Six Creatives on The Art of Staying KEEN

Arta Gee, Actor and Model

Arta spends their day in constant motion. From posing on photoshoots to embodying new characters on the set of their latest film, they are always rearranging their body in pursuit of art. 

Your background ranges from jiu-jitsu to runway. What kind of movement feels most natural to you?

Whether it’s on a runway, set, or on the mats, the best movement happens when I’m just present.

If you had to spend the whole day outside tomorrow, what would be the perfect way to spend it?

With someone who’s good at getting us lost in the best way. No set plans, just pure adventure.

You’ve jokingly self-identified as a “candy store” online. What’s your favorite candy?

Ooh, that’s tough, but today it’d probably be chocolate-covered gummy bears. Luckily, I’ve got all the candy.

When you’re walking down a runway, what’s usually going through your mind?

I’m usually feeling the energy of the runway and the music, I try not to be in my head and more in the moment.

Brittany Byrd, Artist and Curator

Brittany is disinterested in “staying in her lane.” She wants to explore them all. From styling to creative directing to writing to curating, her creative heart is always off to a new endeavor. Sometimes she’s hosting underground art event in Los Angeles; sometimes she’s writing about her weekend in Napa. Why stay still?

You started a Substack called Byrd Press! What’s been inspiring you to write lately?

I would say my travels are my main inspiration for my writing. New restaurants, new textures, traveling makes things so rich. Also, spending time with friends and loved ones. The art of noticing is so important to me, being truly present.  I really need to post more of my writing, but this reminded me to post the two articles I have stored away now. You can read them here soon. 

What makes an outfit you’ve styled feel like you?

I’m really into accessories. Personal items like chunky jewelry really stand out to me. My styling reflects my perspective. I like comfortable and functional things. I like to live in my clothes and wear them over time, to experience things in them, not just keep them for special occasions  

You’re hiking up Mount Everest in Jaspers! What’s the prize at the top that’s making you embark on this journey?

Mount Everest, huh? It’s never about the prize for me but the process. Put me around my favorite people and I’m down. 

How do you know when a creative project is truly finished?

Is it ever really finished? A creative project for me is finished is when the squad and myself put their best forward for the collective vision.  

If Byrd Museum had a manifesto, what would it be?

Byrd Museum manifesto would be to be kind, to purely inspire, and to be your authentic self.

Who’s on your hypothetical style inspo board?

My hypothetical style inspo board would include my grandparents, Katherine and John Thomas, Prince, Jane Birkin & Jimi Hendrix.

Finlay Mangan, Model and Producer

Models like Finlay don’t only create art, they become it. He’s skilled at personifying still images with his body. He’s skilled at strutting down a runway with perfect attention to detail. But he’s also skilled at taking a meaningful stroll through the city. Every step he takes is part of the larger visual narrative of his world.

As a model, what makes a piece of clothing or accessory feel “good” on your body?

As a model, I don’t like itchy things. Famously, models hate itchy things.

What’s the first thing you notice about a person’s walk, either on the runway or on the streets?

You ever notice someone who looks like they’re thinking about what to do with their arms while they walk? That part. I’m that person, so I jam my hands in my pockets. 

What makes a shoe your go-to?

If they are the pair I bought most recently. I think you can get away with murder in terms of the shoes you pick for your outfit. 

When’s the last time you wandered with no set destination in mind?

My first morning back in New York after the heatwave in Paris, I walked circuitously through my neighborhood, giddy at the thought that I was never further than a stone’s throw from some air conditioning. This is the one good argument for American exceptionalism. 

What gets you to go outside the most?

Good music and my penitent for cigarettes. Alternatively, never a fucking Partiful invitation. 

How would you style the KEEN Jaspers?

I like wearing mine with casual earth-toned tailoring, or in my birthday suit. 

Jumbo Tsui, Photographer and Creative Director

Jumbo has an eye like no other. For a creative like him, every walk is a form of artistic research. Long before he was working as an editorial photographer, he was wandering through city streets with a keen eye, observing for the sake of admiring the world. That same curiosity has now seeped into his work.

What initially drew you into editorials?

My first editorial happened right after I moved to Paris. The city felt completely different from the environment I had known while studying in China, and everything around me felt new.

I spent about a month just walking through the city and watching people. My major at university was game design, so I was very much a coding nerd at the time. At first, I would simply use my phone to record interesting people I saw on the street, then imagine full stories around them and post those little stories on Chinese social media.

One day, Harper’s Bazaar China reached out and asked if I would be interested in shooting a fashion story in Paris based on those writings. The theme was quite open, so I turned those small stories into a series of human portraits. That became my first editorial.

What’s the longest walk you’ve gone on?

If we’re talking about walking in a city, the longest one was probably in Paris. I walked all the way from Guy Môquet in the north of Paris to the Bois de Vincennes in the southeast, wandering around as I went. That record is from 2010, the very first time I came to Paris.

Do you like keeping your shoes pristine or letting them have well-lived lives? 

My friends always say I’m someone who destroys shoes very quickly. Whether it’s a pair of evening shoes bought for a very specific reason, or sneakers I bought almost by accident, I somehow end up wearing them so intensely that they start to look like an 18th-century vintage archive piece.

But I don’t mind when shoes stop looking new. In fact, every time I look at them, I remember what I was doing when I wore them: the muddy places I stepped in, the streets I walked through, or even the places where I fell over. I feel like shoes are a little like tree rings. The difference is that tree rings get thicker and thicker, as if they are afraid of being forgotten. Shoes get thinner and thinner, as if that is the price of growing up, and they keep moving forward anyway.

What does your photography say about how you move through the world?

I usually define myself more as a portrait photographer, and maybe I’m always trying to find a slightly specific language for each person I photograph.

I’m drawn to people with strong personalities because everyone is complicated in their own way. Before a shoot, I usually do a lot of research, and from that research, I start to form my own impression of the person. Then I try to stretch that impression into a kind of fictional story, and translate the character in that story into visual symbols. For me, photography doesn’t always have to be direct documentary. It can also be a kind of abstract realism. On a shoot, especially when time is limited, it almost feels like making a tiny film very quickly: the story starts fast, ends fast, and then later, through editing and a kind of montage, I project my impression of that person back into the images.

That process is quite close to how I move through the world too. I observe, imagine, misunderstand a little, understand a little more, and then turn all of that into a story.

What’s your dream outdoor location for a photoshoot?

Wow, that’s actually a hard one. Usually, when I encounter a place or a story, I don’t immediately want to preserve it as an image. I prefer to write it down on my phone, leave it in my imagination for a while, and then translate it into images later.

That said, I’ve always wanted to go to South America, but I haven’t had the chance yet. So… looking at Office… maybe we should plan a South America story together?

If you exclusively wore Jaspers for a month, what would they have to say about your whereabouts? 

I think the dirt on them would tell the whole story. There might be a matcha latte stain from LA, the grip-tape print from a Lime scooter in London, and maybe a little part of them slightly melted during the Paris heatwave.

For now, though, the front of the shoes could already tell the story of this Office shoot. I climbed across so many walls sideways like a ninja that I’m pretty sure the soles are now part of the production diary, haha.

Gabrielle Richardson, Art Curator

When Gabrielle is curating art, she searches first and foremost for narrative. She likes works that can take the viewer on an emotional journey. In that same vein, she believes that the most important terrain to navigate is the one inside yourself. That’s what makes for true adaptability.   

The Jasper was built to traverse new terrains. What new spaces have you had to learn to navigate in your career?

I think when you're living a transitional, more nomadic lifestyle, it's not necessarily about the terrain itself; it's more about general adaptability. I think having the emotional, spiritual, and mental elasticity allows you to navigate any terrain, whether it's physical or interpersonal. You have to be able to navigate your inner terrain.

Where are you headed to relax— beach, forest, or into the city? 

I love to relax at a beach and forest. Anything that brings me closer to the earth and centers me.

What makes a piece of art stand out to you when you’re curating?

I think what makes a piece of art stick out to me (obviously beyond technical skill) is that it is telling me a narrative in an interesting and singular way.

What’s the first art piece you remember making as a kid?

Maybe a macaroni sculpture. Or scribbling on a wall.

The Jasper can be worn outdoors or on city streets every day. What does everyday versatility look like in your work?

In a city, I think versatility means being ready for anything—  whether it's a studio visit, a shoot, or a casting. I need a shoe that can take me anywhere.

What’s your favorite form of “soft protest”? 

Being kind.

Tanima Mehrotra, Director and Photographer

Tanima’s perspective has been shaped by a variety of places. Born in India and based between New York and Mexico City, she’s accustomed to capturing culture from new angles. And she does so by experiencing a place on foot, letting the local flowers and the natural chatter inform her observations.

When you direct people, how do you highlight their individuality?

By disarming them. I'm always looking to get to the core of someone, to bring out their natural essence or reveal a part of them that hasn't been seen. 

How do India, New York, and Mexico City— all places you have a connection to— show up in your work?

Each place brings out a different energy in me. 

What do you notice about a place when you’re walking it rather than riding in a car?

I smell flowers. Take pictures of worn-down wall textures. Say hi to strangers. Look up a lot. 

KEEN is all about creating long-lasting pieces. Do you also think about longevity in your work?

I think about making work the way some people think about getting tattoos. Am I going to regret this in 10 years? The beautiful part about art is that it's a timestamp of who you were when you made it. 

If you could do a photoshoot with any person, dead or alive, who would it be?

Irrfan Khan.

What’s your go-to outdoor activity?

Walking. I love walking everywhere. 

But those aren’t the only ways the shoe fits into their respective worlds. For a model like Finlay Mangan, the intricacies of a walk are something to know through and through. He knows whether it’s spontaneous or choreographed, and just how much wonder is involved. An actor like Arta Gee, on the other hand, is all about allowing their body to take new shapes and become characters that otherwise wouldn’t exist. Photographer Jumbo Tsui tells us about how the movement of photographing doesn’t start there — it starts with long walks around the city to source ideas and observe real humans in everyday play. These modern-day visionaries teach us that maintaining a keen artistic eye is about remaining curious and ready for discovery at any given moment. They show us how different, or how similar, such a thing can look in the body across artistic disciplines.