MEMBER FEATURE:

Our Rockella Space Featured Member during Pride Month is the talented and adorable, Steven Baboun, a Rockella Space Member since January 2022. Steven has a studio at One Eyed Studios.

Steven is a prolific Photographer, Artist, and Creative Director who is passionate about his community and supporting them through his work. Based in New York City, he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Film and Media Arts and a minor in Education Studies from American University, as well as a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from Parsons School of Design. Baboun works in photography, video, performance, textile + multimedia installation, and design. Currently, Baboun is the founder and creative director of Studio Baboun, a creative house based in Brooklyn, New York.

Follow Steven on IG to see what he is up to next!

Tell us about yourself.

I’m Steven Baboun and I’m a Haitian Artist, Photographer, and Director. I have my studio here at One Eyed Studio and what we initially do is work with brands and artists to create creative assets. We specialize in Photography, Editorial, Fashion, Film, Stage Design, and installations. We love working with brands from the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa to elevate the stories from there.

Professionally, what is your goal?

Professionally? Oh, that’s a beautiful question. I think right now, I’m so happy launching my studio and working with different brands. I think my goal is to just keep creating, especially with Haitian artists. Haitai is where I’m from. I’m Haitian and our stories and our narrative have never been told in the right way, or never told by us. So my goal is to keep fostering a community of Haitian artists and storytellers and elevate our narrative. That is my main goal.

What are three words that describe the mood or vibe of your creative practice?

Ahh, I love this question! Colorful. Definitely cultural, I would say. I am very proud to be Haitian and Haiti plays a huge role in my practice. In my aesthetic. In my stories. And three, I would say… I don’t want it to sound cheesy but I would say fun. I want people to feel dignified and have fun in an elevated way when they’re on my set or working on a project. So… colorful, cultural, and fun.

How do you want your work to impact the world?

Sometimes I think about this question, like, I think about our goal as artists in the world and what we do. I think for me, if I can’t change the world, I can at least change my community. Or invest or give my work and my legacy to my community. And for me, my ultimate goal is to tell the world and prove that Haitian storytellers, Haitian stories, and Haitian narratives are as important as Hollywood, as important as Nollywood, Bollywood, or any other industry out there. For now, that’s what I want to do in the world.

What do you have to say to your future self?

To my future self, that’s hard. I don’t know…. I would say Bitch, keep workin’! Or Bitch, take a break! I don’t know (laughter).

Ok, so let’s go to the past. What would you say to your past self?

I would tell my past self… All the times when you cried, and when you felt like, undeserved, nobody understood your ideas, nobody got your art… Huh! I’m here! I got a studio. I’m working. I would say, I would tell my younger self to not worry. You know, do not worry that people are not getting the craziest ideas right now because they will get them in the future. That is what I would tell my past self. Don’t give up. And don’t worry, Just keep going because someone is going to get it.

How do you establish boundaries as a creative business owner?

That’s a great question. This is my first ever business. I have never launched anything, business-wise or in the entrepreneurial world. So how I set boundaries is, although I do love creating and I am a creative first, I have to tell myself I have to be fair and kind to myself, to sustain my art. So although I am capitalizing on my work, I have to keep telling myself, I need to feed myself and I need to sustain myself to keep creating stories. And how do I set boundaries as a business owner? I think I am still really learning the ropes. I think ask me in two more years. I think I will have a clearer answer.

What works are you most proud of?

Works I’m most proud of…That is a hard one. I’m proud of everything I work on because I collaborate with my community. I collaborate with passionate storytellers. So honestly, I’m proud of, I would say, a lot of the work I’ve done with my community, and with fellow artists. It’s really hard to pick and choose because each story is different. You come into a project and you leave out of it so differently, depending on the project. I don’t want to minimize anything we’ve done together, with my community, so I’m proud of a lot, a lot of stuff we’ve done.

Tell us who you've collaborated with in your projects and what they have been about.

We were recently on tour with Michael Brun, he is a Haitian/International DJ Producer and a Latin Grammy Award Winner. He’s produced for J-Balvin, and Ed Sheeran. We were wrapping up his tour called BAYO. BAYO is a huge cultural festival and we bring in a lot of emerging, established Haitian artists. From the legends to the newer faces, we invite other artists, younger artists that Michael has collaborated with and doing great work, and artists from Trinidad like Kes who came to perform. Artists from Benin like Shirazee, Nigeria, Columbia. So really bringing artists from all these culturally different sounds together and you know, bringing something together that creates unity. That’s one collaboration we just wrapped up. We just launched a jewelry collection, a capsule collection with Haiti Design Co. All the jewelry was made in Haiti and benefit LGBTQ youth in Haiti. That was really cool. Yeah, so from artists to brands to non-profits, we try to create, we try to take on projects that have meaning, that have an impact.

What do you have coming up? Any opportunities for the public to see your work?

I will be a participating artist at MoMa’s first Pride Family Day on June 24th. Additionally, I am working on Michael Brun’s Bayo Tour 2023 this summer as a stage designer and stage production. The tour comes to NYC on July 22 in Central Park. You can view my work at studiobaboun.com and stevenbaboun.com.

Check out other talented New Yorkers who are calling Rockella Space their creative home on our Peoples Page.