Meet Keegan Carter | Artist & strategist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Keegan Carter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Keegan, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk is funny because it’s an all or nothing type of thing. I chose to reframe the concept in my head and focus on the concept of curiosity and exploration. It’s the same thing to me, just a better way of thinking about it. Take walking for example. One could say that every time your foot leaves the ground you’re at risk of falling. One could also say that if your foot never leaves the ground you can’t walk forward or even run. It’s all about how you think about it.

My life can pretty much be summed up by exploration. Always curious about things I come across and people. Always eager to try something new. Always fascinated by things I haven’t experienced. And all of these things play into my life and career. I pull experiences from my travels into my art career all the time. I pull learnings from my art career into my corporate career just as much as well. I am only who I am because of the things that I have experienced and the sum of them all contribute to my success; not one or another.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I started painting in private to counteract stressful days in Silicon Valley. In just under 2 years I’ve been able to publicly hone my craft, exhibit collections in 3 different cities and overall become stronger and more inspired as an artist. The most valuable lesson that I have learned so far is that there is no one way to be an artist or do art. I consistently searched for the “best” or “proper” way to approach my journey and I kept running into the same answer. That answer is that all of our journey’s are different and that mine will not look like anyone else’s. Settling into my own inspiration, curiosity, and path has been the most eye-opening and most rewarding aspect of my journey so far.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Ooouuuu, this is a good one. Because I haven’t lived in Atlanta super long we’re going to my favorite spots so far.

We’ve got to hit up a few museums and galleries in town

We’d spend a few sunny days along the BeltLine just to hang and catch the overall vibe

We would probably spend a day or two hiking in one of the parks around the city or Stone Mountain

Brunching, dinner or drinks around West Midtown and Peter’s Street

Lastly, and this may be weird, but we would hit up a few vinyl stores. I’m a big music fan and stumbling upon classic records or largely samples artists is a pastime of mine.

That’s a great week.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to thank my parents, family and broader village for anything that has ever happened to me or for me. I’m thankful for books like Originals by Adam Grant. I’m humbled by my experiences and the people that shaped how I move forward in the world. I’m continuously inspired by my peers and colleagues as they worm their way through their own journey’s. I always struggle with questions like this as no one ingredient is more important than the other when baking a cake. There isn’t an experience that I’ve had or a person that I’ve met that I am not thankful for in one way or another.

Website: keegancarter.com

Instagram: @complexcarter

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keegancarter/

Twitter: @complexcarter