🐎 Opportunity knocks #33

Is there a luck formula? + A new list of opportunities to seize!

👋 Hello, Creative! I hope the week was a nurturing one.

Before jumping into this week’s list, I wanted to talk about luck and our relationship with it. Many of us, myself included, have experienced it—but was it really luck?

Today, more than ever, as a creative, and woman in this era, I know luck matters; it has a place in the formula. But the real transformation lies in preparation. In all those moments when you dare to open a door, despite the credentials you may lack or the boxes you don’t tick. You still give it a try. That choice, made over and over again, is the preparation. One that plays a pivotal role in the big reveal of where luck stands. So, as we seize our doors, take chances, or shoot our arrows, let’s remember all the work we may overlook. The stacked actions that now stand as the catalyst for luck or momentum (as I like to call it) to step forward.

Things can come to you without making extra effort—it happens. But if you look closely, there was always an action, a tiny, tiny, tiny one you overlooked.
It could be shifting your thoughts, helping a friend, inviting a peer to join a project, sending that application, crafting that piece, sketching every day...
the list goes on. As a result, you find yourself exactly where you need to be,
to do exactly what you have to do.

I stumbled upon this talk and its theme and thought, "Oh, synchronicity!" It expands on the idea of luck—a crafted and undecodable formula. It celebrates and reframes those small actions that can shift an entire story and dynamic.

I remember the moment I came across an interview with the co-founder of Substack. As I listened, I thought, That platform seems so cool—I should check it out. A few years later, I wonder: was it a mere chance that I ended up watching that interview? When I reflect on it, the piece you're reading today wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t followed my curiosity. That small action was another step in my journey. Looking ahead, I truly believe a single action can propel you in an unexpected direction for progress. There lies a playground for more work, play, preparation, and luck.

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

Seneca

✦ Did you miss the last post? We dived into priorities.

---

---

🐎 Opportunity knocks

In every letter, I share opportunities I stumbled upon. There are so many cool grants, funding, competitions, and more to enter to experience progress. I hope the week's list will be useful.

• 🖌 The MacDowell Fellowship is a home for artists (They are currently accepting applications for the Fall 2025 Winter 2026 residency season. The fellowship will consider your prior body of work (in an artistic field), a current work sample (demonstration of your practice), and your project proposal (what you hope to accomplish with your residency). Some categories: architecture, film, visual arts, literature, music, and theatre ⟶ The entry fee is $30.00. Deadline: February 10th at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.)

• 💬 The Querent Studio is looking for a graphic designer (Founded by Ciarra Ross, a writer, and multidisciplinary artist, based in New York City. Her work spans across social and artistic movements. Rate: $5,000 for a 60-day contract (10-20 hrs/wk) and remote.)

• 🇩🇪 Posi+tive Magazine (If you are a Berliner, they are looking for stories for their upcoming issue. Focusing on events, places, and people based in Berlin. Submissions should present a clear link to the city itself and should be image-based. This can include photography, graphic design, illustration, artwork, etc.⟶ Send your submission to berlin@positive-magazine.com.)

• 📸 Are you a photographer? Submit to Imagenation Paris 2025 (The international photo exhibition showcases works from amateur to established artists. Although it takes place through personal invitations to photographers by their curators, they also accept submissions to discover new stories in photography. Other cities are also available Milan and New York.)

• ♻️ Do you need help with your SEO? (I received this a few weeks ago. I don’t know the founder, but I think SEO is an important aspect to explore. To confirm her offer, she’s giving away 3 free spots in her coaching program to businesses with a social or environmental impact. ⟶ If that sounds like you, apply—you never know, it might still be open!)

• 🚀 Pardon will help you build that newsletter vision (When I discovered this Entrepreneur-in-Residence, I thought, this is an opportunity of a lifetime.

  Now, an exit as a founder in such a project is not in my plans, so I’m not giving it a try for now. But if you want to build your idea with artists and entrepreneurs who are also investors, this might be your chance. It’s a program designed to engage talented creators in building inbox-first brands. It is full-time and hybrid.)

• 📈 Free weekly content creation accountability group (If you need to find a new way to create content alongside fellow peers and creatives this space might be a good start. Created by Jo Delacourt, a growth strategist with over 15 years of experience in graphic and web design, and digital marketing. ⟶ Co-working days: Monday and Wednesday. Time: 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. GMT).

---

As always, if this letter brings some light to your day → 💖 put a heart on it and feel free to share it with peers, friends, and family, as it helps more people discover this space. I leave you with my latest swing song.

Sending some jazzy vibes 🎷
Keva.

---

---