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.

Caitlin Mamone | Photographer

Ever since I was little I have loved doing art projects and doing anything creative. I have continued this as an elementary school teacher, doing fun hands-on projects with students and letting them tap into their creative side. My Grand-daddy was a big part of my photography influence. He traveled the world and always had a camera by his side. He taught me that pictures capture and save moments in your life. This has always stuck with me. When the pandemic hit, I decided that people should still be able to have beautiful pictures and capture those important parts in their lives that may have been taken from them, engagements, graduations, birthday. Read more>>

Sofiya Rothschild | Recording artist, songwriter, producer, & performer.

I chose to pursue an artistic career in the music industry because I have a very strong passion for the creation and performance of music. From an early age, I was always inspired to create! Whether it was music, art, or even fashion design, I’ve always wanted to share my own unique perspective and vision with the world. A creative career gives you the amazing freedom of expression and the precious ability to share a story with your audience. Through my music, I share my thoughts about the world, love and friendship, as well as messages of self-empowerment. I use my voice and musical instrumentals to carefully and precisely craft unique sounds. My love and passion for music motivates and pushes me to work hard every single day and to never stop believing in myself. There are so many ways to evolve and improve when creating music, and that is why I believe in improving upon my craft until I reach my goals. Read more>>

Diego Texera | Photographer

Photography suits me very well because I have a keen eye for detail and love cameras. Photography is an art that is also a science. You use traditional artistic skills to manipulate what’s in front of you from an aesthetic perspective, but then you also have to manipulate the machine and lighting by doing math in your head in order to manipulate the technical part of capturing images. I love using both sides of my brain concurrently when there’s a bunch of moving parts on set and that’s why this suits me so well. In order to be effective as a visual artist, or any type for that matter, it’s important to have a keen eye for detail. This attention to detail is my superpower and I feel that without it I couldn’t have made it this far as a creative professional. The part I love the most about doing what we do is that very rarely do shoots ever look similar. There’s always something different about the client, subject matter, location, lighting, etc… This is my favorite part of being a photographer. We’re there to solve creative and technical problems and I love that. Read more>>

Joseph Ayers | Artist and Educator

Unwittingly it was a way of escaping some of the oppressive social structures that I faced growing up: systemic racism and misogyny, poverty, and lack of education. Pursuing art gave me a new language, and inspired me to raise questions about these issues. It also introduced me to a community of other artists and teachers with whom I could exchange ideas and experiences. At some point I became keenly aware that making art and teaching could help me develop a broader and deeper perspective, and refine a personal language that I could use to express and share my perceptions with others. It took me some time to fully realize it, but ultimately I chose to pursue art because I wanted to be part of this dialogue. Read more>>

Karamvir Bhatti | Multidisciplinary Artist

Throughout all of the random pursuits in my life, creativity has always been home for me. It is the one thing that allows me to tap into my personal sense of freedom and inner child. When I am creatively tuned into a project or idea, I learn more about myself than I would at a full-time job. It gives me the unique opportunity to turn off my logical brain and just play. Read more>>

Trisha Padilla | Artist & Tattooist

An artistic career was something that came naturally because I have always been creatively in tuned. I have explored many other fields, but nothing has come close to the feeling I receive when I create. Now that I am older and evolving, my reasons for pursuing an artistic career increases. For instance, many things are happening in current events, politics, theories, philosophies, morals, and more than what meets the eye. I use art as a way to speak about what I believe in, what I support, and what I stand for. In depth, my ethnic roots expect a specific lifestyle from me and tattooing has always been a misogynistic industry, but today I stand as an Asian American woman breaking barriers and stereotypes as I pursue the life of an artist. Art is not only my passion, but has become my voice. Read more>>

Olivia Murillo | Illustrator & Barista

II wanted to create a life for me where work, didn’t feel like work. I love drawing, I love coloring, I love cartoons, I like being creative. I like being able to “make” things and I don’t like being bored. It’s why I decided to pursue an artistic career because it looked fun and “not boring”. So far, I’ve proven myself right and my creative career has been far from boring and quite an intriguing challenge. Its been very fun enjoying the ups and downs of life as an artist. Read more>>