Forbes BLK Summit Atlanta | Interviews 2023 by Forbes - Dailymotion

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00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 - Hi everyone, I'm Rose Marie Miller

00:05 and we are backstage at the Forbes BLK Summit

00:08 and I have the pleasure of speaking with Kenya Russell,

00:11 the founder and CEO of Sensory Studios.

00:14 Thank you so much for joining me today, Kenya.

00:15 - Thank you so much for having me.

00:17 - Absolutely.

00:18 So Kenya, could you tell me a little bit about your company?

00:21 - Sensory Studios is a creative production company

00:24 that specializes in building community through the arts.

00:27 So we build everything from set installations

00:30 to experiential brand activation

00:32 and we also facilitate programming.

00:34 So that's another vertical that we have,

00:36 just a community outreach initiative

00:37 called Inner Vision Academy.

00:39 And what we do at Inner Vision Academy

00:41 is we really focus on going into communities

00:44 that are marginalized, traditionally underserved

00:47 and equipping young people with the skills that they need

00:50 to transition themselves into either a higher education,

00:54 pursuing the arts or some type

00:56 of creative entrepreneurship role.

00:58 So right now we're piloting our program

01:00 for the first time ever in Los Angeles

01:03 and we are planning to, we're currently in a middle school

01:07 but also two juvenile correction facilities

01:10 and we're going in and we're teaching visual arts,

01:12 skill development, emotional intelligence,

01:14 utilizing art therapy.

01:16 So we're allowing this to help them,

01:18 one, create a portfolio of work

01:21 that would allow them access

01:22 if they were to pursue art school

01:24 but we're also teaching them how to use their skillset

01:27 to build foundations for themselves,

01:29 especially with the anti-recidivism

01:31 within the juvenile correction.

01:33 - Kenya, how did you even come up

01:35 with this idea for this company?

01:37 - Actually I was inspired by one of my mentees.

01:40 One of my mentees, he's really dear to me,

01:41 a 13 year old prodigy artist

01:44 and he was challenged by having access

01:48 to art spaces and equipment and studios

01:51 and we all know how much of a burden that is

01:53 for creatives, especially creatives of color

01:56 and so trying to really just create and plant those seeds

02:00 with young people, he's 13,

02:02 so I wanted naturally to pursue this

02:04 with a younger group of children

02:06 that are really coming into their individuality,

02:09 figuring out what their hobbies are gonna be,

02:11 how they're gonna utilize their skillsets

02:13 and present them with an alternative

02:15 to what they're being currently presented

02:16 through the culture and the mainstream media.

02:19 - So what was the process like

02:21 of having your company implemented

02:23 into a middle school, into two,

02:26 did you tell me, juvenile centers?

02:28 - Yes. - Yeah.

02:28 What was that process like?

02:29 - It's actually, it was actually really fast.

02:32 So I work with two different organizations,

02:35 they're non-profit, Pulse Arts

02:38 and the Center for the Empowerment of Families.

02:40 So we partner with them to go into these facilities

02:42 and these spaces and to create,

02:45 I created a curriculum, so this curriculum

02:47 allows for the entire program to have initiatives

02:50 where we're working with other living artists

02:52 as teachers and teaching them even

02:54 how to utilize teaching as a way to monetize

02:57 and build a foundation for their art practice.

02:59 So we're targeting multiple different audiences here

03:02 but in different ways and hopefully building community

03:05 and inspiring at least one student is my goal,

03:08 to inspire someone to pursue creative entrepreneurship.

03:10 - You know, that's really beautiful what you do.

03:12 - Thank you so much. - Sure.

03:14 - Yeah, did you always know

03:16 that you wanted to be an entrepreneur

03:18 or did you have other plans initially?

03:20 - Yes, I definitely knew I always wanted

03:22 to be an entrepreneur.

03:23 I started my first company in 2019

03:25 after I graduated college.

03:27 It is Southern Made Creatives,

03:29 it's a platform that built,

03:30 I'm originally from Birmingham, Alabama.

03:33 So I went to the University of Alabama

03:35 and I was a studio art public relations double major.

03:38 So when I graduated, I found out through the hard way

03:41 that there were no communities that were really targeting

03:44 creatives of color and so I built one

03:46 and I tried to build it in a way that would be something

03:49 that I actually wanted to be a part of.

03:51 And so with this, we built our program, our platform

03:54 and we started producing art shows, concerts

03:57 and we created a space for black creatives

03:59 to come and exemplify their small business and their art

04:02 and to connect with each other.

04:04 - So what sacrifices did you have to make

04:06 while you were building this company?

04:09 - Yeah, so lots of stability.

04:10 I didn't pursue a traditional nine to five at first

04:13 so it was kind of hard in terms of figuring out

04:16 if this was something I really wanted to do,

04:18 is it really gonna be sustainable long-term?

04:20 And so I ended up working as a marketing manager

04:23 for a tech startup and that's where I was able

04:25 to really just start seeing things in a different way,

04:28 figure out how startups really operated

04:30 and figuring out also just what I needed to do.

04:33 I'm currently in school now, getting my MBA at USC

04:36 in social entrepreneurship.

04:37 So I'm really excited to continue my journey of learning

04:40 so that I can go back into the communities

04:42 that mean a lot to me, which are marginalized communities

04:46 and create an impact there.

04:48 - So you have mentees.

04:49 - Yes.

04:50 - Who are some of your mentors?

04:51 - Melva Benoit is a big one for me.

04:54 She is amazing.

04:56 She's a gallerist and we actually met when I moved to LA.

04:59 So that relationship has been really influential

05:02 for the way that I've been able to navigate the art space

05:05 because she's so knowledgeable

05:06 and just exemplifies what a woman of integrity is.

05:10 So.

05:11 - Kendra.

05:12 - Kenya, I am so sorry.

05:14 You are phenomenal.

05:15 Thank you so much.

05:16 - Thank you for doing this interview.

05:17 - Oh, no problem.

05:19 Thank you for having me.

05:20 (upbeat music)

05:22 (upbeat music)

05:25 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Sensory Studios Founder On The Importance Of Creative Programming For Children

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Forbes BLK Summit Atlanta | Interviews 2023

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