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.

Adrienne Hulme | Photographer

I have been making art possibly since I came out of the womb, and taking photos since I was 9 years old. It was always something that I just loved to do and was a part of who I am. My parents were very supportive of me making art, but they told me that I didn’t want to be a starving artist, and since I was good at math too, they pushed me to pursue something more stable as a career. When I went to college, I had tried to figure out something that I thought would use both, and in my mind being a mechanical engineer and designing cars was going to be the thing. But I didn’t actually know any engineers or have any engineering background, so besides not really grasping what it would actually be like, I was starting way behind everyone else. Read more>>

André Hora | Visual Artist and Illustrator

From a very early age, producing art came very natural to me. It became a way of escaping every day life challenges, in a way in which I could express myself and communicate. For me personally, art became kind of a ‘friend’, in that it would always be there for me. As time went by, it turned out that the art I produced struck a chord with people. By seeing that, I was able to realise the importance of art, and the role my art had to play. Read more>>

Oni Gallegos | Artist/Creative

There are so many factors that influence my reasoning in pursuing my creative career. Firstly, the idea of a creative career for me is that in which involves visual, studio arts, as well as event design and coordination. Out of all the questions asked, I chose to answer the one that entails a multitude of ideals I could express to validate my personal decision in pursuing anything artistically. When I state anything, I mean anything and everything. What I have done, and what I have yet to do. The reason I strive to pursue the overall concept of a creative career is that I never want to limit my creativity. I want to compress my life with any opportunity I can to envelope my ambitious ideas. Now there are goals to reach, short term and long term, and there are endless agents of the art world I might never touch. Read more>>

Stacy D’Aguiar | Artist

That was my plan since I was born. I feel that I was born to create art, and that’s my path in this life. Read more>>

Mayra Ortiz | Identity Designer

Since I was little I had (like most children were) enjoyed coloring and drawing. But when I was in elementary school I had a little entrepreneur moment where I was selling my Pokemon drawings to the kids from school so I could save up for a very expensive $14.00 USD Pikachu backpack. It’s funny but really that’s the moment I knew what I wanted for my future: be an artist. But around High School an aunt told me I should pursue Graphic Design because it could be more profitable than an artist ( I liked drawing but I didn’t feel I had a high caliber to compete in the field) and I also had an interest in video games so I saw this as a little entry to that industry. But then I had my first graphic designer job and I fell in love with everything that had to do with identity design. Read more>>

Josephina Cicero: God Led Artist, Interior Designer and Business Owner

Artistic creativity is a gift that people are born with; it’s not something taught because it’s a visual expression of a person’s inner passion. Every creative person’s challenge is selecting an artistic field of business to make a living and reflect who they are through the many artistic genres. Such as clothing design, interior design, fine artist, chef, furniture maker, architect, musician, make-up artist, and the list goes on. Creative people are passionate individuals and can do anything that involves creativity. All that changes from field-to-field are the tools they use. For example, a fine artist uses a paintbrush, a clothing designer uses fabrics, a chef uses kitchen utensils, or a furniture maker uses construction tools, to name a few. Read more>>

Jennifer Anichowski | Artist

I made the decision to make art my career early in my life, around middle school. I wanted to spend my days drawing and doing what I loved doing. Read more>>