“I think it’s okay to be scared. Paths make sense; we’ve been told that there are paths. And [doing things differently] is a process of unlearning some of those behaviors and lessons.” – Charlene Lam
When Charlene Lam lost her mother, her creative instincts as a curator kicked in. And turned her grief into an opportunity for transformation.
More About Charlene:
Originally from NYC, Charlene is a Lisbon-based curator and writer making the pivot from communications consulting for design brands to creative grief work.
When her mom died suddenly in 2013, she was working as an independent curator in London. In the following years, she channeled her grief into commissioning and showing work created in collaboration with artists, designers and makers. As a self-described Grief Curator, Charlene writes, speaks and organizes exhibitions about grief and loss under the name Grief Grit Grace.
Highlights
- How Charlene harnessed her creative instincts as a curator to move through the grief of losing of her mother
- Charlene’s high school goth phase and how it allowed her to explore the dark beauty of life
- How Charlene’s appreciation of and relationship with her mother transformed after her mother’s death
- Charlene’s “morbid math” and how this mindset changed the way she looks at her life and at change
- Why Charlene decided to take a leap to Portugal, despite her discomfort with the unknown
- How Charlene’s relationship with her husband changed when she recognized that their approaches to change complemented one another
- What happened when Charlene set clear boundaries with her clients and how it opened up the opportunity for the next iteration of her work
- How Charlene let go of the security of her existing work to allow for something new to emerge
- Why Charlene’s unconventional approach to building a career is more secure than the traditional approach taken by her family
- How Charlene got comfortable with doing things differently
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Connect with Charlene: Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter
Thank You for Listening!
This episode was produced by Lara Dalch and Jennifer McCord.
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