Planting the Roots of Success | An Interview with Holly Bass

Meet Holly Bass, a jack of all trades and a mentor in the Towards 2040 Creative Leaders Fellowship.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, thank the spirits that your soul is loved. You will live again and again as your purpose is to be you in every universe. Visual artist, creator of the thought-provoking project Root Work, and the writer of the mind-bending poem Modern English, Holly Bass embodies what it means to be authentically you. Bass, our generation’s jack of all trades, planted her roots in the fruitful garden of success. Before demonstrating her raw talent as an unapologetic Black woman who took the world by its core, Bass developed an undeniable authentic presence to showcase self-confidence as an artist. Bass discovered a deep appreciation for mentorship from her favorite inspirations, such as Gwendolyn Brooks. Bass wanted to be a mentor since she had positive representation from fellow Black creative women, which solidified her space as a mentor in Words Beats & Life inc.’s inaugural fellowship, Toward 2040.

Bass surrendered herself to the unknown process of creativity with a dream and minimal financial security, which led her to offer support to upcoming creatives by sharing her experiences. I had the honor of interviewing Bass. She will be one of the mentors in our Toward 2040 Creative Leaders Fellowship. She and other mentors will pour their wisdom into the fellows toward a future of freedom, liberation, and radical love per our Toward 2040 vision. Today, we are pleased to know Bass as an icon in her community because, as a creative, she has encountered many challenges as a Black artist and experienced plenty of mistakes from financial risks. Her biggest goal as a visionary is to guide and teach young creatives in her community how to avoid those situations and flourish in ways she didn't have access to at the beginning of her career.

Everyone has to start somewhere, and you will never know until you plant your roots in this timeline. Bass's visual piece, Root Work, has arguably the most robust atmosphere in her series of photos, which has stood in a category of simplistic beauty while reclaiming power from a traumatic space that garners ancestral pain. Some may view the piece as controversial, but I recognized the artwork as Bass unabashedly staying true to herself and doing what the creative process asked of her. "The creative process is what allows me to be authentically myself. And often gives me the courage and understanding to show up authentically in other spaces," said Bass. Her response was inspiring, thoughtful, and straightforward as she smiled with pearly whites and her round cheeks fluffed in sheer excitement. She is the positive representation that embodies being yourself, and your craft will follow.

The symbolic message to young creatives and the fellows is to grow into your personality and let it reflect through confidence (believing in yourself), and people will notice. Bass's artwork is not the ideal traditional standard because she uses her work to display what her Blackness means to her. As a Black woman, she has to uphold a higher standard than her peers because, once upon a time, Bass's work was not rightfully recognized as it is now. She gradually rose to stardom with a small group of supporters and a few bucks to her name as she went on to produce her visual artistry. Bass had no choice but to take risks on her journey toward success, and it started by showing up for herself.

Mentorship is similar to passing the torch or the baton to the next person to start. Bass knew she wanted to influence her community and nourish them in ways that some of her favorite inspirations have done for her. She talked about a few Black women activists that were significant to her, such as Kimberly Crenshaw, Toni Cade Bambara, Audre Lorde, and Gwendolyn Brooks, who wrote Bass back in college. Brooks unintentionally acted as a guide for her. Bass recalled the experience as powerful because Brooks juggled teaching and book writing while responding to fans. Our Toward 2040 Creative Leaders Fellowship quote is, "collaboration amongst people is key to our collective success." Bass deeply resonated with the quote as it spurred inspiration to talk further about her experience with Brooks.

One of her memorable moments was when Brooks had trouble reaching her due to postal issues with Bass's dormitory, and instead of throwing the letter out, she sent it again. The situation contributed to Bass's passion for wanting to give back through mentorship, even if it's something as small as sending letters to one of her favorite inspirations. "I think of another quote if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. I always feel it's important to invest in the ecosystem of creatives. So I'm often mentoring, sharing advice, trying to help people get grants, whatever it is, because I feel like the more of us that get put on, the stronger the community. We shine brighter together," Bass said. Words Beats & Life inc. is well-loved by Bass because of a mutual understanding of wanting to love and support the community. She references joining the Toward 2040 Creative Leaders Fellowship as a way to be an essential part of the communal change and would like to be the driving force for someone like Gwendolyn Brooks, presumably for her.

When I spoke to Holly about her goals and aspirations for the Toward 2040 Creative Leaders Fellowship, I gained insight into her perception of how to be a mentor to others through an earthy lens. Bass is very humble about her ever-growing career, and rightfully so. Despite her years of knowledge and experience, she prefers to learn from others because she believes that it strengthens her as a creative."I think of things like ecosystems, I think of gardens, I think of a forest of trees. All these ideas mean we are healthier, stronger, and better together. If I'm older and more experienced, that is my responsibility as a mentor," said Bass. A leader to Holly Bass is someone who listens carefully and patiently and guides their people to their destiny. Bass is looking forward to working with the fellows and using the Toward 2040 Creative Leaders Fellowship as a teachable moment between them. She wants to learn from the fellows experiences as creatives and help guide them into their destinies while sharing her experiences to prevent them from making mistakes that she has. Bass is not a fan of gatekeeping information because her roots took time to plant, and she beautifully expressed that her struggle should not be their struggles.

A loved root will illuminate the night, rise faster than the sun at dawn, and flourish into mother nature's most beautiful stars. Bass will never soar beyond the moon without bringing along the stars that shined with her. She's a sweet, gentle star that was a pleasure to see the horizon with, and she has so much in store for the Toward 2040 fellows to assist in radiating their light.