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.

Anali Cabrera | Writer, Director

This question really struck me since I have recently struggled to commit to pursuing a career in film directing, despite spending the past ten years of my life devoting my talents to filmmaking. In a world that praises financial stability and capitalist “grinding” it is difficult to choose a life of instability and un-guaranteed success. However, I’ve realized by committing to a career of creating I am putting my aspirations first and not allowing the pressure of money-making to distract that. Read more>>

Chelsea Carreira / CCBeautymark | Makeup Artist & Esthetician

I chose an artistic career because it genuinely makes me happy to create. I was never meant to sit behind a computer screen or file paperwork for hours. I was meant to work with people and be creative. The freedom I feel when I am working now, versus when I was working my standard 9-5 jobs is liberating. Even though being a business owner sometimes means even less freedom, because you are at some level ALWAYS working… Read more>>

Vibha Kulkarni | Film Director, Writer, Actress

I was born and raised in India, the rich and diverse land of art and storytelling, from mythology to Bollywood, a buffet of rich food for imagination! I grew up listening to mythological stories. Imagination and daydreaming have been significant parts of my childhood experiences. Art is the only tool to bridge the rich realm of imagination and reality. Read more>>

David Weitzman | Partner, Primary Wave

I chose going into the music business because I am an isn’t fan of music & wanted to work in a field that inspired me. I had a couple people along the way who opened my ears, and was also fortunate to see bands such as Guns N Roses and Rage Against the Machine very early in their careers & was also into other bands well before they became popular. Made me think I could utilize my ears to discover new talent. Read more>>

Bharti Trivedi | Artist & Electronics Engineer

I have always been a very creative person and you would always find me involved in learning one or the other artform or new skills like, painting, crafting, designing my home, decorating, fixing things around, sewing, crocheting, woodworking, etc. However, I didn’t think of pursuing art as a career especially as an Asian woman or even what goes into being an artist. Read more>>

Terry Pedigo | Artist

I truly believe we are all created to do something….we’re all hardwired to do something specific. And after trying some other careers in life and being miserable, I knew I had to do something in the creative/art world. As a kid I was never any good at sports and barely got by in my classes but I was always sketching, drawing, doodling and I knew that was truly what I was designed to do and did it well. It brought me joy and peace. Read more>>

Ulas Uygun | Artist & Brand Strategist

Till a few years ago, I thought I pursued a career in art & design because I could excel at it from a very early age. I have always been a creative type but it wasn’t until I hit 30 that I started to learn on how to make the best of my creative thinking. Up until that point I drew, I designed and I painted very impulsively, going exclusively for originality and pizazz, following my gut in anything to do with design: Read more>>

Heerraa | International Singer-Songwriter & Co-Founder of Ascendance

I have always wanted to become a singer since I was 5. However, my dream did not become a reality until I met my mentors from the social business incubator, ET Ideas, when I was 14. I was fortunate to be personally mentored by the founder, Elango Thiyagu, who I am forever grateful for as he guided me to understand the bigger purpose and showed me how to achieve my goals. That’s when I realized the power of music and how it can impact our lives without us even knowing. Read more>>

Aubrey Kim | Visual Development Artist

Hi! I’m Aubrey Kim and I’m a visual development artist working on animations and games. I liked drawing since I was very young and it made me become an artist naturally. At first, I pursued art because my family and friends liked my doodles. Gradually, I became interested in expressing my favorite things through drawings. As an amateur, it was only a hobby but the more I did art, the more I wanted to study art deeply. The aspiration eventually led me to move to an art college in San Francisco to learn academic art. Read more>>

Judith Zhu

My mom always said I would become an artist when I was a little girl. Until junior high school, I spent every weekend engrossed in dancing and playing piano. Although I had to take a break due to the academic pressure in a standard education system, I benefited greatly from these leisure classes that cultivated my aesthetics and sparked my interest in art. Read more>>

Alyssia Strasser | Multidisciplinary artist

I am a person who believes in destiny- and honestly, I feel this artistic path was destined for me. I say this because every time I pursued a different career path, the door slammed shut, and the opportunity to be a fine artist continuously peered in the back of my mind. Early in college, I first tried pursuing web design and then pondered on becoming an art educator. Read more>>

Julia Lechner | Writer, Storyteller, Former College Mascot

I engage in work and hobbies that make me light up, that challenge and stretch my abilities in order to help me grow, and make me feel like I am in a state of flow, doing my best work. I often find those moments when I am writing something new, performing in front of an audience, and hearing feedback from others about material that resonates with them. Read more>>

Arnav Banerji | Previs and Postvis Artist

I’d always loved reading and storytelling growing up, and like a lot of kids I was a huge fan of sci-fi and fantasy movies Star Wars and Harry Potter. Right before starting college, I got the chance to intern at a small studio and learned about the world of 3D modeling and animation for the first time and I was in awe of the sheer possibility afforded by the medium. I’ve also been extremely lucky to find amazing mentors who answered my questions, gave me feedback, and taught me how to approach the 3D and visualization pipeline. Read more>>

Justyne Gurley | Visual Development and Background Artist

I’ve always been creative. and ever since I was little I’ve been doodling and making crafts wherever and on whatever I could. I would create elaborate stories about my stuffed animals and draw them as characters, giving them dramatic worlds to inhabit. My passion and interest in art as a career really started with animated TV shows I watched as well as video games I played. Read more>>

Kellie Sōl | Musician & Film Maker

I want to say this is who I am and it was destined but I do think that upbringing facilitated space for me to be comfortable and confident go after what I felt was placed inside of me. I come from parents that work in the entertainment industry as well. So they get what I’m after. Read more>>

Iris Navarrette | Author, Entrepreneur, Creative Consultan

I believe it was destiny! My father was an actor and started a theatre company in Los Angeles in the 1970’s. It was at his theatre as a child, when I first became intrigued by the tranformational power of makeup. I watched in awe as the makeup artist transformed the actors into character, serving a critical role in how the character emerged and the story was told. Read more>>