Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chrysanthemum Ahmed. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Chrysanthemum, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
When I feel uninspired, I go out into the world. I either take the role of an interactor or an observer. I find that there are stories in each landscape. I ask questions: Why are things the way they are, how are they in relationship to each other? I like to go to cafes or parks, a place where I can watch people and listen in on their conversations. I learned this exercise in my poetry class; you take a notebook and transcribe these overheard conversations. Sometimes it’s completely random, but other times the randomness creates a story and is a peak into other people’s worlds. Now that I’m temporarily living in Copenhagen and I’m not fluent in Danish, I pay attention to the different sounds of the city. I knock on different structures to hear if they’re hollow or solid, and feel what material they’re made out of. The engines and sounds of the metro, buses, and birds make me think of an orchestral symphony. I carry a zoom recorder in case I hear a sound that I really like. I keep track of what I like by the somatic feeling in my body. Where do I feel it in my body, what does this invoke within me?
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am an LA native from a multicultural background, my nonbinary/queer identity informs my artistic practices and academic studies. Throughout my life I have been interested in poetry, music, dance, astrology, and social justice. When pursuing higher education, I was particularly interested in programs that would allow me the freedom to combine all my interests. I attended Bennington College in Vermont my freshman year, which set the foundation of combining social justice with different art forms (sound, vocalization, dance). I am currently a senior at the University of Redlands in SoCal, pursuing a degree in “Art as a Tool for Social Justice” via the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies. My professional focus right now is particularly in music making and creative non-fiction writing.
I have my thumbs in many pies, as they say. I have seasons of switching between writing, dancing, music, pottery, visual art, etc. It is quite challenging for me to choose one passion, so I try to explore by combining them when appropriate. For me, the most exciting part of creating in any form is “queering” it. I love to experiment. It’s important for me to learn the rules so I can break them. I am inspired by the avant-garde, and consider my musical and artistic expressions experimental/enigmatic.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
For me, the three main skills that were most impactful in my journey was the ability to collaborate, receiving feedback, and organizing a timeline. Collaboration is a skill that requires clear communication and the ability to listen/understand. The ability to listen is based on presence and asking questions when things are unclear. It’s also important to provide your own input if you have a different idea of how to approach the project you’re working on. It’s okay if that idea ends up not working with the end goal, but it’s a practice in bouncing off ideas and flexibility. With collaboration, having a shared end goal in mind helps cultivate the focus of the project. To me, collaboration is the one of the most important skills I’ve learned because I am able to learn from my collaborators, approach a project differently than I would have on my own, and am held accountable for my part of the work.
Receiving feedback can be difficult, especially when it comes to something as personal as art. For me, I’ve learned how to take feedback from a more objective standpoint and I frame it as something that will improve what I’m working on. If I am not ready or unwilling to receive feedback, then I don’t ask for it. I need to be certain I have done the best I can on my own before seeking out other perspectives, or else the work risks being prematurely critiqued. When I am ready and I have received feedback, I ask myself: Does this align with my own personal vision of the work? What is the background of the person giving me feedback (are they also an artist, a professor, etc)? What do I personally want to improve in this work? These questions help me discern whether or not it would strengthen my project to implement the feedback.
I have found organizing a timeline is a visual process for me. I have a color coded Google Calendar that breaks down bigger goals into weekly/daily tasks. It has also been helpful to use a timeline template on Google Slides to enter the start date, everything in between dates, and projected end date of the project. In other slides I expand on specific dates and what needs to be done by those dates. I take into account what is most realistic for me and my pace to accomplish my goals.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Yes, I am looking for collaborators! I would love to collaborate with other creatives (photographers, videographers, musicians, and illustrators) who are open to working on experimental/genre-blurring projects. I am particularly interested in working with musicians who are interested in the avant-garde and improvised side of the sonic world. I’m also interested in partnering with visual artists that would like to co-create visuals for original merch or cover art that highlights my enigmatic/abstract sound. Additionally, it would be fun to team up with photographers/videographers that would be open to making short visual loops that explore unconventional storytelling/abstraction. If there is a weird or unusual concept you’ve been wanting to experiment with, shoot me a dm on instagram @mucanamusic or email me at [email protected]. I would love to hear from you!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mucanamusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MUCANA888
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mucana
Image Credits
Cristian Lopez
Alexis Spears
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