explore, improve, and reimagine. That creative instinct showed up early: of course I always loved to draw, by age 10 I was rearranging my bedroom just for fun, and by 12 I was tracing over floor plans and dreaming up new layouts. I’m naturally competitive, so I’ve always pushed myself to refine my work and think one step ahead. Read More>> 

Diship Garg

For me, pursuing an artistic career wasn’t a choice—it was a calling.

I started singing at the age of seven, and by the time I was twelve, I was recognized as India’s Youngest Bhajan Singer by the India Book of Records. From those early days, music wasn’t just something I enjoyed—it was something I felt deeply connected to, almost as if it chose me. Read More>>

Rickhardo Terrones

I chose to pursue a creative career as I saw it as an opportunity to be very successful. I also really enjoy the fact that with this career I can create whatever I want when I want, and people will genuinely fuck with my vision and creativity. Read More>>

Helen Dang

Because it’s where I feel most alive—where I can be fully myself and help others do the same.