Artistic and creative careers are among the most rewarding, but they also come with unique challenges. We asked some of the city’s best creatives to tell us why they choose to pursue a creative career.

Shiloh Speights | Writer, Music Producer, and Recording Artist

I have a few interests I’d like to pursue. One of them, which I’m offering now to the world, started when I was very young. I wrote my first rhyme at the age of 7, reflecting on my father’s passing, my siblings, and my mother. No one taught me how to do this, but I kept that piece of writing in an envelope until I felt ready to let go of those emotions. When the time came, I threw it away. Read more>>

Charlize Ramirez | Independent R&B singer and songwriter

Music has always been my way of understanding and expressing the world around me. Growing up in a divorced home where I was constantly moving, music became sort of like my safe space. Therapy wasn’t something we talked about much in my Hispanic family, so songwriting gave me a way to process my feelings. Read more>>

Edward Mena | Award Winning Singer & Activist

First of all, thank you for the opportunity to reach your wonderful audience, It’s a pleasure. Well, I was always very musical since a very young age; I remember singing as a little boy around my house with a hairbrush pretending that it was a microphone. Then in school, I would also participate in musical theater plays and everything related to the arts. But it wasn’t until I turned 15 that I discovered my true voice, after it changed and started to mature, I realized I had this powerful sound and that I could reach certain high notes and hold them for a long time, that’s where it all started. Read more>> 

Xuanchen Fan | Artist

I’ve been practice painting and drawing since I was 5. However, it took me many years until 28 to have the courage to be an artist. I thought being an artist means financially unstable. When I was 28, I got the opportunity to work with Swatch and professionally start my artistic career. Read more>>