Sydd - August 2025
Before ending the month of August, we would like to turn the spotlight over to a dear friend Sydd (@Bigsyddyy) for our artist highlight. Sydd is a multifaceted, creative with focuses in visual and digital art. For her that means photography and videography. In the beginning, Sydd gravitated to writing in her creative journey. She would often think that being a writer and writing short stories or screenplays would be her career path. She would attend the Willow school formally known as Lusher where she took creative writing. It was when she had a joint class with the media arts students that made her realize that this may be something she was more interested in. She would ask her mom to get her a camera to use. Upon getting one, her mom told her “you better make a-lot of money with this.” She would keep those words in the back of her mind, but knew that the camera was a tool that would open multiple avenues on her journey. Upon getting her film degree, she would take up jobs working with visual/digital media marketing. She says that she enjoys working in this field because it meshes being creative with the corporate side of media.
Sydd is inspired by the people around her. She says that she’s been grateful to grow up around so many creative people she can simply draw inspiration just by looking at a friend beside her instead of up to someone. She can’t pinpoint an exact moment, but says that the work she has been doing with her art based collective Valence Society (@valence.society) would be closest to what describes her as an artist. Her mission is to combine creative thinking with infrastructure building to create an ecosystem in the New Orleans where artists can establish themselves, create, and move things forward. an Syd has had a piece of her work purchased by the city for its permanent collection, has done a group show with the New Orleans photo alliance, as well as Indelible Imprint in California.
Looking forward Sydd says she constantly thinks about the future and already has a 10 year plan for Valence Society. This allows her to live in the present. That being said she has a lot of events coming up with Valence Society as well as personal shoots. She has also put herself in a artist bootcamp to keep her focused, and on her toes with her own craft If you’re looking to learn more about Syd and either her work or the collective (ValenceSociety.co) you can follow her Instagram, and check out her website Sjwalkerstudios.com.
“ Now is an essential time to be mindful of how New Orleans creative energy is being leached out into other places who are not pulling us with them”. - Sydd
