Elsewhere: Aja Monet on Imagination, Community & Liberation
Grammy-winning artist and ArtWell founder Iman Jordan sits down with acclaimed poet, musician, and activist Aja Monet for a wide-ranging conversation on creativity, consciousness, community, and the role of art in a rapidly changing world.
Together, they explore the tension between rhythm and algorithms, the impact of social media on our collective psyche, surrealism as a tool for imagining new realities, and why artists must remain connected to their inner lives in order to create meaningful work. Aja shares insights from her latest music, her collaborative process, her spiritual practices, and the importance of mentorship, gratitude, and collective liberation.
This episode is an invitation to slow down, trust your intuition, and remember that creativity is more than content—it's a pathway to transformation.
Creators and Guests
Host
Iman Jordan
Iman Jordan is a 2025 Grammy Award–winning artist, songwriter, and cultural organizer whose work bridges soul, pop, and alternative R&B with social consciousness and emotional depth. At the 2025 Grammy Awards, Jordan received the Harry Belafonte Best Song for Social Change honor for “Deliver,” and has written for artists including Rihanna (“Desperado”), Jazmine Sullivan, and Alicia Keys, with music featured across major film, television, and cultural platforms. Jordan is also the founder of The ArtWell Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to healing the artist through community, wellness-centered songwriting retreats, and The Artivism Podcast, which explores creativity as a tool for liberation and social change.
Guest
Aja Monet
Aja Monet is a poet, musician, and organizer whose work lives at the intersection of creativity, consciousness, and social change. From becoming the youngest Nuyorican Poets Café Grand Slam Champion to her Grammy-nominated albums and internationally celebrated poetry, she has dedicated her career to using art as a vehicle for healing, liberation, and collective transformation
Designer
Carlos Anthony Lopez
Carlos Anthony Lopez is a self-taught designer, builder, and production designer based in Los Angeles and the creative force behind Winston Studios, where he transforms interior, exterior, and set environments through hands-on fabrication and visual storytelling. His work spans celebrated LA hospitality spaces, major brands, Coachella stages for artists including Lizzo and Jon Batiste, and community initiatives that fuse design, culture, and civic impact.
Producer
Winston Studios
Winston Studios is a creative agency based in Los Angeles. We’re masters in our craft, focusing on interior/exterior space design, art direction, set design and stage scenic. As visual storytellers, we transform spaces through our unique experience in conceptualization, fabrication, and artisanal design in order to transform each unique project into an elevated visual experience.
