A Holistic Approach to the Arts.
Broken City Artists is a collective of professional musical artists (songwriters, producers, musicians, engineers) & visual artists who share a passion for a new paradigm in art creation, education, career navigation and community.
BCA is founded on what we refer to as A Holistic Approach to the Arts. This approach was developed and created by Co-Founder, and Multi-Platinum Songwriter-Producer and Visual Artist, Adam Watts.
This approach is for the amateur to the professional and takes a highly nuanced and balanced look at the artist and their work as seen through the lenses of:
Psychology, Spirituality, Philosophy & Physiology.
We refer to these as The Four Pillars of the human experience; the head, the hands, the heart and everything in between. Nothing in a vacuum.
An artist seeking to express their truth finds it with far greater purity, depth, ease and self-satisfaction when built upon & honed through awareness and integration of The Four Pillars. Broken City’s innovative, holistic approach helps guide artists toward their unique voice and aesthetic, while simultaneously helping them to navigate the often complicated pathway to building a viable career.
These concepts and techniques have been hidden in plain sight for centuries in the great works of history’s most revered artists and continue to be evident in some of today's top artists. It is our passion to unveil these truths and make them available to virtually any truth-seeking and open-minded artist at any stage of their journey from intermediate to professional.
The work of artists throughout history has enhanced the human experience in incredibly meaningful ways. Art amplifies the human spirit. It can build bridges over seemingly uncrossable voids. Where a bridge can't be built, art tunnels underground and finds it's way to our core. The power of art's ability to serve as an expression and connection tool is incredible. It's hard to imagine life with it.
Just as our physical bodies need nourishment to survive, our souls require nutrition... art nourishes the soul.
Art has such value to our lives that it didn't take long for us to build industries around it so it could be bought and sold. In a basic way this is good; artists could make a living doing what they love, serving a public that wanted it. But, when art met commerce, artists were faced with a vast array of complications, both creatively and within the business. Like oil and water, money/business and art can exist side by side by have a hard time actually mixing.
Those of us who feel this internal drive to create--to express and connect--find it undeniable and soon find ourselves trying to monetize our work and if possible, make it a full time career. It is our passion at Broken City Artists to offer a nuanced and multi-dimensional approach to helping artists hone in on their individuality and their craft in a fashion that paves the way for them to make their best and most personal work as well as thrive in their careers.
Art school can often overemphasize technique. The world of arts business often overemphasizes chasing trends & style over substance. The journey of the artist is often fraught with a confusing blend of confidence and insecurity, passion and immobility, failure and triumph.Broken City Artists aims to integrate all parts of the self and to inspire passionate freedom in the artist.
Each artist has a unique voice and perspective that deserves to be shared. The world needs what you have to give, if only you'll give it. We're here to help.
My Story. Our Story.
Hey Guys, Adam Watts here. Thanks for digging into what we're about. I wanted to share my story with you, including the story of how this approach came to be and how the rest of the artists and staff have magnetized together around a shared sensibility and a kindred spirittoward the arts.
As a little kid I loved coming up with stories, drawing, and I always reacted to and loved music. By the time I was about 11 or 12 years old, I started to feel this deeper need to express myself creatively. An internal drive. I'm now 39 and that drive has only deepened.
A journey that began casually as a young story writer, and became more serious when I met the drums, has progressively expanded into more mediums than I ever imagined, from virtually all areas of music, to visual arts, and beyond. Artistic creativity is a part of my life every single day. It's an understatement to say that I love it. It's been quite a ride... everything from a joyride to an all-out internal war, as I've battled through my own insecurities, lack of confidence, true-confidence, over-confidence, talent, lack of talent, my faults, my desire to be good, my own selfishness, selflessness, confusion and on and on and on... to create art is to look both inside and out... to embrace the seen and the unseen and to tell our own story in a way that someone else can experience it too. This process is incredible... and incredibly complicated!
Throughout my journey I've been mentored, taken private lessons, classes/courses (in high school, college and through independent organizations), attended seminars, had private lessons, read books, bought books I didn't read (ha!), learned "on the gig", learned the hard way... All of it... but in the end I've always found something intrinsically important was missing that I only found, on my own, through long periods of struggle that often lasted years. Slightly obsessive, a bit perfectionistic by nature, I found it all too easy to get lost down the rabbit hole and lose myself in myself!
As I look back now, I see that if someone would've asked me the right questions, really looked at Adam, the entire human being, and nudged me in the right place/ at the right time/ in the right way (without judgement and with sincerity, sensitivity and intelligence), I could've been saved literally years of beating my head against the wall and been propelled, more swiftly, to better work and a more fulfilling process.
This is why I'm writing to you now.
So asI reflected on my own journey and process and studied the way the great artists in history (and the ones around me) did what they did, it became clear to me that the self-taught aspect has always been there, in spades. Some might say that those who are successful or make great work are just talented, got lucky, or just never gave up, but I have a different view. I believe that the pathway to doing great work and progressing quicklyis born out of a special recipe of humility, open-mindedness, inspiration and especially... self-awareness.
This process of self-awareness involves navigating our creative life by looking at the entire picture. To take into account our own emotions and thoughts (psychology), our sense of instinct, the unseen mysteries of life and the higher self (spirituality), the underlying concepts
involved in all of it (philosophy), and our actual technical abilities and craft (physiology). These "Four Pillars" of the human experience are woven together in extremely intricate ways. To understand and navigate this tapestry, it can be incredibly helpful to have an outside
perspective in the form of a mentor, teacher or peer... someone to hold up the mirror and expedite the self-awareness process, helping us get to the core.
I believe that virtually every obstacle, every bout of writers block, & every compromised or mediocre work, can be overcome, made better, & more pure, by navigating our artistic process in a holistic way that addresses all of these "Four Pillars."
So it's become my life's work, to not only create work of meaning myself, but, also, to come alongside other artists, to help guide and share my approach to the "why, what and how" of the truth-seeking artist. Consider this your invitation to dive into this with us here at Broken City Artists.
It's with all this in mind & heart that I've brought together the team of artists you see here at BCA. Each one of them is, in my opinion, an extraordinary person that I respect hugely as both an artist and a human being. Their unique paths, stories and talents have brought them to a place so similar to mine (as described above) that it's mind-blowing to me! I see it as a huge blessing in my life that we've come together and that they've decided to partner with me.
If what you've read here is resonating with you, then that means something. We couldn't be more excited for our paths to collide, in a meaningful way, through working with you. Click LEARN above to find out how to connect with us directly and get involved.
My Story. Our Story.
Hey Guys, Adam Watts here. Thanks for digging into what we're about. I wanted to share my story with you, including the story of how this approach came to be and how the rest of the artists and staff have magnetized together through a shared sensibility and a kindred spirit about the arts.
As a little kid I loved coming up with stories, drawing and I always reacted to and loved music, by the time I was about 11 or 12 years old, I started to feel this deeper need to express myself creatively. An internal drive. I'm now 39 and that drive has only deepened.
A journey that began casually as an artist and young story writer, became more serious on drums and has progressively expanded into more mediums than I ever imagined, from virtually all areas of music to visual arts and beyond. Artistic creativity is a part of my life every single day. It's an understatement to day that I love it.
It's been quite a ride.... everything from a joyride to an all out internal war as I've battled through my own insecurities, lack of confidence, true-confidence, over-confidence, talent, lack of talent, my faults, my desire to be good, my own selfishness, selflessness, confusion and on and on and on... to create art is to look both inside and out... to embrace the seen and the unseen and to tell our own story in a way that someone else can experience it too. This process is incredible... and incredibly complicated!
Throughout my journey I've been mentored, taken private lessons, classes/courses (in high school, college and through independent organizations), attended seminars, had private lessons, read books, bought books I didn't read (ha!), learned "on the gig", learned the hard way... All of it... but in the end I've always found something intrinsically important was missing that I only found on my own through long periods of struggle that often lasted years. Slightly obsessive a bit perfectionistic by nature, I found it all too easy to get lost down the rabbit hole and lose myself in myself!
As I look back now, I see that if someone would've asked me the right questions, really looked at Adam the entire human being and nudged me in the right place at the right time in the right way (without judgement and with sincerity, sensitivity and intelligence), I could've been saved literally years of beating my head against the wall and been propelled more swiftly through to better work and a more fulfilling process.
This is why I'm writing to you now.
So as I reflected on my own journey and process and studied the way the great artists in history (and the ones around me) did what they did, it became clear to me that the self-taught aspect was always there in spades. Some might say that those who've been successful or make great work are either just talented, got lucky, or just never gave up, but I have a different view. I believe that the pathway to doing great work and progressing quickly lies in an approach that is born out of a special recipe of humility, open-mindedness, inspiration and especially... self-awareness.
This process of self-awareness involves navigating our creative life by looking at the entire picture. To take into account our own emotions and thoughts (psychology), our sense of instinct, the unseen mysteries of life and the higher self (spirituality), the underlying concepts involved in all of it (philosophy) and our actual technical abilities and craft (physiology). The Four Pillars of the human experience are woven together in extremely intricate ways. To understand and navigate this tapestry and can be incredibly helpful to have an outside perspective in the form of a mentor, teacher or peer... someone to hold up the mirror and expedite the self-awareness process and help us get to the core.
I believe that virtually every obstacle, every bout of writers block, every compromised or mediocre work, can be overcome and made better and more pure through navigating our artistic process in a holistic way that takes into account The Four Pillars outlined above.
So, it's become my life's work to not only create work of meaning but to also do what I can to come alongside other artists to help guide and share an approach and perspective on the why, what and how of the truth-seeking artist. Consider this your invitation to dive into this with us here at Broken City Artists.
It's with all this in mind & heart that I've brought together the team of artists you see here at BCA. Each one of them is, in my opinion, an extraordinary person that I respect hugely as both an artist and a human being. Their unique paths, stories and talents have brought them to a place so similar to mine (as described above) that it's mind-blowing to me! I see it as a huge blessing in my life that we've come together and that they've decided to partner with me.
If what you've read here is resonating with you, then that means something. We couldn't be more excited for our paths to collide in a meaningful way through working with you. Click LEARN above to find out how to connect with us directly and get involved.