Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Steele
Hi Danielle, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’m a second generation Miami native, raised as an only child in a strict, yet remarkably alternative, artsy, and spiritual household. Growing up in the dawn of the internet age without access to technology provided me with a very different experience than my peers. Drawing, writing music, journaling, face painting, and performing consumed my energy and my time. This, combined with an insatiable quest to understand myself, drove me to creative expression- I was naturally led to pursue the arts, and later, community work with youth in the arts. Beyond this, creativity as both a practice and perspective has shaped my mind and approach to life.
I attended New World School of the Arts for highschool, a choice that to this day, continues to be one that gives back, as many of the mentors and organizations I have had in adulthood knew me through the program. Studying art academically heavily lended itself to music making, and I developed somewhat of a local music career in Miami, then later in Tallahassee from the ages of 15-23. I completed my BA at Florida State University, in addition to majoring in Art History, and minoring in Museum Studies.
Several internships in college sparked immense ambition in me. They were all museum and gallery based- I even worked at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, doing lighting for a summer. The highlight was definitely lighting a Nam June Paik exhibit, one of my favorite artists. The awe, amazement, and fire for art continued to grow. My first internship, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tallahassee, we created a Curatorial Program for 5th graders. They got to see the private collection of the museum, select pieces, and put on an exhibition. I just remember having so much fun with them. I loved hearing about why they made certain choices, what was going on with their peers throughout the process. They made me laugh, and I was so proud of them at the end. That was the first time I realized that working with youth is magical. They are uninhibited, they are dreamers, and they possess wisdom in ways that adults seem to have lost. They remind us of ourselves- our inner child.
Call it fate or synchronicity, but one early morning at Government Center I ran into an old New World professor of mine, Loni Johnson, who is also an outstanding artist in Miami. We had a long chat about the state of the world over cortados and an egg sandwich at 7 am. A month later, she offered me a job. After a year teaching English in Barcelona, I began my first non profit job at Concept Health Systems.
Concept Health Systems has a prevention based program for at-risk youth called A-List, in Little Haiti, and Una Voz in Hialeah. We met with the groups twice a week, alongside playwright and actor, Teo Castellanos. They served as both mentorship sessions and creative spaces to create performance art, rooted in the ideas surrounding “prevention” of risky behaviors. They would then perform for hundreds of students at public schools. It was there I learned that kids can teach each other, and actually, peer to peer education is an evidence based model that’s extremely effective. That’s why D.A.R.E. didn’t really work, by the way. Undoubtedly, my empathy and understanding for Haitian and Cuban communities in Miami deepened immensely through this work.
I connected with ProjectArt Miami, initially as a program manager, through Sandra Portal-Andreu (another New World grad, local professional dancer, educator, and all around extraordinaire). Over the course of 5 years I have been promoted to Vice President | Programs, and oversee all programs nationwide. This work truly lies at the intersection of my two biggest passions: youth development and visual arts. Working with youth and emerging artists feels full circle — being able to give them a chance, just I have been given chances, to step into the world of art education, to provide them with exhibition opportunities, and professional development that helps launch their careers.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Yes, of course. However, it’s sometimes when you are struggling and feel lost that you find the experience that you need to grow the most. When I found myself out of work several years ago, I did what I firmly believe everyone should do at least once in their lives: I worked at a restaurant. It was humbling and grimey. But I learned how to talk to anyone with confidence, how to let my personality shine, how to have a sense of urgency, how to multitask with a smile on my face, and just how to get it done!
Then, when the pandemic hit, I was out of work (again) and had time to really reflect on what my path was. I think many people experienced this in 2020, in some way. Working in the service industry wasn’t the lifestyle I wanted long-term, and that kind of job is so non-stop you barely have time to think about long term goals. I was able to take the time to find my way back to the work that gives me a sense of purpose.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
From teaching English in Barcelona, to private singing and songwriting lessons, to managing programs for at-risk youth in Miami, I’ve dedicated my career to helping young people find their voice through art and music. It is a responsibility I take very seriously, and try to consider from infinite angles. I’m very proud of the ProjectArt program- it was already a well-oiled machine for over 10 years when I came in. I think the work that my team and I have done has both increased the quality of education and the overall residency experiences that artists have when they work for us. My goal is to always maximize resources and ensure everyone is getting the most they can out of the experience, working with a limited budget and endless obstacles (as non profits usually are). It feels like being tasked with sifting diamonds out of dust sometimes. Which is exciting. There are always diamonds in the end.
As Vice President of Programs at ProjectArt, I have been working now for 5 years, primarily serving communities all throughout Miami-Dade, but also nationwide! We connect local artists with youth and libraries, creating in-depth curriculums that not only teach technique, but how to build and create ideas. We also educate local artists on how to leverage libraries to advance their artistic practices. Libraries have so much to offer beyond books- the resources they provide for free is an incredible gift to the public. The magic ingredient of ProjectArt is its reach and effectiveness- by partnering with public libraries, we have the privilege of serving youth directly in their communities, taught by local artists, who are also from those communities. They get to see someone who looks like them model how art is a viable career path. Representation is powerful and essential.
Personally, I’ve always found that it’s exciting to be at the start of things. I love being able to point people in the right direction, and then watch their lives blossom from the sidelines. Whether that’s witnessing youth’s creativity take flight, the emergence of one of our local artists in Miami, or one of my own students recording their first album- my professional experiences in community work has cemented the idea in my mind that art is a vehicle to connect people. To generate dialogue on culture, community, care- to explore your own identity and truth, to find moments of calm, to help build the life you want, be the person you want to be, and make what you really want to make. There are also no rules- and that lack of limitation in art can be used as a technique to provide healing experience for kids. Art teaches dreaming, it teaches you to take chances without knowing how things will turn out, to make choices, it teaches empathy, and that comparison and perfectionism are illusions. You don’t have to become an artist, or even be good at it, to learn these lessons from art. Everyone should make art. And parents should immerse their children in it, even if just for a short time. Parents should also consider joining their children in that journey: make art alongside them!
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Risks are the only way you can get to where you want to go. My experience with risk has been through jumping at opportunities that imposter syndrome could have led me to believe I was unqualified for or stupid for considering. I’ve come to realize that you are qualified to pursue your dreams, so long as they are in alignment with exactly who you are, and you get to define what that is, and you get to choose to believe it. This is also what makes a great artist- someone who recognizes their hyper-specific vantage point in this world, and chooses to reflect it back in return. Failure is mandatory. Not everyday will be your best, but it wouldn’t be your best if it was. Keep going.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://projectart.org
- Instagram: @projectartusa
Image Credits
Melanie Johnston
