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.

Chris Hilleke

From my experience it seems that creativity is at the core of life. It is the hard problem. The thing we cannot explain. How did all this get here? Somehow it was created. Engaging with creativity is engaging with the essence of what it is to be alive. Read More>>

Daniel Bourget

I love technology and math, but I also enjoy music and creativity just as much. So I ended up picking a career that had an equal amount of both. There are an endless number of things to learn on the technological side of recording, but there is also an equal portion of creativity when you get to produce. Read More>>

Jon Krop

Looking back, I don’t think I ever had a chance of escaping it. Art and music have been baked into my DNA for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I was constantly drawing or building something. Read More>>

Sofiia Streltsova

I have always been drawn to art. I started drawing from a very young age and later completed an architectural education, becoming an urban planner. This background shaped my sense of structure, symbolism, and form. Handpoke tattooing felt like a natural continuation of my creative path, combining intention, precision, and human connection into a deeply personal art form. Read More>>

Suz Control

Music has always been my first love. I was always singing—it was my favorite thing to do growing up in the Midwest. I sang in choir and received positive feedback, but I was too shy to take center stage and that love became dormant over the years. After I moved to LA, I started to come out of my shell. Read More>>

Cyazon

I chose to pursue a career as a music artist because I want to inspire others in life the same way I was inspired when I started to make music. Read More>>

 Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku

Right at an early age I was curious about the world around me and still am. The idea of self discovery was new and exciting to me, but more importantly was this hunger to know more about people just like me and the world I was living in. I was always lost in nature, listening for sounds in the open field….I went into art because I wanted to listen, learn and lend.  Read More>>

 Jaklen Alkyan

I pursued a creative career in a very natural way. My primary career has always been in Human Resources. I’ve been an HR professional and executive for over 20 years, and I truly love the work. HR is all about people, but it’s also about supporting the business, aligning talent with organizational goals, and helping companies grow in a healthy and meaningful way. It’s a field that’s always evolving, and it has allowed me to connect with people on a deeper level while also thinking strategically. Read More>>

Shandela Contreras

Creativity looks different for everyone, of course. For me, it’s never been occasional or fleeting. It was a spark that ignited in third grade and became a constant companion. Some discover that whichever form of art they partake in calls to them in moments; I discovered then, that it would never stop calling, that this wasn’t a spark that would fade but a flame that would define me. Read More>>