We Create Birmingham: Paul Janeway + Jesse Phillips
” I think that’s how creative people cope. When life is disrupted and you feel weird or anxious, you just go create something because that’s what you do to feel fulfilled or keep yourself busy… It’s part of our DNA.”
We Create Birmingham: Tyler Price
“To succeed as an architect, I think you have to be a constant observer of what works over here, what worked there, or what worked a hundred years ago. I hope to know that I’m doing something, while being respectful of wherever I am in the world with the architecture, to create good buildings.”
We Create Birmingham: Tyler and Jennifer Lyne
“People connect over a meal. Food brings people together, and food is tied to your memories and what comforts you… As a chef, that’s easy to see and understand. We know what goes into each slice of bread, the life cycle of every ingredient that made it on to a plate, and what it’s like to work 12 hours for something that’s gone in five minutes but hopefully creates this moment of happiness.”
We Create Birmingham: Talaya Champion
“There is a lot of work to be done in how society views Latinx women. On average, we are the lowest paid minority women. People box us into the roles of housekeeper or cook. I asked myself, “Could I do what I do without bringing my ethnicity into it?” The answer is yes, but I want to be a part of changing that mindset. I’m a Mexican fashion designer.”
We Create Birmingham: Graham C. Boettcher
“This is one of the most creative places in the country; we’ve got a lot of serious practitioners in the performing arts, literary arts, visual arts, culinary arts—people that have gotten national and even international attention from right here in Birmingham… And that’s something our curators and educators have really been focusing on—underscoring the talent within our own community and bringing artists onto our walls and our pedestals and our stages who are from this city.”
We Create Birmingham: Camille Spratling
“A lot of other cities build parks that are designed for tourists. But the primary focus of Railroad Park has always been our residents… We wanted to make sure that if you live in Birmingham, you know that this park is for you.”
We Create Birmingham: Ambre Amari
“In life, we can only go forward, and sometimes it passes us by so quickly. When I’m behind the lens, I’m forced to pay attention to the present. I get to press pause on what I see and what I feel and create something that maybe lasts forever.”
We Create Birmingham: Scott Register
“At the end of the day, I want to know that I’ve done something to make this city a better place to live. Birmingham has so much to offer. We keep growing and getting better. It’s a city where we suffer the sins of our fathers, but we can keep working to change peoples’ attitudes and outlooks. You can’t change everyone, but if you can change one person you’ve done something worthwhile.”
We Create Birmingham: Ethel Morgan Smith
“I don’t understand why race is so complicated… But I know that we don’t learn unless we ask questions and have conversations. That is what opens people’s minds — having an encounter and learning from each other.”
Virtual Conversations with Creatives: Alana Baumann and Samra Michael
Alana Baumann and Samra Michael are the creators of She Well Read, a podcast with the mission of empowering women by encouraging them to invest in themselves and others. The best friends share their love for reading by discussing their book picks chapter by chapter, mixing in anecdotes from their personal experiences and engaging with guests about current events. In this conversation, the pair talk about how they’ve cultivated their own creative passions before and
We Create Birmingham: Aaliyah Taylor and Gelenda Norman
We Create Birmingham: Jordan Higgins and Jacob Patrick of Electra Film Lab
We Create Birmingham: Cameron Sankey
We Create Birmingham: Dr. Leah Tucker
We Create Birmingham: Tyler Jones
We Create Birmingham: Edina Shrestha
We Create Birmingham: Cristal Laraé Brister
We Create Birmingham: Jessica Moody
We Create Birmingham: Ursula Smith
We Create Birmingham: Anthony Waller
We Create Birmingham: Viola Ratcliffe
We Create Birmingham: Jorge Castro
We Create Birmingham: Anna Foshee
We Create Birmingham: William J. Rushton
We Create Birmingham: Meghann Bridgeman
We Create Birmingham: Keith Cromwell
We Create Birmingham: Kiwi Lanier
We Create Birmingham: Buddy Palmer
We Create Birmingham: Meghann Bridgeman
“I strive to leave something better than I found it. And if I can do that in any small way, here in Birmingham, that’ll be an accomplishment.”
We Create Birmingham: Keith Cromwell
“We, the arts, are having an enormous economic impact on the success and vibrancy of this city… We are literally creating jobs – and in a field where it’s so hard to find an artistic home.”
We Create Birmingham: Kiwi Lanier
“I want to encourage curiosity and make sure our programs are as accessible as possible… The online film or Film Twitter community can sometimes feel insufferable — there’s lots of gatekeeping about knowledge and taste. My personal mission is to burn that to the ground.”
We Create Birmingham: Buddy Palmer
“Looking back, it’s easier to see the moments that were crystallizing for me…. One friend asked me what I was going to do, and I said, ‘I don’t know, but I know I want to make a difference.'”
We Create Birmingham: Darlene Negrotto
“I think about Vulcan’s pose a lot and how it aligns with how I feel about my role. He’s looking up and towards the future… He’s a symbol of what can be accomplished through hard work and a link from our past to our future.”
We Create Birmingham: Daniel Grier
“It’s more than sustainability. It’s about adding value to what’s already there.”
We Create Birmingham: Aaliyah Taylor and Gelenda Norman
We Create Birmingham: Jordan Higgins and Jacob Patrick of Electra Film Lab
We Create Birmingham: Cameron Sankey
We Create Birmingham: Dr. Leah Tucker
We Create Birmingham: Tyler Jones
We Create Birmingham: Edina Shrestha
We Create Birmingham: Cristal Laraé Brister
We Create Birmingham: Jessica Moody
We Create Birmingham: Ursula Smith
We Create Birmingham: Anthony Waller
We Create Birmingham: Viola Ratcliffe
We Create Birmingham: Jorge Castro
We Create Birmingham: Anna Foshee
We Create Birmingham: William J. Rushton
We Create Birmingham: Meghann Bridgeman
We Create Birmingham: Keith Cromwell
We Create Birmingham: Kiwi Lanier