Meet Cristen Alexandria | Creative Producer & Movement Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cristen Alexandria and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cristen, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk holds a certain mysticism to it that as an entrepreneur and artist I’ve always found captivating. My interpretation of “risk” is that there is a kind of trust, an inner dialogue that plays out while embracing the unknown. Towards the beginning of. my career I spent a calculated amount of energy embracing stability in hopes of one day being able to free up and move towards goals and ambitions of greater freedom. To me, greater freedom means trusting yourself. That your ideas, energy and passions will play out in tandem with intuitive timing. Choosing risk doesn’t mean abandoning safety, it means embodying self-love through understanding that the unknown is part of our growing.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Well, this interview finds me at a funny transitional time, stepping into spring, embracing art fully and getting ready to embark on a summer of performing as a DJ and movement artist. Speaking about risk earlier entirely encapsulated how the dynamic works–sometimes you’ve just got to go for it and trust the process and know you’re in charge of curating your destiny. While I am a visual artist, at the moment my primary vein of expression is music, playing music and sharing it with others through piano, sound and djing, sometimes vinyl, sometimes spinning my own thing, a channel which I didn’t really expect to take off the way that it has. I love painting, drawing and mixed media but lately have been exploring more of my roots as a pianist and how sound forms narrative. I’m not the most technical DJ but I love making people happy and feel unified in their experience, so hopefully that’s something that brings the energy together and is certainly an element I hope to incorporate into my sets and how I show up as an artist.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Soo, since LA is my birth city I’d love to share some spots I’d take a friend to…in San Diego! Let’s head south for a quick SD trip and vibe…first we’d start off with chai at Naked Cafe at Fletcher’s Cove (amazing surf spot) in North County in Solana Beach, checking the surf and watching the waves is always a first for the day. Follow it up with a walk on the beach to the neighboring Dog Beach in Del Mar? Perfect morning! On our return of course we are hitting Claire’s on Cedars for an amazing nourishing breakfast. Cedros is a hub of design and inspiration located in North County so I always love to see what creatives are sharing and being inspired by and personally returning to David Alan Collection for a rare view of Indonesian art and imports priced with intention to give back to the communities each item or collection is sourced from. There is something for everyone in the shop and such a colorful block to walk! Next we are heading to Balboa for a trip around the museums and visit to the gardens. Round it out with a snack in Little Italy at Extraordinary Desserts or anything eye-catching and it’s an amazing day! There are so many coffee shops and places to pop into in this area, truly a gem of San Diego!

For a night adventure I am absolutely headed to National City to sport up Angkorian Pikestaff, the sexiest Cambodian fusion food run by an incredible homie, Socheath Sun. Currently they are housed in Cafe Indonesia inside Market on 8th Street, an incredible space with so many options to get lost in! If it’s a Wednesday then I am probably found in OB (Ocean Beach) vibing on some reggae or hanging out near the water or catching a mid-week show at the Casbah. I LOVE San Diego and have so many recs for the good times!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Mentorship and friendship are two guiding lights in understanding and navigating life. I appreciate the value of persons with grounded energy such as my family, friends and throughout life my grandmothers, especially. Consistent energy, affirmations, hyping up your people…this is the beauty of life! For me, those persons as I grew into adulthood were my grandparents, and friends alongside the journey. I love reading so there are about a million different references that come to mind when thinking of inspiration, certainly persons of color authors such as Zora Neale Hurston, Audre Lorde, and contemporary author Kali Fajardo-Anstine have been highly impactful on my understanding of the world and artistic pursuits. I’m about to start Rick Rubin’s book “The Creative Act: A Way of Being,” with a friend, I’ll let ya know how it goes! I deeply admire Rubin and his go with the flow perspective in relation to music. There are so many people to credit with support along the dance of this life, particularly in relation to music and creative pursuits I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by persons that believe in the movement and what we are co-creating through sound and community. Endless gratitude, and to opportunities like this to share a bit of the backstory!

Instagram: 999c__

Other: https://open.spotify.com/user/122445398?si=0e501502d8f649ac