Artists & Innovators Leadership Project: Living a life of purpose and paying it forward

Go Fund Me for the journey to AILP

I’m always working even when it seems like I’m not, and I go underground for a while. Work is happening, and I'm making progress. Sometimes moving forward requires you to look back to see what could have been done better and to consider what we wish we'd done. You know. Those deferred dreams. But before I focus on making an impact in business, technology, or even education, I want to start with the human conditions that create the changes we desire to see in the world. I am making strides with the creation of my nonprofit organization, Artists & Innovators Leadership Program (AILP) (fundraiser link below), which creates programs that will foster support networks for young artists and future entrepreneurs. This takes a lot of time, energy, resources, and dedication. 

As artists, many of us have had a lifetime of hearing things about being an artist is a suboptimal way to live. We’ve heard the “starving artist” trope, and we have not always had the most support for how we dream, what we create, and the type of world we want to leave behind for the next generation of dreamers and creators. The lack of support for our art and talents left many creatives spinning in circles just trying to define who we are and what pathway to follow. We have been told to find "real" careers and to settle for the least that life has to offer. As artists, we should never adapt to settlement when it comes to standing in our divinely designed lives of creativity. 

I am among many design leaders who understand the importance of intersecting art and design with business. Creativity and technical process are not enemies. They are interdependent factors on a polarity spectrum that can benefit from when we understand how to navigate them. We hear about technology, business, politics, and other career fields that would lead you to believe that artists are not required for those industries to thrive. Folks, design is everywhere. Without design, art, music, and without the dreamers, much of what we see today would not exist. Look around your environment and tell me what would be left if you removed art, design, and creative elements from your surroundings. Hardly anything.

We are at a critical point in history where, beyond what we’ve seen in the movies, we are actually being silenced. We’re being monitored. We are being suppressed. How do we, as artists, fight in times of necessary revolution? We create!!!! We teach others how to utilize their creativity to amplify their vision of a harmonious future through loud, bold, and even sometimes quiet examination of who we are and whom we are meant to be in this world. We are creators! Full stop.

When the world seems like it’s imploding, it’s easy to think that you’re only one person and cannot make an impactful change. I’m here to tell you that you can make a change. One big change does not outweigh millions of small, impactful changes every day. 

Water seems useless against a stone, but over time, we have seen water sharpen stone to create beautiful fixtures in our landscapes, and we, too, can be the water that shapes the future of creatives and innovators.

Let’s talk about the sociopolitical, democratic, and societal climate we've grown accustomed to over the last 60 or so years in the United States. And there is a lot to be angry & worried about, a lot to fight for, rights to protect and fight to regain. Reform is necessary, and even more necessary is revolution. Many people don’t know how to be revolutionaries, so they wait for others to be the voice of a society under attack. Revolution is not just about the fight in the streets and the courts. We live revolutionary lives when we step out of the status quo level of living and challenge what we believe or are expected to believe. Being a free thinker and creator goes against the status quo, and in the minds of some people who would rather you be subservient to their ideologies, being a creator is threatening because it requires thinking beyond what we and others see, and sometimes challenges beliefs.

The arts have always been vital in childhood learning, but somewhere along the way, people started to determine that the arts is insignificant and pulled funding and support from youth arts programs in schools and communities. Pulling funding doesn’t stop dreamers from dreaming and creators will find a way to create. Today it seems like everything is moving backwards to times when struggle was an aspiration to create change. My hope is that the generation that benefited from the fight of our parents, grandparents, and ancestors who preceded them, will keep the torch moving forward despite the fights we are facing today. The world needs creators, and young creators need mentors and support systems that some of us simply didn’t have 30 or 40 years ago.

I decided to leave my master of Design Management & Communications degree program at Georgetown University and have been accepted to the Master of Business Innovation (MBI) program at the Savannah College of Art & Design this fall.  I am also currently shaping the Artists & Innovators Leadership Project, which is a mentoring and creative development non-profit organization for emerging artists and innovators: The next chapter of world changers. I am partnering with artists from all concentrations, business leaders, education professionals, and others to create support systems and programs for young artists and innovators who need the support network necessary to help them thrive. I believe extrinsic motivation is a great way to encourage the growth of intrinsic motivation. Growing up as an aspiring artist, I did not have a support network required to help push me forward in the artistic direction I knew I wanted to go in. I saw peers thrive in their crafts and opportunities because of how they were supported and who believed in them. The result of that was decades of me never knowing I could be great at anything specific. I also know that sometimes, the support isn’t there because people want you to fail. Sometimes those around you don’t know how to support you because they weren’t supported. 

I hope AILP can help further break that cycle and help emerging artists and innovators thrive in an ever-changing world. Their voices are imperative to shifting the world towards change that sustains and isn’t easily dismantled, as we are seeing today. Sometimes the protest is simply in the creation of something beautiful and world-changing. Artists & Innovators Leadership Project wants to help facilitate the next chapter of world changers. I hope you’ll support us in this effort. Whether it be financially with a donation of any size, volunteer mentorship (with your time), program recommendations, or referrals for young people in need of a support network, we are grateful for all support.

Right now, I’m in phase 1 of structuring the organization and hope to bring on mentors and mentees this fall. This has been at least a decade in the making, and this is the time to take the leap in creating this support network for young creatives. This takes a lot of work to organize, and I’m happy to do so; however, I am now building a team of change agents who are passionate about helping young creators. If you’re interested in helping shape our programs for young people, feel free to complete the quick survey linked below and include your contact info so I can touch base with you directly. Also, if you don’t have the time to support, financial support is a great way to help us get things set up for our first group of youth to mentor. Building these programs requires a lot of time and work. All support is appreciated. Let's keep supporting emerging artists to expand what and how they create beyond anything we have experienced thus far. And for those of us who have dedicated our lives to being creators, may our light keep shining in the darkness of challenging times. 

B@Peace!

~TRU