“Artists have the power to spark joy, inspire revolutions, grow businesses, push culture forward and much more, yet most people, artists included underestimate the power of art. We want to change that.
Duane Jones, MIM (Class of 2014)
Duane Jones MIM (Class of 2014)
CEGE Connection sends our congratulations to Duane Jones (MIM Class of 2014), creative director and founder of the lifestyle brand and podcast Art Pays Me, for being named by My East Coast Experience as one of the most inspiring immigrants in the Maritime provinces for 2021.
Duane Jones (MIM Class of 2014) is a visual branding, graphic design, and information management specialist. His competitive advantage comes from a unique ability to bring together information management with the creative world of art and graphic design.
CEGE Connection reached out to Duane for his thoughts on receiving this prestigious recognition.
Duane Jones Most Inspiring Immigrants 2021
Duane Jones:
I am honoured and grateful to be added to this amazing list of people. Thank you to the person who nominated me and the friends who wrote in support of my nomination to be one of My East Coast Experience’s Most Inspiring Immigrants of 2021. Thank you to the judging panel for including me on this distinguished list of accomplished individuals who actively choose to make the Maritimes their home.
I want to give a shoutout to Bermuda, my friends, family, and the elders who laid the foundation for me.
Thank you to my parents for having high expectations of me in every aspect of life – making sure that my school uniform was always ironed and clean, encouraging me to pursue further education, keeping my brother and me busy with extra curricular activities like music sports and martial arts – but most of all making sure that through it all we became good people.
I also want to thank my wife Natasha for being there from day one of my business journey and supporting me when I need an extra push despite having a busy career of her own.
Thank you to my kids, Ava and Ella, for being my biggest inspiration. They are both a lot like me in their own unique ways and so much more talented at everything they do than I was at their ages. They remind me to keep pushing so I can give them the leg up that my parents were able to give me. I hope that by seeing their dad get acknowledged for this will inspire them as much as they inspire me.