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.

Jesse Chapman | Musical Artist and Songwriter

My career as an artist started early. I was raised in a home filled with music as my dad sat at the piano playing anything from classical pieces to Billy Joel. As any kid does I wanted to be just like him so sometime around the age of 4 he sat me down at the piano to learn Mary Had a Little Lamb and it never really stopped after that. I would see him play with his buddies at backyard barbeques, I saw him perform on stage with Billy Joe Royal, I was regaled with stories of meeting and performing with some genuine rockstars when he was in his 20’s. I had to be just like him. Read more>>

Akash Das | Photographer & Artist

I did not always want to pursue a creative or artistic career. As a teenager, I really wanted to get into forensic science or zoology. When I got a camera as a birthday present, the possibilities felt endless. I had never felt that kind of passion towards a hobby so I thought there might be a way to pursue this further. I was photographing concerts, as a side-job, during the school year, and during the breaks I would visit national parks with the sole purpose of creating photographs. That is when I decided to pursue photography and art for my education and career. Once I got to SCAD, I had the chance to develop my understanding of photography, become technically sound and really dig deep into what photography entails in this day and age. Read more>>

Mahogany Mills | Natural hair stylist

We are a femcee/singer duo from Chicago. There is definitely a stigma especially being women who create music from Chicago. Todays music from Chicago is not 100% positive. We all have went through struggles and obstacles here. So to answer the question on why we chose to pursue music was to change the narrative of Chicago music. We want to bring back that story telling aspect of Chicago music. We need it now more than ever. Read more>>

Patrick RokN | Singer & Creative

I’ve always been a creative person. My entire life I’ve been doing something creative, from music, film, art, photography. If it’s a creative outlet I’ve tried it. I always wanted to do something I love for work because I truly believe the saying “If you do what you love, it’s never work”. Read more>>

@L3X (Alex) OLiv3r (Oliver) | Rapper & Hip Hop Recording Artist

Well, it’s like this – pursuing my music career feels like my calling, my purpose on this planet. I started rapping back in my teenage years, and it was a love affair that consumed me. Growing up, I was heavily influenced by artists like Kid Cudi and Eminem. They fearlessly expressed their emotions and didn’t feel the need to conform to societal norms or rap about materialistic things. They spoke their truth, and that really struck a chord with me. I wanted to be that person for someone else in the future – someone who could inspire and connect with others on a deep level. Read more>>

Diana Rodriguez | Makeup Artist & Co-Owner of Long Island Fashion Week

They say newborns and babies see only limited colors from new born to 4-5 months. As crazy as this sounds I was fascinated by colors at a only a few months of age. By 1 years old my favorite color was purple. Imagine being gravitated to a color at such a young age? It was only then that I started to realize color and art was so beautiful to me. I was 6 when I would sit on the toilet seat top fully dressed while I watched my mother do her makeup each night getting ready for a night out. I remember being so amazed to watch her transform to a new person each night. Read more>>

Michael “Uptown” Anderson | Rap Artist & Event Host/Curator

I’ve always enjoyed being an entertainer from as far back as I can’t remember. Putting on shows for my family in the living room. Whatever I could do to get a smile or a laugh from others brought me joy. I found that same Joy in music as well, so why not do both? Ludacris is one of my biggest inspirations because he did it first. From being an MC radio personality to being one of the biggest names in hip-hop. I’d like to have that on my résumé as well.. Read more>>

Alexander Kaufmann | Digital artist and Poster designer

I always wanted to have a career in entertainment. At a young age, I really wanted to be a visual effects artist, and then an animator, but I as I got older I started a graphic design and have been pushing that passion further for the last few years. Currently, I am trying to build a career in the movie poster and entertainment marketing industry as both of my passions for film and art tie into it. It is kind of the first thing I have really stuck to for a long time and something that I am continuously passionate about so why not keep pushing? Read more>>