Advice for a creative year ahead

In 2025, we’ve had the pleasure of interviewing countless Armenian artists — writers, actors, musicians, filmmakers and more — who inspire us daily through their work and dedication to the Armenian community. 

Across most of these interviews, we asked a recurring question: Do you have any advice for aspiring Armenian creatives?

With the new year upon us — a time for past reflection and future planning — we revisited their advice and found a few key themes rising to the top.

No matter where you are in your artistic journey or career, here’s to making 2026 a year of creative exploration and accomplishment!

Interview responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Find your niche

Ara Dabandjian: Stick to Armenian music and take it to another level. (Celebrating 20 years of Element Band: An interview with Ara Dabandjian)

Tonee Marino: Be true to yourself and let your uniqueness set you apart. (Meet Tonee Marino, the artist behind “Im Hamar Es”)

Talene Monahon: For a long time, I felt like my identity as an Armenian was too niche to really own and explore as part of my artistic practice. I now understand that was a fallacy and that, in stories, there is always universality in the specific. (This fall, you can “Meet the Cartozians”: An interview with playwright Talene Monahon)

Mary Basmadjian: Make something you want to see, and people will gravitate to it. Like with Vartoush, I wanted to see a progressive older Armenian woman; I wanted my mom to be a progressive Armenian woman; I wanted her to be supportive and nice. I wanted to see a sex-positive Armenian woman — so, that’s what I did. (Comedian Mary Basmadjian gets vulnerable in new one-woman show) 

Gabriel Kadian: Find the thing that you can’t stop thinking about or the problem you can’t figure out how to solve and write. Find something you want to articulate or a puzzle you want to solve and write something about it; share it. It’s all about creating a dialogue. What is the dialogue that you want to be a part of? Do the self-reflection to figure out what is meaningful to you. (Get to know the writer and producer of “Anahid: An Armenian Musical”)

Make it, share it and keep going

Michael Goorjian: Make stuff and be willing to be bad. (Catching up with filmmaker Michael Goorjian)

Travis Murad Leland: Just make the damn thing. Don’t sit on it, just make it and throw it out there because you’re only going to figure it out once it’s done and in front of people. (Get to know the writer and producer of “Anahid: An Armenian Musical”)

Emily Simonian: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Don’t be afraid to share your work with other people. “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron has been immensely helpful for me, because it helps me get in touch with the fact that I just want to create. Even if my music never goes anywhere, or people don’t hear it, I just want to create. (Meet Emily Simonian, creator of the Armenian-American musical “When Two of Us Meet”) 

Armand Assante: If you have an instinct, a feeling, if you want to express something, do it. Don’t wait. Engage in it, believe in it, make it your own. Engage in what you’re doing now and do not stop. Do not stop for anyone. That will teach you what to do next. Do not live with regrets about things you didn’t do. Do it. (“Revival” explores AI’s involvement in war: An interview with actor Armand Assante)

Saro Varjabedian: Just keep doing it. You have to do it. You have to create it. If you wait, it’s not going to come. Find a way to do what you can to be an artist, to be a creative — whether that’s writing or doing a short film and submitting to festivals. Do what you can to keep working on your craft and do it because you love it. If you love it, then you’re not working. (“Tim and Robot” are here to make you think: An interview with author Saro Varjabedian)

Sev Ohanian: Put out good work. You do not need to have a lot of connections to make something that can be good. It is so cliché, but truly, if you want to be a director, the only thing that separates directors from people who are not is: directors direct. You have to constantly be putting out content. Short films — the shorter, the better. Do it so consistently that people will start thinking of you as a director and it will not be a question of whether they are going to work with you; it is a question of when. You want to be a producer? There is no shortage of people who need good problem solvers and creative geniuses who can help make X meet Y. That is your opportunity to do that. (2025: The year of Sev Ohanian)

Leverage your network

Travis Murad Leland: Get people to help and call on your community because you can’t do it without support. (Get to know the writer and producer of “Anahid: An Armenian Musical”)

Emily Simonian: No matter what your artistic medium is, community is so important. I’ve been part of a writer’s group through MusicalWriters.com for a few years, and it’s been so helpful to just bounce ideas off of people, to collaborate and feel like you’re not alone. So, just surround yourself with people who will support you and whom you can support. (Meet Emily Simonian, creator of the Armenian-American musical “When Two of Us Meet”)

Michael Goorjian: Meet people and get involved in stuff. I feel like I’ve been exposed to more Armenians who are either in the industry or who are doing very well, and they want to help other Armenians, but they can’t help everyone. Don’t expect things for nothing; figure out what you bring to the table, what you can offer in exchange if you want help from somebody. (Catching up with filmmaker Michael Goorjian) 

Jack Jr.: Hit me up, honestly. I help out comedians all the time. I am very involved in the comedy community — not just the Armenian community. I won’t name drop, but five of my past openers are top comedians right now. I do not like taking credit for their success, but I feel like I steered them the right way and I am very happy for them. I am all about giving back, so if anyone is looking to be a comedian or just wants to talk, my Instagram is always open and I am always up for helping people. (Fresh from Armenia, put your hands together for Jack Jr.!)

Sev Ohanian: Capitalize on anything you possibly can. If you are lucky enough to be born as a rich grandchild of a millionaire, great. But for the rest of us, you still do have advantages. You may not readily realize them, but they do exist. A lot of it, for me, was my Armenian network — just aunts and uncles and family members. The entire “My Big Fat Armenian Family” movie cost me $800 because everything was given and donated. Use your resources, whatever they may be. If you do not have the money for a big short film, be resourceful; find ways to do it that does not need big money. Use your iPhone and computers, like we did with “Searching.” (2025: The year of Sev Ohanian)

Don’t stop learning

Peyote Beats: Keep studying the greats, keep studying the biggest artists that are out right now. Why are they there? Play your music and then play their music. (When GRAMMY-winning music production came to TUMO: An interview with Peyote Beats)

Martik Kanian: Listen to all the classics; listen to jazz. Listen to good music, not just dance music. Listen to classical music and to beautiful Persian and Armenian folk music. Listening to good music can cure your soul and make you a nice person. (For a limited time, Martik is back in town)

Sev Ohanian: You have to educate yourself. And the keyword for me is “yourself.” Do not stray into this industry without arming yourself with as much knowledge as you possibly can, whether that is going to a very expensive film school or watching every YouTube tutorial you can find. Look at every video of “Lessons from the Screenplay,” for example. Read every book on screenwriting. These are things that I actually did. Every screenwriting book that had more than 20 reviews, I was reading it. Really arm yourself with that because it will differentiate you immediately from the thousands of people who don’t do it. (2025: The year of Sev Ohanian)