Making Your Creative Work Matter

This is going to be a blog post largely based on my personal opinion. As an artist/a creator, I feel like it’s important that everyone involved gets personally invested in the project. When you find an emotional attachment to the project, it makes everything you’re doing mean that much more.

I recently had the pleasure of being the lead choreographer for a flash mob that assisted in the marriage proposal of an amazing couple. From the moment I was hired, I felt a strong sense of responsibility. I was put in charge of creating a memory that would last a lifetime. That sense of responsibility affected how I choreographed and organized the event as a whole. If I didn’t feel it, then I assumed my client wouldn’t. This no longer became about me and preserving my name as a choreographer, it became about doing EVERYTHING in my power to make the creative work I presented to them matter. This would be a forever memory for them.

I think that sometimes creators have to submerge themselves so much into their work in order to make what they do matter. One of the most successful women in the entertainment industry touches on one of the personal casualties that can take place when you do so. Oprah Winfrey states that her life’s work in entertainment is one of the main reasons why she did not have children. When you look at the life, career and philanthropist efforts that have come from all that Oprah has done, she is the pinnacle of making what your creative work matter. She feels like she would have been a horrible parent if she had children and still tried to do all that she's accomplished. 

Pharrell Williams is another artist that is currently seeing how his work is affecting not only his own generation, but others. He recently made an appearance on Ellen promoting his new album and to give an amazing gift to some students at a charter school in Detroit. His song "Happy" was nominated for an Oscar this year and has been all over the airwaves this year. Pharrell got to see first hand how his creative work has been able to inspire the kids at this school where the majority of the students live at or below the poverty line. During his appearance on Ellen, you can see that he was visibly moved while the students were performing his song. This is the type of impact that all artists should shoot for when creating new works. How can my artistry reach the next generation? What can it teach the next generation? How will my legacy be remembered?

Being an artist, when your creative work matters and touches others, it makes all of the sacrifices you make worth it!