KARINA VAHITOVA is a poet, movement artist, and co-founder of VOID ACADEMY. She says, "Artists cannot depend on institutions and so we are helping them to find ways to have thriving careers outside, or at the very least alongside, the kinds of support institutions can sometimes provide to them."

We're spotlighting artists in our Sustainability Network whose creative practices push us to think differently about how we live and work. For TOBAN NICHOLS, a sustainable career as an independent artist means "relishing the work I do, not hating it, or myself. Not feeling limited by someone, or some company."

Looking into the near future, performance artist / musician / singer-writer / web series host / actor / comedian / acting coach / aspiring stuntwoman KYM PRIESS wants to see "art in general becoming more interactive and blurring the lines between forms [...] without losing respect for the individual mediums."

Thanks to The Void Academy for featuring us alongside leading Los Angeles arts and arts service organizations we wholeheartedly admire, such as the Women's Center for Creative Work, Pieter Performance Space, artEquity, and Center for Cultural Innovation! 

For "Avant-Electro-Soul-Singer-Performance Artist" KARINE FLEURIMA, "silence is just as important as good music. Art is a form of meditation and meditation is an act of resistance."

DEF.SOUND is a Hip Hop musician and producer. "Sustainability doesn't mean there isn't a struggle involved in the creation of something, it means longevity and the ability to continue at an honest frequency. It means I don't have to question how I put out my music once it's made. It's infrastructure that allows me to be of service for as long as I choose to create."

MOLLY SCHULMAN is an artist, a new mom, and co-founder of Maiden LA, a DIY take on an art festival or biennial. As Molly puts it: "It can be intimidating and bewildering to navigate the art world and Maiden LA provides a rare forum where an unrepresented artist working out of their garage is on the same plane as an institution like the Getty."

NICOLE RADEMACHER makes a living as an artist and digital communications professional. Before working for the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), she was Director of Communications & Outreach at 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica.

NEHARA KALEV is a choreographer and performer, and the owner of the glowbox, a movement and aerial arts studio and event space in downtown Santa Monica.

Performance poet PHILLIP T. NAILS is one of the founding members of our network, as well as co-founder of the Poetry Society of Los Angeles. He put the breaks on one of his infamous word capers just long enough to drop a few lines in our direction...

JODY ZELLEN is an artist, designer, writer, educator, and co-creator of What's on Los Angeles, a comprehensive weekly online listing of local arts exhibitions, openings, and closings in L.A.

KRISTINE SCHOMAKER is not only a visual artist and art historian--she also runs a PR and management agency, provides space for artists to present their work at the Brewery Arts Complex (where she lives), and edits an online magazine! In middle of all of this she took time to share her thoughts with us here.

STEPHANIE DIAMOND is a social practice artist who says: "I believe we all tasked with taking care of ourselves as individuals within a public. We have to create the system we want to live in."

LEYYA MONA TAWIL is not only making work internationally, she has been supporting her community for nearly 20 years by running the Temescal Arts Center in Oakland, California (where she used to be based).