We asked some of the city’s leading artists and creatives to tell us about how they decided to pursue an artistic or creative career. We’ve shared some highlights below.

Marlon Xavier Quijije | Actor

I always wanted to be an actor, ever since I was a kid. I grew up in a household where my dad loved movies, especially action movies. My grandfather and uncles were all big movie buffs so movies were always playing when I was growing up. I also grew up with telenovelas because my grandma would always watch them. Read more>>

Simon Jay | Music Producer & Songwriter

I started playing music when I was 4, and learning music at the same time as I was learning to speak, I really came to learn that music is another form of communication. I feel like I have a lifetime’s worth of creative tools to really express the human experience in music. Read more>>

 Mara Derikx | Owner Joyful Hostess | Your Party Planning BFF

You wouldn’t think an (almost) 20 year career in finance is creative or artistic and ….you’d be right. That’s why in 2021 I sold my financial business and went all in on starting Joyful Hostess. A business that let’s me explore my imaginative, fun and creative side (yes, Capricorns can be fun) Read more>>

Kate De Palma | Founder & CEO of Scented Designs Candle Co.

Before starting Scented Designs, my candle company, I was an educator, which itself requires so much creativity. But creativity takes so many different forms, and I’ve always felt drawn to texture and color (and scent, apparently!). In college, I dreamed about a career in fashion or interior design while pursuing my English degree because that’s what felt ‘safe’ to me. Read more>>

Chris K. Daniels | Filmmaker, Founder & Entertainer” “

I always refer to it as a “creative curse.” On one hand, it’s this beautiful, thought-provoking, constantly-enthralling pursuit to make amazing things. But on the other, it’s this perpetual addiction. A fix that never quite scratches the itch. The itch just gets itchier… So I guess to answer the question, I think I was desperately searching for a way to scratch that itch. Read more>>

Maritza Cruz | Director, Writer & Production Designer

I think I’ve always had a propensity for the arts even when I was still a child. I still have my kindergarten yearbook where our teacher made us write about what we wanted to be when we grew up. There were tons of “firefighters, doctors, cops, and teachers.” I wrote that I wanted to be a “singer/actress like Selena,” Read more>>

Tristan Morris (UKNOWTRIST) | Designer, Stylist & Creative Director

I feel like it destined for me. Even though I loved sports, I loved the design of the uniforms more. I’ve always had a wild imagination since I was a kid. Most of my earliest memories are me and my older brother sitting at the dinning room table drawing. He was exceptionally well, and inspired me to be that good. Read more>>

Pura Acebal | Plant Specialist & Business Owner

Why not! The world is filled with beauty. Creativity is tool for growth. It’s an art that is magnified when you silence the noise around you and focus on the stillness and beauty within yourself. I have always been a very creative person. Read more>>

Daniel Gross | Film Curator

I couldn’t help myself – I drove a van for a year running deliveries and I loved it, but I have a gut compulsion to just go make stuff, whether that be music, painting, curating or whatever Read more>>

Yvette Zhang | Film Art Director/ Production Designer

I came from a background of fine art and interior design. When decided to change path of my career, people ask me why I chose Film, even to nowadays, that still is a question often asked. I did not choose art, it kind just happened. Read more>>

Chencong Zhang | Interior Designer & Spatial Experience Designer

Wanting to create spaces that bring a sense of belonging is why I started my path pursuing interior design. As an interior designer, I see spaces as where people can find a piece of themselves there- from a familiar color, a tactile touch, or even a chair just sitting there. Read more>>

Jena Dominique | Co-founder & Creative Projects Manager at Made in Color

Believe it or not, I got my bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Anthropology with an emphasis on culture because I thought I wanted to be involved in the justice system. Read more>>

Gingerr Rust | Vocalist, Producer, & Creative Director

From an early age, I always gravitated towards singing and performing. I chose music because I wanted to do something I love. I also wanted to feel like I’m contributing to something that I believed in and be happy doing it for a long time. Read more>>

Nicholas Milkovich | Sculptor & Mechanical Engineer

I became an artist out of necessity. I had gotten degrees in engineering and art, but I never saw a future in which I could do both or even become a fully realized artist. I didn’t last one year out of school without art. I felt totally zapped of energy and creativity. Read more>>

David Karon | Production Sound Mixer, Photographer & Creative Producer

In hindsight, I’d really say that I didn’t have any other option- though I definitely tried. Before going fully into the business I had tried other things, but finding inspiration and motivation to grind away without a purpose really just made me feel like I was wasting my time/life. Read more>>

Lior Tzemach | Producer & Guitarist

Well, to be honest I am not sure it was my conscious decision. I always felt like music or any type of art is like magic, where the artist is borrowing the audience’s mind and imagination and painting a picture in everyone’s inner canvas. When I first started to play music I felt more in control of this magic, or at least be able to channel some of it. Read more>>

Lloyd Spec” Turner Turner | Grammy Nominated Music Producer

I truly feel that I didn’t choose to be artistic or a creator, it chose me. I started out taking music lessons but decided that I didn’t want to actually know what chords or progressions technically went together but wanted the feeling to override the lesson. At that moment I knew that being a creator was in my soul and spirit and not just a taught skill. Read more>>

 Sām Azghandi | Filmmaker & VFX Artist

Becoming a filmmaker was not something I wished for as a kid. The journey of life and exploring reality, made me become a filmmaker. I received my Bachelor of Science degree in a Medical Lab in my country, Iran, and moved to the United States to continue my education. Read more>>