Today we’d like to introduce you to Britt Sadé.
Hi Britt, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is Brittany Sadé Guerin; I go by Britt Sadé. I am a Renaissance woman based in Atlanta, Georgia. My story began as a child of course, but I’ll start with college.
I went to Georgia State University for Film and Video. I desperately wanted to be a film professor, film director, and cinematographer. I realized quickly that I was too short and small for cinematography, but I wrote, directed, and shot a few short films during undergrad.
My freshman year, I asked my father to buy me a Canon T3i and 50mm lens to enter into Campus Movie Festival. You had five days to shoot a film under 5 minutes. I did it. The first short film was called Crimson Sun. Don’t look it up, please. Anyway, my film placed in the top 16, so I kept writing and filming. I picked up photography because I had a camera and friends who wanted photos, but I fell in love with it and joined The Signal as a photojournalist.
After graduating, I worked as a full-time photographer, and I continued to write films. I went to California through a film producer program and worked alongside Fortitude International at the American Film Market, I was two months pregnant. At that time, I realized I wanted to be a film producer. I knew it was in my personality to want the most control of my vision. But, through the experience, I learned the film industry wasn’t ideal and pretty racist and sexist, so I promised myself that I would pave my own way no matter how long it would take.
I worked as a photographer and videographer throughout my entire pregnancy and after my son was born; mostly weddings and natural light portraiture. I quickly grew tired of that, so I decided to give teaching a go. I figured if I wanted to eventually go back to school to be a professor, I should find the money to do it.
I joined Americorps and began teaching. I fell in love with seeing students grow academically and emotionally. The following year, I joined Teach For America, which is also an Americorps program, and I was awarded a little over $12,000 after my two-year commitment to go back to school or pay off student loans. But I didn’t go back to school.
In 2021, I decided to leave teaching behind and go full force into being a full-time entrepreneur, so I saved my money and was hired as a travel photographer and filmmaker for the Paradise and Vibe Wellness retreat. We traveled to Jamaica and Costa Rica. It was beautiful. This opportunity came from my first payroll job in college as a photographer and videographer for a fashion boutique called Huria; shout out to Kasondra and Iana.
Let’s backtrack. Starting from high school, I found interest in many things. My pathways at Rockdale Career Academy were Broadcast Video Production and Fashion Marketing. Through fashion marketing, I took an opportunity to intern at the school’s coffee shop. There, I fell in love with coffee and even worked at a few coffee spots part-time after college.
After working with Paradise and Vibe in 2021, I found a coffee shop named Black Coffee in Castleberry Hill and began working there as a manager and eventually aesthetics curator. I simply asked to curate the art and music playlists. “Closed mouths don’t get fed”, is one of my favorite mottos. From there, the first show I curated featured Petie Parker and Andrew Blooms, who were working at Peters Street Station at the time.
How did I get the confidence to ask them to put up art? Well, I met Andrew Blooms in 2021 doing freelance video work. I had also met Miya Bailey in 2015 working as a photojournalist for the Signal. The show came out beautiful, so did the artist’s talk. Once I got a taste of that, I wanted more, and I decided to produce my own show called So Surreal. It was great and a little cringy, but you have to start somewhere. After selling artwork and proving myself, a bit more in the art world, I began working at Peters Street Station, which is a community art center and tattoo shop. My second favorite motto is “No job is too small or too big for me”. So I did everything, cleaning, answering phone calls to helping during exhibits. My first big exhibit I helped coordinate was Miya Bailey’s Government Cheese. I broke out in hives after that show, but it improved my confidence. Following that exhibit, I worked for Ted x Atlanta, co-coordinated a Thirteenth Clothing event at the Trap Music Museum with designer, creative director, and I would add, visionary K-Rock McClain, I hosted my first artists talk with Andrew Blooms, and then curated my second art exhibition, Rebirth at Peters Street Station. Rebirth was an all-women art exhibition that combined fashion and mixed medium artists. It was a spiritual experience.
Rebirth caught a lot of eyes, even though I didn’t sell one piece of art. Following that exhibit, at the top of 2023, I worked with over 100 artists for the City of Ink Anniversary Show, working underneath Miya Bailey on his curating team. Spring 2023, I produced my own fashion exhibit, “Garden of Eden” at Atlanta Contemporary with the help of my Aunt, Kimberley Dailey, and Mother, Tamiko Lowery Guerin. At the same time, while planning Garden of Eden, I was asked by Nydia Blas to co-curate a Black Love Exhibit, ADAMA’s first exhibition, and Andrew Blooms to co-curate “You Can Open Up Now” for the Rush Hour Festival.
I was exhausted the entire summer 2023, but I knew I had to push and go to New York to tie it all up, so I did September 2023. My team was incredible, Simone Grace, Dominique Maru, Isiah Mcalla, Stretch Green, Day’Zhanera King, Spliff Dalcoe, and the list goes on. We drove artwork to New York and threw a show during New York Fashion Week. Now, here we are.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I have a very blessed life, but no one has a life free of obstacles. My parents split when I was in middle school, which led me to really dive deep into the arts, but at the same time, hiding my gifts, including singing. I felt like I lost my voice when we moved to Georgia. I didn’t find my voice again until college. Even then, I wanted to drop out every year until I became a senior. My mom kept me in school; without her I am positive I wouldn’t have finished.
Becoming a mother, some people would think would have been my biggest struggle. But, I would argue that my son actually softened me. I was treacherous before he came along, I battled with a lot of depression and anxiety. That changed when I became responsible for another human being. I am not saying go have babies if you’re feeling low. I didn’t want to be a mother until I was 30. As of today 2023, I am still not 30. But yes, before my son, I was living purely in my ego, which was dangerous for myself and those around me.
I am also not saying motherhood hasn’t had its struggles; of course, it has. But my son inspires me to be better, to take the time and look around and see that I’ve already won; everything else is the cherry on top. He’s a great kid! God willing, I am so excited to see him thrive in his adulthood.
The largest struggle as of today has been finding stability with income in art. I have only been doing this for a year and a half now. My mindset is slow and steady wins the race. I have had to give up a lot of my material things, and guess what, I didn’t die. They will come back tenfold, especially because I consider myself to be living in God’s will. Keep going, cuz.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I don’t really care about what sets me apart from others. Everyone is unique. I like to think about what makes my work relatable to others. However, I am most proud of how far I’ve come with singing. Without professional training, besides my mother’s advice, she is also a vocalist. I have come a long way just from practicing every day and being patient with myself. Now, I am ready to go to the next level with it.
I am a modern-day renaissance woman, I love it all, and I plan on doing everything I love for as long as I am divinely allowed.
What matters most to you? Why?
This year, I learned that what matters most in this life is love and community. My family has been my foundation, especially as things got hard. For me, family goes beyond blood. I lost a lot when I decided to stop teaching, and everyone I loved supported me. I have seen some gut-wrenching lows, but I was never alone. I am eternally grateful.
Contact Info:
- Instagram:@iambritsade
Image Credits
Most photographs taken by @eyeamnovember on Instagram
