Artists Move the Hearts & Minds of Culture
For background on this long-form interview series, please read the post-script (bottom of page).
My second interview is with…
Spirit Paris McIntyre (Spirit or they/them), a speaker, facilitator, musician and multi-disciplinary artist. Read on to learn about how their strong values support their world-building and collaborative work.
“My work, like me, is ever evolving. What has been the throughline in all of these evolutions is that I am a creative, one who creates, one who conceives and imagines, a time traveler. What this most often translates to is co-creating structures for creativity to happen. ”
Creative entrepreneurs are often asked to story ourselves to other people.
We create our bios, resumes or CVs, descriptions of our work, elevator pitches, longer pitches, and much more, all trying to tell a cohesive and engaging story about our who, what, and why. Often, we update these stories multiple times, changing them to fit the needs of different audiences.
Please tell me about yourself, and if possible, please tell me a story of yourself beyond the work you do.
“I am a creative. I can use just about anything to create art. I care about people generally, but especially at the intersections of Blackness/BIPOCness, artistry, disability, Queerness and communication. I desire to be in intentional exchanges and community with folks but don’t always get to see this desire come to fruition. I am simultaneously inspired and exhausted by people.
I have had some of the most meaningful relationships of my lifetime with folks in my dreams. Such that sometimes waking up feels hard.”
Another part of your story is what you do.
I’ll bet you’re often asked that question so people can learn about the work you do through your business.
Please tell me about your work, including how long you’ve been doing it and where you offer it, and what the germinating seed of your idea was that caused you to start creating this work.
“My work, like me, is ever evolving. What has been the throughline in all of these evolutions is that I am a creative, one who creates, one who conceives and imagines, a time traveler. What this most often translates to is co-creating structures for creativity to happen. I do this as a collaborator – musician, performer, writer, visual artist, composer; as a coach; and as an intentional community builder. I’ve been doing this in a professional way for about 25 years. I offer these services in a variety of ways – through my website, through MAP Fund, Fund for Trans Generations, and through relationship with my communities.”
“Creativity is a huge sign of life & viability for me. When I deny my ability to be creative I feel unlike myself. ”
It’s one thing to explain what you do, but a whole different thing for you to convey the why behind your work.
What are your values that keep driving you to create this work?
“Creativity - My ability to bring something to life, to tap into my imagination. Acknowledging my own unique ability to: express, call forth, dream, create solutions, build worlds, ideate, spark, and be inspired. Creativity is a huge sign of life & viability for me. When I deny my ability to be creative I feel unlike myself.
Honesty - Being in alignment with what is true about me. Telling myself the truth about who, what, and how I am frees me from judging myself and frees me from the impact of judgment from others. Honoring and accepting who I am and what I've done and what I've experienced, allows me to move with the wisdom of my experiences. It allows me to not gaslight myself. To hold generous space for myself. I trust that my honesty will ring and shine through my work. People are drawn to the honesty of my work and my being.
Self-Awareness - Intentionally seeking to know myself and understand my motives/motivations. An ongoing process of self discovery, self mastery, self empowerment, and self improvement. Being mindful of how my energy, actions, and words impact others. Being mindful of what belongs to me and what belongs to others. Asking myself how am I taking up space. Keeping an eye on myself. Telling myself the truth about me.
Reciprocity - The practice of exchanging resources (time, energy, engagement, communication, skills, etc.) with others for mutual satisfaction, benefit, upliftment, joy, pleasure, growth, support, etc. Most especially in relationships: family (blood/chosen), friendships, community, loveships, collaboration,and work spaces.
Evolution - Intentionally developing from one form to another. Growing on and in purpose. Recognizing what's working and not working. The process of implementing new knowledge and information for the purposes of growth. Wanting better and doing better.
Intentionality - Moving on and in purpose. Being deliberate.
State Of Grace - Living in a perpetual state of favor with myself, wherein I offer: softness, kind words, compassion, a generous place to land, forgiveness, rest, reflection, sweetness, hydration, love, joy, ease, multiple chances to try again, the ability to fail, space to succeed, space to win, adventure and recovery.
Disability Justice - Living a life that honors my own ever-changing capacity. Checking in with myself about my access needs. Working in alignment with my body, mind, spirit, and energy. Expanding my capacity to create more accessible materials, events, products, and experiences. Asking for help, delegating, regulating, and hiring aligned support.”
“I am actively engaging in community that echo back. This is a huge change in how I build community. This allows me to gain more valuable practice in being cared for.”
We are creative entrepreneurs in a hard, hard world. It takes dedication and commitment to care for ourselves, and a practice of vulnerability to allow others to care for us, all in the effort to find some kind of peace in our lives while we go on doing what we love.
What are your practices of vulnerability that allow you to be cared for by others?
What are some examples of how you care for yourself, and how you receive care from other people?
“A few of my values also highlight how I care for myself.
I am a work in progress around being able to receive care from others. And over the course of the past 10 years, I’ve been doing some deep composting of relationships and ways of being that no longer serve me.
One way that I deeply care for myself is by believing people when they show me who they are.
Engaging in relationships that are reciprocal. There’s an image that came to me yesterday that really highlights where I am in this practice. I am at the top of a canyon where if I shout, I hear the words echo back to me. I am actively engaging in community that echo back. This is a huge change in how I build community. This allows me to gain more valuable practice in being cared for.”
Another thing that we need to talk about are those fierce boundaries that we need to have in place in order to show up at our fullest and tap into our creativity.
What is an example of a boundary you’ve put in place, and how does that boundary allow you to create both work and hope in your life?
“I squeak when I need oil. I’m leaning into ease so am rejecting more and more practices that don’t bring ease, I believe people when they show me who they are and act accordingly.”
As a creative entrepreneur, I am working towards our collective future. I know that despite the immense number of challenges we are facing right now and in the coming years, we absolutely can join together to create a world where the earth, creatures, land, and people are resourced and thriving. I know my work fits into that future. You’ve got a big vision for the world and that is part of why you do what you do, too.
Please tell me some stories about the world you envision and how your work relates to creating those changes.
“I am actively collaboratively building a musical community of Black TGNC+ folks and we are slowly building our bonds to one another. I envision being surrounded by artists of all mediums, expressions and experiences who intentionally support and celebrate one another’s visions. I envision being amongst artists who understand that they are the talent: they are the ase, the tangible power, that moves the hearts and minds of culture.
Another throughline in my work is empowerment. Whether I’m at African dance class, the grocery store, a workshop, a coaching call, a performance…I am encouraging self-empowerment and agency.”
On a tough day, what do you turn to for encouragement?
“My Ancestors, my breath, my imagination, rest…”
A lot of creative entrepreneurs started out early on, some even as early as childhood.
When did you start creating and testing out various business ideas? Please tell me the story of an early business idea you conceived of or tried, even if it’s very different from what you’re doing now.
“In my early reiki years in Philadelphia, I collaborated with two dear friends, Jenny and Dali, on an event that might now be considered a wellness pop-up. We would offer different healing services in various friends’ backyards for a day or two. Folks would sign up and pay a fee and get to enjoy the various healing services.
It was a super sweet endeavor.”
Where to find Spirit:
Spirit’s Website
Instagram
Thank You, SPirit!
Post-Script: Project Background
I conceived of the summer long-form interviews project in early 2024 as a way to join my world-building communications work with my enjoyment of interviewing people.
Through these interviews, I’m amplifying the work of six creative entrepreneurs who I think are world building in beautiful ways. Please check out their websites, social media platforms and LinkedIn pages… follow them, share their work and engage with their content! Interviews are lightly edited for clarity.
The guiding values for this series include sharing the work, connecting with/building community, amplification of good world-building work done by creative entrepreneurs who are Queer, Trans, and/or Black, Indigenous, or people of color. These interviews are framed within queer & trans futurity & Black & Indigenous futurity.
This is a limited series- I’ll be publishing one interview a week for six weeks.
If you know of a creative entrepreneur whose work you feel should be amplified, please send me a note: MxPepper@LucindaPepper.com
