Artists & creatives on why they pursued a creative career

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.

Patrick Barnitt | Singer & Actor

Because I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. I realized pretty early that there was element of insanity in pursuing the arts, but you have to follow your heart. You only go around once. I was very fortunate to have very supportive parents who encouraged my pursuits. My mom instilled in me the sense that I could do anything I put my mind to. There have been a few significant moments in my life where things clicked and I thought this is what I want to do. When I was 10, my mom took my brothers and I to see Dracula on Broadway. We were in the front row. Raul Julia played Dracula and he was incredible. That show had a profound effect on me. I sang “Mack the Knife” at my brother’s wedding in my early 20’s to a few hundred people. Read more>>

Don Salaam | Audio Engineer | Songwriter | Artist

I pursued an artistic and creative career because music has always been deeply ingrained in my life and identity. Growing up, I became fascinated with the process of creating music, not just listening to it. I wanted to understand how those sounds came together—the layers, the textures, the emotions.

Over time, that curiosity evolved into a desire to contribute to the art form myself. I discovered my love for recording, mixing, and mastering, realizing that I could shape the way music is experienced. Music is not just a profession for me; it’s a way of life. It allows me to connect with others, tell stories, and preserve the authenticity of the artists I work with. Read more>>

Gigi Kokpinar | creative, connector, network builder, digital art creator, actress, and certified wellness practitioner.”

Here’s a concise response based on the details you provided:

I pursued an artistic and creative career because I’ve always had a natural passion for connecting with people, creating meaningful collaborations, and recognizing the unique potential in individuals. Coming from a background in aviation, where I handled VIPs and celebrities with one of the best airlines in the world, I developed strong interpersonal and networking skills. Read more>>

Orlando Rivera | Juilliard Drama Graduate, Singer/Songwriter/Producer & ICU Registered Nurse

On Wednesday, January 8th 2025, I had to evacuate my apartment in Los Angeles due to the Sunset Fire.. I live only a few blocks away from Runyon Canyon. This same day was supposed to be Day 1 of shooting the music video of a song I wrote, performed and produced called “SIDELINE”. I originally wrote this song last year when I lost my cousin due to a freak accident at his job. The song deals with loss, how we manage grief sometimes through denial or through our use of wearing the social mask of “normalcy”. It was so strange that my art intersected so pointedly with my reality on this day. A song I wrote in an emotional and specific place from my personal loss last year, now takes on new meaning in the universal sense in that so many people are currently dealing with their own devastating and unimaginable losses and griefs because of the LA wildfires. I think there’s something in this: finding meaning in life through art.. Read more>>

Marty Morris | Photographer

Actually I avoided pursuing photography as a career for the longest time. Another photographer offered unsolicited advice back in the late 80s not to make it a career as then it would be a job and it wouldn’t be as enjoyable. Photography brings me so much joy and creative energy I wish I had pursued it more back then and avoided his advice. Read more>>

Mengyi (grace) Wang | Artist & International Marketing Enthusiast

I am a cross-cultural contemporary artist specializing in acrylic on canvas. Art is not only a medium of self expression but also a way for me to reflect on my cross-cultural journey. Having grown up and lived in various countries, including China, the UK, and the U.S., I began to explore different art practices at a young age, such as painting, drawing, calligraphy, photography, filmmaking, and seal carving. My journey as an artist started then, and I have always been captivated by the ability to express myself by picking up my paint brushes. Read more>>

Athena Raygoza | Hair stylist and Makeup artist

Both my parents were involved in some creative field when I was growing up. My dad was a painter and sculptor, while my mom wrote books. I wanted to follow the artistic pathway but wasn’t sure what type of art until high school. Color guard is a sport I did throughout my high school years and it encouraged me to do creative makeup looks and help my teammates with theirs which sparked joy and interest within me- I wanted to do this pathway of makeup and hair. Being creative within this industry, there is no limit to the colors and designs you can create makeup or hair-wise, I fell in love with the person being a sort of canvas and enhancing the beauty of the person. Read more>>

April Bermudez | Artist, Creative, Storyteller

There’s a lot that I have to say, too much sometimes according to my report cards in grade school, and I notice a lot, and I remember stuff and I’m interested in so many things. I need to express it to whoever wants to pay attention. Read more>>

Jordan Kent Wozinski | Bookbinder & Papermaker

My late mother, who passed of stage 4 Lymphoma in 2013, is the reason I am an artist. Tracey Lee Kent was a brilliant creative writer. She built magnificent, immersive worlds from short prose, with subjects from her everyday life. She was an advocate for writing what you know– to see the beauty in the present. Despite my family’s encouragement, she never published her work.

Tracey saw my affinity for visual art. While she did teach me to write poetry, crafting she learned for my sake. The memories are vivid– multimedia collaging with felt, newspaper, silk flowers on the gray living room carpet of our drafty apartment… Read more>>

Keelia Clarkson | Actress & Novelist

To be honest, I never made a conscious decision to pursue a creative career path. It was not so much something I chose to do as much as it was something I did from a young age, and kept on doing. The languages of math and science always felt foreign, impossible to learn, to me; there was never a chance of becoming an accountant or engineer. But the language of stories, performance, and words have always intuitively made sense to me, captured my imagination, and been the lens through which I viewed the world. And so, I naturally gravitated toward the arts. I remember watching “The Lord of the Rings” as a little girl and upon realizing that the people on screen, who were acting out and bringing to life a compelling, sweeping tale, were *real* people and not simply beautiful holograms, I had no doubt that I wanted to do just that when I grew up — be part of beautiful, connective, inspiring stories, however I could manage that. Read more>>

Taekyung (tk) Suh | Artist

I pursued an artistic career because I was searching for a way to express myself beyond the boundaries of language. Growing up as an international student, this desire became deeply personal and formative.

At seventeen, I moved from South Korea to Chicago. It was a tough transition because I needed to adjust to a new life in a new country. I struggled with the language, unsure of how to express myself or connect meaningfully with those around me. Read more>>

Diego De Pietri | Singer-Songwriter & Music Composer

I pursued a creative career because it felt like a calling from a very young age—something I had to do, and for the most part, it was very enjoyable. It was never a planned decision or a thoughtful choice. Over time, it feels like I never really had a choice at all. I’m glad I followed my gut. Read more>>

Anson Li | Music Artist – ANSON

My whole life, music has been an outlet for me to express myself and helped shape my identity along with getting me through many tough moments. I chose to pursue being an artist because the freedom of expression, the connection with an audience, and the satisfaction of creation is nothing like anything I have experienced in any other field. When everything aligns, it’s the most rewarding and happiest moments in my life. Read more>>

Megan Muneer | Singer-songwrtier

I come from a musical family and I began singing before I could really talk. I began studying formal voice lessons at the age of 12, and then went on to study classical vocal music in college. So it wasn’t really a matter of pursuing or not, I was simply called to that path and I always felt that there was never any other choice. Read more>>

Sofía Aguilar | Writer and Teaching Artist

I chose to pursue a creative career because, from a young age, I knew that there was nothing else I wanted to do with my life. Though I was interested in STEM subjects like science (particularly marine biology), I was never any good at math and wasn’t the kind of child who wanted to pursue things I wasn’t naturally good at. Flaw or not, my true passion lay in more artistic pursuits that felt like intrinsic parts of me: storytelling, collage, crocheting, scrapbooking, embroidering, sewing, and, most importantly, writing. Every book my parents had read me each night before bedtime led to the first moment I put my pencil to paper, igniting a spark in me that has yet to flicker out. There’s something powerful that happens whenever I tell a story, whether true or fiction or even somewhere in-between. Read more>>

Ariel Sandoval | Writer/Director

I think as humans story telling is all around us from the day we’re born, whether fictitious or factual it plays a major role into who we become and what we stand for. That being said it’s a tremendous tool to use to share perspective and insight on the human condition.

The decision to pursue a creative career came from the power felt by a scene or a piece of dialogue from a favorite film, in many ways narrative pieces stick with us throughout our lives strengthening and inspiring us through challenges both small and large, creating these experiences through writing and directing is the most rewarding canvas to me. Read more>>

Lorren Chiodo | multi-instrumentalist, producer, and performing artist

No other path was going to bring me happiness, or fulfilment. Nothing else made me feel as deeply, or think as inquisitively, or expand my consciousness as broadly, as living a life of artistry. Read more>>