Meet Kim Kenner | Artist, Creative & Entrepreneur

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

Hi Kim, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Growing up in the Garden District of New Orleans gave me access to a diverse world of art early in life that I took for granted. Art for me was always a part of my life whether it was music, dance, photography, or painting it was easily available and the norm. I found once I left New Orleans Art was not always as accessible and you had to be intentional to be in the community. Although I left my community the creativity was still in me and I was still creating. I have always enjoyed entertaining and hosting parties. Many would say my parties were awesome because of all the thought and creativity put into them. I realized it was time for me to make sure that others have the same accessibility to the Arts I had growing up. Hence, the birth of Creole Creative Canvases.

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.
Creole Creative Canvases offers Curated Art Experiences. We view the world is a canvas and each person is the artist of our own lives. We all choose to paint our world as we see it. Creole Creative Canvases’ mission is to create a safe space for each person to expose their inner artist through each customer experience with our brand. For the past 2 years I have worked with school districts and therapeutic groups helping individuals cope during the pandemic with our Art Experiences. I am an entrepreneur. Art for me was always a part of my life whether it was music, dance, photography, or painting it was easily available and the norm. My journey in the Arts started off with dancing. I did ballet, tap, and jazz. I even danced with an African dance Troop. I danced my entire life even through College. One would think that I had found my space and would be in the arts. But as life would have it I chose the corporate path. We forget about what makes us happy and start creating what looks good to others. I was guilty but my inner Artist kept pushing her way to the surface. I kept trying to ignore her and continued a career in corporate. My inner Artist kept nudging me. The Universe was not having it either as I continued on this path with numerous contracts and jobs basically forcing the issue the contracts kept ending and the jobs. Finally, my inner Artist said enough is enough we are doing this thing. Hence, the birth of Creole Creative Canvases.
WE are where color community and creativity collide.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Upon Arriving to Atlanta I would grab my friends and stop at Everything Nola and grab some seafood Nachos and a Snowball.

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?
There are several that helped to get me to a place of confidence in my business. I started my business in Jan. 2020. As we all know The world and business changed as we once knew it. Because of this I had to pivot very quickly. I had recently completed the BOA/eCornell’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Certification and it opened up a wealth of resources. One of them was Luminary of NYC. Luminary is a Coworking Community for Women. They offered Virtual Memberships and Programming via a Fellowship through Unilever. During this time when a lot of us were alone Luminary’s community kept not only me but lots of women focused and driven. I owe so many groups for my growth not only in my business but personally during this time. I recently completed Goldman Sachs Black in Business Cohort and it gave my additional tools I needed to continue to grow in my business. I am forever grateful for the opportunities that each of these entities have made available to not only me but women in business.

Website: www.creolecreativecanvases@gmail.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creole_creative_canvases/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/74771724/admin/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CreoleCreativeCanvases

Image Credits
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