We introduced you to Ricando Davis, a rising senior at Cheltenham High School and one of two Bloomberg Arts Interns working at Project 440 this summer, in our last blog post. Ricando interviewed Naja Johnson, a rising senior at Science Leadership Academy Center City and Bloomberg Arts Internship (BAI) participant, to learn what moves her and motivated her to work at Project 440. Keep reading to get to know Naja!
Naja Johnson
Ricando (R): What are you looking forward to the most in the internship? Naja (N): Meeting people or seeing new people. I like the thought of seeing new people and doing new things, I also look forward to meeting with creative directors to see if this is a job, I see myself possibly doing in the future.
R: What motivates you? N: My cats; My dad; My will to live; the fact that I have gotten everything I wanted with honest work;I know that anything that I want or have wanted in this world I got it. Motivation comes easy when there’s something new to accomplish and learn everyday.
R: What's your favorite trait about yourself, and how has it helped you to overcome difficulties in the past and or present? N: My resilience. I have been thrown under tons and tons of times in the past. I’ve had my fair share of bad days, but there's just something in me that can’t stop my drive more or less to say.
R: Why did you choose to apply to the Bloomberg Arts Internship program? N: Aside from that it is a paid internship, just the overall opportunity to work at any theater, music organization or museum in Philadelphia. It’s one thing to visit these places and enjoy it as a visitor but it’s another to see the archives and live and breathe the air of the art. It’s just a…dream and scores me some cool points from time to time.
R: What's one thing you like about Project 440? N: Generation Music (a current Doing Good II project). I do agree that the only reason some people can further progress their skills is because of economic strengths. With Generation Music, it is and pushes the opposite. It gives kids like me the opportunity to be on stages, possibly go to camps. I think the connections and meaning of Generation Music is very inspiring and powerful.
R: What is one thing you would like to learn more about this summer with Project 440? N: I want a wide view of the pyramid of the team and what everyone does to make the wheels turn.
R: How has music/art impacted your life? N: It gave me a way to express how I feel. Sad? There’s songs for it. Happy? Tons of songs praising the sun. Angry? Music is sort of a coping mechanism and that’s such a positive thing in my opinion.
R: Favorite stress food? N: It really depends. I like to stress eat mangos, Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly or just plain toast with jelly, and sometimes Ruffles. But when I'm really, really stressed, eating doesn't come naturally for me.
R: Favorite type of art and how does it make you feel? N: I prefer and love any art from the Renaissance era, the houses they built, the music they've made, the clothes they would wear? All beautiful art.
R: Do you think people who work in different art fields are underappreciated and why? N: Depends. Are they a jack of all trades but master of none? Are they confident in themselves enough to present their art? I believe that they shouldn’t be underappreciated if they are versatile enough to switch from style to style with or without effort; that in itself makes me appreciate them.