In 2025, I set a weekly goal of researching people of color, queer, and/or disabled authors, artists, and others committed to their craft(s). These folks may have a marginalized identity or more, but they (we!) have other roles, too.
I am not just a writer, and I am not just a hard of hearing person. I’m the sum of all my chapters and contributions, commitments and crafts. Respecting my roles, past and present, empowers me to live now.
And now, more than ever, we (Westerners) need artists from all perspectives and points of being. I believe we need to do more to support people different than us. It’s simultaneously service-based and ego-driven.
Sure, this new-ish series is in support of my forthcoming book, Omit to Commit. The book will be better with more perspectives, certainly. Yet this digital work is also in recognition of changing fields and a shifting nation. (Today’s the very day a new president is inaugurated, for one.)
Previous creative spotlights, all available here, revealed insights into family and friends’ journeys to making art and making lives. So what makes “Staying Committed” different? YOU. Me. Others, still unknown.
I’m asking people to share insights on how they (re)discovered themselves, their people, and their calling(s) through craft.
So, “Staying Committed” digs deeper:
- Why do we humans in particular make? Especially when it’s difficult, isolating, and seemingly not “worth” anything.
- What do artists (and audiences) gain from making? It’s often not money (is there a continuum between “starving artist” and “selling out”?)
- How do we continue a practice, when there’s a war against artists and expressionists? Censorship cuts truth and enables othering.
- Are you “called” to craft? Is this a response to something bigger, something/one missing, or searching for something/one (even yourself)?
Yes, the focus is traditionally “marginalized” people. Because these narratives are not new. But since they are seldom shared, I am owning the space I have and the identities I carry. And want to honor and celebrate artists who are still making.
What are you staying committed to? Want to be featured in this monthly series? Or know someone who’d be perfect? Here’s the creative spotlight application. See you for the first one on February 20th!