Here are 5 keys you’ll learn from listening:

1. Drop the Acts: Why “code-switching” between rooms and audiences might hurt your authenticity—and how to break the habit.

2. Unique Voice Matters: Your perspective adds NEWNESS to old conversations in art; it’s not about inventing something entirely new but being the you that only you can be.

3. Honesty Wins: Being real about your story, your background, and your subjects immediately changes how your work is received (and yes, it could be the difference between getting grants or not!).

4. Portfolio Power: How focusing your portfolio on your story rather than just your “strongest images” can make a bigger impact.

5. Loneliness & Growth: Discover how the isolation of honest self-expression isn’t punishment—it’s the space where you become your best creative self.

Donald reveals he didn’t discover he was a “Black artist” until he was the only Black person at the biggest portfolio review in the country. It was an old Mexican curator who told him, “Don’t tell me the shit you tell white people”—and that moment changed everything about how Donald describes his work today!

So, if you’re tired of trying to “play the game,” want to get closer to your true self, or just love hearing real talk from real artists, hit play on this episode.