::ease:: ::kholi::

Simone Banks and Carrie Y.T. Kholi, Co-Founders and Partners in AUTHENTIC and PR+, agree to describe their “mixed-medium” events using one word: different. “I wish we could put questions on our flyers,” says Banks. “Like, ‘Tired of the same ol’ same ol’?’” “Philadelphia has a lot of really awesome and authentic artists and musicians right here. We also pull from NY, D.C., Baltimore, and Atlanta. You don’t have to go far to find talent. AUTHENTIC and the artists that we work with are just trying to remind people that you can do that. You can find the talent, market it, and still care about your community. You can still give back. This is not something we see every day.” “We are writers and students first, you know?,” adds Kholi. “… Simone is a journalist because of Temple University. I care about words and craft because of Hampton University. We stalk talent because we feed off of it. It fuels our passion. It makes us stop and think, ‘Who is this artist? What can I do for her? What can she do for AUTHENTIC? What new partnership, new creative force is going to be formed?” As she laughs, Kholi adds, “Then we think, ‘Now how can we write about this, blog about it, talk about it, let the world know?’”