Julia Hester

Julia’s current roles are journalist and animator for the Podcast Lab at Free Spirit, where she is responsible for supporting series direction, participating in interviews, and creating animations. In this position, she works to provide assistance and to develop visuals to enhance the story with 2D animation and drawings.

Before this, she had an artist residency with Black Alphabet where she interviewed queer Black people about their lives and how they became themselves, all the while drawing self portraits. Since her residency, she has continued this focus on community and interest in identity creation through being involved with local radio, events planning, and art programs. Her work is driven by her experience as an observer, an artist, and an overall fan of stories, alongside a passion for honoring spaces, moments, and the people who inhabit or have inhabited them.

Julia envisions a world where creativity is heralded as a way to connect, heal, share, and remember.