Artists and creatives face innumerable challenges given that their career path often doesn’t come with a playbook, a steady paycheck or any form of safety net. It’s definitely not easy and so we asked a few of the artists and creatives we admire to talk to us about why they chose to pursue an artistic or creative career.

Gary Brightwell | Writer/Stand Up Comedian

I really don’t think I chose a creative career, it kind of chose me. I gave up a career in aerospace engineering to pursue a career in stand up comedy based on a fluke opportunity and with the help many people along the way, I have been able to make not only a living, but also acquire many other successes such as writing for television, and hosting my own show on Sirius/XM radio. Read more>>

Vyolet Jin | Illustrator & Creator

Because of LOVE of course! Art almost came to me naturally when I was a kid. I used to doodle on all my textbooks subconsciously and couldn’t leave a piece of paper blank. Before I decided to pursue art as my career, I dreamed about all different jobs like being a news reporter, a translator, a linguist, and so on; I always wished I could secretly be an artist on the side as a part-time job. Read more>>

Reem Al Shaini | Jordanian Production Design Student at AFI

Art inspires life, and I believe that movies are a big part of how we view the world around us, through film, we get to experience things we haven’t gotten a chance to experience in our life. I wanted to pursue a production design career here in Los Angeles because I want to be able to take part in stories that deliver important messages, and I want to be a part of how the middle east is portrayed in Hollywood. Read more>>

Breeze Hu | Comic artist & Illustrator

I stumbled into my career in the arts purely by chance. As a child, I enjoyed comics and animations like any other kid, thus I began to draw by tracing the characters from it. Read more>>

Melinda Torres | Photographer/Creative Director & Publisher

I’ve always been drawn to the art of photography and knew at an early age that my passion would someday turn into my career. There are two roads in life. The one you choose for yourself and the other that someone else chooses for you. I chose my own path to do what I love. Read more>>

Shuyue Su | Writer/Director

I grew up listening to bed time stories and reading fairy tales. I have always enjoyed seeing the world when I closed my eyes while listening or reading, everything becomes tangible in the imagination and I always felt closely connected to that fantasy world. Read more>>

Isabelle Chaligné | Digital Designer & Multimedia Artist

I definitely attribute my early creative interests to both my parents’ passion for the arts and different forms of craftsmanship. They both have the collecting bug; watching them analyse and marvel at every detail of an object helped develop my creative curiosity. Read more>>

Greg Lernout | Actor & Real Estate Investor

I’ve always been drawn to the arts, music and films. I enjoy being around the cast and crew on film sets. I find it fun playing characters and creating individual scenes that all come together at the end to make something special. Read more>>

Desiree Ramos | Product and creative portrait photographer

I grew interest in photography when I was a teenager. Over the years I was exposed to how photography can become a profession and within those years I became more confident in my craft and was ready to really try out in this industry. Read more>>

Jisoo Jeong | Production Designer & Artist

Growing up, I always had an enthusiasm for making miniature sets alone, and spent most of my time drawing and making sculptures. Art is essential for developing confidence, individuality, and creativity, and essentially develops the ability to cope with life’s happiness and tragedies and develops the inner power to overcome difficulties. Read more>>

Meyvi Wedelia Geeska | Creative Director

If I dig out all of my notebooks from school, no matter what the subjects are, may it be math, humanities or science; they are all filled with colors and scribbles – it almost looks like I never take my academics seriously. But that was what helped me learn better (emphasize on learn, not score). Read more>>

Qinru Zhang | Multimedia Artist & Designer

Intuition plays a crucial role in my artistic pursuits. The instinct of art marking turns an artistic career into an essential part of my life. Rather than choosing art, it feels more like art chose me to be a vessel for storytelling. My artistic career revolves around exploring the gap between reality and virtuality, finding ways to immerse viewers in an uncanny otherworld that both reminds and defamiliarizes them with our reality. Read more>>

LaTanya Coleman-Carter | Author

I pursued this creative career as a form of liberation. Simply put, I want to be free and help others feel a sense of freedom. I have defined freedom this way: The ability to exist as my authentic self without resistance. Read more>>

Dasha Pimenov | Filmmaker & Historian

I never intended to pursue the entertainment industry, actually. Growing up, I was always infatuated with the past, so I naturally gravitated toward the humanities – history, classics, and philosophy, specifically. I was still uncertain about the career track I wanted to explore, so I took film theory classes for the fun of analyzing movies. Read more>>

v.c. rhone | Creative Executive & Social Impact Leader

That is a great question! I would have to take it back to when I was a little girl. When I was in the second grade my school had a Black History Month assembly and there was a singer who gave one of the most soul-stirring performances I had ever heard in my young life. Read more>>