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.

Frankie Campisano | Writer, Comedian & Filmmaker

I have pursued a creative career because there’s nothing I’m more passionate about than creating art with likeminded collaborators. Partnering with people whose visions I admire or whose senses of humor resonate with my own is a great framework for making something bigger, bolder, and funnier than we could have created on our own. Read more>>

Tracy Silver | Director, choreographer and Educator

I pursued an artistic career to be able to communicate. As a child I had a lot of feelings about a lot of things and didn’t have the skills or outlet to articulate my feelings. My mother put me a Ballet class at the age of 3 and it was there I learned to funnel my feelings through my body. It was safe because it was silent and I didn’t have to confront anyone out loud. I worked out my emotions physically. My career as a professional dancer evolved into theater, tv and film and acting became a necessary part of my skills. Read more>>

Brian Mcdonald | Author, speaker, and story consultant

I never considered another career aside from a creative one. I don’t think you can choose to be an artist. Maybe you can. I think there are people who choose not to be artists, but I don’t think there are people who choose to do it. It seems like it’s something you’re born with. At least, it seems that way to me. I never considered it as anything, particularly special, just the thing I enjoy doing. Read more>>

Emily Simonian | Songwriter, Composer, Lyricist

I first pursued a career in music because I’ve always had a deep passion for it. When I was studying music in college, I was lucky to have mentors who gave me the encouragement and guidance I needed—having that kind of support really matters when you’re figuring out your next steps. After finishing my degree, I performed as a songwriter and taught music for a while, but about 10 years ago, I decided to switch things up and went back for a master’s in Psychology. Read more>>

Valentina Berdegué Saenz | Illustrator

I’ve always enjoyed drawing; it was something I did naturally without even thinking about it. I never felt particularly talented at anything, and even with drawing, it wasn’t like I was Picasso or received a lot of praise for it—I just enjoyed it. I loved creating characters, choosing their clothes and hair. I remember as a kid, I loved flash games where you could create avatars or decorate rooms. It was so much fun dreaming up a whole story and bringing it to life. I liked that I could see my progress in my art; it was concrete and visible. Read more>>

Darlene Darma | Film Producer

I’ve always had a deep love for art. I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pen and started taking art classes when I was just three. Over the years, I’ve entered a bunch of art competitions and even had my work shown in a gallery. I’ve tried my hand at different mediums—oil painting, acrylics, ink on paper, and clay. Read more>>

Lawrence Flores | Artist, Graphic Designer, Music Producer, Drummer, & Aspiring Author

I was creative at a very early age, I began artistically drawing at 6 years old. Nothing really inspired me then at that time, until later on in life. I remember entering a drawing contest in our class, and when the day came, the kids who entered presented their artwork, one by one. One showed a house, with grass, a swing set, kids playing. The next one drew rainbows, and clouds, and mountains. Read more>>

Meryl Jacobs | Award-Winning Video Editor / President, Gotham Edit

I’ve always been inspired by the arts, and driven to succeed at the things that are meaningful to me in my career. And so, my professional journey has been geared towards pursuing creative and gratifying work: from Advertising, to Broadway as a stage manager, to post-production, and eventually to award-winning video editor and business owner. While I’ve learned to pursue my professional goals from a positive and optimistic mindset, it hasn’t always been easy as there are challenges and hurdles along the way. Read more>> 

Alireza Khodayari | Musician (Composer and Tar player)

Well! Rather than just relying on family pictures of my early childhood as proof of my interest in music and art, I’ve been actively involved in music since I was around ten years old. After four or five years of making music as a teenager, the idea of musicianship became a serious subject in my life. When, as a sixteen-year-old, I created my own ensemble and performed my debut official concert in my hometown, I knew I was on the right track. Read more>>

Nikki Scott | Celebrity Makeup Artist & Business Owner

I chose a beauty creative career to give myself the flexibility to have a family and work on my own schedule. Grateful for how far I have come. Read more>>

Elyse Bernardi | Salon owner/ beauty guru

I realized that I needed to find something that would continuously motivate me to further my education in order to maintain my artistic and creative abilities. Read more>>

Aniket Solanki | Sound Designer

For a very long time when I was growing up, I thought that a career in the arts is not possible. It felt that it never was a viable option. I loved watching movies but I never thought I could be the one making those movies. This all changed when I learned about the existence of film schools. You see, I did my undergrad in Computer Engineering and at that time I did not know that you you could go to schools to learn about films and the art of filmmaking. For the longest time a place of education always filled me with dread. Read more>>

Kiki Liu | Interdisciplinary Artist & Designer

Thanks for having me! It felt like a natural progression for me to pursue art as a creative. From a young age, I was captivated by the process of making. I vividly remember being mesmerized by daily objects and always wondering how they are made. My mind would constantly analyze the designs, considering how people came up with them and how I could improve them to suit my personal needs. This unconscious habit of figuring things out, thinking in parts, and redesigning was likely the initial spark that ignited my artistic career. Read more>>

Alvaro Valiente | Photographer and filmmaker

I pursued an artistic and creative career because I’ve had a deep curiosity and passion for photography since I was young. I studied Computer Engineering, and while working as a developer, photography started as a hobby but quickly became much more than that. My love for capturing the beauty of the world grew stronger over time, and I realized this was where my true passion lay. Eventually, I decided to leave my developer career behind and dedicate myself fully to photography and videography. Read more>>

Xi Zhou | UX Designer

My design journey started with a love for the innovative and imaginative world of Doraemon during childhood. When I was young I was learning different drawings such as traditional Chinese painting, watercolor, and more. This paved the way for me to study Industrial design at Jiangnan University during my freshmen year of college. When I slowly got into industrial design, I found my main interest is in the Internet of Things (IoT) then I started to look for school transfer opportunities to US universities, Through 2 years of effort, I moved to California College of the Arts to focus on UX design and research In 2017. Read more>>

Royal Binion

I’ve always loved creating. Ever since I could remember I’ve had a camera in my hand or was singing. I started as a singer/ songwriter. Signed to a few labels back in the day. I got a scholarship for theater at FAMU but left early to move to Los Angeles and pursue my dreams. I then got into modeling and did that for sometime in LA, NY, and Hong Kong. Modeling taught me so much behind the scenes of how to bring visions to life and make images pop. Read more>>

Frey Su

My decision to pursue a career as an artist stems from a deep-seated desire to benefit society and help people through my passion. Art has been an inseparable part of my life since I started learning and engaging with it at the age of five. For a long time, I was uncertain whether to make art my profession. The countless stories of people who turned their dreams into jobs only to end up disillusioned and unhappy filled me with doubt and fear. Read more>> 

Romy Fur

Like many artists, pursuing a creative career was a natural extension of my need to process and articulate the world and the complexities of life. I was born and grew up in Cape Town, South Africa. Growing up in a family of five kids, with parents who didn’t finish high school, I didn’t come from a particularly academic background. However, my mother was always very creative and taught me how to draw, be handy, and use power tools. Read more>>

Shoji Yamasaki

To be honest, it was the one thing in my life that I found myself coming back to repeatedly, which was fascination to movement and choreography. As human beings living on this Earth, we are surrounded by movements, whether that is the morning routine or the pathways you take to get to work, choreography is everywhere around us. Read more>>

Zixuan Zhang

My journey into the film and media industry began when I was a child. With my parents often busy at work, I found comfort, companionship, and entertainment in the TV. This experience sparked my desire to create films, TV shows, and reality shows that offer others the same sense of comfort I felt as a kid. This mission has driven me ever since. Read more>>

Michelle Li

I’m not entirely sure why I chose a creative career, but I think it was the ability to communicate with people in a way other than words that interested me. I have always struggled with verbal communication, but I felt like I could try to say something meaningful visually that was important to me. My art offers a way for me to show those emotions, ideas, and stories, and I found that very compelling. It provided a way for me to connect with others and share my perspective in a way that felt natural and fulfilling. Read more>>

Ambra Ferraris

I decided to pursue an artistic career because I had no choice. It was more of a need than a decision. There came a moment in my life when nothing was ever enough. I couldn’t be satisfied with any achievement because I needed to follow this path, and I knew that until I did, I would feel like something was missing. Read more>>

Jasmine Wesley

Although I am a singer/songwriter and music is my career, I’ve always been intentional about what I’m truly pursuing. I never say I’m pursuing music because what I’m really after is peace. A question I often ask myself is, “If I look back on my life, will I be proud of how I lived it?” Music and singing always terrified me, but I knew I didn’t want to look back with regret. I knew I would find peace knowing I never let fear run my life. Read more>>