We asked some of the city’s leading artists and creatives to tell us about how they decided to pursue an artistic or creative career. We’ve shared some highlights below.

Dilruba Karalp | Freelance Illustrator

Actually, I received my bachelor’s degree in interior architecture. The most distinct memories I remember in my childhood years were always about drawing. I was constantly working with paper and pencil and drawing. After college, I started researching what makes me happy. After a short personal journey, when I checked myself to see what made me happy in childhood, the answer was clear: painting. Read more>>

Nicole Peteraf | Entertainment Broker – CEO

I knew at a very young age that I would work in the music or fashion industry. My parents were musicians and I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s when music and fashion was booming. And oddly enough I work in both industries now and have since I was a teenager. I was a dancer myself first working in the best clubs in Miami and wearing some crazy costumes made by a designer. Now I get to be behind the scenes and create it all with my team and some who have become my closest friends. Read more>>

Pierce Washington | Rapper/Producer/Creative Director

Hip hop music, with its vibrant rhythms, poetic lyrics, and powerful storytelling, has an incredible ability to nurture the soul. It serves as a vessel for artists to express their deepest emotions, struggles, and triumphs, resonating with listeners on a profound level. The artistry of hip hop is a blessing, allowing talented individuals to share their unique perspectives and narratives with the world. Through its beats and verses, it bridges cultural gaps, fosters empathy, and inspires change. Read more>>

Alex Duncan | Artist

Art had never been presented to me as a viable career, so when I was figuring myself out in my twenties I tried so many different things I thought would be more lucrative. I wasn’t really happy in any of them, and I wasn’t willing to commit my one life to something I wasn’t passionate about if I didn’t have to. I studied art history in college, and in doing so realized I wanted to be creating beauty not just observing it. Read more>>

Ki Marie | Rap Artist, Writer & Freelance Model

Art has always been one of my first loves since I was a kid. Like literally every art form from drawing, painting, writing music and stories, dancing, being a hairstylist, etc., I’ve always been fascinated by it all. I’m so extra and I’ve always loved expressing myself or my love for things. I’ve been writing music, stories, plays, painting, sketching, doing hair, & being in fashion shows. I’ve always told myself I would blow up off of one if not all of my talents, because they’re all things I truly enjoy; things I love that make me happy! Read more>>

Klarissa | Songwriter

Truthfully, I feel less that I chose this path and feel more that I was created for this path. My brain is wired creatively, and that has been evident since I was young. As a child I wrote songs as a form of self-expression. I wrote songs about things that moved me, inspired me, made me happy, or brought me to tears. In 4th or 5th grade, I was gifted a camera, and I began to take pictures of the things we as adults often miss, such as flowers budding in the springtime, or the droplets of dew on a blade of grass. Read more>>

Sujata Shakya | Watercolor, Acrylic and Gouache artist

I have always loved drawing and painting since I was a kid. I actually have a degree in Supply Chain Management. I did not feel fulfilled with a corporate job and it felt like something was missing in my life. I’ve always been creative but never thought of pursuing art as a career. After Covid hit, I had to go back to my home country Nepal for 4 months. I took a traditional religious “paubha” painting class for a month while I was there. Read more>>