Jaclyn Grossman

Tactical Creativity

Pronouns: she/her/hers

My path was always clear to me. I followed a carefully paved trail to become an opera singer -- it was cultivated, comfortable, and yet, not mine. I thought that if I persevered through the trials and tribulations of the predestined path, that opportunities were sure to emerge and that my career would expand. My experience was the opposite. The longer I continued along the path, the more I felt I was losing, and not gaining, valuable opportunities and things I cared about. I realized that my inner artist was starving to connect to its values. I wanted to foster supportive communities, help others develop and grow, and create artistic spaces that challenged me and connected me to my culture. I thought that my ambition in opera, and my artistic values were at odds. I felt torn, and lost. I thought for a long time that I would either have to let go of my dream of being an opera singer or let go of my wider vision for the community. I believed that they were incongruent and could not possibly coexist. 

As I thought about not just what my career was but the core of why I love creating art, I began to realize another path, a new path, could let me embrace my whole self. I saw a route through the trees, a path I could forge on my own. Embracing this power allows me to confidently step into my own creativity and art-making while also creating spaces which empower others to pursue the things they’re passionate about, even if (especially if) that causes them to veer off course.

My life today incorporates all of me, and doesn’t sacrifice any vision, or ambition that I have. I have multiple vocations, which intersect and make me feel more whole. The longer I pave my own path, the more I connect to my values and the things that make me an artist in the first place. While sometimes it can feel daunting, I am learning that denying any part of me is to deny all of me. There are as many paths to success as we dare to pave. The more pathways we create, the more expansive, and less rigid our art becomes. When we don’t limit artists, anything can be possible.