Career Area: Art Director

  • Bonnie Harris-Lowe

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe

    Audio

    Transcript

    Sarah Jane Thomas  00:00 

    My name is Sarah Jane Thomas, and today we are talking with Bonnie Harris-Lowe, a professional creative working from and within South Carolina. As we get started, can you tell us your current career and where you’re from? 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  00:13 

    So currently, I am an instructor at the University of South Carolina, and I also have my own business, which is a combination work for hire and game development studio. I live in Columbia, South Carolina, currently. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  00:28 

    Perfect. Before we get into details, we have a brief section of the interview called “One Career 60 Seconds”, where you describe your job in 60 seconds or less, similar to a little elevator pitch. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  00:44 

    Go ahead and give it a shot. Sorry.  

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  00:47 

    Okay, no, you’re good. Basking Bee Games is a combination work for hire and volunteer game development studio. Since our founding in 2023, we have been hired by multiple clients, including Legend Stories Studios, and have released a game demo, which was showcased at DreamHack Dallas and the Southeast Game Exchange. We are currently working on a multiplayer party game called Wardrobe Dysfunction internally, while continuing to work on active external contracts. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  01:16 

    That sounds absolutely perfect. Thank you so much for playing our little game. 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  01:20 

    Yeah, no problem. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  01:21 

    So, what would you describe your official job title as?  

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  01:26 

    Within Basking Bee, I’m the founder and sole full-time member. So, CEO, creative director, either of those would apply. But as far as oh, sorry, no, okay, I didn’t want to just like clarify. As far as the studio, I’m the creative director, as far as operations and everything, but when it comes to our internal projects, I do like to spread the responsibility around. 

    So, I wouldn’t say I’m the creative director for like every project that we’re doing. The development side is a much more flat structured collaborative effort. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  02:09 

    Okay, so as a CEO and creative director, is there anything in South Carolina or where you’ve grown up and lived that brings something new to your work that you think others in your field don’t necessarily have? 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  02:26 

    Interesting question. So, I don’t think I said before–I live in Columbia now, but I grew up in Greenville, South Carolina. So, I’ve been here most of my life. I went to graduate school in California and lived there for three years, where I studied. I got my master’s in game design and interactive media there, and what was interesting about that experience was they were kind of in… California, obviously, is a huge hub for entertainment in all sectors, including game development in the U.S. Whereas South Carolina, North Carolina has a few game studios, but South Carolina doesn’t really have that much of a scene in that in that industry.  

    So, I think as far as growing up here, I feel like a common theme with growing up in South Carolina is it gets you it gets you kind of underestimated, kind of labeled in some less than favorable ways by people who aren’t from here. I’ve seen through like mentorship opportunities that I’ve done at high schools and summer camps and things living here that there is a lot of creativity and a lot of thirst to work in these creative spaces, including games.  

    I just kind of want to not only put forth my own creative energy but also focus on doing it in South Carolina because I know that there are that there’s a lot of potential here, and I want to help kind of bring that to the forefront over the course of my career. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  04:06 

    Oh, that’s really beautiful, actually.  

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  04:08 

    Oh, thanks. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  04:10 

    Do you think that there was like a defining moment in your life that had a big impact on your creative journey, or a particular project? 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  04:21 

    I can think of two big moments. So, the first one was when I was around eight years old. I was playing The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and you know, prior to that, I’d been gaming for about three years at the time I started, when I was around five. There’s a character in Wind Waker who is a little girl with brown skin, and spoiler alert: later in the game, it’s revealed that she is the princess in disguise. And when that is revealed, she goes through a transformation sequence, and her skin turned white, which really messed me up. Because as I had noticed already, that there weren’t a lot of women, especially or brown women or brown people at all, in video games, unless they were villains.  

    So, seeing a little brown girl who looked like me was really impactful, and then watching that get washed away literally just really broke my heart and made me think, “You know, if I ever start making games, I’m gonna do something about this.”  

    Then, as I was growing up, I learned more about what working in the games industry traditionally is like with bad labor practices and toxicity from within companies and within the community at large, especially being a woman of color, which kind of gave me pause. But when I went to undergrad at the University of South Carolina, which is again where I’m teaching now, I took every single class on games that I could find while still trying to figure out which part of a creative industry I would, which creative sector I wanted to work in.  

    In one of the games classes I took, we watched a documentary called Indie Game: the Movie, which hasn’t aged the best. But at the time, watching it and seeing the stories of these developers, you know, struggling but ultimately meeting their goals, it kind of made me cry and just gave me the sense that like that’s what I’m supposed to be doing, regardless of all of the horror stories. I knew I had to at least give it a try. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  06:32 

    Are you? I’m assuming you’re happy that you did…. 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  06:35 

    For the most part. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  06:38 

    Is there something particular that you felt showcased your creativity in a way that you’ve never been able to before? 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  06:46 

    The biggest example is the demo that Basking Bee released in 2023 called Project Parallel, which started out as my graduate thesis project, but I was not able to finish it because my last semester of graduate school was Spring 2020. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  07:08 

    Oh. 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  07:09 

    Yes, and that kind of threw a big wrench into my team’s productivity, and you know, totally understandable. And it took me a few years to get back to it, and by the time I did, I’d already founded the Basking Bee label, so I decided to release it under that name. And in 2024, that’s the game that was showcased at two different games exhibitions.  

    I remember I have a TikTok floating around somewhere of walking into DreamHack and setting up the booth and everything. And when I saw the name of the game on my empty booth, once again, I started crying. I’m a very teary, emotional person, but yeah, that was just a really amazing feeling. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  07:55 

    Yeah, this is something that you’ve kind of already touched on a little bit, but I think a more direct question would help. Before entering your field, did you have any fears about being a professional? 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  08:08 

    Yes, numerous. So yeah, like I said, the games industry is not known for being a welcoming place for women and people of color or LGBTQ people, for that matter. Just I’m not really. I don’t really fall into that category, so I tend to focus on the other two when talking about myself, but I digress. A few, I think, a year at the year after I, the year I graduated high school or my first year of college, is when the Gamergate incident happened, which was a massive harassment campaign against a targeted select few female game devs, who you know they received death threats, rape threats.  

    They were doxxed. They had to flee their homes and things like that. One of them wasn’t even a game developer. She was a content creator who just talked about feminism and representation of women in games. Somebody actually made a game where the premise was just you get to beat that woman up. Yeah, it’s pretty dark stuff, and so that really like scared me. Like if I ever get too loud about what I’m doing, get too get too feminist, get too woke, as I think I would call it these days. Like, is that kind of thing going to happen to me?  

    And then on top of that, if I were to work at a larger studio, I learned about ‘crunch,’ which is when going back to the bad labor practices, the most infamous in the games industry is the idea of crunch, where people basically have to live at their jobs and work like 80-hour weeks, no overtime for months at a time, which just does not sound sustainable for anybody. I don’t know how people out there do it. I’m sure that I could not.  

    So, between those two things, just to illustrate in greater detail what my trepidation was, I was definitely frightened. But I’ve kind of gone down a path. Obviously, I’m not working at a big Triple A studio. I can set my own hours and kind of am in control of my own schedule, my own voice. And because we’re such a small studio, there’s also not much of a reason to target any of us at the moment, which is nice. I don’t know if that will last forever because I would like to have a bigger name out there.  

    But yeah, I’ve managed to squeak through all of the problems that I have described, and you know I know better now what I’m willing to accept and what I’m not if I ever were to pivot to working for a game studio again, and there’s one other thing I wanted to say on that subject, but I can’t remember, so I’ll stop there. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  11:13 

    Okay. Aside from, you know, you setting up your own company and being able to do all of this yourself, are there any other things that kind of helped you continue and push forward into this field?  

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  11:28 

    I would definitely have to shout out my two collaborators for that, Jessica and Pernima. Pernima is still a student and an absolute rock star programmer, and Jessica is a longtime friend. We met at what was my first industry job in games? I think it might have been her first job in games as well. She is a prolific 2D artist. She was also a bridesmaid in my wedding. So, we’ve known each other for oh my gosh, it’s been like six years now. But yes, they are working with me on our new game, Wardrobe Dysfunction, and it’s just really nice having somebody to touch base with every week. We stream on Fridays at 5:30pm on Twitch. The channel is called Basking Bee Games, if you want to check it out.  

    But yes, just having that time to collaborate with people who, while we’re all making something that we are excited about, because you know, working by yourself can get pretty lonely. It can be hard to motivate yourself, especially for like the internal projects. But the contract stuff, it’s easier because that’s somebody who’s hiring me and paying me to perform a service for them, whereas the internal development can get easily pushed off because it’s just like something I’m doing in my free time.  

    Doing contract work and now teaching–it’s exhausting. So, definitely having people who are willing to come along on this ride with me, and who have been so instrumental in you know the process of brainstorming, creating this idea, and now building this game has been lovely. So big shoutouts to them! 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  13:23 

    Oh, good! I’m glad you had people to come alongside of you. Do you have any advice for young adults or students who have an interest in pursuing a similar career path? 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  13:35 

    Yes. So, I think the games industry is in a weird spot right now. So, another problem in the games industry is layoffs are rampant. Oh, I remember the thing I was going to say earlier. There are starting to be movements towards unionization in games, especially in QA (quality assurance), which is one considered a lower rung or lower tier job in games, even though it’s extremely important. So, I’m optimistic about unionization efforts for the future of games.  

    So, if you want to work at a big studio, know that I would say keep watch on those kinds of efforts. See which companies are supporting those versus which ones are trying to suppress them. But the future of the games, I think, right now is pivoting towards indie studios, independent development, because in 2023, the layoffs we experienced were in historic numbers.  

    I think there’s a whole Wikipedia page just on layoffs in 2023, even though it’s always been a common thing. And since then, there’s been a big upswing in people who are working at indie studios, starting indie studios like what I did, or even forming volunteer teams, which is essentially what Basking Bee is as far as the internal development part, like with the contracting. Obviously, we get income from that, but the internal development, we are all volunteering our time for that.  

    I had the good fortune of meeting Alla Derrick at a game jam in 2023. I want to say, or yeah, 2023 or four, and she shortly after that started a company called Cave Bear Games, which is now a nonprofit volunteer game studio. Their whole mission is to connect small studios to each other, to aspiring talent, and just help people find other people to make games with. That’s how I found Pernima, who is the backbone of this organization’s programming, so I think being willing to volunteer your time and look for those opportunities to collaborate with people who can fill in the gaps in your skill set and who can motivate you to continue working and whom you like working with is a big first step.  

    Even if you do want to transition into working at a more traditional studio, the best thing that you can have in your portfolio, if you want to be a game designer and apply to game design companies, is a game that you’ve already finished and released. So, I think looking for those volunteer opportunities and those collaborators that you can be close with and maintain relationships with, and you know ideally keep working with, is a critical first step. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  16:37 

    I guess along the same lines of finding people and continuing with people and finding those opportunities to volunteer your time, are there any particular skills you would suggest refining before stepping into the career path? 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  16:52 

    I mean, it’s never a bad idea to learn to code. That’s one of the most in-demand and secure career paths in game dev. I personally am not a programmer. I have tried to learn several times. I know enough to do basic things, but it stresses me out so much. I have not been able to breakthrough that barrier to doing the more advanced things. But knowing at least how to build simple things with code will help you contribute. It will help you contribute to volunteer projects.  

    It might not get you a job unless you are really dedicated to learning the more advanced stuff. But if you do want to go down that path, again, it’s very secure. The two big game engines that I would recommend are Unity and Unreal Engine; they’re both free to download. Unity is much more common at small indie studios. A lot of big studios have their own custom engines, but if they don’t, a lot of them will use Unreal because it’s a bit higher fidelity. It’s got a lot more bells and whistles than Unity.  

    Other than that, learning the basics of game design, game theory can help if you already have some creative background. It can help you learn how to pivot those skills into games because let’s say you’re coming from television or you’re coming from music or something, the skills that you have in those fields are transferable, but they do need to be tweaked when you are incorporating interactivity into the medium.  

    So, learning how interactivity can change and augment the skills that you already have is also a great step. So, the last thing I’d say on that is, if you want to work at a larger studio, it’s good to specialize in something. Whether that’s programming, whether it’s animation or character rigging, that’s a big one. If you want to do 3d characters, a lot of people can animate and model, rigging is a bit more of a specialized skill set, but if you want to work at a bigger company, specializing in one thing and showcasing that a lot is a good idea. Whereas if you want to work at an indie studio, it’s generally a good idea to develop and showcase multiple different skills across your projects because at indie studios, it’s much more common that you will have to do multiple jobs because the teams are smaller. So yes, I’d say tailor your skills to the kind of studio that you want to work at. Does that help? 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  19:43 

    Yes. Okay. I just want to thank you so much for talking with me and taking the time out of your day. Out of your day, would you be willing to talk to one of my team members again? 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  19:55 

    Sure. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  19:56 

    Well, I will take that off. I have a personal question. I would like to ask you. Okay, have you ever read the book, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow? 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  20:05 

    I have not. Let me look it up really quick. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  20:07 

    It is. I think it takes place over the span of like 25 years, and it’s about these three people who go on to develop these games. I haven’t read it in a few years, so I can’t remember like all the specifics. But just hearing you talk about the Unreal Engines and stuff like that just reminded me of it, and I feel like it might be up your alley a little bit. Yes, but it is a really good book. 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  20:36 

    I’m skimming the Wikipedia right now. It does look very interesting and super applicable to what I was talking about. That’s why check this out. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  20:43 

    That’s why I wanted to ask because hearing you talk about all of this, I’m like, I have read a book about this stuff.  

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  20:49 

    Yeah, there you go. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  20:51 

    Well, it was wonderful to meet you. Thank you so much for talking with us. We will get a transcript of your interview, and I believe the video clips to it, and your profile all sent to you, so you can check over that. Thank you. 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  21:05 

    All right, thanks so much. 

    Sarah Jane Thomas  21:06 

    Have a good rest of your day. 

    Bonnie Harris-Lowe  21:08 

    You too. Bye. 

  • Augusto Gil

    Augusto Gil

    “Lifelong learning and collaborative projects are the best way to gain insight into our own craft and how others who are successful in it do what they do!” 

    Quick Facts

    Level of Education: Graduate at University of South Carolina 

    Years of Experience: 10 Years

    About

    Augusto Gil is an Artistic Director who teaches, performs, and conducts choral and contemporary music within and beyond the Midlands. He affirms the uniqueness of directing choirs at the professional level while maintaining the most difficult part is making music and the process accessible to everyone.  

    As a child performing in church and school, Augusto had always been interested in and performed music. He was encouraged by the professionals around him and believes that had been the first step toward his current career. He emphasizes how “lifelong learning and collaborative projects” are the best way to gain experience into one’s craft while understanding where success blossoms. 

  • Steph Sneed

    Steph Sneed

    “If you get bored, they’ll get bored.” 

    Quick Facts

    Level of Education: High School; Conservatory 

    Years of Experience: 5 Years

    About

    Steph Sneed is the founder and director of an arts education program serving children, teens, and adults across Darlington and neighboring counties in South Carolina’s PeeDee and Grand Strand region. Her path to this work began not in a classroom but in a living room, where she babysat a family of girls and did art with them every day. When they moved away, the realization came quickly: she didn’t want to stop. That impulse became a vocation. 

    Steph designs all of her own programming and works exclusively in small groups of six, a deliberate choice that allows for the kind of depth and individual attention that traditional art education settings rarely offer. Alongside her after-school classes, she creates specialized programming for teens in foster care and brings a particular dedication to neurodivergent artists, meeting each student where they are. 

    Before founding her program, Steph trained as a ballet dancer and performed professionally. Letting herself step away from the discipline she had devoted her life to, and permitting herself to draw in her room, to follow an emerging interest, was one of the hardest and most important decisions she ever made. “If I didn’t do that,” she reflects, “I would have held myself back from discovering an even bigger passion.” 

    Her advice to fellow educators and creatives is simple and hard-earned: stay engaged, stay present, and never phone it in. The students will always know the difference. 

  • Angela Yemi Gibson

    Angela Yemi Gibson

    “A closed mouth doesn’t get fed. You gotta ask.”

    Angela Yemi Gibson is a medical biller by day and an arts visionary by night: founder of a nonprofit African Dance Company in Spartanburg, SC.

    Audio Interview

    Transcript

    00:02 

    Emma Plutnicki:  So to start, what do you do for work and where are you currently working from? 

    00:07 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: I work from home. I am a medical biller, and I work for a billing company called Medical Billing Center Incorporated, 

    00:16 

    Emma Plutnicki:  Okay, amazing. How long have you been working there? 

    00:18 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: Six years. 

    00:20 

    Emma Plutnicki: Okay, amazing. And that’s based in South Carolina?  

    00:23 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: Yes, it is in South Carolina. 

    00:25 

    Emma Plutnicki:  Okay, how does working in South Carolina specifically influence your work, if at all? 

    00:32 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: Well, I have a nonprofit that I do outside of this, but, you know, being a nonprofit, you have to at least have some type of stream. So I do both. I don’t know, I moved here from Colorado, so it’s a little different, 

    00:48 

    Emma Plutnicki: Okay, yeah. And what is your nonprofit? 

    00:52 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: My nonprofit is an African Dance Company.  

    00:54 

    Emma Plutnicki: Okay, amazing and how long have you been doing that for? 

    00:57 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: Over 20 years! 

    00:59 

    Emma Plutnicki: Wow, and you started that? 

    01:01 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: Yes, I started dancing with other companies in Ohio, and then I moved to Colorado, and now I’m here. So I have my own nonprofit here in South Carolina. 

    01:11 

    Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, what made you want to start that? 

    01:14 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: It’s something different. It’s always changing. It keeps people engaged and it also brings a sense of community to everyone that’s involved. 

    01:27 

    Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, for sure. So what does a typical work day for you look like these days? What’s expected of you on a daily basis? What are your responsibilities 

    01:36 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: For my primary job? 

    01:38 

    Emma Plutnicki: Both. 

    01:40 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: So I work every day, Monday through Friday, from 7 to 4:30. Iam responsible for making sure that claims are clean when they go out of the system. I am responsible for fixing denied claims and rebilling those claims, patient statements, speaking to patients about their balances, communicating with the clinics and the owners about any account issues thatI have. Teamwork. and in my nonprofit, I am responsible for all the choreography, all the booking, all the costumes and the musicality. 

    02:21 

    Emma Plutnicki: Wow. And how are you able to manage both at the same time? Because I’m sure both of them are pulling you in different directions. 

    02:27 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: Yes, I’m not able to manage at all. I’m not good. I’m not able to manage it all. Since I work from home, I hop from one thing to another. So it’s one moment I’m here, then the next minute I’m there. So fortunately, I have the flexibility with my job to be able to do that. 

    02:43 

    Emma Plutnicki:  Yeah, and are you able to manage a healthy work life balance, or is that difficult to manage? 

    02:50 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: It’s difficult to manage most of the time because most of our- I teach classes during the week and we perform and rehearse during the week or during the weekend, so it was kind of wherever. But fortunately, I have a good support system within my family, so I’m able to juggle both pretty, pretty good. 

    03:09 

    Emma Plutnicki: Amazing, and within both of your jobs, how would you define success? I feel like it’s difficult sometimes with creative careers, especially, you know, some people say it’s monetary, some people say it’s more ideological. So how do you define success in your professional career and also just in your personal life? 

    03:30 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: In my- my professional career, I would label success financially, because as much work as you do, you want to getpaid for the work that you do. But as far as my nonprofit work, I label success by the people’s response. So if no one responds when you’re doing something, that means you’re really probably not doing a good job. So if it’s- I’d rather deal with customer engagement and the responses of people in order to garner my success for my nonprofit. 

    04:02 

    Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, makes sense. And did you have any fears when you started your nonprofit? 

    04:07 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: Oh absolutely. Whether I will be successful in doing it correctly, and will it be sustainable? 

    04:17 

    Emma Plutnicki: Yeah. And how were you able to kind of overcome those fears? 

    04:21 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: Just keep going. I have a team of 10 so far, and we have been going strong for these past few years, since we started the nonprofit, so it’s been pretty good. So I mean, dealing-working with people that you trust and that are dependable is key. If you don’t have those types of people involved, then you probably won’t be successful. 

    04:46 

    Emma Plutnicki:  Yeah, no, that definitely makes sense. And overall, have you been able to get advice from anybody? Is there any advice that stands out as either exceptionally good or just terrible advice that you received along the way? 

    05:02 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: I have received a mixture of both. I’m online a lot, so I tend to research more than anything else. So I’ve received a mixture of good and bad advice. Some people say, you know, don’t- What do people say? Don’t confide so much in the people that you work with, because the more that they know, the more that people can possibly use against you, so to speak. But I think that if you are more transparent with people, people are more- tend to either appreciate you or to be more understanding if you’re a little bit more transparent. But I’ve also learned that a closed mouth don’t get fed. You gotta ask. Sometimes it’s okay to ask for help if you need it. 

    05:57 

    Emma Plutnicki:  Yeah, I love that. No, that’s great advice. And throughout your career, has there been any specific projects that you’ve worked on that kind of stand out as having a significant impact on you, or just something that you know is something that has kind of been the pinnacle of your career? Anything that stands out? 

    06:18 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: This year we did, for- this is for my nonprofit, I can’t really say for my my primary job, because we do the same thing every day. 

    06:26 

    Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, okay. 

    06:28 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: But as far as my nonprofit, we successfully completed our very first residency- artist in residency. So that was a week long, and it was new, and it was completely different, and it was way out of the comfort zone, but it was successful. It was very successful. 

    06:48 

    Emma Plutnicki: Amazing. Congratulations on that. And what was that? Where did that take place? 

    06:53 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: It was in Monks Corner, South Carolina, and we taught fourth grade kids and kindergarteners for five days. 

    07:01 

    Emma Plutnicki: Amazing. And how has the community reacted to your projects and just overall, your nonprofit? 

    07:08 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: Wonderfully. They’ve been very supportive here where I am, because I live in Spartanburg, so they’ve been very supportive here. Also, I am a dance teacher at one of the ballet centers here, and they have been so supportive to where they’ve written grants to be able to get make sure that myself and my two drummers are paid for our classes. So the we’ll be able to offer the classes for free to the community. So they’re free to the community, but yet we get paid for our time. 

    07:41 

    Emma Plutnicki: Amazing. And have you seen the community, like the local professional community in South Carolina, generally helping?And is it tight knit, or is there any gaps in it? 

    07:51 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: It’s tight knit. I really think that if you don’t know the right people, you’re not in specific circles. So I think that it’s really click-ish, so you just gotta know the right people. And unfortunately, I don’t know a lot of people, so I just stick to where I’m at work, who I know. 

    08:09 

    Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, how are you able to have those conversations with people? Are there any, like, networking events or anything within South Carolina that you’d recommend for people if they’re trying to get in the door with people. 

    08:21 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: I honestly have no idea. I really need to know those things myself, because I need to get out there and network a little bit more. 

    08:30 

    Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, I’m sure at some some points, it’s just being in the right place at the right time. 

    08:34 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: Yeah, and it’s just finding those right places in the right time, that’s the problem. 

    08:38 

    Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, exactly. Amazing. Well, thank you so much for your time. Just as we wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share any advice for future people looking for a career in your field? 

    08:52 

    Angela Yemi Gibson: Keep swimming. What I can say is, honestly, don’t waste your money on college, unless you’re going to do something specific to that particular major that you’re going for. If you go to trade school, go to trade school, but stick to your guns and just remain positive. 

    09:17 

    Emma Plutnicki: Yeah, I love that. Well, thank you so much. I really- You’re welcome! 

  • Angela Yemi Gibson

    Angela Yemi Gibson

    “A closed mouth doesn’t get fed. You gotta ask.”

    Angela Yemi Gibson is a medical biller by day and an arts visionary by night: founder of a nonprofit African Dance Company in Spartanburg, SC.

    About

    Angela Yemi Gibson seamlessly bridges her dual passions: healthcare administration and African cultural arts. Based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, she works full-time as a medical biller while managing her nonprofit, an African Dance Company she founded over 20 years ago.

    Angela’s days are long and varied claim filing and patient communication by day, choreography and performance prep by evening. Her recent highlight: successfully leading an artist residency in Monks Corner, where she and her team taught African dance to local elementary students. “It was way out of the comfort zone, but it was successful,” she recalled.

    Angela measures success differently depending on the hat she’s wearing. In billing, it’s financial stability. In dance, it’s audience engagement and community response. Her nonprofit recently secured grants that allowed her to offer free community classes while ensuring her team is compensated.

    Angela believes in transparency and resilience. “Sometimes it’s okay to ask for help,” she says. She encourages aspiring creatives to surround themselves with trustworthy collaborators, remain positive, and keep showing up. Her advice is simple and clear: “Keep swimming.”

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  • Rae Weekes

    Rae Weekes

    “You can pave your own path. That can look any way you want it to.”

    Rae Weekes is the Artistic Director of Heart Inclusive Arts in North Charleston, where she helps adults with disabilities find empowerment through the arts.

    About

    Rae Weekes is the Artistic Director of Heart Inclusive Arts Community, a nonprofit studio in North Charleston, South Carolina that provides visual and performing arts opportunities for adults with disabilities. Since joining Heart in 2014, Rae has been central to creating an inclusive, expressive environment grounded in equity, access, and creativity. Whether coordinating performances or supporting daily studio activities, she fosters connection through compassion and community. Rae believes deeply in the power of art to amplify voices and create belonging “not just creating art,” she says, “but creating equity and opportunity.”