Her Excellence — Keesha Chung

Whether it’s content creation or modelling - KEESHA CHUNG does it all! Not to mention, she is also the co-founder of Collective Culture, a platform that showcases voices within the black and Indigenous people of colour community. In our interview, KEESHA talks authenticity and curating spaces and conversations that go beyond societal norms.

CHELLY IN THE CITY: For those who don’t know you, who is Keesha Chung?

KEESHA CHUNG: I am the co-founder of an organization called Collective Culture. Collective Culture is a platform that prioritizes the voices of black and Indigenous people of colour through multi-disciplinary programming and content. I write, I model, I do creative direction, video editing, and graphic design. But, if I had to choose one title I would say I’m a content creator.

CITC: What was the driving force behind creating Collective Culture? And why do you feel that this space is needed in the BIPOC community?

KC: My friend and I co-founded Collective Culture after we met during our undergrads at Concordia University. We both majored in Women’s Studies. During our classes, we would talk about race, feminism, homophobia, power structures, identity politics…all that good stuff. But after a while, I realized how insular these conversations were. We felt that other people should and could benefit from critical and impactful engagement with these topics, so we created Collective Culture. 

But also, I made a personal promise to myself when I finished school. I told myself I would find ways to make heavy conversations about race, identity, and the P.O.C. experience more palatable and accessible, not just through Collective Culture, but also through my own person projects. My goal with all my work is to create safe and welcoming spaces that allow people to engage with each other, their identities, and their experiences. So it’s not just like: “Oh, I wrote an essay. Here’s my thesis. Let’s deconstruct it.” Yes, that’s important. The academic sphere is very important. But, that's not the only work that needs to be done. The conversations need to move outward. 

❝ My goal with all of my work is to create safe and welcoming spaces that allow people to engage with each other, their identities, and their experiences. So it’s not just like: “Oh, I wrote an essay. Here’s my thesis. Let’s deconstruct it.” Yes, that’s important. The academic sphere is very important. But, that's not the only work that needs to be done. The conversations need to move outward.  ❞

CITC: Creating a platform of any sort can be nerve-wracking at first, what challenges did you face before launching Collective Culture?  

KC: A lot. I think the biggest and most consistent challenge (that still exists presently), has been finding a solid team. A lot has changed since Collective Culture began. And for me, it's been really hard to find people that work at the same pace and with the same intensity as I do. I’m an all-in type of person. When I set a goal, I won't stop until it’s done. It gets intense and it can be off putting for a lot of people, but it’s the reason I’ve been able to accomplish so many things

Collective Culture has been such an enriching experience for me personally, creatively, and professionally. I’ve invested a lot of myself in this platform. And bringing other people into something you started, can be really hard. Because more often than not, they don’t (and kind of can’t) have the same level of investment. Which makes sense but is also challenging when you want to expand. 

But, one of the benefits of working predominantly on my own is that I have to be very intentional and purposeful in regards to the kinds of projects I want to do. I’ve developed a lot of self-discipline on account of that. I get to choose what I want to invest my time and energy into rather than have someone else (even partially) dictate that for me. And I have to say it’s given me a lot of space to develop as an artist.

❝ I have to be very intentional and purposeful in regards to the kinds of projects I want to do. I’ve developed a lot of self-discipline on account of that. I get to choose what I want to invest my time and energy into rather than have someone else (even partially) dictate that for me. And I have to say it’s given me a lot of space to develop as an artist. ❞ 

CITC: In your #WithSephora campaign, you were very transparent about beauty and its representations. How important is transparency to you in the creative industry and most importantly, being transparent with your audience?

KC: For me, authenticity is more important than transparency. I try to be as true to myself as I can be. My creativity is an opportunity to get to know myself better; gauge where I’m at. Most of the time ideas for projects stem from some sort of existential thought or question. That sounds super melodramatic, but it’s true.

Also, I really value self-awareness; in myself and others, but self-awareness is only attained when you understand who you really are and you honour that person. 

There is content that perpetuates norms and then there is content that encourages you to break and challenge those norms. I try to make the latter. 

Artists and art that inspires you to lean closer into who you are, are far more moving, more impactful. So I think authenticity and transparency would go hand in hand in that sense. But for me, it’s important that when I do anything, when I create something, I’m not just creating it as a vanity project for myself. I’m creating something that serves a higher purpose. Asks more questions, makes people think. I want people to feel seen and give a voice to stories that our culture seeks to suffocate and marginalize. Obviously not everything I do can meet these criteria. But as I evolve more and develop my understanding of myself as a creative, I believe this will happen naturally. 

❝ For me, it’s important that when I do anything, when I create something, I’m not just creating it as a vanity project for myself. I’m creating something that serves a higher purpose. Asks more questions, makes people think. I want people to feel seen and give voice to stories that our culture seeks to suffocate and marginalize. ❞

CITC: Being a creative comes with a lot of pressures one being consistency. How do you deal with those pressures? And how do they help you thrive and stay relevant?

KC: I don't really think about staying relevant as much as I think about creating what I need to create at that time in my life. Collective Culture has shifted but not in accordance to what’s “relevant”. It changed in accordance with what I wanted to explore in my work. 

I think if you pay attention to what other people are telling you works - what's “relevant” - it’s easier to get caught up in the wrong things. Because at that point, you're not creating from a place of authenticity, you’re creating for validation. You’re doing it to appease other people and no matter what you do there will always be people who don’t connect with your message or have something negative to say. Point being, remaining relevant is not something I care about. I care about being true to who I am as an artist and using my work to connect with my community and myself. 

❝ Remaining relevant is not something I care about. I care about being true to who I am as an artist and using my work to connect with my community and myself.  ❞ 

CITC: What piece of work has impacted you and changed the way you create your content?

KC: The project that impacted me the most was actually something that’s never been released publicly. It was a project I did during my third year of my undergrad. We were asked to create a visual project (documentary) depicting a community or culture. I decided to do mine on the modelling industry. At the time, I was going through a lot of personal changes and this project really helped me work through them.  I revealed a lot of intimate details about my life and what I was going through. Needless to say, I was really nervous to show the project to my class (which we were required to do). After I showed my video, I actually got a lot of really encouraging and positive feedback. And even though the project was really specific, I had a bunch of people tell me they related to my video the most out of all the videos shown by the class. 

This project taught me a lot. But, most importantly it showed me how much power vulnerability and authenticity carry when you use it to drive your creativity. This project made me realize that I wanted to create content that had a message, a purpose. 

CITC: From producing and creative directing to writing and professionally modelling - you wear a lot of hats. How do you fit self-care into your world? And what does it look like to you?

KC: I’ll be honest, I’m not the best at “self-care.” For me, self-care isn’t just buying myself nice things. I define self-care as being in tune with your physical and mental health. And I have the tendency to put those things to the side when I’m working on a project.

I’m a very extreme person so when I’m doing something it’s very all-encompassing. But it’s definitely not the healthiest way to work because I rarely take breaks and when I do, it’s usually out of necessity rather than choice. In the past, I’ve pushed myself to the point of hospitalization and the health issues that evolved from that, still affect me today. So “self-care”, in this sense, is something I’m still learning. The struggle for me is balance. But like I said, I’m working on that everyday.

CITC: You have created and contributed to a lot of dope things. What’s next for Keesha Chung?

KC: I’m in school right now at Humber College. I’m in a program called Film and Multi-platform Storytelling. The program is amazing and I’m learning so much. I’ve always wanted to work in TV, doing production and writing. I’m learning about the behind the scenes stuff and it’s been really great so far. 

At the end of the day, I know this is just the beginning. I still have so much to learn and so many things I want to accomplish. But I already see myself as someone who is successful because I’m very happy with my life. I’m proud of the things I’ve accomplished but I know I still have a long way to go. When I think about the trajectory of my career, I don’t know every next step but I know that as long as I continue to remain authentic to who I am and create from that place success will come and happiness will remain. 

CITC: Finally, what makes you excellent?

KC: I’m really proud of the person I’ve grown into. I’ve taken the time to figure out what I’m passionate about and that something a lot of people struggle with. I’m also very lucky to have such a strong support system and on account of that, I’ve been able to follow my dreams and remain driven and motivated regardless of the obstacles I face. 

I don’t really know what makes me excellent, but I know that I’ve been very blessed in my life and I am thankful for those blessings everyday. Being humble and kind while also remaining motivated and ambitious is really important to me. My creativity has given me an outlet to share myself with the world and I’m excited to see where my journey continues to take me.

❝ I’m proud of the things I’ve accomplished but I know I still have a long way to go. When I think about the trajectory of my career, I don’t know every next step but I know that as long as I continue to remain authentic to who I am and create from that place success will come and happiness will remain.  ❞ 

For more KEESHA CHUNG, visit her Instagram and online platform, Collective Culture .

Interview by:
Chelsea Williams
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Photos by:
@anna_akoto