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138 Best Mountain Quotes to Inspire You 2024

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Whether you’re someone who admires the towering beauty of mountains from afar or up close, there’s no denying how fascinating they are.

From the unpredictable wilderness to the unmerciful weather, there’s so many ways that conquering mountains can help shape you as a person.

So if you love the outdoors and want some inspiration, check out this ultimate list of mountain quotes , designed to inspire the adventurer in you and help you overcome the mountains you face in life, literally and metaphorically.

Short Mountain Quotes

There are plenty of short mountain quotes and one liners that sum up the peaks, they are perfect for social media captions but also as slogans for T-shirts or mugs etc.

• “The best view comes after the hardest climb.” – Unknown
• “The mountains are calling and I must go.” – John Muir
• “It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” – Unknown
• “Hike more. Worry Less.” – Unknown
• “Go where you feel most alive.” – Unknown
• “Nothing lives long, Only the earth and mountains.” – Dee Brown
• “How wild it was to let it be.” – Cheryl Strayed
• “Life is better in hiking boots.” – Unknown

Short Quotes on Mountains

• “Coffee, Mountains, Adventure”  – Unknown
• “All good things are wild and free.” – Unknown
• “Go wild, for a while” – Unknown
• “Going to the mountains is like going home” – John Muir
• “If you think you’ve peaked, find a new mountain.” – Unknown
• “When preparing to climb a mountain, pack a light heart.” – Dan May
• “A little more altitude, a little less attitude” – Unknown
• “Each fresh peak ascended teaches something.” – Sir Martin Conway

Mountain Instagram Captions

• “When everything feels like an uphill struggle, think of the view from the top” – Unknown
• “Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.” – Barry Finlay
• “Climb the mountain so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.” – David McCullough Jr.
• “You are not in the mountains. The mountains are in you.” – John Muir
• “Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory.” –  Ed Viesturs
• “When life gives you mountains put on your boots and hike.” – Unknown

Captions about Mountains

• “Life’s a bit like mountaineering – never look down.” – Sir Edmund Hillary
• “The climb speaks to our character, but the view, I think, to our souls.” – Lori Lansens
• “The top of one mountain is always the bottom of another.” – Marianne Williamson
• “If you need me, you can find me in the mountains” – Unknown
• “There’s no time to be bored in world as beautiful as this” – Unknown
• “Mountains are earth’s undecaying monuments.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne
• “The most dangerous thing you can do in life is play it safe.’’ – Casey Neistat

Quotes about Climbing Mountains

• “The summit is what drives us, but the climb itself is what matters.” –  Conrad Anker
• “Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.” –  Andy Rooney
• “Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.” ― David McCullough Jr.
• “Stop staring at mountains. Climb them instead, yes, it’s a harder process but it will lead you to a better view.” – Unknown
• “Climbing is my art; I get so much joy and gratification from it.” – Jimmy Chin
• “Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb.” – Greg Child

Quotes on Climbing Mountains

• “He who climbs upon the highest mountains laughs at all tragedies, real or imaginary.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche
• “The higher you climb on the mountain, the harder the wind blows.” – Sam Cummings
• “You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you’ve climbed a mountain.” –  Tom Hiddleston
• “Highest of heights, I climb this mountain and feel one with the rock and grit and solitude echoing back at me.” – Bradley Chicho
• “The experienced mountain climber is not intimidated by a mountain – he is inspired by it.” – William Arthur Ward
• “Our task, regarding creativity, is to help children climb their own mountains, as high as possible. No one can do more.” –  Loris Malaguzzi

Inspirational Mountain Quotes for Instagram

• “Always be thankful for the little things… even the smallest mountains can hide the most breathtaking views!” – Nyki Mack
• “Over every mountain, there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.” –  Theodore Roethke
• “Although I deeply love oceans , deserts, and other wild landscapes, it is only mountains that beckon me with that sort of painful magnetic pull to walk deeper and deeper into their beauty.” – Victoria Erikson
• “Mountains know secrets we need to learn. That it might take time, it might be hard, but if you just hold on long enough, you will find the strength to rise up.” – Tyler Knott
• “ Nature is one of the most underutilized treasures in life. It has the power to unburden hearts and reconnect to that inner place of peace.” – Janice Anderson

Best Caption about Mountains

• “It isn’t the mountains ahead that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.” –  Muhammad Ali
• “I like the mountains because they make me feel small. They help me sort out what’s important in life.”― Mark Obmascik
• “In the presence of eternity, the mountains are as transient as the clouds.”– Robert Green Ingersoll
• “May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.” –  Edward Abbey
• “If you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won’t see why we go.” – Edmund Hillary

Mountain Captions and View Quotes

• “And into the mountains I go to lose my mind and find my soul” – John Muir
• “Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery.” – John Ruskin
• “Wherever we go in the mountains, we find more than we seek” – John Muir
• “Only mountains can feel the frozen warmth of the sun through snow’s gentle caress on their peaks.” – Munia Khan
• “I love to sit on a mountain top and gaze. I don’t think of anything but the people I care about and the view.” – Julian Lennon
• “Life sucks a lot less when you add mountain air, a campfire and some peace and quiet.” -Brooke Hampton

Top of Mountain Quotes

• “What a glorious greeting the sun gives the mountains” – John Muir
• “The mountains whisper for me to wander; my soul hikes to the call.” – Angie Weiland-Crosby
• “You’re off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so… get on your way!” – Dr. Seuss
• “I slow down when hiking . The rhythm of nature is more leisurely. The sun comes up, it moves across the sky, and you begin to synchronize to that rhythm.” – John Mackey
• “I’m always looking for a new challenge. There are a lot of mountains to climb out there. When I run out of mountains, I’ll build a new one.” –  Sylvester Stallone

Motivational Mountain Sayings

• “May your dreams be larger than mountains and may you have the courage to scale their summits.” – Harley King
• “There are two kinds of climbers: those who climb because their heart sings when they’re in the mountains, and all the rest.” –  Alex Lowe
• “Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea , are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more that what we could learn from books.” – John Lubbock
• “When faced with a large project, remember you move a mountain one stone at a time.” –  Catherine Pulsifer
• “The farthest mountain is the one you think you can never reach and it may even be just by the side of you!” – Mehmet Murat ildan
• “Mountains are only a problem when they are bigger than you. You should develop yourself so much that you become bigger than the mountains you face.” – Idowu Koyenikan

Mountain Vibes Quotes

• “When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult to overcome.” –  Wilma Rudolph
• “Our peace shall stand as firm as rocky mountains.” – William Shakespeare
• “I learn something every time I go into the mountains.” – Michael Kennedy
• “You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen.” – Rene Daumal

Mountain Top Quotes and Best View Quotes

• “Never measure the height of a mountain until you reach the top. Then you will see how low it was.” – Dag Hammerskjold
• “The way up to the top of the mountain is always longer than you think. Don’t fool yourself, the moment will arrive when what seemed so near is still very far.” — Paulo Coelho
• “The choices we make lead up to actual experiences. It is one thing to decide to climb a mountain. It is quite another to be on top of it.” – Herbert A. Simon
• “When you stand at the bottom of the mountain and look up at the mountaintop, the path looks hard and stony, and the top is obscured by clouds. But when you reach the top and you look down, you realize that there are a thousand paths that could have brought you to that place.” – Roz Savage

Quotes about Mountains and Love

• “I’ve realized that at the top of the mountain, there’s another mountain.” – Andrew Garfield
• “The cliche is that life is a mountain. You go up, reach the top and then go down.” – Jeanne Moreau
• “Those who travel to mountain-tops are half in love with themselves, and half in love with oblivion.” – Robert Macfarlane
• “Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.” – Khalil Gibran
• “The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.“ – Robert M. Pirsig
• “I am convinced that the jealous, the angry, the bitter and the egotistical are the first to race to the top of mountains. A confident person enjoys the journey, the people they meet along the way and sees life not as a competition.” –  Shannon L. Alder

Life Quotes about Mountains

• “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” – T.S. Eliot
• “It is better to master one mountain than a thousand foothills.” –  William Arthur Ward
• “Mountains are created to be conquered; adversities are designed to be defeated; problems are sent to be solved.” – William Arthur Ward
• “If you are faced with a mountain, you have several options. You can climb it and cross to the other side. You can go around it. You can dig under it. You can fly over it. You can blow it up. You can ignore it and pretend it’s not there. You can turn around and go back the way you came. Or you can stay on the mountain and make it your home.”— Vera Nazarian
• “Every man should pull a boat over a mountain once in his life.” – Werner Herzog

Quotes for Mountain View

• “Your faith can move mountains and your doubt can create them.” –  Swami Vivekananda
• “The mountains were his masters. They rimmed in life. They were the cup of reality, beyond growth, beyond struggle and death. They were his absolute unity in the midst of eternal change.” ― Thomas Wolfe
• “Human life is far more important than just getting to the top of a mountain.” – Edmund Hillary
• “Everybody wants to reach the peak, but there is no growth on the top of a mountain. It is in the valley that we slog through the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak.” – Andy Andrews
• “Accidents on big mountains happen when people’s ambitions cloud their good judgment. Good climbing is about climbing with heart and with instinct, not ambition and pride.” – Bear Grylls

Quotes about Mountaineering

• “No matter how tall the mountain is, it cannot block the sun.” –  Chinese Proverb
• “Great things are done when men and mountains meet.” – William Blake
• “If adventure has a final and all-embracing motive, it is surely this: we go out because it is our nature to go out, to climb mountains, and to paddle rivers, to fly to the planets and plunge into the depths of the oceans… When man ceases to do these things, he is no longer man.” – Wilfrid Noyce
• “So this was what a mountain was like, the same as a person: the more you know, the less you fear.” – Wu Ming-Yi
• “You need mountains, long staircases don’t make good hikers.” – Amit Kalantri
• “Mountains have a way of dealing with overconfidence.” – Hermann Buhl

Mountain Related Quotes

• “There is no such sense of solitude as that which we experience upon the silent and vast elevations of great mountains. Lifted high above the level of human sounds and habitations, among the wild expanses and colossal features of Nature , we are thrilled in our loneliness with a strange fear and elation – an ascent above the reach of life’s expectations or companionship, and the tremblings of a wild and undefined misgivings.” – J. Sheridan Le Fanu
• “Without mountains, we might find ourselves relieved that we can avoid the pain of the ascent, but we will forever miss the thrill of the summit. And in such a terribly scandalous trade-off, it is the absence of pain that becomes the thief of life.” – Craig D. Lounsbrough
• “Chasing angels or fleeing demons, go to the mountains”– Jeffrey Rasley
• “Purposes, plans, and achievements of men may all disappear like a yon cloud upon the mountain’s summit; but, like the mountain itself, the things which are of God shall stand fast for ever and ever.” – Charles Spurgeon

Best Mountain Quotes Funny

• Action-peaked adventure.
• Don’t sweat the tall stuff.
• The Climb Minister.
• Mount me in!
• Three hikes and you’re out.
• Right up your valley.
• Canyon help me out?
• From crags to riches.
• Mount your blessings.

Funny Mountain Puns

• Let’s tall it a day.
• One more climb.
• Right as terrain.
• Choose whatever you hike.
• On your hike.
• I’m on a winning peak.
• The mountain of youth.
• Let’s play hide and peak.
• This is in mount condition.
• You need to change your altitude.
• Ain’t no mountain highland enough.

Mountain View Quotes and Mountain Climbing Quotes

• “Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in an office or mowing the lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain”. –  Jack Kerouac
• “It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out; it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.” –  Robert W. Service
• “Getting to the top of any given mountain was considered much less important than how one got there: prestige was earned by tackling the most unforgiving routes with minimal equipment, in the boldest style imaginable.” –  Jon Krakauer
• “Once Everest was determined to be the highest summit on earth, it was only a matter of time before people decided that Everest needed to be climbed”. –  Jon Krakauer
• “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity” –  John Muir
• “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.  Nature ’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.” —  John Muir
• “Man can climb to the highest summits, but he cannot dwell there long.” –  George Bernard Shaw

Caption on Mountains and Mountain Love Quotes

131. “Mountains are not Stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practise my religion.” – Anatoli Boukreev

132. “You can’t move mountains by whispering at them”. – Pink

133. “We are now in the mountains and they are in us, kindling enthusiasm, making every nerve quiver, filling every pore and cell of us”. – John Muir

134. “Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was.” – Dag Hammarskjold

135. “I like the mountains because they make me feel small, Jeff says. They help me sort out what’s important in life”. ― Mark Obmascik (Halfway to Heaven)

136. “The mountain remains unmoved at seeming defeat by the mist.”

137. “You never climb the same mountain twice, not even in memory. Memory rebuilds the mountain, changes the weather, retells the jokes, remakes all the moves.”“You never climb the same mountain twice, not even in memory. Memory rebuilds the mountain, changes the weather, retells the jokes, remakes all the moves”. – Lito Tejada-Flores

138. “There is no wifi in the mountains, but I promise you will find a better connection.”

That’s 138 Quotes about Mountain View

I hope you’ve managed to find the perfect mountain quote , I’d love to know which one is your favourite, and if I’ve missed any great quotes about the mountains then please let me know in the comments below.

Love motivational quotes and captions? Check out these travel quotes to inspire you to book your next adventure.

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Home » Budget Travel » 101 of the Best Mountain Quotes to Inspire Your Grand Adventures

101 of the Best Mountain Quotes to Inspire Your Grand Adventures

What is it about mountains that encapsulates our greatest adventures and triumph? Is it their unpredictable force and unmerciful weather? Their towering, grandiose height? Their demanding presence?

Humans have always been fascinated with mountains: admiring their beauty from afar and from their summits, attempting to reach the top of even the tallest and most treacherous mountains.

Even our legendary heroes and gods live among mountains. We are fascinated with the stories and quotes about mountains, the challenges we face climbing them, their role in nature, and of course their symbol for life: our journey, struggles, and triumphs.

In no particular order, I have put together a list of the 101 of the best mountain quotes (as well as some forest and trekking quotes) to inspire you to appreciate the journey, overcome your obstacles, and summit mountains – both literally and metaphorically.

Get outside and adventure on!

101 Best Mountain Quotes

1. “without mountains, we might find ourselves relieved that we can avoid the pain of the ascent, but we will forever miss the thrill of the summit. and in such a terribly scandalous trade-off, it is the absence of pain that becomes the thief of life.” – craig d. lounsbrough.

This adventure-inspiring quote by Craig Lounsbrough encapsulates why we love mountains. Even though climbing them is painful, difficult, and sometimes deathly dangerous, mountains teach us that there is no summit without a struggle. Life would be excruciatingly boring without challenges and thrill. And without pain, how could we know bliss? Without struggle, how could we now happiness?

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2. “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” –  John Muir

3. “The mountains are calling and I must go.” –  John Muir

4. “oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us, god.” – john muir, 5. “the coniferous forests of the yosemite park, and of the sierra in general, surpass all others of their kind in america, or indeed the world, not only in the size and beauty of the trees, but in the number of species assembled together, and the grandeur of the mountains they are growing on.” –  john muir.

6. “Everybody wants to reach the peak, but there is no growth on the top of a mountain. It is in the valley that we slog through, the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak.” – Andy Andrews

This is one of my favorite top of the mountain quotes , where Andy Andrews does a fantastic job encapsulating the importance of life’s journey. Sure, there is a great accomplishment in the summit, but growth and learning happen along the way. It is that growth that enables us to continue to reach our life goals.

7. “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.” –  John Muir

8. “i’ve realized that at the top of the mountain, there’s another mountain.” –  andrew garfield, 9. “i am losing precious days. i am degenerating into a machine for making money. i am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. i must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news” – john muir.

John Muir talks about the importance of nature and humans’ symbiotic relationship with it a lot. I like this mountain quote because it makes me think about the importance of money in our modern world. Is that truly how we should spend our days, in the quest of making money? Or will none of this matter in the end?

For me, getting into the mountains and nature itself teaches me about what is important in life, and what I can live without. When all you can carry are your necessities, you realize how the extra stuff just weighs you down.

10. “The choices we make lead up to actual experiences. It is one thing to decide to climb a mountain. It is quite another to be on top of it.” –  Herbert A. Simon

This is another one of my favorite mountain quotes by Herbert A. Simon. It is one thing to decide to climb a mountain, but quite another thing to actually reach the summit. In other words, there is a huge difference between saying you will do something and the actions that follow; don’t just talk the talk, but walk the walk. You are your actions, not your words.

11. “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity” –  John Muir

12. “accidents on big mountains happen when people’s ambitions cloud their good judgment. good climbing is about climbing with heart and with instinct, not ambition and pride.” –  bear grylls, 13. “the special forces gave me the self-confidence to do some extraordinary things in my life. climbing everest then cemented my belief in myself.” –  bear grylls, 14. “and if these mountains had eyes, they would wake to find two strangers in their fences, standing in admiration as a breathing red pours its tinge upon earth’s shore. these mountains, which have seen untold sunrises, long to thunder praise but stand reverent, silent so that man’s weak praise should be given god’s attention.” –  donald miller.

15. “I learn something every time I go into the mountains.” –  Michael Kennedy

16. “every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.” –  barry finlay, 17. “you don’t need to climb a mountain to know that it’s high.” –  paulo coelho, 18. “i think i mainly climb mountains because i get a great deal of enjoyment out of it. i never attempt to analyze these things too thoroughly, but i think that all mountaineers do get a great deal of satisfaction out of overcoming some challenge which they think is very difficult for them, or which perhaps may be a little dangerous.” – edmund hillary.

Ah, well said. Sure there is a lot to learn from the mountains and nature, but sometimes getting out into the mountains is simply about enjoying them. Of course, there is immense satisfaction and accomplishment from overcoming them that keeps us coming back, despite the pain, freezing cold snow and winds, and dangers along the way.

19. “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” –  Edmund Hillary

I am a huge fan of this quote about mountains! Probably because I can completely relate. Conquering an adventure goal – or reaching the summit – of a mountain is about the challenges we conquer along the way. Ultimately, it’s not about setting out to conquer something else, but the internal journey, challenges, and resolution within ourselves.

20. ”Human life is far more important than just getting to the top of a mountain.” – Edmund Hillary

21. “when you go to the mountains, you see them and you admire them. in a sense, they give you a challenge, and you try to express that challenge by climbing them.” – edmund hillary, 22. “despite all i have seen and experienced, i still get the same simple thrill out of glimpsing a tiny patch of snow in a high mountain gully and feel the same urge to climb towards it.” – edmund hillary, 23. “pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.” –  henry david thoreau.

24. “An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” –  Henry David Thoreau

25. “the secret of the mountain is that the mountains simply exist, as i do myself: the mountains exist simply, which i do not. the mountains have no “meaning,” they are meaning; the mountains are. the sun is round. i ring with life, and the mountains ring, and when i can hear it, there is a ringing that we share. i understand all this, not in my mind but in my heart, knowing how meaningless it is to try to capture what cannot be expressed, knowing that mere words will remain when i read it all again, another day.” –  peter matthiessen, 26. “over every mountain, there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.” – theodore roethke, 27. “may your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. may your mountains rise into and above the clouds.” – edward abbey.

This is one of my favorite quotes about mountains. To me, it means that the most amazing views – in other words, some of the most breathtaking moments – are not easy to reach. Rather, the harder the climb, the better the view.

And I think this says a lot about life. What makes reaching a goal so satisfactory are the struggles you must overcome along the way.

28. “The lake and the mountains have become my landscape, my real world.” – Georges Simenon

29. “bald as the bare mountain tops are bald, with a baldness full of grandeur.” – matthew arnold, 30. “while on top of everest, i looked across the valley towards the great peak makalu and mentally worked out a route about how it could be climbed. it showed me that even though i was standing on top of the world, it wasn’t the end of everything. i was still looking beyond to other interesting challenges.” – edmund hillary.

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31. “I slow down when hiking. The rhythm of nature is more leisurely. The sun comes up, it moves across the sky, and you begin to synchronize to that rhythm. – John Mackey

32. “the violets in the mountains have broken the rocks.” – tennessee williams.

33. “He who climbs upon the highest mountains laughs at all tragedies, real or imaginary.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

34. “nature is my springboard. from her, i get my initial impetus. i have tried to relate the visible drama of mountains, trees, and bleached fields with the fantasy of wind blowing and changing colors and forms.” – milton avery, 35. “tis distance lends enchantment to the view, and robes the mountain in its azure hue.” – thomas campbell, 36. “what would be ugly in a garden constitutes beauty in a mountain.” – victor hugo, 37. “earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.” – john lubbock.

38. “If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads.” – Anatole France

39. “my father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing.” – aldous huxley, 40. “never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. then you will see how low it was.” – dag hammarskjold, 41. “if you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won’t see why we go.” – edmund hillary, 42. “i am losing precious days. i am degenerating into a machine for making money. i am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. i must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news” – john muir.

43. “Mountains are earth’s undecaying monuments.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne

44. “whenever the pressure of our complex city life thins my blood and numbs my brain, i seek relief in the trail; and when i hear the coyote wailing to the yellow dawn, my cares fall from me – i am happy.” – hamlin garland.

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45. “Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed.” – Walt Whitman

46. “reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of god.” – george washington carver, 47. “the ground we walk on, the plants and creatures, the clouds above constantly dissolving into new formations – each gift of nature possessing its own radiant energy, bound together by cosmic harmony.” – ruth bernhard.

48. “Mountains are only a problem when they are bigger than you. You should develop yourself so much that you become bigger than the mountains you face.” – Idowu Koyenikan

49. “we must walk consciously only part way toward our goal, and then leap in the dark to our success.” –  henry david thoreau, 50. “i understood at a very early age that in nature, i felt everything i should feel in church but never did. walking in the woods, i felt in touch with the universe and with the spirit of the universe.” – alice walker, 51. “in my afternoon walk, i would fain forget all my morning occupations and my obligations to society.” – henry david thoreau, 52. “i think, every time i’m on the mountain, i’m just so thankful to be there.” – chloe kim.

53. “A forest bird never wants a cage.” – Henrik Ibsen

54. “climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.” – david mccullough jr..

I am a huge fan of this quote by David McCullough Jr. I think it’s important to remember, you do not conquer your fears and overcome obstacles for an audience, but for bettering yourself. This is an internal journey – climbing mountains and life itself. Climb so you can see the world, not so that the world can see you.

55. “I’m always astonished by a forest. It makes me realize that the fantasy of nature is much larger than my own fantasy. I still have things to learn.” – Gunter Grass

56. “chasing angels or fleeing demons, go to the mountains.” –  jeffrey rasley, 57. “somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb.” – greg child.

58. “Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery.” – John Ruskin

59. “there’s no glory in climbing a mountain if all you want to do is to get to the top. it’s experiencing the climb itself – in all its moments of revelation, heartbreak, and fatigue – that has to be the goal.” – karyn kusama, 60. “what is straight a line can be straight, or a street, but the human heart, oh, no, it’s curved like a road through mountains.” –  tennessee williams, 61. “today is your day your mountain is waiting, so… get on your way” – dr. seuss, 62. “a trail through the mountains, if used, becomes a path in a short time, but, if unused, becomes blocked by grass in an equally short time.” – mencius.

63. “You need mountains, long staircases don’t make good hikers.” – Amit Kalantri

This quote about mountains makes me laugh because – well – it’s true. Long staircases do not make good hikers, mountains do. And the same goes for anything else you do in life. If you want to be good at something, that is exactly what you need to practice.

64. “The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” – John Muir

65. “it isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.” – muhammad ali, 66. “climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end.” – edward whymper.

67. “Life’s a bit like mountaineering – never look down.” – Edmund Hillary

68. “and if someday, my sons ask, “dad, why did you choose to climb” smiling, i’ll reply, i climbed so you could fly.” – mekael shane, 69. “the top of one mountain is always the bottom of another.” – marianne williamson, 70. “only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. and when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. and when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.” – khalil gibran, 71. “any road followed precisely to its end leads precisely nowhere. climb the mountain just a little bit to test it’s a mountain. from the top of the mountain, you cannot see the mountain.” – frank herbert.

72. “The summit is what drives us, but the climb itself is what matters.” – Conrad Anker

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73. “I take all day to climb mountains and then spend about 10 minutes at the top admiring the view.” – Sebastian Thrun

74. “men climb mountains, scale heights, venture into the unexplored to prove to other men it can be done.” – mother angelica, 75. “i’m always looking for a new challenge. there are a lot of mountains to climb out there. when i run out of mountains, i’ll build a new one.” – sylvester stallone, 76. “highest of heights, i climb this mountain and feel one with the rock and grit and solitude echoing back at me.” – bradley chicho.

77. “Man can climb to the highest summits, but he cannot dwell there long.” – George Bernard Shaw

78. “there are two kinds of climbers: those who climb because their heart sings when they’re in the mountains, and all the rest.” – alex lowe, 79. “you don’t climb mountains without a team, you don’t climb mountains without being fit, you don’t climb mountains without being prepared and you don’t climb mountains without balancing the risks and rewards. and you never climb a mountain on accident – it has to be intentional.” – mark udall, 80. “women need opportunity and encouragement. if a girl can climb mountains, she can do anything positive within her field of work.” – samina baig, 81. “if we choose to walk into a forest where a tiger lives, we are taking a chance. if we swim in a river where crocodiles live, we are taking a chance. if we visit the desert or climb a mountain or enter a swamp where snakes have managed to survive, we are taking a chance.” – peter benchley.

82. “Mountains terrify me – they just sit about; they are so proud.“ – Sylvia Plath

83. “the mountains are a demanding, cold place, and they don’t allow for mistakes.” – conrad anker, 84. “the only zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the zen you bring up there.“ – robert m. pirsig, 85. “in the presence of eternity, the mountains are as transient as the clouds.” – robert green ingersoll, 86. “if you want to train for big mountain endeavors, spend time in big mountains.” – jimmy chin.

87. “You can’t move mountains by whispering at them.” – Pink

88. “if a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. but if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.” – henry david thoreau, 89. “mountains are like the great equalizer. it doesn’t matter who anyone is or what they do.” – jimmy chin, 90. “as a professional climber, that’s the question you always get: why, why, why it’s an ineffable thing; you can’t describe it.” – jimmy chin, 91. “nobody climbs mountains for scientific reasons. science is used to raise money for the expeditions, but you really climb for the hell of it.” – edmund hillary.

92. “Our peace shall stand as firm as rocky mountains.” – William Shakespeare

93. “the mainstream audience has a certain picture of what climbing is all about: man conquering mountain. but you can’t conquer a mountain, though it may conquer you.” – jimmy chin.

Jimmy Chin is a famous mountaineer, photographer, and cinematographer of the mountains. His work has helped show the world the beauty and danger found in the mountains. If anyone knows about mountains conquering man versus man conquering mountain, it’s Jimmy.

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94. “The greatest gift of life on the mountain is time. Time to think or not think, read or not read, scribble or not scribble — to sleep and cook and walk in the woods, to sit and stare at the shapes of the hills. I produce nothing but words; I consumer nothing but food, a little propane, a little firewood. By being utterly useless in the calculations of the culture at large I become useful, at last, to myself.” – Philip Connors

95. “there is no such sense of solitude as that which we experience upon the silent and vast elevations of great mountains. lifted high above the level of human sounds and habitations, among the wild expanses and colossal features of nature, we are thrilled in our loneliness with a strange fear and elation – an ascent above the reach of life’s expectations or companionship, and the tremblings of a wild and undefined misgivings.” – j. sheridan le fanu, 96. “on climbs, there is a general way we manage fear. we look at things objectively, separating out perceived risk from real risk. you can really bring down the level of fear by knowing the real risks and setting aside the others. you also know that panicking just makes things worse.” – jimmy chin.

97. “Climbing is my art; I get so much joy and gratification from it.” – Jimmy Chin

98. “may your dreams be larger than mountains and may you have the courage to scale their summits.” – harley king, 99.  “although i deeply love oceans, deserts, and other wild landscapes, it is only mountains that beckon me with that sort of painful magnetic pull to walk deeper and deeper into their beauty.” – victoria erikson, 100. “over every mountain, there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.” theodore roethke.

101. “When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult to overcome.” – Wilma Rudolph

So there you have it! 101 of the best quotes about mountains to inspire you to get outside, learn something about yourself, and conquer your fears! Climbing mountains aren’t just about reaching the summit but overcoming the challenges and obstacles along the way with the people in your life you trust and love.

If you like this post about mountain quotes, pin below! Happy reading, folks!

And for transparency’s sake, please know that some of the links in our content are affiliate links . That means that if you book your accommodation, buy your gear, or sort your insurance through our link, we earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). That said, we only link to the gear we trust and never recommend services we don’t believe are up to scratch. Again, thank you!

Ana Pereira

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Best Mountain Quotes – 70 Inspiring Quotes About Mountains

50 of the best mountain quotes to inspire your next adventure in the great outdoors. Each mountain quote is sure to encourage you to achieve new heights in life!

The Ultimate Collection of Quotes on Mountains

There's something very primal about being in the mountains.

That feeling of nature being all powerful, combined with the desire to climb as high as possible so as to experience unique views and feelings.

Mountains beckon adventurers and explorers, offering challenging terrain that pushes physical and mental limits.

Climbing, hiking, skiing, and mountaineering provide opportunities for personal growth, self-discovery, and the thrill of conquering summits.

Personally, I love cycling in the mountains even though it's challenging. 

That feeling of conquering a hard climb up a mountain, taking time out to enjoy the view, and then gliding back downhill again on two wheels is unbeatable.

Truth be told, being in the mountains makes me feel alive!

Famous Mountain Quotes

Whether you like to enjoy a good mountain view, want to conquer new heights, or like the feeling of downhill mountain biking, these inspirational mountain quotes are designed to make you step outdoors and start your next adventure! 

Top 50 Mountains Quotes List

Highest of heights, I climb this mountain and feel one with the rock and grit and solitude echoing back at me.

–Bradley Chicho

2. Man can climb to the highest summits, but he cannot dwell there long.

– George Bernard Shaw

3. There are two kinds of climbers: those who climb because their heart sings when they’re in the mountains, and all the rest.

– Alex Lowe

4. Women need opportunity and encouragement. If a girl can climb mountains, she can do anything positive within her field of work.

– Samina Baig

5. Mountains terrify me – they just sit about; they are so proud.

– Sylvia Plath

6. The mountains are a demanding, cold place, and they don’t allow for mistakes.

– Conrad Anker

7. The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.

– Robert M. Pirsig

8. In the presence of eternity, the mountains are as transient as the clouds.

– Robert Green Ingersoll

9. You can’t move mountains by whispering at them.

10. As a professional climber, that’s the question you always get: Why, why, why? It’s an ineffable thing; you can’t describe it.

– Jimmy Chin

Related: Short Captions For Clouds

Best Mountain Quotes To Inspire

Humans have always been fascinated with mountains, whether they admire them from afar or watch their peaks disappear in the clouds.

Perhaps it's the unpredictability of nature in their unmerciful weather, their towering size or the demanding presence of mountains that captures our greatest adventures.

In this next section of mountain travel quotes, you'll find some truly inspiring mountain sayings.

Combined as they are with wonderful images of mountains and the Great Outdoors, you'll want to start your next journey today!

11. Nobody climbs mountains for scientific reasons. Science is used to raise money for the expeditions, but you really climb for the hell of it.

– Edmund Hillary

12. Our peace shall stand as firm as rocky mountains.

– William Shakespeare

13. Climbing is my art; I get so much joy and gratification from it.

14. May your dreams be larger than mountains and may you have the courage to scale their summits.

– Harley King

15. Over every mountain, there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.

– Theodore Roethke

16. It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.

17. If you want to train for big mountain endeavors, spend time in big mountains.

18. When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult to overcome.

– Wilma Rudolph

19. Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery.

– John Ruskin

20. Stop staring at mountains. Climb them instead, yes, it’s a harder process but it will lead you to a better view.

Inspirational Adventure Mountain Quotes

Each one of these next mountain climbing quotes will motivate you to start planning your next trek or climb. Which one of these mountaineering quotes is your favourite? Leave a comment at the end of this list of quotes!

21. I go to seek a great perhaps

– John Green

22. Great things are done when men and mountains meet; This is not done by jostling in the street.

-William Blake

23. How wild it was, to let it be.

– Cheryl Strayed

24. May your dreams be larger than mountains and may you have the courage to scale their summits.

-Harley King

25. You are not in the mountains. The mountains are in you.

– John Muir

26. Every man should pull a boat over a mountain once in his life.

– Werner Herzog

27. I’ve realized that at the top of the mountain, there’s another mountain.

– Andrew Garfield

28. The cliche is that life is a mountain. You go up, reach the top and then go down.

– Jeanne Moreau

29. Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.

– Barry Finlay

30. The best view comes after the hardest climb.

Best Mountain Travel Quotes

This collection of mountain captions is perfectly sized for your Pinterest boards. Just hover over each of these mountain life quotes, and you'll see the red pin appear. Then, just pin it to one of your outdoor travel boards!

31. Human life is far more important than just getting to the top of a mountain.

32. Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.

– T.S. Eliot

33. The top of one mountain is always the bottom of another.

– Marianne Williamson

34. Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.

― David McCullough Jr.

35. Hike more. Worry Less.

36. Mountains are only a problem when they are bigger than you. You should develop yourself so much that you become bigger than the mountains you face.

― Idowu Koyenikan”

37. The way up to the top of the mountain is always longer than you think. Don’t fool yourself, the moment will arrive when what seemed so near is still very far.

— Paulo Coelho

38. The mountains are calling and I must go.

– John Muir

39. He who climbs upon the highest mountains laughs at all tragedies, real or imaginary.

― Friedrich Neitszche

40. I like the mountains because they make me feel small,’ Jeff says. ‘They help me sort out what’s important in life.

Motivational Mountain View Quotes

Have you found a mountain hiking quote that stands out the most yet? There's bound to be something that motivates and inspires you more than others!

41. Never measure the height of a mountain until you reach the top. Then you will see how low it was.

-Dag Hammerskjold

42. Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb.

– Greg Child

43. Don’t be afraid to fail. Be afraid not to try.

44. Coffee, Mountains, Adventure.

45. You’re off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so… get on your way!

46. All good things are wild and free.

47. The most dangerous thing you can do in life is play it safe.

– Casey Neistat

48. There are far better things ahead than the ones we leave behind.

– C.S. Lewis

Inspirational Quotes 

As an added bonus, here's a few more mountain quotes and inspiring sayings from famous people, adventurers, thinkers and well known personalities.

49. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings .

50. Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.

51. It's important to know that words don't move mountains. Work, exacting work moves mountains.

– Danilo Dolci

52. You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again.

– René Daumal

53. So this was what a mountain was like, the same as a person: the more you know, the less you fear.

– Wu Ming-Yi

54. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.

– Steve Jobs

55. The tops of mountains are among the unfinished parts of the globe, whither it is a slight insult to the gods to climb and pry into their secrets, and try their effect on our humanity. Only daring and insolent men, perchance, go there.

– Henry David Thoreau

Related: 20 Positive Ways To Be A Responsible Traveller

Mountain Air Quotes

56. Sometimes grace is a ribbon of mountain air that gets in through the cracks.

– Anne Lamott

57. I throw back my head, and, feeling free as the wind, breathe in the fresh mountain air. Although I am heavy-hearted, my spirits are rising. To walk in nature is always good medicine.

– Jean Craighead George

58. Before computers, telephone lines and television connect us, we all share the same air, the same oceans, the same mountains and rivers. We are all equally responsible for protecting them.

– Julia Louis-Dreyfus

What should I Caption a mountain picture?

59. “Each fresh peak ascended teaches something.”

– Sir Martin Convay

60. “Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.”

– Andy Rooney.

61. “Benedicto: May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.

62. “Although I do love oceans, deserts, and other wild landscapes, it is only mountains that beckon me with the sort of painful magnetic pull to walk deeper and deeper into their beauty. They keep me continuously wanting to know more, feel more, see more. To become more.”

– Victoria Erickson

Climb Mountains Quotes

63. You don't climb mountains without a team, you don't climb mountains without being fit, you don't climb mountains without being prepared and you don't climb mountains without balancing the risks and rewards. And you never climb a mountain on accident – it has to be intentional.

– Mark Udall

64.“People ask me, ‘What is the use of climbing Mount Everest?' and my answer must at once be, ‘It is of no use.'There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever. Oh, we may learn a little about the behaviour of the human body at high altitudes, and possibly medical men may turn our observation to some account for the purposes of aviation. But otherwise nothing will come of it. We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver, not a gem, nor any coal or iron… If you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won't see why we go. What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to live. That is what life means and what life is for.”

― George Mallory

65.“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.”

― John Muir

Quotations About Mountains

66. Although I deeply love oceans, deserts and other wild landscapes, it is only mountains that beckon me with that sort of painful magnetic pull to walk deeper and deeper into their beauty. They keep me continuously wanting to know more, feel more, see more.”

― Victoria Erickson

67. “Chasing angels or fleeing demons, go to the mountains”

– Jeffrey Rasley

68.“You don't need to climb a mountain to know that it's high.”

― Paulo Coelho

69.“The mountain remains unmoved at seeming defeat by the mist.”

– Rabindranath Tagore

70. “Nothing lives long, Only the earth and mountains.”

– Dee Brown

What is the saying about the mountain?

• “The best view comes after the hardest climb.”
• “Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing.”
• “Always be thankful for the little things… even the smallest mountains can hide the most breathtaking views!”
• “Only mountains can feel the frozen warmth of the sun through snow's gentle caress on their peaks”
• “Every man should pull a boat over a mountain once in his life.”
• “We are now in the mountains and they are in us, kindling enthusiasm, making every nerve quiver, filling every pore and cell of us.”
• “How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!” ~ John Muir

How the mountains make me feel?

The mountains provide us with a chance to stop and appreciate the natural beauty of the planet. Taking a break from the stress and dirt of modern life and changing your perspective. A trip to the mountains, whether alone or with family and friends, has been shown to improve one's mental health.

What are some nature quotes?

What is a quote about nature?

Image result for What are some nature quotes?

• “Nature to be commanded must be obeyed.”
• “My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature.”
• “Should you shield the canyons from the windstorms you would never see the true beauty of their carvings.”

What are some quotes about mountains and wild landscapes?

• “There is no such sense of solitude as that which we experience upon the silent and vast elevations of great mountains.
• Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.
• Nathaniel Hawthorne Quote: “Mountains are earth's undecaying monuments.”
• “There is no such sense of solitude as that which we experience upon the silent and vast elevations of great mountains. Lifted high above the level of human sounds and habitations, among the wild expanses and colossal features of Nature, we are thrilled in our loneliness with a strange fear and elation – an ascent above the reach of life’s expectations or companionship, and the tremblings of a wild and undefined misgivings.” – Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

Pin this collection of Short Mountain Quotes

Use any of the captions and saying above, or the image below to pin to one of your Pinterest boards. That way, you'll start to create your own inspiring mountain travel quotes collection!

More Quotes about Nature, Travel and the Outdoors

Looking for more inspiring quotes and captions? Check these out!

• The Best Explore Quotes
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• Best Cycling Quotes
• Paulo Coelho Quotes
• Short Travel Quotes
• Best Journey Quotes
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• Beach Quotes – Feel the holiday vibe!
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These Mountain Travel Captions Will Take Your Heart Away!

traveller Akilandeswari

Dwelling in intense emotions after your recent mountaineering experience but struggling to come up with the right mountain travel quotes to caption your out of the world captures?

Don’t worry, my blog gives you 207 beautiful mountain trip quotes to adorn your pictures. Come, let’s get started!

207 Fascinating Mountain Travel Quotes

Just enjoy scrolling through these amazing quotes for travelling in mountains!

Wanderer at rocks!

Climber for life!

Connecting with my spirit!

An exit from life to understand my spirit!

Leave the mundane and embrace the mountains!

Finally, I found my soul; Well, I must admit, mountains make one feel whole!

My goal is to wander the mountains and catch hold of my lost soul!

Currently on parole from the mundane role!

Before you turn old, experience this cold, trust me, it is an experience so gold!

Mountains, they make your heart mountainous!

If you like to hike, let’s cheer because we are alike!

My adrenaline spikes whenever I hike!

Hike and wipe your worries, like a swipe!

Mountain travel is a channel that unshackles you from your life’s battle!

Do you want your heart to experience a swing? Go to the hills!

Hills, get your heart filled!

What use are dramatic films? Go to the hills, you will instantly get emotional tears!

Fly without wings, that’s what trekking gives!

It is a boon, I am climbing towards the Moon!

Chill with your rain gear and say hello to the Snow sphere!

Best Travel In Mountains Quotes  

Cheer and kill your fear!

Trekking brings out our inner kids!

Bow and surrender to the cloud, it will take you around!

Shaking hands with the clouds, and my heart pounds!

Clouds gave me a potion that instilled in me a wisdom ocean!

Forget what happened long ago, now let’s go over and above!

Who is the painter of this beautiful glacier?

Finally God answered my prayer, I saw a glacier!

Time to explore nature, say hello to the glacier!

Treating myself to weeks of peace!

You create beliefs, when there is peace!

Piece together your broken heart and give it a mountain feast!

Please forget your past, life is so vast!

She might have broken me, but today I am happy to a greater degree!

For once just flee, your inner spirit will wake up to glee!

Climb and see, you will find the key to your inner Sea!

The trials might be steep, but I aim for the peak!

Do you think I am weak? Take a peek!

The more I went towards the mountain peak, I started growing meek!

Here is a sneak peek of the mountain peak, you guys  have a great week!

In case your insides beep, it is time to seek!

One heck of a hilly week, hope my picture speaks!

There is a lot to reap, off hilly peaks!

Travel deep, and feel unique!

Life gets you sold, this is why you need to go in search of your soul!

Beautiful meadow, look at me feeling all mellow!

Off to adore beautiful views, wearing my hiking shoes!

Blues, blues, and blues, I am standing on my boots!

All around things to muse, I am amused!

Delighting hues, soothing my bruise!

Give up your booze and get on your hiking shoes!

No more snooze, time to get on your hiking shoes!

With my crew, enjoying the view!

Emotions ooze and I feel so true!

Let’s brew life, in mountainous terrains!

Back once again, with my backpack!

Wear your backpack, you will get your life back!

What you lack, you will get back, once you wear your backpack!

Memories I stack, wearing my eye-catchy backpack!

Walking tracks; munching snacks!

I finally found the knack of posing with this backpack!

You give me a lakh, I will not go back!

Who cares about food? Backpacking feels all good!

Mountaineering is a blessing!

“Stay strong, knees”, shout the trees!

Hiking is a test, you should give your best!

All dressed and now heading towards the west!

I don’t need rest, I am no guest!

Carry out this beautiful quest, and reach the crest!

Dreams are to chase; mountains are a grace!

Picking up my pace, to explore this infinite space!

Nothing can replace the grace of mountains!

Break your inhibitory gates and escape!

Chuck the dictates; time for a life-chase!

Mountaineering is a temptation, but it builds determination!

Finally found my courage, to escape the sludge!

Do mountains do an inside-stir? I feel my energy surge!

Pouring out words; feeling like a bird!

Totally absorbed; my soul restored!

My insides roar, as I adore!

Completely tossed, by the mesmerising frost!

Snowflakes, I wish to turn you into beautiful shapes!

“Use me to erase your past straits”, says snowflakes!

My insides flood, outside I can hear my heart thud, O mountains, you are in my blood!

I am going to pack all the snow, can someone get me a carrier that can outgrow?

Relishing ice scoop, with my troop!

We are a team, with mountaineering dreams!

I beam, because I just experienced the Supreme!

If you want to glow, you need to follow the snow!

We are following mountainous trails, you see , we are its disciples!

Climb for miles, it will dial to your insides!

Seriously, Can ice set your insides on fire?

Surroundings I see and enjoy my hot tea!

Walking stick, to traverse my trials in a flick!

Presenting to you an agreement unsigned, that I will trek for life!

Thank you wind, you washed away my begrimed insides!

All these days I was blind, fortunately the wind opened my eyes!

The guide was so kind and we enjoyed the climb! ⛰️

The wind defined, everything is divine! ⛰️

Finally I found my delight, at the heights! ⛰️

Is the mountain a priest? It helped me unleash my inside beast!

By the time I reached the peak, my life was pieced together!

Shall we meet, at the mountain peak?

Make strong your inner bridges, you can cross any number of ridges!

Stay rigid and travel with a spirit!

Trek till your muscles wreck!

Get off your wreck and trek!

Check and get ready for the trek!

Climb, you will lose track of your time!

I wonder why whenever I climb, I rhyme!

Chime, because it is time to forget time!

Everything is falling in line, as I climb, isn’t that divine?

Forget the wine and climb, you will feel the divine!

Travel solo, make it your moto!

Feeling Low? Climb mountains, you will glow!

Mountain climbing and gazing is simply amazing!

No more life racing, let’s go mountaineering!

Scaling heights, feeling light!

Let’s go grazing , in the mountains so glazing!

I used to wave at the mountains, but now they have come to save me!

Walking towards the mountains; withdrawing from a life so soaring!

I am becoming the king of climbing!

Blogging my mountainous journeying!

Go climbing, it will release your mental clogging!

Performing music fusion with the mountain because it is our reunion!

I am a new man, after this divine union!

Time to mount, don’t worry about the amount!

Don’t doubt, just mount, you will find the route!

Keep counting, I will not stop mounting!

I vouch, once you start to mount, you will not agree to come to the ground!

No more threat of a compound, time to surmount!

Mount, it will heal your wound!

Feeling crowned, after the surmount!

Filling my life account with mind blowing accounts of my surmounts!

Buffet for a delicious meal, summit for an amazing feel!

Every time I reach a summit, I feel like a cute puppet!

Uneven rocks don’t stop me from taking snaps!

Snapping photos for mountainous promos!

Taking photos to come up with spellbinding quotes!

Which photo would you vote to come up with the best mountain quote?

Alluring sights, soothing my eyesight!

Hills were luring, hence I am climbing!

Hooked to the mountain’s look!

Is your life vision obscuring? Go mountaineering!

Climbing sets footing for your maturing!

Get on your feet, and achieve a climbing feat!

Go climbing, it is so assuring!

Acquire strength from the mountain’s breadth and width!

Adventurous Travel To Mountains Quotes!

Climbing is daring, so go exploring!

Climbing gives you substance, it is a form of spiritual insurance!

Breathe till you chill underneath!

Breathe, your face will beam and your worries will cease!

Foggy outside, gaining clarity inside!

The path might be rocky and the climate foggy, but you see climbing is my hobby!

Mountains are smoky and my insides are breezy!

It is all smoky and I am listening to my favourite karaoke!

When mountains appear smoky, they are a beauty!

Mountains are tall yet they call this human, so small!

Time to stop by the waterfall!

The trip that gave my life a grip!

I cannot forget this trip because my heart skipped a beat!

Writing my life script, on this beautiful trip!

Basking in mountain’s glory, my current life story!

I did not care about my empty flask, because I was so absorbed in the climbing task!

Pack your bags, you will get back what you lack!

I was blank, now completely power-packed!

Stuffing myself into the shack, looking forward to the morning’s trekking track!

Energy I exude, without any food, I say trekking is a mood!

Mountainous views, get you glued!

Wear your jacket, mountains are a magnet!

Wearing a cap, for a mountain snap!

Lifetime stamp, cherishing my stay at this camp!

Hey chap, this mountain has got me clasped!

Wear your hood, set your foot, let’s go trekking dude!

Resting briefly on the sleeping bag, repairing my internal snags!

On my boots, all ready to look for my roots!

March, if you need, carry a torch!

Peace restored, after I decided to explore!

Stove, to fill our food bowls!

Basically, we are admirers, so we turned into ardent climbers!

If your insides enquire, become a climber!

Aspire, that’s how I became a climber!

Mountains are treasure mines, so please climb!

Surroundings are ice-covered and my energy is all loaded!

Discover your life colour from the ice cover!

Reached the pinnacle and it feels like a miracle!

At pinnacle, you will discover life principles!

Feeling invincible at the pinnacle!

We are a flock, ready to scale the rock!

Wearing a helmet, still feeling like velvet!

Climbing is a merit that was credited to this spirit!

Wearing our headlamps, so we safely reach our camps!

Clap, clap, clap as you scale the ramp!

Feeling like champs, as we decamp!

Climb the ramp, it is a spiritual trap!

I sing a rap, and my crew claps!

Flap your wings, if your insides ring!

If you want to revamp, please get ready for a camp!

I am an Orophile, so I create mountain files!

I am an explorer, I never understand borders!

Become an explorer, you will forget dollars!

Exploring life colours, because I am an explorer!

Outside it is cold, but my insides are warm!

Strength you form, when you don’t conform!

Around the fire we swarm, to feel the warmth!

I hope you loved my exploring mountain quotes. As a climber, let me know which caption you connected with the most in the comments below.

MORE FUN SUGGESTIONS

Nature Travel Quotes

Happy wayfaring 🙂

THIS POST IS AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OF BUDGET WAYFARERS. ANY INDIVIDUAL OR ASSOCIATION INDULGING IN PLAGIARISM WILL BE DEALT WITH STRICTLY . IF YOU WANT TO USE INFORMATION FROM THE ARTICLE ABOVE, KINDLY QUOTE THE SOURCE.

• 103 Best Travel Quotes to Inspire your Wanderlust (2024)

Disclosure : This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small fee from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

For all those out there with hearts full of reisefieber (that’s German for travel fever), this post goes out to you. I’ve collected the 103 best travel quotes to fuel your wanderlust, caption your Instagram posts, and inspire your next adventure. I hope you enjoy.

This post was updated November 2023.

Quotes That Define Travel

1.”Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things—air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky—all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” -Cesare Pavese

2. “Traveling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, ‘I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.’” -Lisa St. Aubin de Teran

3. “Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” -Mary Ritter Beard

How Travel Defines Us

4. “If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name. Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueler than mirror-glass. A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet.” -Patrick Rothfuss

5. “So much of who we are is where we have been.” -William Langewiesche

6. “You get a strange feeling when you leave a place. Like you’ll not only miss the people you love, but you miss the person you are at this time and place because you’ll never be this way ever again.” -Azar Nafisi

7. “One of the great things about travel is that you find out how many good, kind people there are.” -Edith Wharton

8. “The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.” -Shirley Maclaine

Quotes About Why We Travel

9. “I’ll never be content to stay forever in one place. I’m too madly in love with all the places I haven’t been, the people I haven’t met, the food I haven’t tried, and the streets I haven’t danced on.” -Brooke Hamptom

10. “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” -Robyn Yong

11. “We travel initially to lose ourselves; and we travel next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe where riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again—to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.” -Patrick Rothfuss

12. “To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” -Bill Bryson

13. “We travel because distance and difference are the secret tonic of creativity. When we get home, home is still the same. But something inside our minds has changed, and that changes everything.” -Jonah Lehrer

14. “Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” -Jack Kerouac

15. “I travel because I’d rather look back at my life, saying ‘I can’t believe I did that’ instead of ‘If only I had…’” -Florine Bos

16. “I need to move around a bit. To shuffle my surroundings. To wake up in cities I don’t know my way around and have conversations in languages I cannot entirely comprehend. There is always this tremendous longing in my heart to be lost, to be someplace else, to be far far away from all of this.” -Beau Taplin

We were made to move

17. “I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth, then I ask myself the same question.” -Harun Yahya

18. “A ship at harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” -John A Shedd

19. “If we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet.” -Rachel Wolchin

Quotes About How Travel Changes Us

20. “Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” -Ibn Batutta

21. “At its best, travel should challenge our perceptions and most cherished views, cause us to rethink our assumptions, shake us a bit, make us broader minded and more understanding.” -Arthur Frommer

22. “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” -Oliver Wendell Holmes

23. “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” -Gustave Flaubert

24. “Travel sparks our imagination, feeds our curiosity and reminds us how much we all have in common.” -Deborah Lloyd

25. “I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” -Mary Anne Radmacher

Travel Quotes About Home

26. “You will never be completely home again, because part of your heart always will be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.” -Miriam Adeney

27. “We are torn between a nostalgia for the familiar and an urge for the foreign and strange. We are homesick most for the places we have never known.” -Carson McCullers

28. “A great way to learn about your country is to leave it.” -Henry Rollins

29. “There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” -Robert Louis Stevenson

30. “Wild hearts find a home in every place they roam.” -C. Churchill

31. “A man does not belong to the place where he was born, but where he chooses to die.” -Orson Welles

Proverbs From Around the World

32. “Your feet will take you where your heart is.” -Irish Proverb

33. “He who is outside his door already has the hardest part of his journey behind him.” -Dutch Proverb

34. “Don’t listen to what they say. Go see.” -Chinese Proverb

35. “Who lives sees much. Who travels sees more.” -Arab Proverb

On the Journey, the Road, the Destination

36. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” -Lao Tzu

37. “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” -Susan Sontag

38. “I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.” -David Bowie

39. “The best journeys are the ones that answer questions that at the onset you never thought to ask.” -Rick Ridgeway

40. “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” -Lao Tzu

41. “Because the greatest part of a road trip isn’t arriving at your destination. It’s all the wild stuff that happens along the way.” -Emma Chase

42. “Two roads diverged in a wood and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” -Robert Frost

43. “There are roads left in both of our shoes.” -Death Cab for Cutie, Soul Meets Body

Travel Quotes About Tourists v. Travelers

44. “When a man is a Traveler, the world is his house and the sky is his roof, where he hangs his hat is his home, and all the people are his family.” -Drew Bundini Brown

45. “Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” -Paul Theroux

46. “The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.” -G. K. Chesterton

47. “Please be a traveler, not a tourist. Try new things, meet new people, and look beyond what’s right in front of you. Those are the keys to understanding this amazing world we live in.” -Andrew Zimmern

Travel Quotes From Explorers and Travel Writers

Freya stark.

Freya Stark (1893-1993) was a British/Italian explorer and travel writer. She traveled extensively in the Middle East, Mediterranean, and Asia. In fact, she was one of the first non-Arabs to cross the Arabian Desert.

48. “To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world. You are surrounded by adventure.” -Freya Stark

49. “Travel does what good novelists also do to the life of everyday, placing it like a picture in a frame or a gem in its setting, so that the intrinsic qualities are made more clear. Travel does this with the very stuff that everyday life is made of, giving to it the sharp contour and meaning of art.” -Freya Stark

Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain (1956-2018), chef, travel writer and documentarian. This is a man who needs no introduction. He taught us about other cultures and countries, unapologetically examining both the good and the bad with raw honesty and respect.

50. “Travel is not reward for working, it’s education for living.” -Anthony Bourdain

51. “Travel is about the gorgeous feeling of teetering in the unknown.” -Anthony Bourdain

52. “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” -Anthony Bourdain

Pico Iyer (1957–) is a contemporary British travel writer. He tends to focus his writing on often over-looked topics. For example, he examines the disconnect between local tradition and global pop culture, the cultural repercussions of isolation, and how travel can help us find a calm and stillness in today’s busy pace.

53. “A person susceptible to ‘wanderlust’ is not so much addicted to movement as committed to transformation.” -Pico Iyer

54. “Travel is not really about leaving our homes, but leaving our habits.” -Pico Iyer

55. “And if travel is like love, it is, in the end, mostly because it’s a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed. That is why the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end.” -Pico Iyer

56. “Anybody who travels knows that you’re not really doing so in order to move around—you’re traveling in order to be moved. And really what you’re seeing is not just the Grand Canyon or the Great Wall but some moods or intimations or places inside yourself that you never ordinarily see when you’re sleepwalking through your daily life.” -Pico Iyer

Travel Quotes From Naturalists

57. “Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.” -Henry David Thoreau

58. “The world is big, and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.” -John Muir

59. “Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” -John Muir

60. “Most people who travel look only at what they are directed to look at. Great is the power of the guidebook maker, however ignorant.” -John Muir

Travel Quotes From Great Literary Authors

61. “To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, to gain all while you give, to roam the roads of lands remote, to travel is to live.” -Hans Christian Anderson

62. “For always roaming with a hungry heart, much have I seen and known.” -Alfred Tennyson

63. “Live life with no excuses, travel with no regret.” -Oscar Wilde

64. “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” -T. S. Elliot

65. “It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what’s changed is you.” -F Scott Fitzgerald

66. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” -Mark Twain

67. “Bizarre travel plans are dancing lessons from God.” -Kurt Vonnegut

68. “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all people cry, laugh, eat, worry and diet, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” -Maya Angelou

Travel Quotes From Books

69. “It is not down in any map; true places never are.” -Herman Melville, Moby Dick

70. “It is a big and beautiful world. Most of us live and die in the same corner where we were born and never get to see any of it. I don’t want to be most of us.” -Oberyn Martell, Game of Thrones

71. “Travel far enough to meet yourself.” -David Mitchel, Cloud Atlas

72. “I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.” -Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

73. “Would you like an adventure now or shall we have our tea first?” -Peter Pan

74. “Not all those who wander are lost.” -J.J.R. Tolkien

75. “It’s a dangerous business…going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” -J.R.R. Tolkien

Travel Quotes on Books and Education

76. “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” -St. Augustine

77. “I read, I travel, I become.” -Derek Walcott

78. “Of all the books in all the world, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport.” -Saber Ben Hassen

79. “With age, comes wisdom. With travel, comes understanding.” -Sandra Lake

80. “Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you have traveled.” -Muhammad

Travel Quotes About Wealth

81. “Travel is the only thing you can buy that makes you richer.” -Anonymous

82. “I would rather own a little and see the world than own the world and see a little of it.” -Alexander Sattler

83. “Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.” -Alexander Solzhenitsyn

84. “To travel is to possess the world.” -Burton Holmes

Quotes on Adventure

85. “Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures.” -Lovelle Drachman

86. “If happiness is the goal—and it should be, then adventures should be a priority.” -Richard Branson

87. “Nothing adventured, nothing attained.” -Peter McWilliams

88. “You must go on adventures to find out where you truly belong.” -Sue Fitzmaurice

89. “We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” -Jawaharlal Nehru

90. “Travel doesn’t become adventure until you leave yourself behind.” -Marty Rubin

Travel Quotes That Offer Advice

91. “Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.” -Dalai Lama

92. “Live your life by a compass, not a clock.” -Stephen Covey

93. “We must travel in the direction of our fear.” -John Berryman

94. “Cover the earth before it covers you.” -Dagobert D Runes

95. “Travel while you’re young and able. Don’t worry about the money, just make it work. Experience is far more valuable than money will ever be.” -David Avocado Wolfe

96. “When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” -Susan Heller

97. “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time.” -Aliyyah Eniath

98. “If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears.” -Cesare Pavese

99. “When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” -Clifton Fadiman

100. “Do yourself a favor. Before it’s too late, without thinking too much about it first, pack a pillow and a blanket and see as much of the world as you can. You will not regret it. One day it will be too late.” -Jhumpa Lahiri

Travel Memories

101. “We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.” -Travelermentality

102. “I have worn the dust of many foreign streets, but to brush it off would surely be a crime. I have the memories of many foreign adventures, but to forget them, would surely be a sin. So, breath in the dust, and keep the memories in.” -Rowland Waring-Flood

103. Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know why I look this way. I’ve traveled a long way and some of the roads weren’t paved.” -Will Rogers

Without a doubt, there are a lot of amazing travel quotes out there. However, I’ve only shared a few of them. Do you have a favorite quote I missed? I’d love to hear from you. So tell me, what are your favorite travel quotes, and why do they speak to you?

Also, if you’re looking for a little more travel inspiration, check out Clarice’s Travel Bucket List . Or if you’re looking for more quotes, you can check out 13 John Muir Quotes for the Adventurers at Heart , too.

Did you find this post helpful? Then please pass it on and give it a share!

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80 Short Travel Quotes to Inspire Wanderlust

Jump to Quotes

With 64% of women and 75% of men still living in the city they grew up in, you might be forgiven for thinking that the world is a small place, but there’s a whole planet out there that’s just waiting to be explored. Far more than just a 2-week vacation, traveling opens the mind and introduces us to experiences we will never be able to sample at home.

Showing us sights, sounds, flavors, and even smells that we’ve never tried before, different destinations can completely change our lives for the better, and teach us far more than we could ever learn in a classroom or from a textbook. You only have to read through this collection of travel quotes to see just how essential traveling is to our souls.

Whether you are looking back on vacations past or looking forward to visiting new and exciting faraway shores, these travel quotes will inspire you to get out there and take in as much of the world as you can. With busy working lives, you may only manage one annual vacation, but if you do as the Dalai Lama advises, seeing just one new place each year will broaden your horizons and enrich your life in ways you never thought possible.

If you’re looking for more inspiration to travel, take a look at these inspirational quotes and these adventure quotes .

Travel Quotes

“Travel has a way of stretching the mind” – Ralph Crawshaw

“There is no right way to go on an edible journey. You can never tell what is going to be great, so you have to try everything.” – Adam Richman

“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” – Jack Kerouac

You may also like: These short and deep meaningful quotes on everything: https://brightdrops.com/meaningful-quotes

“It is not the destination where you end up but the mishaps and memories you create along the way!” – Penelope Riley

“Travel empties out everything you’ve put into the box called your life, all the things you accumulate to tell you who you are.” – Claire Fontaine

“Travel brings power and love back into your life. – Rumi Jalalud” – Din

Related: Beach Quotes

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” – Saint Augustine

“With age, comes wisdom. With travel, comes understanding.” – Sandra Lake

“Would you still want to travel to that country If you could not take a camera with you. – a question of appropriation.” – Nayyirah Waheed, Salt

“There’s no way I was born to just pay bills and die.” – Anonymous

“Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you have traveled.” – Mohammed

“Explore, Experience, Then Push Beyond.” – Aaron Lauritsen

“Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aesop

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” – Lewis Carroll

“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves.” – Pico Iyer

“Travel is never a matter of money but of courage.” – Paulo Coelho

“I didn’t know that the world could be so mind-blowingly beautiful.” – Justina Chen Headley

“Take only memories, leave only footprints.” – Chief Seattle

“I love to travel, but hate to arrive.” – Albert Einstein

“The most beautiful in the world is, of course, the world itself.” – Wallace Stevens

“When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” – Clifton Fadiman

“Travel brings wisdom only to the wise. It renders the ignorant more ignorant than ever.” – Abercrombie

“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” – Anita Desai

“Travel is so important in its capacity to expand the mind. It’s exciting to start as young as possible – you get to see how other cultures live, challenge your senses, and try different cuisines.” – Natalie Dormer

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness., and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.” – Mark Twain

“The impulse to travel is one of the hopeful symptoms of life.” – Agnes Repplier

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

“One’s destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.” – Henry Miller

“Once a year, go somewhere you have never been before.” – Dalai Lama

“The gladdest moment in human life is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

“They say travel broadens the mind, but you must have the mind.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton

“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.” – Henry David Thoreau

“The farther you go, however, the harder it is to return. The world has many edges, and it’s easy to fall off.” – Anderson Cooper

“Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.” – Ray Bradbury

“He who has not traveled widely thinks that his mother is the best cook.” – African Proverb

“We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.” – Hilaire Belloc

“You do not travel if you are afraid of the unknown, you travel for the unknown, that reveals you with yourself.” – Ella Maillart

“In life, it’s not where you go, it’s who you travel with.” – Charles M. Schulz

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert

“Travel is not reward for working, it’s education for living.” – Anthony Bourdain

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin

“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams” – Oprah Winfrey

“The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

“Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you’ve never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground.” – Judith Thurman

“I’ve met the most interesting people while flying or on a boat. These methods of travel seem to attract the kind of people I want to be with.” – Hedy Lamarr

“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” – Susan Heller

“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the most pleasant sensations in the world. You are surrounded by adventure.” – Freya Stark

“Travel can be one of the most rewarding forms of introspection.” – Lawrence Durrell

“Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don’t be sorry.” – Jack Kerouac

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

“Travel more to see more to live more.” – Debasish Mridha

“The journey not the arrival matters.” – T.S. Eliot

“Of all the books in the world, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport.” – Unknown

“Travel, instead of broadening the mind, often merely lengthens the conversation.” – Elizabeth Drew

“Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.” – Peter Hoeg

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” – Laozi

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gid

“I just go with the flow, I follow the yellow brick road. I don’t know where it’s going to lead me, but I follow it.” – Grace Jones

“I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

“It’s a big world out there. It would be a shame not to experience it” – J. D. Andrews

“One of the great things about travel is you find out how many good, kind people there are.” – Edith Wharton

“Traveling is the great true love of my life… I am loyal and constant in my love of travel. I feel about travel the way a happy new mother feels about her impossible, colicky, restless newborn baby – I just don’t care what it puts me through. Because I adore it. Because it’s mine. Because it looks exactly like me.” – Elizabeth Gilbert

“I love being on the road. I love that lifestyle, traveling city to city, rocking out and moving on to the next place.” – Caleb Johnson

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr

“So shut up, live, travel, adventure, bless and don’t be sorry.” – Jack Kerouac

“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey.” – Babs Hoffman

“Better to see something once than hear about it a thousand times.” – Asian Proverb

“I travel in so many different ways; I travel high, I rough it…it all depends on who I travel with.” – Diane von Furstenberg

“Traveling is more fun — hell, life is more fun — if you can treat it as a series of impulses.” – Bill Bryson

“What you do on travel holiday is what your memories are based on. People want to do cool stuff, and this is what will shape your entire experience.” – Ruzwana Bashir

“It’s important to travel and move and have a continual set of experiences so you’ve got more to feedback into your work. For me, it’s a natural thing.” – Cate Blanchett

“Travelling the road, last known is where I want to be.” – Paper Lions

“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey” – Pat Conroy

“Traveling—it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta

“Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen” – Benjamin Disraeli

“Travel is a joy, full of surprises. Perhaps some of the most enjoyable times are those where one comes close to disaster: the risks add spice, and make for great stories when you are safely back home again. — Jane Wilson” – Howarth

“It is not down in any map; true places never are.” – Herman Melville

“Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.” – Roy M. Goodman

“The Chinese say that there is no scenery in your home town. They’re right. Being in another place heightens the senses, allows you to see more, enjoy more, take delight in small things; it makes life richer. You feel more alive, less cocooned.— Jane Wilson” – Howarth

“A wise man travels to discover himself.” – James Russell Lowell

“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote, To travel is to live.” – Hans Christian Andersen

“Please be a traveler, not a tourist. Try new things, meet new people, and look beyond what’s right in front of you. Those are the keys to understanding this amazing world we live in.” – Andrew Zimmern

“Jobs fill your pocket, but adventures fill your soul.” – Jamie Lyn Beatty

More Good Inspirational Quotes:

• 65 Most Inspirational Quotes of All-Time
• 166 Deeply Moving Inspirational Quotes About Life
• 105 Inspirational Nature Quotes

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Atlas & Boots

The UK's most popular outdoor travel blog

95 most inspirational travel quotes ever penned

Our favourite inspirational travel quotes have encouraged us to travel with abandon over the years. Perhaps they will do the same for you…

For us, there is no such thing as luxury travel; travel is, by default, a luxury. It is a privilege provided by the country of our birth, a privilege that many are not as fortunate to enjoy.

Sometimes, we have to pinch ourselves at just how ridiculous our lives have become: an ex-teacher and jobbing writer travelling the world for a living. It is absurd, it is astonishing, it is luxury.

When I first went travelling at 21 years old, my father gave me this quote scrawled on a piece of card.

It infused me with wanderlust. It encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone, make the most of my time, see the world and enjoy the freedom that comes with being on the road. It remains one of the most inspirational travel quotes I’ve read (even if Twain did not actually say it).

Today, 20 years and almost 100 countries later, it’s still in my wallet. Despite its tattered and dishevelled appearance, it’s every bit as important to me now as it was then.

With that in mind, we’ve collated our most beloved inspirational travel quotes to encourage readers to “explore, dream and discover” for themselves.

inspirational travel quotes

1. “To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson

2. “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

3. “Travel is never a matter of money, but of courage.” – Paulo Coelho

4. “With age, comes wisdom. With travel, comes understanding.” – Sandra Lake

5. “When overseas you learn more about your own country, than you do the place you’re visiting.” – Clint Borgen

6. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

7. “Don’t tell me the sky’s the limit when there are footprints on the moon.” – Paul Brandt

8. “The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.” – Henry David Thoreau

9. “The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” – Rudyard Kipling

10. “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

11. “When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” – Susan Heller Anderson

12. “No place is ever as bad as they tell you it’s going to be.” – Chuck Thompson

13. “We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharlal Nehru

14. “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu

15. “There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it.” – Charles Dudley Warner

16. “A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships were built for.” – John A. Shedd

17. “Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” – Paul Theroux

18. “Not all those who wander are lost.” – J. R. R. Tolkien

19. “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

20. “Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.” – Benjamin Disraeli

21. “Once a year, go somewhere you’ve never been before.” – The Dalai Lama

22. “No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang

23. “What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do – especially in other people’s minds. When you’re travelling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.” – William Least Heat Moon

24. “There are no foreign lands. It is the traveller only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

25. “Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.” – Paul Theroux

26. “A traveller without observation is a bird without wings.” – Moslih Eddin Saadi

27. “Your true traveller finds boredom rather agreeable than painful. It is the symbol of his liberty-his excessive freedom. He accepts his boredom, when it comes, not merely philosophically, but almost with pleasure.” – Aldous Huxley

28. “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

29. “All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.” – Samuel Johnson

30. “Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.” – Anatole France

31. “I can’t control the wind but I can adjust the sail.” – Ricky Skaggs

32. “We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfilment.” – Hilaire Belloc

33. “People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home.” – Dagobert D. Runes

34. “If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener

35. “The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

36. “You don’t have to be rich to travel well.” – Eugene Fodor

37. “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou

38. “All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” – Martin Buber

39. “Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by.” – Robert Frost

40. “Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca

41. “Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese

42. “Once the travel bug bites, there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life.” ― Michael Palin

43. “A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill

44. “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” – John Steinbeck

45. “When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” – Clifton Fadiman

46. “There are far, far better things ahead than we leave behind.” – C.S. Lewis

47. “Travel does what good novelists also do to the life of everyday, placing it like a picture in a frame or a gem in its setting, so that the intrinsic qualities are made more clear. Travel does this with the very stuff that everyday life is made of, giving to it the sharp contour and meaning of art.” – Freya Stark

48. “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley

49. “All the pathos and irony of leaving one’s youth behind is thus implicit in every joyous moment of travel: one knows that the first joy can never be recovered, and the wise traveller learns not to repeat successes but tries new places all the time.” – Paul Fussell

50. “I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” – Mark Twain

51. “The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton

52. “Too often travel, instead of broadening the mind, merely lengthens the conversation.” – Elizabeth Drew

53. “People don’t take trips, trips take people.” – John Steinbeck

54. “Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.” – Ray Bradbury

55. “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert

56. “The journey not the arrival matters.” – T. S. Eliot

57. “Time flies. It’s up to you to be the navigator.” – Robert Orben

58. “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust

59. “I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.” – Oscar Wilde

60. “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

61. “If an ass goes travelling, he’ll not come home a horse.” – Thomas Fuller

62. “Travelling tends to magnify all human emotions.” – Peter Hoeg

63. “To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote: To travel is to live.” – Hans Christian Andersen

64. “To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” – Freya Stark

65. “I am not the same having seen the moon shine from the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

66. “I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on earth. Then I ask myself the same question.” – Harun Yahya

67. “I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad.” – George Bernard Shaw

68. “A wise traveler never despises his own country.” – Carlo Goldoni

69. “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide

70 “Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta

71. “We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin

72. “Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard

73. “The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

74. “A man of ordinary talent will always be ordinary, whether he travels or not; but a man of superior talent will go to pieces if he remains forever in the same place.” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

75. “He who would travel happily must travel light.” – Antoine de St. Exupery

76. “Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack Kerouac

77. “The more I travelled the more I realised that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.” – Shirley MacLaine

78. “Live your life by a compass, not a clock.” – Stephen Covey

78. “Our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else.” – Lawrence Block

80. “Take only memories, leave only footprints.” – Chief Seattle – or Si’ahl

81. “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller

82. “It is not down in any map; true places never are.” – Herman Melville

83. “We live in a world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharlal Nehru

84. “The most beautiful thing in the world is, of course, the world itself” – Wallace Stevens

85. “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” – Neale Donald Walsch

86. “Paris is always a good idea.” – Julia Ormond (although it is often wrongly attributed to Audrey Hepburn)

87. “Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the trip.” – Babs Hoffman

88. “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain

89. “Jobs fill your pocket but adventures fill your soul.” – Jaime Lyn Beatty

90. “It is in our nature to explore, to reach out into the unknown. The only true failure would be not to explore at all.” – Sir Ernest Shackleton

91. “Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” –  Jack Kerouac

92. “Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things can not be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain

93. “Live with no excuses and travel with no regrets.” – Oscar Wilde

94. “Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.” – Roy M Goodman

95. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain (or possibly H Jackson Brown Jr )

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60 Short Travel Quotes to Inspire Your Next Trip

Home | Travel | 60 Short Travel Quotes to Inspire Your Next Trip

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Short quotes about travel are the easiest way to get travel inspiration since they pack a lot of meaning into very few words. Sometimes, all you need is a short and sweet simple travel quote to start thinking about your next adventure.

This collection of short travel sayings has something for just about every travel lover. You’ll find some of the best short travel phrases , of course, but I’ve also included some short travel quotes with friends , short travel quotes for couples , short adventure quotes , and more. Get ready to be inspired by these incredible short travel quotes !

• Best short travel quotes
• Short adventure quotes
• Short solo travel quotes
• Short travel quotes for couples
• Short travel quotes with friends
• Short family travel quotes

As you’re reading through this list of short vacation quotes , don’t forget to save your favorites and share them with your friends and family to pass the inspiration along. If you’re interested in checking out some longer travel sayings, our collection of the top 100 quotes about travel has exactly what you’re looking for .

Best Short Travel Quotes

The best short quotes on travel exemplify the idea of quality over quantity: you’ll get tons of inspiration from just a few words!

1. “Travel is never a matter of money, but of courage.” – Paulo Coelho

As this short holiday quote points out, you don’t have to be rich to travel. You can have a fantastic trip on a budget as long as you’re brave enough to get out there!

2. “We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.” – Hilaire Belloc

This short travel saying is a fantastic reminder of how impactful exploring can be on our lives.

3. “Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.” – Roy Goodman

This simple travel quote shows that attitude is everything. The way we approach life, especially when it comes to travel, can make the difference between having a decent trip and having the trip of a lifetime.

4. “Live life with no excuses, travel with no regret.” – Oscar Wilde

These wise words from the famous Irish writer are the perfect inspiration for an adventure. Ready to start planning your next getaway?

5. “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” – Anonymous

As this quick trip quote wisely points out, travel enriches our lives in many ways: culturally, gastronomically, emotionally, and more.

6. “We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin

This adventure short quote reminds us that we travel for many different reasons. Whether you travel because you’re curious about the world or because you want to find yourself, any and all travel reasons are valid!

7. “Once the travel bug bites, there is no known antidote.” – Michael Palin

Anyone who loves travel will relate to this wanderlust short travel quote . I know we do!

8. “To travel is to live.” – Hans Christian Andersen

This short quote on travel is simple but effective: travel really is a key part of truly living life to its fullest.

9. “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine

This famous short travel saying is well-known for a reason. The metaphor of the world being a book works so well for expressing the idea that travel expands our minds.

10. “Don’t listen to what they say. Go see.” – Chinese Proverb

This short travel caption provides the ultimate travel inspiration. It’s great to hear other people’s travel stories, but if you’re curious about what’s out there, why not go see it for yourself ?

Short Adventure Quotes

These incredible adventure quotes will inspire you to see the world and keep exploring!

11. “Then one day, when you least expect it, the great adventure finds you.” – Ewan McGregor

This short travel saying reminds us that we don’t always need to go looking for adventure to find it.

12. “Adventure is not outside man; it is within.” – George Eliot

As this short travel quote argues, we all have the spirit of adventure within us. We just have to embrace it!

13. “Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.” – Bob Bitchin

This short vacation quote makes it clear that a positive attitude can turn a mishap into a grand adventure. Try it the next time you’re traveling!

14. “Adventure is out there!” – Up

This short and simple travel quote from the beloved Pixar movie is the perfect inspiration for your next big getaway. Go find that adventure!

15. “If we were meant to stay in one place, we’d have roots instead of feet.” – Rachel Wolchin

This short adventure saying will resonate if you feel like exploring is in your DNA.

16. “The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure.” – Christopher McCandless

This short trip quote encourages us to see adventure as an important part of being alive. Maybe, deep down, we’re all explorers.

17. “Oh, the places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss

As this famous short quote about travel reminds us, it’s so exciting that there are tons of amazing places in the world to see. Why not get started on seeing them all?

18. “If happiness is the goal – and it should be – then adventures should be a top priority.” – Richard Branson

This simple travel quote has one basic message: adventures equal happiness. If you have an incurable case of wanderlust, this saying will probably resonate with you.

19. “You must go on adventures to find out where you truly belong.” – Sue Fitzmaurice

Travel can be crucial for helping us understand more about ourselves. Let your adventures be your guide!

20. “Jobs fill your pockets, but adventures fill your soul.” – Jaime Lyn

As this life is short travel quote shows, adventures fulfill us in ways that money simply cannot.

Short Solo Travel Quotes

If you’re planning a solo adventure and need some motivation, these short travel alone quotes are just what you need!

21. “I wondered why it was that places are so much lovelier when one is alone.” – Daphne du Maurier

If you’re a frequent solo traveler, you’ll probably relate to the idea that places seem more beautiful when you’re by yourself. After all, solo travel gives you the chance to fully appreciate the sights around you.

22. “To travel is worth any cost or sacrifice.” – Elizabeth Gilbert

I love this short vacation quote because I really relate to it. To me, travel is absolutely priceless and always worth it.

23. “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” – Susan Sontag

As this travel short caption points out, sometimes travel has to get put on the back burner, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop dreaming about or planning where we’ll go next!

24. “I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine.” – Caskie Stinnett

Anyone who likes to stay in motion and keep exploring will relate to this short quote about adventure . Routines definitely aren’t for everyone!

25. “Not I, nor anyone else, can travel that road for you. You must travel it for yourself.” – Walt Whitman

This short quote on travel is all about discovering the beauty of the world for ourselves.

26. “I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

As this short travel phrase shows, travel can and should change us forever. Enjoy the unforgettable memories you make along your journey!

27. “To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the most pleasant sensations in the world.” – Freya Stark

This short solo travel quote points out the pleasures of traveling alone, including having a whole bed to yourself!

28. “The more I travelled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.” – Shirley MacLaine

The best thing about traveling solo is that you can easily make friends along the way. Take the opportunity to spend time with new people so you can turn strangers into friends!

29. “I think one travels more usefully when they travel alone, because they reflect more.” – Thomas Jefferson

This short trip quote reminds us that one huge advantage of traveling alone is the chance to be introspective and think deeply about your trip. It might even be helpful to keep a journal or jot down some notes to keep track of your thoughts.

30. “Travel only with thy equals or thy betters; if there are none, travel alone.” – Anonymous

This quick trip caption is a great reminder that not everyone travels well together. The best travel buddy will always be yourself!

Short Travel Quotes for Couples

These short travel quotes for couples will help set the mood for a romantic getaway. After all, love and travel make the perfect pair!

31. “Travelling in the company of those we love is home in motion.” – Leigh Hunt

This romantic short travel quote makes a great point that traveling with loved ones can turn any place into somewhere that feels like home.

32. “As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was about to happen.” – A. A. Milne

If you’ve ever looked at someone and known you were in for a lifetime of adventures together, then this short travel saying is for you. It doesn’t get any better than having a partner who’s also a fantastic travel buddy – take it from us!

33. “A couple who travels together, grow together.” – Ahmad Fuadi

Travel is not only an incredible way to achieve personal growth, but also a fantastic way to grow as a couple. Spending day after day together in an unfamiliar place can really bring you closer together.

34. “I would not wish any companion in the world but you.” – William Shakespeare

Trust one of the world’s most famous poets to have written a beautiful short travel phrase about love. Be sure to share this romantic quote with your travel soulmate!

35. “In life, it’s not where you go. It’s who you travel with.” – Charles Schulz

As this short quote for travel reminds us, our travel companions can make all the difference in how we feel about our journey. Traveling with a loved one is sure to make your trip that much more fun!

36. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – An African Proverb

This short holiday quote shows that love and support can take us far, both in life and as travelers.

37. “Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.” – Ernest Hemingway

This short holiday quote is great advice for anyone planning a vacation. Traveling involves spending a lot of time together, so it’s always best to go on a trip with someone you already know you like!

38. “I would go everywhere and anywhere with you.” – Cassandra Clare

This short travel saying perfectly captures the excitement of exploring the world with the person you love.

39. “Will you give me yourself? Will you come travel with me? Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?” – Walt Whitman

I love this short trip quote because it’s so beautiful and poetic. These lines would make perfect wedding vows for a travel-loving couple!

40. “It’s wonderful to travel with someone you love and we never travel without one another.” – Roger Moore

This simple travel quote is a straightforward expression of the joy and beauty that come from traveling with your partner.

Short Travel Quotes with Friends

Good friends will always have your back, so it makes sense to bring them along on your biggest adventures. These short travel quotes with friends capture all the highs of traveling with your best pals.

41. “A journey is best measured in friends rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill

As this short vacation saying expresses, in addition to the friends you bring with you, you’ll often make friends along the way as you travel.

42. “A good friend listens to your adventures. A best friend makes them with you.” – Unknown

Share this short trip quote with a best friend you’ll be traveling with soon, and get ready to have the time of your life together!

43. “There is an unspoken bond you create with the friends you travel with.” – Kristen Sarah

As this short adventure saying points out, traveling together is a great way to strengthen a friendship and grow even closer. After all, every night will be like a sleepover!

44. “It’s the friends we meet along the way that help us appreciate the journey.” – Anonymous

Sometimes, you don’t realize how far you’ve come until you look back and see all the friends you’ve made along the way.

45. “Good company on a journey makes the way seem shorter.” – Izaak Walton

In other words, time flies when you’re having fun! This short travel phrase shows how much joy friends can add to an adventure.

46. “You can pack for every occasion, but a good friend will always be the best thing you could bring!” – Unknown

This short quote for travel reminds us that good friends will always make a trip better.

47. “Good friends follow you anywhere.” – A.A. Milne

This short travel saying offers some great advice about friendship: quality friends will always support you, no matter what.

48. “Life was meant for great adventures and close friends.” – Unknown

This short unique travel quote is all about priorities. If you love going on trips with your closest friends, this saying will definitely resonate with you.

49. “Sometimes all you need is a great friend and a tank of gas.” – Thelma & Louise

As this short road trip quote points out, it doesn’t take much to go on an adventure. Grabbing your best friend and hopping in the car is all you need.

50. “A friend may be waiting behind a stranger’s face.” – Maya Angelou

This short quote about travel offers a beautiful way of looking at the world: seeing everyone as a potential friend rather than as a stranger or enemy.

Short Family Travel Quotes

These short family vacation quotes are just what you need to get the whole family excited for some time away together.

51. “Don’t just tell your children about the world. Show them.” – Anonymous

This short travel quote with family reminds us that traveling is the best way for kids to learn more about the world around them. Exploring is a valuable part of any child’s education.

52. “My ideal travel companions are my family.” – Pharrell Williams

This short, simple travel quote is a very sweet way of expressing your appreciation for traveling with family. Share this with your family so they know how much you enjoy exploring together!

53. “Travel is rich with learning opportunities, and the ultimate souvenir is a broader perspective.” – Rick Steves

This travel short caption applies not only to family, but also to any traveler looking to expand their worldview.

54. “Travel is not reward for working; it’s education for living.” – Anthony Bourdain

This iconic quick trip quote shows how travel and learning more about the world can make us all better human beings. Traveling allows us to make the world our classroom.

55. “Travel in the younger sort is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience.” – Francis Bacon

As this short journey quote expresses, children and parents can experience travel a little differently. After all, seeing a place for the very first time is very different from a repeat visit.

56. “Build traditions of family vacations and trips and outings. These memories will never be forgotten by your children.” – Ezra Taft Benson

This short unique travel quote is a great reminder that your kids will cherish the wonderful memories of family vacations.

57. “Vacations are meant to be shared with the people we love the most.” – Unknown

There’s no better feeling than sharing an incredible view or new experience with the people you love the most. Luckily, family vacations are the perfect time to create new memories together.

58. “There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.” – Walt Streightiff

As this short travel caption points out, children are so curious and excited about the world around them that anything new will seem wonderful.

59. “A family vacation is a good time to bond and make memories that last a lifetime.” – Steve Harvey

This short trip quote sums up the best reasons to plan a trip as a family.

60. “Family traveling together means a little bit of crazy, a little bit of loud. A whole lot of love.” – Anonymous

I love this short vacation quote because it captures the many facets of going on an adventure as a family. The crazy and the loud moments are all part of the fun, too!

I hope these short travel quotes have sparked your wanderlust and gotten you ready to start planning your next trip! Whether you’re a solo traveler who’s just found inspiration or one half of a couple trying to find the perfect caption for a vacation photo, be sure to save and/or share your favorite short unique travel quotes .

Let me know in the comments which short travel sayings resonated with you the most. Happy travels!

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Travelling Without a Passport

Every Travel Quote Ever

Say goodbye to scouring the internet in search of inspirational travel quotes to keep you focussed on saving for that next big trip. Instead take a read through our list of every travel quote ever. We dare you to try and not be inspired.

Are we missing one of your favs? Share your own travel quote in the comments and we might just include it!

Inspirational Travel Quotes

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Unknown

“I am not a great book, I am not a great artist, but I love art and I love food, so I am the perfect traveller.” – Michael Palin

“I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

“He who does not travel does not know the value of men.” – Moorish proverb

“People don’t take trips, trips take people.” – John Steinbeck

“The best journeys in life are those that answer questions you never thought to ask.” ― Rich Ridgeway

“To travel is to evolve.” – Pierre Bernardo

Take the first step, the rest will follow. Book the ticket, apply for the job, send the email, jump into the water. The rest gets easier from there. – Abi from http://www.insidethetravellab.com/

“A person does not grow from the ground like a vine or a tree, one is not part of a plot of land. Mankind has legs so it can wander.” ― Roman Payne, The Wanderess

“Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard

“You don’t have to be rich to travel well.” – Eugene Fodor

“He who is outside his door has the hardest part of his journey behind him.” – Dutch Proverb

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain

“He who would travel happily must travel light.” – Antoine de St. Exupery

“Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.” – Anatole France

“It is not down in any map; true places never are.” – Herman Melville

It’s never too late to have a life you love. Don’t ever feel like you’ve missed the boat, don’t have what it takes or can’t achieve your dreams. Instead of removing your dreams, remove the doubts and fears keeping you from them. It’s never, ever too late. – Phoebe from https://littlegreybox.net

“Without travel I would have wound up a little ignorant white Southern female, which was not my idea of a good life.” – Lauren Hutton

“I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself.” – James Baldwin

“I was not born for one corner. The whole world is my native land.” – Seneca

“Travelling — it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta

“Our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else.” — Lawrence Block

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Scott Cameron

“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.” – Oscar Wilde

“The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” – Rudyard Kipling

“Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.” – Alan Keightley

“Tourists visit. Travellers explore.” – Unknown

If you don’t do it now, when will you do it? -Monica from http://thetravelhack.com/

“Travelling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, ‘I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.'” – Lisa St. Aubin de Teran

“I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on Earth. Then I ask myself the same question.” – Harun Yahya

“Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.” – Ernest Hemingway

“Travel can be one of the most rewarding forms of introspection.” – Unknown

“The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.” – Henry David Thoreau

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca

“NOT I – NOT ANYONE else, can travel that road for you, You must travel it for yourself.” – Walt Whitman

“You don’t choose the day you enter the world and you don’t chose the day you leave. It’s what you do in between that makes all the difference.” – Anita Septimus

“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends… The mind can never break off from the journey.” – Pat Conroy

“When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” ― Clifton Fadiman

“I haven’t been everywhere but it’s on my list.” – Susan Sontag

“Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.” – Roy M. Goodman

Adventure Travel Quotes

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson

“My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.” ― Steve McCurry

“The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.” – Shirley MacLaine

The biggest addiction a person can have is discovering the unknown. Once it takes hold, there is no getting out and the only way to get your fix is by pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and exploring new horizons, cultural, and places. – Stephen from A Backpacker’s Tale 

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”― Andre Gide

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

“If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.” ― Unknown

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” ― John A. Shedd

“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” – John Steinbeck

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ― Mark Twain

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware.” ― Martin Buber

“May your adventures bring you closer together, even as they take you far away from home.” ― Trenton Lee Stewart

“Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

“Make voyages! Attempt them… there’s nothing else.” – Tennessee Williams

“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” ― Freya Stark

“The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” ― G.K. Chesterton

The more borders you cross, the more your mind opens — Paul from Global Help Swap

“One travels to run away from routine, that dreadful routine that kills all imagination and all our capacity for enthusiasm.” – Ella Maillart

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by.” – Robert Frost

“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener

“When overseas you learn more about your own country, than you do the place you’re visiting.” – Clint Borgen

“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey.” – Babs Hoffman

“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu

“Every man can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure.” – Irving Wallace

“A traveller without observation is a bird without wings.” — Moslih Eddin Saadi

“I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine.” – Caskie Stinnett

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru

“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” – Unknown (thanks to Melissa Bond for the contribution!)

“Investment in travel is an investment in yourself.” – Matthew Karsten

“It is better to travel well then to arrive.” – Buddha

“Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aristotle

“We all become great explorers during our first few days in a new city, or a new love affair.” – Mignon McLaughlin

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin

“Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you traveled.” – Mohammed

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang

“The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton

“Adventure without risk is Disneyland.” – Doug Coupland

“If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fears.” – Cesare Pavese

“How often I found where I should be going only by setting out for somewhere else.” – R. Buckminster Fuller

“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” – Rosalia de Castro

“I have wandered all my life, and I have also traveled; the difference between the two being this, that we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment” – Hilaire Belloc

“If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey most of us would never start out at all.” – Dan Rather

“The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

“Airplane travel is nature’s way of making you look like your passport photo.” – Al Gore

“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travellers don’t know where they’re going.” – Paul Theroux

“It is not fit that every man should travel; it makes a wise man better, and a fool worse.” – William Hazlitt

“You develop a sympathy for all human beings when you travel a lot.” – Shakuntala Devi

Which is the best tourism quote?

Pick your next destination on TourRadar.com !

Which is the best marketplace for travel tours?

It is TourRadar.com , that with more than 40,000 tours and 2,500 operators is the best place where to find your next destination.

Which is the best tour pic caption?

Why should i touring.

“With getting time away from work and your ‘normal’ life becoming more and more difficult, your time off is more valuable and precious than it’s ever been. Absolutely nobody has time for mediocre experiences and modern-day touring has adapted to fit these requirements. Nowadays group tours can be anything and everything: what you do, depends solely on you.”

Travis Pittman, TourRadar co-founder and CEO

Which is the best nature travel quote?

Find all our nature tours on TourRadar.com!

Jackie is a travel-addicted Canadian who currently resides in Vienna, Austria. When she’s not writing travel guides or reading her new favourite book, she’s planning her next weekend getaway somewhere in Europe.

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140 Best Hills Captions For Instagram + Hills Puns, Hills Slogans & Quotes

This article is about the best hills captions and quotes for Instagram with beautiful photos. You will find a range of hills Instagram captions, like romantic and funky hills, hills slogans, and funny hills puns.

👉🏼220 Best Mountain Captions For Instagram + Mountain Puns, Quotes & Slogans

Hills Captions For Instagram

Here are some hills captions for Instagram that you can use for your posts:

General Hills Instagram Captions

• “On top of the world, chasing sunsets in the hills. 🌄 #NatureTherapy”
• “Finding peace in the quiet whispers of the hills. 🍃 #HilltopHaven”
• “Where every step is a journey, and every view a masterpiece. 🏞️ #HillsideEscapes”

• “Breathing in the mountain air, exhaling all worries. 💨 #MountainMagic”
• “Life’s peaks and valleys, all part of the same beautiful journey. ⛰️ #HillsideHorizons”
• “Amongst the hills, time slows down and souls reconnect. ⏳ #SerenityInNature”
• “Embracing the uphill battles for the breathtaking views. 💪 #SummitMoments”
• “In the hills, every sunrise feels like a new beginning. 🌅 #MorningMagic”
• “Where the hills sing songs of serenity and solitude. 🎶 #NatureVibes”

Feel free to use these captions to add flair to your hills Instagram photos on social media posts!

👉🏼250 Best Waterfall Captions For Instagram + Waterfall Puns, Quotes & Slogans

Beautiful Hills Captions For Instagram

Here are some beautiful hills captions for your Instagram posts.

• “Lost in the gentle embrace of rolling hills. 🌄 #HilltopHaven”
• “Where the sky meets the earth, and dreams touch the clouds. ☁️ #SkylineSerene”
• “In the heart of nature’s grandeur, among the hills we wander. 🍃 #NatureEscape”
• “Chasing sunsets, finding solace in the silhouette of hills. 🌅 #SunsetSeeker”
• “Every hill holds a story, every valley whispers secrets. 🏞️ #NatureTales”
• “Amongst the hills, finding beauty in every curve and contour. ⛰️ #HillsideBeauty”
• “Where the breeze carries whispers of adventure and echoes of peace. 💨 #BreezyBliss”
• “In the arms of nature’s grandeur, feeling small yet infinitely alive. 🌿 #NatureLover”

• “Breathing in the tranquility of the hills, exhaling gratitude for this moment. 🙏 #GratefulHeart”
• “Life’s journey unfolds in the undulating rhythm of the hills. 🌄 #JourneyUnbound”
• “Where the horizon stretches endlessly, and dreams take flight. 🌟 #HorizonHues”
• “In the quiet embrace of hills, finding the melody of the soul. 🎶 #SoulfulSymphony”
• “Each hill climbed is a victory, each vista a reward. 🏔️ #VictoriousViews”
• “Amongst the hills, where time slows down and hearts beat in harmony. ⏳ #TimelessTranquility”
• “In the hills, every sunrise is a promise of new beginnings. 🌅 #MorningMagic”
• “Where shadows dance and sunlight paints the landscape in golden hues. ✨ #GoldenHourGlow”
• “Embracing the uphill battles, for they lead to breathtaking vistas. 💪 #SummitSuccess”
• “Lost in the beauty of the hills, finding ourselves in the process. 💖 #SoulfulJourneys”
• “Where the earth meets the sky, and dreams take flight on wings of imagination. 🌈 #Dreamscape”

These captions should help you capture the hills’ natural beauty in your Instagram posts.

👉🏼205 Best River Captions For Instagram + River Quotes, River Puns & Slogans

Romantic Hills Captions For Instagram

Here are some romantic hills captions for your Instagram posts.

• “In the embrace of hills, love blooms like wildflowers in spring. 🌸💞 #RomanticRetreats”
• “Lost in the hills, but found in your arms. Together, we conquer every peak. ⛰️💑 #LoveElevation”
• “Amongst the hills, where every sunset is a canvas for our love story. 🌄❤️ #SunsetRomance”
• “Hand in hand, we wander through the hills, painting our love across the landscape. 🎨💖 #LoveScapes”
• “In the heart of nature’s embrace, our love finds its sanctuary amongst the hills. 🌿💞 #NatureRomance”
• “Where the hills echo our whispers of love, and the breeze carries our dreams. 🍃💑 #WhispersOfLove”
• “With you, every hill feels like a fairytale adventure, and every moment a love poem. 🏞️📖 #FairytaleLove”
• “In the silence of the hills, our love speaks volumes, echoing through eternity. 🌄💕 #EternalLove”
• “Lost in the maze of hills, but guided by the compass of our love. ⛰️🧭 #LoveNavigator”
• “Amongst the hills, where every sunrise is a promise of a new chapter in our love story. 🌅💑 #NewBeginnings”

These captions will add a touch of romance to your hills-themed Instagram posts.

👉🏼200+ Best Hiking Captions For Instagram + Hiking Quotes, Puns & Slogans

Funny Hills Captions For Instagram

Here are some funny hills captions for your Instagram posts.

• “Tripping over my own feet, but at least the view’s worth it! 🤣🏞️ #ClumsyExplorer”
• “Hiking: the only time going uphill is considered a ‘fun’ activity. 😅⛰️ #SweatAndSmiles”
• “Leg day? More like mountain day! 💪🏔️ #LegsAreBurning”
• “When life gives you hills, make them into cardio workouts! 🏃‍♂️🏞️ #FitnessFun”
• “The hills are alive… with the sound of heavy breathing! 🎶😂 #HikingHumor”

• “Dear hills, can you please stop trying to ‘peak’ into my personal space? 🙄🏔️ #HillProblems”
• “Thinking I’m conquering mountains, but in reality, it’s just a hill with delusions of grandeur. 😂🗻 #Hillarious”
• “Hiking: the only time where going uphill is rewarded with a beautiful view… and sore thighs. 🍑🏞️ #BeautyAndTheBurn”
• “Hills: nature’s way of reminding us that what goes up, must eventually come down… preferably in one piece! 😅🏞️ #GravityGiggles”

Cool Hills Captions For Instagram

Here are some cool hills captions for your Instagram posts.

• “Chillin’ on the hills, where the air is crisp and the vibes are cool. ❄️🏞️ #ChillOutZone”
• “High on life, higher on the hills. 🌿🏔️ #NaturalHigh”

• “Living life on the edge… of the hills. 😎🏞️ #LivingOnTheEdge”
• “Amongst the hills, where every step is a chance to elevate. 🚶‍♂️🏔️ #SkyHighAdventures”
• “Cooler temperatures, warmer vibes. Hills, where it’s at! 🌄🏞️ #HillsideHappiness”
• “Elevating my perspective, one hill at a time. 📈🏞️ #NewHorizons”
• “In the land of cool breezes and breathtaking views. Welcome to the hills! 🌬️🏞️ #BreathtakingBeauty”
• “Hills: where the views are as cool as the other side of the pillow. 😴🏞️ #ChillVibesOnly”
• “Walking the line between chill and thrill on the hills. 😎🎢 #ThrillSeeker”
• “Life’s too short for flat landscapes. Give me those cool hills any day! 🔄🏞️ #ElevationEuphoria”
• “Cooler than the flip side of the pillow… and twice as scenic. 😏🏞️ #ScenicCool”
• “Finding my cool amidst the rolling hills and endless horizons. 🌅🏞️ #HillsideHideout”
• “Hills: the original cool kids of nature’s playground. 🕶️🏞️ #NatureCool”
• “Adventuring on the hills: where the vibes are cool and the memories even cooler. 🌲❄️ #AdventureAwaits”
• “On the rocks, in the hills, living that cool life. 🥃🏞️ #RockyRoads”
• “Cool as a cucumber, high as the hills. 😎🏞️ #CoolVibes”
• “Rising above the noise, finding my cool in the hills. 📶🏞️ #AboveTheFrays”
• “Chasing cool breezes and epic views. Catch me on the hills! 🌬️🏞️ #ChaseTheBreeze”
• “Hills: where the air is fresh, the views are epic, and the vibes are always cool. 🌬️🏞️ #CoolAsHills”

Cute Hills Captions For Instagram

Here are some cute hills captions for your Instagram posts.

• “Climbing hills and chasing thrills with a heart full of sunshine. 🌞🏞️ #HillsideAdventures”
• “Lost in the hills, but finding love in every step we take. 💖🌿 #HilltopRomance”
• “Amongst the hills, where every path leads to new discoveries and endless cuddles. 🐾🏞️ #ExploringTogether”
• “Wandering through the hills hand in hand, making memories sweeter than wildflowers. 🌸👫 #SweetEscapes”
• “Where the hills sing lullabies and the trees whisper secrets, that’s where you’ll find me. 🎶🌲 #NatureNest”
• “Chasing sunsets, making wishes, and stealing kisses amidst the rolling hills. 🌅💋 #SunsetMagic”
• “Hills and cuddles, the perfect recipe for a cozy adventure. 🏞️🤗 #HillsideHugs”
• “In the hills, where every moment feels like a scene from a love story. 💞🏞️ #HilltopHappiness”
• “Dancing through the hills, because life’s too short not to twirl with joy. 💃🏞️ #HillsideDance”
• “Swept away by the beauty of the hills and the warmth of your smile. 🌄😊 #HillsideBliss”

👉🏼130 Best Adventure Captions For Instagram + Adventure Puns, Slogans & Quotes

Funky Hills Captions For Instagram

Here are some funky hills captions for your Instagram posts.

• “Rockin’ and rollin’ through these funky hills like it’s Woodstock all over again! 🎸🏞️ #HillstockVibes”

• “Hills ain’t just for Sound of Music. We’re bringing some funk to these slopes! 🎶🏔️ #FunkyHills”
• “Funky fresh vibes and hilltop highs. Welcome to the coolest mountain party! 🎉🏞️ #MountainFunk”
• “On a psychedelic journey through the hills, where the views are as trippy as the tunes. 🌀🏞️ #PsychedelicPeaks”
• “Channeling our inner hippies on these groovy hills. Peace, love, and funky vibes! ✌️❤️ #HippieHills”
• “Funky beats and mountain retreats. Let’s vibe out on these hills! 🎵🏞️ #FunkyBeats”
• “Feelin’ like a rockstar on these hills, where every step is a guitar riff. 🎸🏞️ #RockstarHikes”
• “Bringing the funk to nature’s dance floor. Let’s boogie on the hills! 💃🕺 #NatureFunk”
• “These hills got rhythm! Can you feel the groove? 🎶🏞️ #GroovyHills”

Short Hills Instagram Captions 

Here are some short & sweet hills captions for your Instagram posts.

• “Amongst the hills. 🏞️”
• “Chasing horizons. 🌄”

• “Lost in nature. 🌲”
• “Sky-high adventures. ☁️”
• “Hillside vibes. 🏔️”
• “Peak moments. ⛰️”
• “Nature’s playground. 🌳”
• “Serenity found. 🍃”
• “Hilltop escape. 🌅”

Here are some hills puns for your enjoyment.

• “Why did the scarecrow become a hill enthusiast? Because he heard the hills had great ‘stalks’!” 🌾⛰️
• “What did one hill say to the other during a race? ‘I’m going to peak before you!’ 🏃‍♂️🏞️”
• “Why did the geologist break up with the hill? He thought their relationship was rocky. 🪨❤️”
• “What do you call a hill with a lot of attitude? A ‘slope’ with a chip on its shoulder! 😏🏞️”
• “Why did the bicycle refuse to go up the hill? It said it was ‘tyred’ of the uphill battle! 🚲⛰️”
• “Why don’t hills ever need to diet? Because they always keep their ‘high’ calorie count! 🍰🏔️”
• “What do you call a hill that loves to tell stories? A ‘tale’ hill! 📖🏞️”
• “Why did the hill bring a ladder? Because it wanted to ‘ascend’ to new heights! 🪜⛰️”
• “What’s a hill’s favorite mode of transportation? The ‘inclined’ plane! 🚠🏞️”
• “Why did the hill invite everyone to its party? Because it wanted to show off its ‘peak’ performance! 🥳🏔️”

Feel free to use these puns to add a touch of humor to your hills-themed content!

👉🏼210 Best Zipline Captions For Instagram + Zipline Puns, Slogans & Quotes

Hills Slogans

Here are some catchy hills slogans.

• “Elevate Your Experience: Explore the Hills!”
• “Hills: Where Every Step is a View”
• “Find Your Peak Moment in the Hills”
• “On Top of the World: Hills Await”
• “Life’s Ups and Downs Are Best Experienced in the Hills”
• “Hills: Nature’s Stairmaster to Serenity”
• “Climb Higher, See Farther: Discover the Hills”
• “From Valley to Vista: Journey Through the Hills”
• “Hills: Where Adventure Meets Altitude”
• “Rise Above: Hills Beckon You”
• “Hills: Where Nature’s Beauty Knows No Bounds”
• “Reach New Heights: Conquer the Hills”
• “Up, Up, and Away: Hills Await Your Exploration”
• “Embrace the Ascent: Discover the Magic of Hills”
• “Explore, Escape, Experience: Hills Await Your Footsteps”
• “Hills: Nature’s Sculptures, Waiting to Be Explored”
• “Discover Your Inner Peak: Find Yourself in the Hills”
• “From Slopes to Summits: Hills Hold the Key to Adventure”
• “Unplug, Unwind, and Unlock the Hills’ Secrets”
• “Hills: Where Every Hike Leads to Happiness”

These hills slogans capture the essence of travel and its diverse landscapes and attractions.

Famous Quotes On Hills 

Here are some famous quotes about the hills.

• Climb the hill, not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.” –  David McCullough Jr.
• “The hills are alive with the sound of music.” –  Oscar Hammerstein II
• “I love the hills. Though I cannot say why.” –  Ernest Hemingway
• “The hills are far more beautiful than the mountains.” –  Andy Rooney
• “The mountains are calling, and I must go.” –  John Muir
• “Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.” –  Anatoli Boukreev
• “Great things are done when men and mountains meet.” –  William Blake
• “You’re off to great places, today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.” –  Dr. Seuss
• “The cliche is that life is a mountain. You go up, reach the top, and then go down.” –  Jeanne Moreau
• “It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out; it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.” –  Robert W. Service

These hills quotes reflect unique beauty and significance.

You have a great list of hills captions for Instagram and quotes on hills for your photos. So post your Instagram stories or reels with these Instagram captions, quotes, and puns as they fit all types. 

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Unlock the magical world : dive into captivating blog posts, hill station captions and quotes for instagram.

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Discover the breathtaking beauty of hill stations through these unique quotes and captions, perfect for your Instagram posts. From escaping the city chaos to exploring new heights and creating unforgettable memories with loved ones, hill stations offer a perfect escape to unwind and connect with nature. Share your experiences and capture the stunning views of the hills with the world!

Hill Station Captions:

• "Life is short, but the memories we make on a hill station trip last forever."
• "The hills are calling, and I must go. #HillStationTrip"
• "Breathing in the fresh mountain air and living life in full color on this hill station trip."
• "Take a break from the city chaos and find your peace in the beauty of the hills. #HillStation"
• "Happiness is found in the journey, not just the destination. #HillStationTrip"
• "Discovering the hidden gems of the hills and creating unforgettable memories with friends and family. #HillStationTrip"
• "The beauty of the hills is a reminder to slow down and appreciate the simple things in life. #HillStation"
• "Exploring the beauty of the hills and getting lost in nature's magic. #HillStationTrip"
• "The hills have a way of soothing the soul and rejuvenating the mind. #HillStation"
• "Wherever you go, go with all your heart and embrace the beauty of the hills. #HillStationTrip"

Also Read -  Vacations Quotes and Captions for Instagram

Quotes for Visit to Hill Station:

• "In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks." - John Muir
• "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings." - John Muir
• "The earth has music for those who listen." - William Shakespeare
• "The best view comes after the hardest climb." - Unknown
• "The mountains are my happy place." - Unknown
• "I took the road less traveled, and it made all the difference." - Robert Frost
• "The mountains are a reminder of how small we are in this vast world." - Unknown
• "Life is a climb, but the view is great." - Unknown
• "The hills are alive with the sound of music." - The Sound of Music
• "The best things in life are the people we love, the places we've been, and the memories we've made along the way." - Unknown

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Hill Station Quotes:

• "The hills are a perfect escape from the chaos of the city." - Unknown
• "The hills have a way of putting things into perspective." - Unknown
• "The hills are not a place to escape life, but where life itself comes more alive." - Unknown
• "The beauty of the hills is a reminder to slow down and appreciate the simple things in life." - Unknown
• "The hills are a place to find your peace and reconnect with nature." - Unknown
• "The hills are a canvas of nature's beauty and a reminder of how small we are in this vast world." - Unknown
• "The hills have a way of rejuvenating the mind, body, and soul." - Unknown
• "The hills are a place of adventure, discovery, and unforgettable memories." - Unknown
• "The hills are a symbol of resilience, strength, and unwavering beauty." - Unknown
• "The hills are a perfect reminder that life is a journey, not a destination." - Unknown

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Hill Station Trip Captions with Friends:

• "Finding new adventures and creating unforgettable memories with my favorite people. #HillStationTrip"
• "Laughing, exploring, and enjoying the beauty of nature with my squad in the hills. #HillStationAdventure"
• "Life is better with friends and a beautiful view. #HillStationGetaway"
• "In the hills, every moment is a new experience with my besties. #HillStationTravel"
• "Escaping to the hills with my tribe to recharge and reconnect. #HillStationVibes"
• "Lost in the beauty of the hills with the best company. #HillStationFun"
• "Friendship, adventure, and breathtaking views - the perfect combination for a hill station trip. #HillStationEscape"
• "Hill station getaways with friends are always filled with laughter, memories, and good vibes. #HillStationBonding"
• "The hills are alive with the sound of laughter and friendship. #HillStationWanderlust"
• "Exploring new heights and enjoying the company of my favorite people. #HillStationAdventureTime"

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Hill Station Trip Captions with Family:

• "Reconnecting with my roots and creating new memories with my family in the hills. #HillStationTrip"
• "Hill stations, family time, and beautiful memories - a perfect combination. #HillStationGetaway"
• "Hills have always been a special place for our family to bond, laugh, and explore. #HillStationVibes"
• "Family adventures in the hills - always filled with love, laughter, and cherished moments. #HillStationTravel"
• "Escaping to the hills with my loved ones to create unforgettable memories. #HillStationFamilyTime"
• "The hills are a place where we can unwind, connect, and enjoy the beauty of nature as a family. #HillStationBonding"
• "Hill station trips with family - a chance to create new traditions and strengthen bonds. #HillStationWanderlust"
• "Lost in the beauty of the hills with my family, where every moment is a cherished memory. #HillStationFun"
• "Hill station getaways with family - a chance to slow down, breathe in fresh air, and make new memories. #HillStationEscape"
• "The hills may be steep, but the memories we make as a family will last a lifetime. #HillStationAdventureTime"

Also Read -  Travel Captions and Quotes for Instagram

Hill Station Trip Captions with Husband:

• "In the hills, every moment with my love is a new adventure. #HillStationTrip"
• "Escaping to the hills with my forever person, where every view is more beautiful than the last. #HillStationGetaway"
• "Creating unforgettable memories with the love of my life in the breathtaking hills. #HillStationAdventure"
• "Lost in the beauty of the hills with my soulmate, where every moment is a cherished memory. #HillStationTravel"
• "Hill station getaways with my husband are always filled with love, laughter, and breathtaking views. #HillStationLove"
• "The hills are alive with the sound of our love and laughter. #HillStationWanderlust"
• "Breathing in the fresh mountain air and enjoying every moment of this hill station trip with my forever love. #HillStationBonding"
• "Hill station trips with my husband - a chance to connect, unwind, and enjoy the beauty of nature together. #HillStationEscape"
• "The hills may be steep, but the love we share makes every climb worth it. #HillStationAdventureTime"
• "Finding new heights of love and adventure with my amazing husband. #HillStationFun"

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Hill Station Trip Captions with Wife:

• "Escaping to the hills with my beautiful wife, where every view is more breathtaking than the last. #HillStationTrip"
• "Hill station getaways with my wife - the perfect opportunity to unwind, explore, and cherish each other's company. #HillStationLove"
• "Lost in the beauty of the hills with my soulmate, where every moment is a cherished memory. #HillStationGetaway"
• "In the hills, every moment with my wife is a new adventure filled with love, laughter, and breathtaking views. #HillStationTravel"
• "The hills are alive with the sound of our love and the beauty of nature. #HillStationBonding"
• "Creating unforgettable memories with my amazing wife in the stunning hills. #HillStationWanderlust"
• "Breathing in the fresh mountain air and enjoying every moment of this hill station trip with my forever love. #HillStationEscape"
• "Hill station trips with my wife - a chance to reconnect, relax, and fall in love with each other all over again. #HillStationAdventure"
• "The hills may be steep, but the love we share makes every climb worth it. #HillStationFun"
• "Chasing new heights of love and adventure with my incredible wife in the mesmerizing hills. #HillStationAdventureTime"

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Hill Station Trip Captions with Best Friends:

• "Exploring new heights with my besties, where every moment is an unforgettable memory. #HillStationTrip"
• "Laughing, adventuring, and enjoying the beauty of nature with my squad in the hills. #HillStationGetaway"
• "Hill station getaways with my best friends - always filled with love, laughter, and breathtaking views. #HillStationBonding"
• "Lost in the beauty of the hills with my tribe, creating unforgettable memories and new adventures. #HillStationTravel"
• "The hills are alive with the sound of our laughter and friendship. #HillStationVibes"
• "Hill station trips with best friends - a chance to escape, unwind, and make unforgettable memories. #HillStationFun"
• "Chasing new adventures and discovering hidden gems with my best friends by my side. #HillStationAdventure"
• "In the hills, with my best friends, every moment is filled with love, laughter, and breathtaking views. #HillStationSquadGoals"
• "The hills may be steep, but with my best friends, anything is possible. #HillStationAdventureTime"
• "Hill station getaways with my besties - a chance to relax, recharge, and make memories that will last a lifetime. #HillStationWanderlust"

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Hill Station Trip Captions with Girlfriend:

• "Escaping to the hills with my love, where every moment is more beautiful than the last. #HillStationGetaway"
• "In the hills, with my girlfriend, every moment is a new adventure filled with love and breathtaking views. #HillStationLove"
• "Hill station trips with my girlfriend - a chance to unwind, explore, and make unforgettable memories. #HillStationTravel"
• "Lost in the beauty of the hills with my girlfriend, where every moment is a cherished memory. #HillStationAdventure"
• "The hills are alive with the sound of our love and laughter. #HillStationBonding"
• "Breathing in the fresh mountain air and enjoying every moment of this hill station trip with my girlfriend. #HillStationEscape"
• "Hill station getaways with my girlfriend - a chance to reconnect, relax, and fall in love all over again. #HillStationVibes"
• "Chasing new heights of love and adventure with my amazing girlfriend in the mesmerizing hills. #HillStationAdventureTime"
• "Creating unforgettable memories with my beautiful girlfriend in the stunning hills. #HillStationWanderlust"

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Hill Station Trip Captions for Solo Trip:

• "Lost in the beauty of the hills, discovering new heights and finding peace within. #SoloHillStationTrip"
• "In the hills, every moment is a new adventure waiting to be discovered. #SoloHillStationGetaway"
• "Escaping to the hills for some much-needed solitude and reflection. #SoloHillStationAdventure"
• "Chasing the beauty of nature and discovering the wonders of the hills on a solo trip. #HillStationTravel"
• "Finding freedom and tranquility in the stunning hills on a solo adventure. #SoloHillStationVibes"
• "The hills are a place where I can lose myself and find myself at the same time. #SoloHillStationWanderlust"
• "Hill station getaways on a solo trip - a chance to unwind, explore, and reconnect with myself. #SoloHillStationEscape"
• "The hills may be steep, but the journey is worth it for the breathtaking views and moments of self-discovery. #SoloHillStationAdventureTime"
• "Finding inner peace and serenity in the midst of nature's beauty on a solo trip to the hills. #SoloHillStationFun"
• "Capturing moments of pure joy and freedom on a solo trip to the mesmerizing hills. #SoloHillStationAdventureTime"

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Hill Station Trip Captions for Couple:

• "Escaping to the hills with my love, where every moment is a new adventure. #CoupleHillStationTrip"
• "Breathing in the fresh mountain air and enjoying the beauty of nature with my significant other. #CoupleHillStationGetaway"
• "Creating unforgettable memories with the love of my life in the breathtaking hills. #CoupleHillStationAdventure"
• "Lost in the beauty of the hills with my soulmate, where every moment is a cherished memory. #CoupleHillStationTravel"
• "Hill station getaways with my partner - a perfect opportunity to unwind, explore, and cherish each other's company. #CoupleHillStationLove"
• "The hills are alive with the sound of our love and laughter. #CoupleHillStationWanderlust"
• "Hill station trips with my significant other - a chance to connect, unwind, and enjoy the beauty of nature together. #CoupleHillStationEscape"
• "The hills may be steep, but the love we share makes every climb worth it. #CoupleHillStationAdventureTime"
• "Chasing new heights of love and adventure with my partner in the mesmerizing hills. #CoupleHillStationFun"
• "Breath-taking views and endless possibilities in the captivating hills, with my love by my side. #CoupleHillStationAdventure"

Also Read -   Couple Travel Quotes and Captions for Instagram

Hill Station Trip Captions for Newly Married Couple:

• "Escaping to the hills with my better half, where every moment is a new adventure. #HillStationTrip"
• "Hill station getaways with my love - a chance to unwind, explore, and make unforgettable memories. #HillStationLove"
• "Lost in the beauty of the hills with my soulmate, where every view is more breathtaking than the last. #HillStationAdventure"
• "The hills are a perfect escape for us to connect, breathe in fresh air, and fall in love with each other all over again. #HillStationBonding"
• "Creating unforgettable memories with my amazing partner in the mesmerizing hills. #HillStationWanderlust"
• "In the hills, every moment with my spouse is a cherished memory filled with love, laughter, and breathtaking views. #HillStationTravel"
• "Hill station trips with my newly married partner - a chance to explore new heights of love and adventure. #HillStationGetaway"
• "Chasing new adventures and discovering hidden gems with my amazing partner in the captivating hills. #HillStationEscape"
• "Hill station getaways with my better half - the perfect way to escape the chaos of daily life and reconnect with each other. #HillStationAdventureTime"

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Hill Station Trip Captions for Boys:

• "Escaping to the hills with my boys, where every moment is a new adventure. #HillStationTrip"
• "In the hills, every climb with my boys is filled with laughter, love, and breathtaking views. #HillStationGetaway"
• "The hills are alive with the sound of our friendship and the beauty of nature. #HillStationBonding"
• "Chasing new heights of adventure and discovering hidden gems with my best buds in the captivating hills. #HillStationWanderlust"
• "Hill station trips with my boys - a chance to escape, unwind, and make unforgettable memories. #HillStationFun"
• "The hills may be steep, but the memories we make with our boys will last a lifetime. #HillStationTravel"
• "Exploring new heights and enjoying the company of my best friends in the mesmerizing hills. #HillStationVibes"
• "Hill station getaways with my boys - the perfect way to bond, laugh, and make unforgettable memories. #HillStationEscape"
• "The hills may be challenging, but the adventures we have with our boys make every climb worth it. #HillStationAdventure"
• "Creating unforgettable memories and discovering new adventures with my best friends in the breathtaking hills. #HillStationAdventureTime"

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Hill Station Trip Captions for Girls:

• "Girls just wanna have fun in the hills! #HillStationTrip"
• "Lost in the beauty of the hills with my girls, where every moment is an adventure. #HillStationGetaway"
• "Adventuring with my girls in the stunning hills, where every view is more beautiful than the last. #HillStationTravel"
• "Hill station getaways with my girls - always filled with laughter, love, and breathtaking views. #HillStationBonding"
• "Chasing new heights and unforgettable moments with my besties in the mesmerizing hills. #HillStationFun"
• "The hills may be steep, but the company of my girls makes every climb worth it. #HillStationVibes"
• "Escaping to the hills with my tribe to recharge, rejuvenate, and create new memories. #HillStationWanderlust"
• "In the hills, every moment with my girls is a cherished memory filled with love, laughter, and adventure. #HillStationEscape"
• "The beauty of the hills is amplified when experienced with my amazing girls. #HillStationAdventure"
• "Hill station trips with my girls - a perfect combination of friendship, adventure, and breathtaking views. #HillStationWeekend"

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Hill Station Trip Captions for Office Trip:

• "Escaping the office and finding new adventures in the hills. #HillStationGetaway"
• "The beauty of the hills is amplified when shared with amazing colleagues. #HillStationTravel"
• "Office trips to the hills - a chance to unwind, connect, and explore. #HillStationBonding"
• "Hill station getaways with my coworkers - filled with team building, adventure, and breathtaking views. #HillStationEscape"
• "The hills provide the perfect backdrop for team building, brainstorming, and relaxation. #HillStationVibes"
• "Creating unforgettable memories with my amazing colleagues in the stunning hills. #HillStationWanderlust"
• "Office trips to the hills - a chance to recharge, refresh, and bond as a team. #HillStationWeekend"
• "In the hills, every moment with my coworkers is an opportunity for growth and connection. #HillStationAdventure"
• "Chasing new heights of success and adventure with my incredible coworkers in the mesmerizing hills. #HillStationFun"
• "Hill station trips with my colleagues - a chance to escape the office and embrace new perspectives. #HillStationTeamBuilding"

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Hill Station Trip Captions for Summer Vacation:

• "Summer is better in the hills, where the air is fresh and the views are breathtaking. #HillStationSummer"
• "Escaping the heat and discovering the beauty of the hills with my loved ones. #HillStationGetaway"
• "Hill station trips during summer - the perfect way to create unforgettable memories and beat the heat. #HillStationEscape"
• "Summer adventures in the hills - filled with laughter, love, and breathtaking views. #HillStationTravel"
• "The hills are calling and I must go - a perfect summer vacation getaway. #HillStationWanderlust"
• "Breathing in the fresh mountain air and enjoying every moment of this hill station trip during summer. #HillStationVibes"
• "In the hills, summer vacation feels like a dream come true - filled with adventure, relaxation, and stunning views. #HillStationFun"
• "Discovering the hidden gems of the hills during summer vacation with my loved ones. #HillStationBonding"
• "Summer getaways to the hills - a chance to escape the chaos of the city and unwind in nature's beauty. #HillStationAdventure"
• "Creating unforgettable memories during summer vacation with the people I love in the picturesque hills. #HillStationSummerVibes"

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Hill Station Trip Captions for Weekend Trip:

• "Weekend getaways to the hills - the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. #HillStationWeekend"
• "Lost in the beauty of the hills during this weekend trip, where every moment is an unforgettable memory. #HillStationGetaway"
• "Hill station trips during the weekend - a chance to recharge, relax, and explore new heights. #HillStationWanderlust"
• "The hills are calling and I must go - a perfect weekend adventure awaits. #HillStationTravel"
• "Breathing in the fresh mountain air and enjoying every moment of this weekend trip in the hills. #HillStationVibes"
• "Weekend getaways to the hills - a chance to unwind, connect with nature, and create unforgettable memories. #HillStationBonding"
• "Discovering the hidden treasures of the hills during this weekend trip with my loved ones. #HillStationFun"
• "Chasing new heights and making unforgettable memories during this weekend hill station trip. #HillStationAdventure"
• "Escaping the city chaos and enjoying the peace and beauty of nature during this weekend hill station trip. #HillStationEscape"
• "Weekend trips to the hills - filled with love, laughter, and breathtaking views. #HillStationWeekendVibes"

Also Read -  Weekend Trip Quotes And Captions For Instagram

Whether it's a summer vacation, weekend getaway, or a trip with your special someone, hill stations offer an opportunity to relax, rejuvenate and explore. These quotes and captions capture the essence of the beauty and adventure that await you in the hills. So, pack your bags, grab your camera, and escape to the mesmerizing hills for a journey of a lifetime! Don't forget to share your unforgettable moments with the world!

--- Published By  Adotrip

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65 Inspiring & Uplifting Travel Alone Quotes for Solo Travel

When you’re on the road solo or planning to travel alone, quotes can help to inspire and uplift you. These 65 beautiful solo travel quotes from literature, pop culture and history make the perfect solo travel captions for social media.

You only need to search the internet to see there are millions of inspirational quotes about travelling out there. Solo travel quotes have a special ingredient – not only can they ignite wanderlust and stoke passion for the great unknown, they have the added benefit of giving strength and courage to a solo traveller who is facing the world alone.

Solo travel is a life-changing experience . As with all travel, it’s often difficult to find the right words to describe your trip, or to convey how travel has altered your life once you get back home.

To give your confidence and boost and help you share your solo travel experience with the world, I’ve curated this epic list of 65 meaningful and insightful travel alone quotes.

Copy and paste them for your next social media update, or send them to a friend who’s planning their solo trip. However you choose to use these solo travel quotes, they are guaranteed to inspire and delight!

• The best quotes about travelling with friends
• The best quotes for travelling with family
• The best quotes about hiking & adventure
• Beautiful sunset captions for social media
• Beautiful ways to wish someone a safe trip

Please note: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you make a purchase by clicking a link (at no extra cost to you). Learn more.

Short and sweet solo travel quotes

Short travel alone quotes are perfect for social media, including solo travel announcements (that exciting moment when you make your trip official!), or your first travel solo travel update from the road.

These popular and not-so-famous quotations beautifully capture what it’s like to travel alone, with only yourself for company.

“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the most pleasant sensations in the world.”

– Freya Stark

“I am never happier than when I am alone in a foreign city; it is as if I had become invisible.”

– Storm Jameson

“Loving life is easy when you are abroad. Where no one knows you and you hold your life in your hands all alone, you are more master of yourself than at any other time.”

– Hannah Arendt

“A nomad I will remain for life, in love with distant and uncharted places.”

– Isabelle Eberhardt

“I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.”

– Mary Anne Radmacher

“The journey of life is amazingly beautiful if you take it as a fearless adventure.”

– Debasish Mridha

“When a thing beckons you to explore it without telling you why or how, this is not a red herring; it’s a map.”

– Gina Greenlee

“Don’t be scared to walk alone. Don’t be scared to like it.”

– John Mayer

“Some journeys can be only travelled alone!”

– Ken Poirot

“If you make friends with yourself you will never be alone.”

– Maxwell Maltz

“Keep good company – that is, go to the Louvre.”

– Paul Cezanne

“Travel only with thy equals or thy betters; if there are none, travel alone.”

“The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.”

– Henry David Thoreau

“There are some places in life where you can only go alone. Embrace the beauty of your solo journey.”

– Mandy Hale

“You are the one that possesses the keys to your being. You carry the passport to your own happiness.”

– Diane Von Furstenberg

“Surely, of all the wonders of the world, the horizon is the greatest.”

“I wondered why it was that places are so much lovelier when one is alone.”

– Daphne Du Maurier

“Always choose the window seat. We often forget there’s magic of flying. But what it brings to our lives is undeniably the stuff of dreams.”

– Timi Nadela

“Sometimes the best journeys are those, that start when we do not plan, continue how we do not expect and are taking us places we do not know.”

– Aisha Mirza

“Life is a journey with almost limitless detours.”

“The inner journey of travel is intensified by solitude.”

– Paul Theroux

“I used to be a pedestrian before, now I am the rider on the same road.”

– Piyush Paudyal

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.”

– Anaïs Nin

Motivational quotes for planning a solo trip

When you’re planning to visit a new country or a foreign city by yourself for the first time, the hardest part can be finding the inner courage to pack your backpack and make your solo travel dreams a reality.

These travel alone quotes speak to the very heart of solo travel – the push and pull between indecision , wanting to do the right thing while also finding freedom and empowering yourself to spread your wings.

You may feel nervous – that’s totally normal – but have faith that a well-planned solo journey is almost always a step in the right direction.

“Some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost.”

– Erol Ozan

“This is the journey of your life. Don’t try to explain it to others, because only you can see it.”

– Nitin Namdeo

“It is pointless to embark on any journey if you do not believe yourself worthy of the destination.”

– Anthon St. Maarten

“To travel is worth any cost or sacrifice.”

– Elizabeth Gilbert

“Forget about the fast lane. If you really want to fly, just harness your power to your passion.”

– Oprah Winfrey

“Adventure should be part of everyone’s life. It is the whole difference between being fully alive and just existing.”

– Holly Morris

“A ship is safe in the harbour, but that’s not what ships are built for.”

– Gael Attal

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

– Mark Twain

Poetic quotes about solo travel

These longer solo travel quotes are nothing short of art.

“Everywhere you go, you shall find dramatic splendour and awe because your majestic soul is part of the vivid whole, and nothing about you is ignoble.”

– Kilroy J. Oldster

“The goal of my life is to tie adventure to my feet, stock memories in my pocket, hold imagination in my palms like fairy dust and sprinkle it on my tales.”

– Mitali Meelan

“It seemed an advantage to be travelling alone. Our responses to the world are crucially moulded by the company we keep, for we temper our curiosity to fit in with the expectations of others… “Being closely observed by a companion can also inhibit our observation of others; then, too, we may become caught up in adjusting ourselves to the companion’s questions and remarks, or feel the need to make ourselves seem more normal than is good for our curiosity.” 

– Alain de Botton

“I am of course lost in this journey I’m on, but I do remain confident, though I am lost it will be a great adventure, this adventure will surpass my wildest imagination. So call me a fool, but I’m happy to be lost.”

– Micheline Jean Louis

“It’s not getting from A to B. It’s not the beginning or the destination that counts. It’s the ride in between…This train is alive with things that should be seen and heard. It’s a living, breathing something – you just have to want to learn its rhythm.”

– David Baldacci

“To awaken alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world. You are surrounded by adventure. You have no idea of what is in store for you, but you will, if you are wise and know the art of travel, let yourself go on the stream of the unknown.”

Solo female travel quotes

Solo female travel is becoming more and more popular. I’ve done a few solo trips in recent years, and it never ceases to amaze me how different my travel experience is when I’m alone rather than with my partner or friends.

These quotations capture the independent spirit of solo female travellers.

“Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere.”

“When a woman becomes her own best friend life is easier.”

“Looking in the mirror, I saw a joyful face. And this happy girl was just about to go on a trip, with a one way ticket in her bag. Life was a never ending journey.”

– Nico J. Genes

“She remembered who she was and the game changed.”

– Lalah Delia

Quotes that prove solo travel makes you stronger

Solo travel often starts with taking a leap of faith. If it’s your first solo trip, you must actively work on believing in yourself and trusting your instincts.

Sometimes in travel (and in life), the only certainty is uncertainty. Things won’t always be easy, things wont’ always go to plan. Barriers and hurdles are almost guaranteed – but these experiences are likely to make you stronger and more resilient.

These travel alone quotes are all about testing your limits.

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

– Neale Donald Walsch

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s OK. The journey changes you; it should change you.

“It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

– Anthony Bourdain

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion with one’s courage.”

“It is in all of us to defy expectations, to go into the world and to be brave, and to want, to need, to hunger for adventures. To embrace the chance and risk so that we may breathe and know what it is to be free.”

– Mae Chevrette

“Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively, unless you can choose a challenge instead of a competence.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt

“On the path to greatness, life teaches you to walk with stones in your shoes.”

– Matshona Dhliwayo

“Life is a journey with big rocks to climb, little ones to trip over, and milestones to mark where we have been.”

– David Cuschieri

Quotations that prove solo travel changes your perspective

I’ve never met anyone who decided to solo travel and came back the same person. Travel changes you – that’s undeniable – and often travel alone can shape you in ways you never could have anticipated.

One of the greatest lessons travel can teach you is to be humble. Travel helps you find your place in the world. A solo trip can give you the tools you need to tackle all of life’s adventures – and misadventures, too.

These solo travel quotes refer to self-discovery, breaking through your comfort zone, and seeing travel as a motif for the journey of life.

“A person susceptible to ‘Wanderlust’ is not so much addicted to movement as committed to transformation.”

– Pico Iyer

“Adventure can be an end in itself. Self-discovery is the secret ingredient.”

– Grace Lichtenstein

“I have traveled many roads in my life. Some were imbued with pain and I needed to avert my gaze. Others were so beautiful that I would have remained there forever. But always, at some point in these routes, I reached a place where I encountered myself.”

– Pablo Holmberg

“Travel doesn’t become adventure until you leave yourself behind.”

– Marty Rubin

“Climb the mountain so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.”

– David McCullough Jr.

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”

– Gustav Flaubert

“The best trip is the journey you take in finding yourself.”

– Angela Vallely

“Mapmaking: You’re on the path and have already begun to morph – so has the road. The journey has chosen you. The only way out is forward and through.”

– Helen S. Rosenau

Remember, your trip might start out as a solo adventure but it might not end that way! It’s the bonds you form along the way that often make travel truly memorable.

For more inspiration, check out these beautiful quotes about travelling with friends .

“Traveling solo does not always mean you’re alone. Most often, you meet marvellous people along the way and make connections that last a lifetime.”

– Jacqueline Boone

Coming home: Solo travel quotes to mark the end of a journey

All good journeys must come to an end! It feels like just yesterday friends and family were wishing you a safe journey , and now it’s time to go back to the people you love.

These quotes sum up the bittersweet feeling of coming home after a solo trip.

“It’s a long ride home with nothing but me for company. I bore myself sometimes. Not often. Just now and again.”

– A.J. Hartley & David Hewson

“It’s amazing how many different roads we can take, but they all lead home.”

– Jewel E. Ann

“Some journeys take you farther from where you come from, but closer to where you belong.”

– Ron Franscell

“The real work of an expedition begins when you return.”

– Louise Arner Boyd

“This life is an enduring and complex journey, but finally I have reached the point in my story where I am appreciative of where I’ve been, proud of where I am, and excited about where I have yet to go.”

– Becca Lee

“I, too, once journeyed beyond the stars.”

– Elizabeth Lim

“Maybe happy endings were real, as long as you understood that they weren’t endings, but steps on the road.”

– Katharine McGee

“When it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it is over, I don’t want to wonder if I have made of my life something particular, and real. I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened, or full of argument.

I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.”

– Mary Oliver

That’s a wrap! I hope these 65 travel alone quotes have made you see solo travel in a new light, or perhaps motivated you to take the leap into solo travel.

Do you have any more inspiring quotes to share? I’d love to hear them in the comments below!

“Challenges are opportunities for growth and learning. Embrace them and see how far you can go.”

Thanks for the in-depth wonderful article you turned out her e Very Informative Loved It Thankyou Soo Much For Sharing It.

Wonderful quotes for solo travellers. The solo female traveller quotes are also interesting.

This quotes make people strong to take decision and travel alone. Thanks for sharing such types of motivating quotes.

Many many thanks for sharing with us.

Beautiful quotes. I love them all. Thanks for sharing.

These quotes will definitely encourage anyone to go for solo travelling. Everyone will be inspired by these. Thank you.

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The inside guide to exploring Hocking Hills, Ohio's natural wonderland

With the kind of big landscapes only America's Midwest can deliver, Hocking Hills in Ohio is ripe for outdoor adventure. From hiking to kayaking, here's all you need to know about planning your trip.

In the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, this nature-blessed region of Hocking Hills has mile after mile of hiking trails, with paths leading to sandstone rock pinnacles, echoing caves and waterfalls. You can speed above the tree canopy on a zipwire, paddle down a river in a kayak or scale a sheer cliff face. As night draws in, look up at star-spangled skies as you retreat to unique hideaways, from underground hobbit houses to luxe treehouses. Here's how best to experience Ohio's Hocking Hills.

Soar like a hawk among the treetops with Hocking Hills Canopy Tours . Plunging you into the wilds of Hocking Hills, cables and sky bridges send you soaring above forest, cliffs, waterfalls and the rushing Hocking River. If you want to ramp up the adventure, go for the cross-country X-Tour or the head-first SuperZip, picking up speeds of up to 50mph.  

For a deep dive into nature, Hocking Hills State Park beckons, with primeval forest that is a riot of colour in autumn and an impressive collection of caves. Top billing goes to the horseshoe-shaped Old Man’s Cave, where falls plummet into a crystal-blue pool. The cave takes its name from 18th-century hermit Richard Rowe, who lived in its depths. Alternatively, hike the five-mile loop trail to the Whispering Cave — a whisper is said to be heard 300 feet away on the other side of the cave. Trail maps and information on the park’s geology are available at the Old Man’s Cave parking lot.

Hocking Hills has extra sparkle at night, and the region draws keen stargazers with some of the country’s darkest night skies. The John Glenn Astronomy Park — around a mile west of Old Man’s Cave — is a great spot. On clear nights you’ll be dazzled by star clusters, bright planets, comets, meteor showers and the spray of the Milky Way. See the website for Friday and Saturday evening events, where you can peer through a giant telescope, with astronomers on hand to interpret.

If you’ve ever fancied rock climbing, Hocking Hills is the place. Climbers are in their element, with sandstone cliffs rising high above the tree canopy. Rappelling and rock climbing are available here, with routes for all levels traversing cliffs and pinnacles, through narrow rock walls and over boulders. High Rock Adventures provides all the gear as well as professional guides.

Not all adventure is fast-paced. Bounded by lush forest, the gently flowing Hocking River sets the scene for mellow trips by kayak or canoe. Excursions from Hocking Hills Canoe Livery range from easy, family-friendly rafting trips to five- or seven-mile kayak and canoe paddles for groups, couples or solo paddlers. Listening to the splash of water and trill of birds as you float along offers peace and solitude.

If you have time, family-run distillery Hocking Hills Moonshine takes you back to the Prohibition bootlegger era with ‘shine that will knock your socks off’ (and tours to see how it's made). Only the brave dare try the 151 proof Buckeye Thunder.

Where to stay

From back-to-nature campgrounds and riverside cabins to glamping tepees, Hocking Hills has plenty of unique places to bed down. For something special, the green-certified Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls has yurts, luxury lodges and rustic cabins with porch swings and geodesic domes immersed in greenery. Elsewhere, at the Valley View Hills Winery , cabins come with hot tubs and firepits, and chardonnays and malbecs are paired with stone-fired pizza. For romance at a bird’s-eye level, opt for the architecturally striking Treehouse Cabins . Or for a hobbit fantasy, stay in a cave at the Magical Earth Retreat .

Where to eat

Southern barbecue at Millstone and the famous hash, hand-cut noodles and all-day breakfast at old-school diner M & M — Hocking Hills’ food scene fires you up for the outdoors. The small town of Logan is a hub for gourmet coffee and freshly prepared paninis, stop by Hocking Hills Coffee Emporium for an authentic experience. Kindred Spirits restaurant at the Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls offers fine dining in 1840s log cabins and a seasonal menu of Italian-inspired dishes like steamed clams in tomato broth.

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Tech workers flush with cash are turning Miami's suburbs into the new Beverly Hills

• The most expensive neighborhood in America is in Coral Gables, Florida,  Bloomberg reports .
• Before the pandemic, that distinction belonged to Beverly Hills, according to Zillow. 
• Tech and finance giants are helping to fuel Florida's scorching hot real-estate market.

The post-pandemic Florida real-estate boom just earned the state a new superlative.

Today, seven of the 10 most expensive neighborhoods in the US are located in Florida, Bloomberg reported, citing data from Zillow .

The priciest neighborhood in America is Gables Estates in Coral Gables, where a typical home costs $21.2 million, Bloomberg reported.

Related stories

Pre-pandemic, in 2020, the most expensive neighborhood in America was Beverly Hills Gateway, where a typical home cost a cool $10.6 million.

The Port Royal neighborhood in Naples, Florida, was the second most expensive neighborhood in 2024, followed by Beverly Hills Gateway — where a typical house today is priced at $12 million, Bloomberg reported.

Meanwhile, New York had two of the nation's most expensive neighborhoods in 2020 — the West Village and the Upper East Side — but does not rank in Zillow's top 10 for 2024, according to Bloomberg.

Tech and financial giants are flocking to Florida

Stats about America's priciest neighborhoods are the latest bit of proof of Florida's scorching hot real-estate market, as a swarm of monied tech and business giants is helping fuel its ascent.

Separately, Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Apple is taking a new 45,000-square-foot office in Coral Gables, while Microsoft leased a space in the same building that will become the headquarters for hedge fund Citadel .

Amazon is also seeking 50,000 square feet of office in Miami, according to Bloomberg, as founder Jeff Bezos continues to snap up multiple homes on the uber-exclusive Indian Creek island off Miami.

An Amazon spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider it was seeking the space. Apple and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, BI's Eliza Relman reported Tuesday on the downsides of the buzz surrounding Miami.

Increasing home prices and rents are making it harder for lower-income Floridians to afford to live in the state, while the climate crisis — and rising sea levels — could result in further displacement.

Watch: Why rents are still setting record highs in some US cities

• Main content

Crystal Kung Minkoff’s Husband Reacts to Her ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Exit

Crystal Kung Minkoff appeared on the series for three seasons before being let go.

The Big Picture

• Crystal Kung Minkoff will be missed on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills , where she starred for 3 seasons.
• Her husband, director Rob Minkoff, reacted to her firing from the show, remaining her biggest supporter.
• Kung Minkoff found her voice on the show, being upfront about her struggles and adding a refreshing perspective to the fights.

Crystal Kung Minkoff joined The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills during Season 11. She was part of the series for three seasons before she was not asked back to the main cast for the following season . For many fans, they were upset to see Kung Minkoff leave as she was often the voice of reason in a situation but at least she has her biggest supporter at her side: Her husband, Rob Minkoff . Known for directing movies like The Lion King (1994), Minkoff was often featured on the show as someone who would always have Kung Minkoff's back.

Now, in a new interview with PEOPLE, Minkoff talked about how he always told Kung Minkoff that she could leave the show whenever she wanted. "There've been a few times where she's been upset about something and I'm like, 'You don't have to do the show' ... 'If you don't want to do the show, it's okay,'" Minkoff said, going on to state that Kung Minkoff always assured him that she wanted to continue the series.

Minkoff went on to say that Kung Minkoff shared her real emotions on the show and that even when she would be upset, she would still want to be a part of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills . "You really have to process the stuff, 'cause it's real life," he said. "So, it can be very complicated and difficult, and I'm here to support." Minkoff did point out that just because she is gone from the series, that should not define her. "No one should be defined by their work. That's a part of who they are, but it's not all of who they are." To which Kung Minkoff added "I'm having more fun as it goes on, which is good. I did not have fun in the beginning."

Crystal Kung Minkoff will be missed

Kung Minkoff made history as the first Asian American housewife on Bravo and while her first season was not the best for her emotionally (her fights with Sutton Stracke about race being a big issue), Kung Minkoff eventually found her groove in the series. She was up front and honest about her struggling with an eating disorder and she was a refreshing voice in some of the fights that the housewives had.

Kung Minkoff posted a video to Instagram about her departure, saying "I just wanted to share the news that I will not be coming back to film season 14 of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills . It's very bittersweet," Kung Minkoff said. "Never did I think I would have been asked to do the show in a million years, let alone film it for three seasons. Every single year I was asked back, it was a blessing. It was an honor."

Past seasons of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills are streaming now on Peacock in the U.S.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

A reality series that follows some of the most affluent women in the country as they enjoy the lavish lifestyle that only Beverly Hills can provide.

Watch on Peacock

From helicopters to ads, India's ruling party snaps up bulk of election props

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Reporting by Shivangi Acharya and Tanvi Mehta; Graphics by Riddhima Talwani; Editing by Clarence Fernandez

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Pentagon chief Austin discusses Iran, Gaza aid with Israel's Gallant

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to discuss Iran's actions in the Middle East, other regional threats and aid into Gaza, the Pentagon said in a statement.

China's aviation regulator said on Friday it had opened new air routes to the Chinese cities of Xiamen and Fuzhou, routes which are situated very close to the Taiwan-controlled islands of Kinmen and Matsu, a move likely to anger Taipei.

ICE SPICE's First LP

From debuts to do-overs, what it means to start an artistic life — at any age

Letter From the Editor

Clockwise from top left: Ice Spice, Sky Lakota-Lynch, Meg Stalter, Tyla, Sarah Pidgeon and Titus Kaphar.

T’s Culture issue looks at artistic beginnings in all their forms.

By Hanya Yanagihara

The First Stroke

Artemisia Gentileschi’s “Susanna and the Elders” (1610).

Why, even as they progress in their practices, all artists remain perpetual beginners.

By Aatish Taseer

Tracy Chapman (right).

Lester Cohen/Getty Images

Musicians, writers and others on the work that started it all for them — and on what, if anything, they’d change about it now.

Interviews by Lovia Gyarkye and Nicole Acheampong

When These Two First Worked Together

Marc Jacobs and Cindy Sherman.

Love, spats, splits and enduring affinity: creative partnerships that have stood the test of time.

Interviews by Ella Riley-Adams, Nick Haramis, Nicole Acheampong, Julia Halperin and Coco Romack

Begin Again

Jordi Roca.

Video by Anna Bosch Miralpeix

What it’s like to make new art after many years or amid new challenges — or to change careers completely.

Interviews by Michael Snyder, M.H. Miller and Emily Lordi

When the Beginning Is Also the End

Miguel Adrover.

Catarina Osório de Castro

People who found great creative success in one field — before life took them in a totally different direction.

By John Wogan and M.H. Miller

J u v e n i l i a

Do Ho Suh’s “Tiger Mask” (1971).

Courtesy of the artist © Do Ho Suh

What artists see when they look back at work they made in their youth.

Interviews by Julia Halperin, Kate Guadagnino and Juan A. Ramírez

A first album, a first restaurant, a first time on Broadway: Ten debuts happening right now.

Interviews by Juan A. Ramírez and Emily Lordi

How It Begins

Jenny Holzer.

Photographs by Nicholas Calcott

The very first steps, whether you’re an actor getting into character or an artist presenting the survey of your life’s work.

Interviews by Laura May Todd

The Beginners’ Hall of Fame

Tabboo!’s “Lavender Garden” (2023).

Courtesy of the artist, Karma and Gordon Robichaux

Six people who found a new creative calling later in life — or for whom recognition was long overdue.

By Jason Chen

Advice on Beginning

Kim Gordon.

Laura Levine/Corbis, via Getty Images

Ten creative minds on how to start, pivot and productively procrastinate.

Interviews by Kate Guadagnino

Courtesy of Joseph Dirand Architecture

We asked 80 artists and other creative people to tell us what they’re starting right now or hope to start very soon.

T’s Culture Issue: Beginners.

An exploration of artistic beginnings in all their forms.

There’s a reason all of us — magazine editors in particular, perhaps, but not only us — love an artistic debut. It’s not just that those releasing their first album, book or movie, or having their first gallery exhibit or Broadway show, are usually young; it’s that they embody that most delicious and evanescent of qualities: promise. Any painter could be the next Rothko or Basquiat; any singer could be the next Joni or Aretha. There the new artist sits, poised between our expectations and their unwritten reality. Becoming emotionally invested in an untested creative life is like becoming financially invested in an exciting new company — should they (or it) work, the reward is not just theirs but ours. “See?” we tell ourselves. “We knew it all along.”

But the real test of being an artist isn’t the first album, book, movie or Broadway show, as significant as those accomplishments are. It’s what happens after. All artists know that living a true creative life means facing an endless series of beginnings: It’s starting over after setbacks; it’s pushing forward through doubt and despair; it’s trying again when someone tells you no; it’s slogging ahead when no one seems to like or care about what you make; it’s ignoring the voice inside you that tells you to stop; it’s striving and failing, again and again and again. There is no point of complete security, no award or recognition that bestows total confidence — a life in art means that, to some degree, you’re starting anew every day. As the novelist Andrew Holleran tells T, “Writing is basically unconscious, and you don’t get any smarter about it. Imagine a brain surgeon who didn’t learn from each operation? We’d be horrified. But when you sit down to write, you’re always wondering how to do it.”

On the covers, clockwise from top left: ICE SPICE wears a Burberry dress, $2,290, burberry.com ; Graff necklace, price on request, graff.com ; and her own earrings and ring. Photographed by Shikeith. Styled by Ian Bradley. Makeup by Karina Milan at the Wall Group. SKY LAKOTA-LYNCH wears a Canali coat, $3,060, canali.com ; and a Bode jacket, $1,080, bode.com . Photographed by Shikeith. Styled by Delphine Danhier. Hair by Tsuki at Streeters. Makeup by Jamal Scott for YSL Beauty. MEG STALTER . Photographed by Shikeith. Styled by Delphine Danhier. Hair by Tiago Goya at Home Agency using Oribe. Makeup by Holly Silius at R3-MGMT. TYLA wears a Ferragamo top, $1,190, and earrings, $730, ferragamo.com . Photographed by Shikeith. Styled by Sasha Kelly. Hair by Christina “Tina” Trammell. Makeup by Jamal Scott for YSL Beauty. SARAH PIDGEON wears a Gucci dress, $24,500, gucci.com . Photographed by Shikeith. Styled by Delphine Danhier. Hair by Tsuki at Streeters. Makeup by Jamal Scott for YSL Beauty. TITUS KAPHAR wears a Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello coat, $4,900, ysl.com . Photographed by Shikeith. Styled by Delphine Danhier. Hair by Tsuki at Streeters. Makeup by Jamal Scott for YSL Beauty.

In this issue, we look at what it means for an artist to begin, from actual debuts (such as Sky Lakota-Lynch, one of our cover stars, who’s appearing this spring in “The Outsiders,” his first original Broadway role) to do-overs (such as Jon Bon Jovi, about to embark on tour after throat surgery and a 40-year career, or the cabaret performer turned visual artist Justin Vivian Bond). And though the artists who appear in these pages are all different, they share a spirit of generosity: It’s no easy thing to give voice to your dreams and insecurities, much less to do so publicly. Their collective perseverance — a mix of dogged determination and wild hope — is a reminder for all of us that a creative life, that all life, takes nerve. It takes humility. It takes a kind of arrogance that sees you through the most barren periods.

And by the way: You don’t need to be young to lead a creative life. All you have to do is start. Start — and then never stop.

On March 12, as we were readying this issue to go to press, one of our colleagues, Carter Love, T’s senior photography editor, died. He was 41.

Being a good photo editor demands taste and a sense of coordination. For a fashion or celebrity shoot, they, along with the creative director and style director, assemble teams: the photographer, of course, but also the stylist, models, hair and makeup artists and set designers. For a travel story, the photo editor selects and hires the fixer, the photographer, the location scout, the translator and the transportation. Once on set, a photo editor stays until the very end of the shoot, even if the shoot goes all day. Carter worked on these — and many other — kinds of stories, often simultaneously; in this issue alone, he produced a dozen images, from the portrait of the longtime collaborators Cindy Sherman and Marc Jacobs to the picture of the fashion designer turned photographer Miguel Adrover.

Along with his native senses of taste and coordination, Carter was — crucially — able to laugh at the absurdities, the unexpected little (and not-so-little) disasters that inevitably arise during a shoot, no matter how thorough the planning: rain on a day when sun was predicted; equipment stuck in customs; a subject’s last-minute cancellation. He had a big laugh, resonant and full, which everyone in the office could hear; at work parties, he sometimes broke into song. In addition to his big laugh, he had a big voice. He was tall and wiry and quick moving, with magnificent red hair — I’d often look up from my desk and see his head and torso streaking across the top of the cubicle walls, hurrying off somewhere.

One of Carter’s most used phrases was “absolutely.” Could I see more options from this shoot? “Absolutely.” Could I have a list of the talent that had already confirmed? “Absolutely.” Thanks, Carter, for this new information. “Absolutely.”

Barely a week after his death, that word keeps beating in my head. Will we always ask ourselves why he had to die? Absolutely. Were we lucky to work with him? Absolutely. Will we miss him? Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Digital production and design: Danny DeBelius, Amy Fang, Chris Littlewood, Coco Romack, Carla Valdivia Nakatani and Jamie Sims.

ONE EVENING 17 years ago, V.S. Naipaul came to dinner at my flat in Delhi. The writer, who had become something of a mentor to me, was transfixed by a painting I had bought a few years before. It was a self-portrait, over 7 feet tall and 5 feet wide. “I find it hypnotic,” Naipaul said, filing away spoonfuls of yellow dal. Observing the beauty of the hand clasped (as if in horror) over the mouth, the thumb livid against the dark hollows of the eyes, he added of the artist, “This is someone who has really seen, who has gone back again and again to see.”

Listen to this article, read by Neil Shah

I was at the beginning of my writing career, using my first advances to collect a few works of art. It was thrilling to have someone with as discerning an eye as Naipaul’s — “the brilliant noticer,” in the words of the literary critic James Wood — approve of “How Did You Sleep?” (2002), but it also made me sad. Its creator, Zack, who’d been a close friend at Amherst College in Massachusetts in the late 1990s, had recently given up painting, and “How Did You Sleep?” had become a symbol to me of the precarity of what it means to get started as an artist.

The Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi was 17 in 1610 when she painted “Susanna and the Elders” (above). She went on to be the 17th century’s most accomplished female painter.

Zack, now 43, was of a mixed-race background from Topeka, Kan. After struggling with feelings of inferiority in our first year related to his public school education, he taught himself to paint from scratch. I would visit him and watch as he, dressed in paint-stained khakis and New Balance sneakers, toiled away at the self-portraits that were his trademark. He was a model to me of artistic labor and discipline, even if those early paintings were painfully amateurish.

Then, in our last semester, having been abroad a while, I entered Fayerweather Hall for the art department’s end-of-year show and saw “How Did You Sleep?” I was dumbstruck. I’m not sure I would’ve even been able to recognize it as Zack’s work — so prodigious had been his development as a painter — if it hadn’t been a self-portrait. Painted in the wake of 9/11, it showed the artist in a blue shirt with an expression of prophetic terror, as if watching a disaster foretold. I remember wanting to own it because it was proof, like none I had ever had before, that there really did exist such a thing in the world as raw talent. I persuaded Zack to sell it to me. The painting followed me from Amherst to my first job in New York, and on to London and Delhi.

By the time Naipaul saw it, Zack was working in strategic and financial communications in New York and no longer painting — “Every notary bears within him the debris of a poet,” Gustave Flaubert tells us. “My new job is intense,” Zack had written to say. “It’ll be good for a few years, but it’s not a career.” But neither was art; and Zack, who works as a researcher at Google now, was my first fearful example of how that mythical thing we call talent is real, and how talent alone isn’t enough.

IT WASN’T MY intention to start an essay about artistic beginnings with a story of artistic death. I love those romantic tales of creative daring and breakthrough: the English travel writer and novelist Bruce Chatwin quitting his job at The Sunday Times of London’s magazine with a simple telegram that read, “Have gone to Patagonia”; or, more dramatically, Paul Gauguin abandoning his wife, kids and job as a salesman to pursue his dream of being a painter. I love the improbability of the lives that could not have been: Salman Rushdie, the adman; W. Somerset Maugham, the doctor; the director Kathryn Bigelow, renovating dilapidated apartments in New York with the then-obscure composer Philip Glass. I remember Arundhati Roy teaching my mother and aunt aerobics in the basement of the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi before going on to win the Booker Prize for her debut novel, “The God of Small Things” (1997). It’s exhilarating to see destiny pick those who could but only have been artists out of the mundanity of their lives and light the way to a life of vocation.

I’m especially moved by those first moments of validation by which an artist comes out to himself, as it were. Consider Joseph Conrad in his mid-30s, working aboard the ship Torrens, with the manuscript of his first novel, “Almayer’s Folly” (1895). It had acquired, he writes in “A Personal Record” (1912), “a faded look and an ancient, yellowish complexion.” At sea, Conrad met his first reader, Jacques, a “young Cambridge man.” “Well, what do you say?” Conrad, brimming with anxiety, asked his new friend. “Is it worth finishing?” “ ‘Distinctly,’ he answered, in his sedate, veiled voice,” Conrad recalls years later, “and then coughed a little.” With that one word, Jacques, who was soon to be carried away by a fatal cold, had given a seafaring Polish exile a vital nod of encouragement. “The purpose instilled into me by his simple and final ‘Distinctly,’” writes Conrad, one of literature’s late bloomers (he was 38 when he published his first novel), “remained dormant, yet alive to await its opportunity.”

This quiet admission to oneself, as sacred as the vows of priesthood, of wanting to undertake the creative life is a necessary step; but like talent, it’s not enough. To be an artist is not a private act but a public one. No artist is born into a vacuum, or later speaks into one. They are as much a product of the society they emerge from as a response to it. Nor is artistic expression all spirit, all feeling. As Naipaul has frequently noted, writers require a complex edifice of interlocking parts — an infrastructure, if you will — to thrive. More broadly speaking, all successful artists rely on a network of critics, journals and newspapers, a discerning audience, bookshops and concert halls and galleries — which is generations in the making, presupposing certain values, certain economic and political realities. The Ukrainian-born novelist Clarice Lispector came of age in the Brazil of the 1920s. At 13, she “consciously claimed the desire to write,” as her biographer Benjamin Moser quotes her in “Why This World” (2009), but no sooner had she claimed her destiny than she felt herself in a void. The idea of vocation had been instilled in her, but that didn’t mean she knew how to proceed. “Writing was always difficult for me,” Lispector once wrote, “even though I had begun with what is known as vocation. Vocation is different from talent. One can have vocation and not talent; one can be called and not know how to go.”

Lispector had both vocation and talent, but what makes any artist’s first steps so tentative is that the path forward is narrower than we imagine. We come into the world believing we can be a great many things (and for a great many this is true) but, for those destined to be artists, the creative choices they make are almost as limited as the choice of being an artist itself. Maugham wanted to demystify the impulse that had him give up medicine to answer his calling as a novelist. “I am a writer as I might have been a doctor or a lawyer,” he writes in “The Summing Up,” his 1938 literary memoir, but, soon after that, despite himself, Maugham stumbles on that aspect of the artistic life that eludes banalization, for it’s truly mysterious — namely, the bond between the artist and his subject. “Though the whole world,” writes Maugham, “with everyone in it and all its sights and events, is your material, you yourself can only deal with what corresponds to some secret spring in your own nature.” 

“Vanitas Still Life” (circa 1665-70) by Jan van Kessel the Elder, who was from a long line of celebrated Flemish painters — Pieter Bruegel the Elder was his great-grandfather — and was perhaps destined to be an artist.

It’s this, the inexorability of the correspondence between an artist and the world, that gives those first steps their magical quality. It represents a rebirth so profound that it can often entail the killing off of a former self. One of my literary heroes, the writer Rebecca West — the author of that magisterial work of travel, inquiry and sympathy “Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia” (1940) — was abandoned (as I was) by her father as a child. In late Victorian England, it left her with an exaggerated regard for what were seen as male qualities, as well as the need to compensate for their absence. “Men, she felt,” writes J.R. Hammond in “H.G. Wells and Rebecca West” (1991), his biography of their romantic and literary relationship, “should be strong and dependable; deep inside herself she sensed they were not to be trusted.” These gendered dynamics were surely at work as West, first making her way in the world at age 20, sloughed off the softer given name of Cissie Fairfield to adopt, as a pseudonym, the name of the spirited protagonist of Henrik Ibsen’s play “Rosmersholm” (1886).

No artist is without this set of special circumstances. They are the ground from which the need for expression arises. The path forward comes upon the artist-in-waiting with the power of certain mathematical proofs, elegant, inevitable, at once simple and inscrutable. “Falling in love for the first time and getting started as a writer,” my friend the writer Karan Mahajan, 39, the author of the novels “Family Planning” (2008) and “The Association of Small Bombs” (2016), replied by email when I asked him what it had been like for him, “both things happened at once for me. Suddenly, I had my material, and it encompassed all aspects of my life: my childhood in Delhi; immigration to the United States as a student; a future decided by plane journeys. I could love myself as the other loved me.”

For the Pakistani-born American painter Salman Toor, 40, the moment when, he says, “something vital clicked into place” meant that he suddenly found himself in “a direct relationship” between the things he was thinking and talking about every day and the paintings he was at work on. “In 2016,” he says, “I did a few paintings out of a need to be completely honest with myself. I wanted to illustrate the stories I was bursting to tell. A lot of these stories were about coming out and showing the excitement, anxieties and challenges of belonging to multiple cultures and living a cute little life in the East Village.”

The date surprised me. I had been aware of Toor’s work for almost a decade before this moment. To me, he was the painter of a certain kind of South Asian disquiet. No one captured the massive cultural and economic disparities of my life in Delhi (and his in Lahore) like Toor. Upon scenes of revelry and privilege — a party, a picnic, a rich westernized couple frolicking out of doors with a glass of wine and an iPhone — he would, in the form of servants in the background looking on, introduce an element of unease that hinted at the fragility of the societies we lived in. But quite unbeknown to me, Toor’s life in New York had opened up a new vein of material. To put it another way, he had begun again. And this is what we tend to forget: In the careers of certain artists, those who make big, varied bodies of work in which different strands of their experience are subsumed, the business of beginning, and beginning again, never ceases. Each new beginning brings with it all the uncertainty and blankness of the first. Experience might protect such an artist from forcing what’s clearly not working, but that core anxiety of not knowing if one will create again always remains. “Do not worry,” Hemingway would console himself, “you have always written before and you will write now.”

WHAT CONSTITUTES A beginning? In the common conception, it’s the first book, the first album, the first show at a major gallery. Yet an artist has myriad private ways in which they mark moments of true breakthrough. My childhood friend the sitarist and composer Anoushka Shankar, 42, regards her fourth album as her first. She had grown up under the influence of her mighty father, Ravi Shankar, the man credited with having introduced Indian classical music to the West. Every artist struggles with what the literary critic Harold Bloom has called the anxiety of influence but, in Anoushka’s case, it was even more pronounced. As she told me, Ravi Shankar was “my guru, my teacher, my father.” It was he who had composed her first three albums.

Ravi, before he went on to become the greatest sitarist of his generation, had been part of a dance troupe led by his brother Uday, which caused a sensation in the Europe and America of the 1930s. “Hindu thought, alive, authentic, in flesh and bone, in sound, gesture and spirit,” is how the French mystic René Daumal describes the Shankar troupe in his book “Rasa” (1982), but Ravi was conflicted. He eventually broke with the troupe and dedicated himself entirely to the sitar. “He had a real directional shift that I didn’t have,” Anoushka says. Her beginnings, though she was six decades younger than her father, were in a sense more traditional. They entailed the surprise of finding newness within tradition. “I think my journey,” she says, “was more progressively finding how the thing that was in front of me — the sitar, namely — the thing that had been given to me, could be my outlet, could be my voice.” 

A coda to this intergenerational tale of artistic beginnings is the story of Anoushka’s half sister, Norah Jones, who spent years of her childhood estranged from her father and grew up in Texas with her American mother. At a time when both Anoushka and I were discovering our half siblings, I remember going to see Norah play at little-known clubs on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. She was staking claim to what felt like a genetic destiny in music, though in a tradition entirely different from that of her father and sister. I don’t know if I’ve ever witnessed beginnings as meager and transformational as these for, not long after, Norah’s debut album, “Come Away With Me” (2002), was released; it went on to win five Grammys, sell 30 million copies and all but save the piracy-shattered music industry.

We live in a society that prizes the individual above all else but, in the art of premodern Europe and classical India, to begin as an artist didn’t necessarily entail breaking with tradition, nor was it given to every artist to be original. “Raphael was adept at this,” writes Rachel Cusk in her travel memoir “The Last Supper: A Summer in Italy” (2009), in which she describes the Italian Renaissance painter’s relationship to his first guru, Perugino. Raphael had become so good at imitating Perugino, Cusk tells us, that the copies of his master’s work were indistinguishable from the originals. The art of pastiche, of inhaling the influence of an older admired artist so completely that it enters your soul, exists today, too. The South African writer J.M. Coetzee’s early works owe a huge debt to Samuel Beckett, as Rushdie’s do to Gabriel García Márquez and Thomas Pynchon’s to James Joyce. The difference in the modern era is that influence is something we must shrug off in order to become our own people, yet not everyone can. Cusk deals very movingly with Raphael’s quest (and ultimate failure) to be his own man. In a field crowded with giants such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he “retreated behind the mask of humility, never to come out again.” But far from this being his downfall as an artist, it, too, was a kind of beginning. “In the end,” writes Cusk, “his borrowing of such greatness amounted to greatness itself. Not everyone who sees a Michelangelo can go off and paint a Michelangelo.”

THERE ARE SO many ways to begin. I said it wasn’t my intention to open with a story of artistic death, but I never explained why I did. The reason is that after six books, and 20 years after writing my first publishable sentences, stamina, endurance and the ability to stay the course have come to mean at least as much to me as that first raw efflorescence of talent. If Zack’s story acquired the force of parable for me, it was because it showed me the vanity of our preoccupation with talent. Many with fewer gifts who are yet more steadfast go on to have brilliant careers as artists. There’s an undeniable mystery in why some among us become artists, but there’s a greater mystery to me still in those who survive the vicissitudes of creative life, leaving behind bodies of work through which there runs an arc of growth as sublime as the vaulting of a Gothic cathedral.

A true artist always brings something new into the world. A new color, a new complexion, a new way of looking — a “new kind of beauty,” to use Marcel Proust’s phrase for the special distinctiveness he felt that Fyodor Dostoyevsky had brought to literature. We make the mistake of thinking of that newness as an externality, a scaffolding, a mere matter of style. But in fact, the originality we detect on the surface is an emanation from the birth of a new idea. It’s something far more radical, far more unnerving, than we are prepared to accept. Real artists bring about real rupture. We want to domesticate the discomfort that makes us feel but, deep down, we know the old rules no longer apply; and for one fleeting moment, our world, with us in it, is laid bare, transfigured by the imagination of someone who has dared to see it anew.

Read by Neil Shah. Narration produced by Emma Kehlbeck. Engineered by Quinton Kamara

Amy Tan , 72, writer, on “The Joy Luck Club” (1989)

Tan with her mother, Daisy Tan, in San Francisco in 1989. The author’s 11th book, “The Backyard Bird Chronicles,” a collection of illustrated essays, is out this month.

Robert Foothorap

I was a business writer [of marketing materials for companies and brochures for their employees] in the mid-1980s and, even though I was successful, I was unhappy. I wasn’t doing anything meaningful. Writing fiction allowed me, through subterfuge, to access emotional realms that I hadn’t explored before. When you write your first novel, you tend to include a lot of autobiographical elements. “The Joy Luck Club” [about the lives of four Chinese immigrant women and their American-born daughters] became deeply personal without my knowing it. I wasn’t consciously writing about racism or generational divides, even though that’s exactly what I was writing about. At that time [Tan was 37 when the book came out], I was just trying to find a story.

Courtesy of Putnam © 1989 Gretchen Schields. Photo by Joshua Scott

People got all kinds of things out of it. They said it saved their marriage or helped their relationships. I felt wonderful about that, but I couldn’t take credit. I didn’t intend to write a book that was going to improve people’s lives. That would’ve been a noble pursuit but, to do that, I’d have had to come up with a book that was very different — less spontaneous and honest. Without a doubt, what made me proudest was that my mother read it. She wasn’t proficient in English, but she understood it more than anybody else. — L.G.

Avril Lavigne , 39, musician, on “Let Go” (2002)

Lavigne at a recording studio in Cologne, Germany, in 2002. The musician’s new tour, “Avril Lavigne: The Greatest Hits,” begins next month.

Fryderyk Gabowicz/Picture Alliance/Getty Images

I remember going into the studio and people trying to tell me what to do or how my music should be, but I knew what I wanted to create. “Let Go” reflects how I felt as a young girl coming into the music industry. I was 15 when I got signed and 16 when I made that album. I had all this angst and rebellion, and I wanted to be expressive in that tone. But the adults around me kept delivering cheesy song ideas, and I wasn’t feeling the way people were playing the guitar. It was all too light and fluffy; that’s the stuff that made me run.

Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment and Avril Lavigne

When I went to Los Angeles and connected with [the album’s co-writers Lauren Christy, Graham Edwards and Scott Spock of] the Matrix and Clif Magness, they were way cooler and more open-minded. Lauren and I spent a lot of time together. I sat with her in the backyard on a picnic blanket writing “Complicated”; we really connected. I was finally understood. The production was a little poppy for me. If I had to redo the album today, I’d tweak some things here and there production-wise and apply some of my experience from the past 20 years. Still, the important songs like “Sk8er Boi” and “Complicated” rocked enough — they had the live guitar and drums — and “I’m With You” wasn’t too polished. On songs like “Unwanted” and “Losing Grip,” we really went all the way — no holding back. — L.G.

Chloë Sevigny , 49, actress, on “Kids” (1995)

Sevigny at the Jersey Shore in 1995. The actress, who has appeared in over 50 features, recently shot “Bonjour Tristesse,” an upcoming adaptation of the 1954 Françoise Sagan novel.

From left: Lila Lee-Morrison; © Shining Excalibur Pictures/courtesy of Everett Collection

© Shining Excalibur Pictures/Courtesy of Everett Collection

I still find the marketing around “Kids” [about a day in the life of some wayward New York City teenagers] a little outrageous: “The most shocking film of the year!” “A must-see!” But it worked. A lot of us making it thought of it as a cautionary tale, but so many kids have come up to me and said, “That’s why I moved to New York. I wanted to live that life.” I was an amateur [at 19, when I made the film]. I knew the cinematographer, Eric Alan Edwards. He’d shot [Gus Van Sant’s 1991 movie] “My Own Private Idaho,” and I thought the acting in that was impeccable. I trusted that if something [in my performance] was false, he’d say something. I don’t know why, but I just gave myself over to [Edwards and the director, Larry Clark]; I trusted that they wanted to get to the truth of things.

The hardest scene for me to shoot was when [my character, 15-year-old Jennie] is at the clinic receiving information that she’d contracted H.I.V. I thought, “How does one even begin to try to act that?” I was very tentative. If I were to approach that scene now, I think I’d have the confidence to try more things — one take crying, others doing this and that. At the time, I was trying to be as real as I thought I could be on camera with a crew around me.

I’m surprised that “Kids” is still making such an impact, but I’m also not. Afterward, I thought, “OK, this set a bar. These are the kinds of people I want to work with.” — N.A.

King, the author of over 70 books, with his wife, Tabitha, and their children (from left) Joe, Owen and Naomi at their house in Orrington, Maine, in 1979. His next book, a short-story collection titled “You Like It Darker,” will be published in May.

James Leonard

Stephen King , 76, writer, on “Carrie” (1974)

One of my rules about writing is similar to a rule in [the card game] Hearts: If it’s laid, it’s played. I have a tendency not to go back and reread things, particularly with “Carrie” [a horror novel about a bullied high school student capable of telekinesis]. I’m afraid of how naïve it may be, how much it might be the work of a very young writer. It’s like when you’re a kid and you don’t know how to behave. You look back on certain things and say, “I shouldn’t have grabbed that,” or, “That wasn’t polite.” I don’t want to go back and see that my shirttail was untucked or my fly was unzipped.

Courtesy of Doubleday. Photo by Joshua Scott

I’d change a lot. It would have a little more depth when it came to the characters. Remember, it started as a short story. I had this idea about a girl with paranormal powers who was going to get revenge on the girls who made fun of her. It was too long for the markets that I had in mind, and I didn’t know very much about girls anyway, particularly girls’ gym classes and locker rooms, so I threw the story away. My wife fished it out of the trash, uncrumpled the pages, looked at it and said, “This is pretty good. I’ll help you.” It’s a very short book, way under 300 pages. Also, there are pejoratives that were common then that I wouldn’t use now, even though they’re realistic and come out of the mouths of characters we don’t like. On the whole, I must’ve done a fairly good job because the book was published [when I was 26] and [in 1976] they made a movie out of it.

One of the things I think about a lot was that my mother got to read it. She had cancer at that point and died before any of my other books were published. Because of “Carrie,” I had a chance to take care of her and get her in a hospice. By then we had the money, otherwise we would’ve been out of luck. — L.G.

Holleran in Florida in the 1980s. Three of the author’s five novels, including “Dancer From the Dance,” were republished in paperback this past December.

From left: Lee Calvin Yeomans, courtesy of Andrew Holleran; Ian Dickson/Shutterstock

Ian Dickson/Shutterstock

Andrew Holleran , 79, writer, on “Dancer From the Dance” (1978)

“Dancer” has had a life of its own, which I could’ve never predicted. I wrote the book at my parents’ house in Florida one winter [when I was 33]. It was going to be the last book I ever wrote, because I’d been writing for 10 years after graduating from an M.F.A. program and had only had one story published in a magazine. I said to myself, “You have to stop now and go to law school.” Luckily, the book came out of me very quickly and, in retrospect, became a description of six years I’d spent in New York. It was very easy because I’d obviously touched something that mattered to me.

I’ve never reread “Dancer” [about gay life in 1970s New York] so, while I’m sure that if I did, I’d revise, revise, revise, I can’t imagine changing any of it. The campy style of the letters that frame the book is probably outdated, which is a shame since I love camp.

I’ve learned since then that writing is basically unconscious, and you don’t get any smarter about it. Imagine a brain surgeon who didn’t learn from each operation? We’d be horrified. But when you sit down to write, you’re always wondering how to do it. — L.G.

Harry and Stein, of the rock band Blondie, in the U.K. in 1977. Stein’s memoir, “Under a Rock,” will be published in June.

From left: Jeff Gilbert/Alamy Stock Photo; CBW/Alamy Stock Photo

CBW/Alamy Stock Photo

Debbie Harry , 78, and Chris Stein , 74, musicians, on “Blondie” (1976)

Debbie Harry: We recorded “Blondie” [when Harry was 30 and Stein was 25] in a studio used by jazz musicians, and there wasn’t a lot of fancy recording technique. It was a different era. I think the fact that the album wasn’t overproduced gives it a kind of timelessness. We still perform some of those songs. Every once in a while, we drag up “X Offender” and “Rip Her to Shreds.”

Our music wasn’t just about one style or sound; we had songs that expressed different feelings and attitudes in music. A lot of things, like “Man Overboard” [a danceable heartbreak track], we really didn’t pull off the way I think Chris wanted to, but it’s there.

Chris Stein: That song would’ve worked fantastic with a dembow beat [but I wasn’t introduced to reggaeton until years later]. If I were to change anything about the album, it’d have more to do with the production than what we were slapping on the tape. Generally, we’d just go in and do a bunch of takes, pick the best one, throw some stuff on it and that was pretty much it. There was hardly any overdubbing. We learned so much from the producer Mike Chapman a couple of years later — the difference between “Blondie” and our later albums was like night and day.

Still, I like “Blondie.” It represents how we felt at the time and what was happening to us. When I look back on it, I think of the whole downtown milieu and a period in New York that I don’t know if anyone thought we’d be talking about 50 years later. — L.G.

Smith at her mother’s home in northwest London in 2000. The author’s sixth novel, “The Fraud,” was published last year.

Courtesy of William Morrow. Photo by Joshua Scott

Zadie Smith , 48, writer, on “White Teeth” (2000)

I love the joy in my novel “White Teeth” [a multigenerational story of race and identity among the residents of London’s Willesden neighborhood], even though I haven’t picked it up in 25 years. Back then [Smith was 24 when the book came out], I was trying to write about people; I was interested in the interpersonal above all else. The people in the neighborhood I came from were always described in a manner of pathology, and I was trying to explain that we weren’t pathological. I was always writing around this kind of elephant in the room, which is what you know people have already assumed about your characters. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve had to do less of that because I’ve got company. There are so many writers from so many countries, particularly in West Africa, [that] I wanted to see as a child.

Courtesy of Penguin Random House

I’ve become more interested in power lately. I’m very aware of being like the Ancient Mariner, that the structures I’m talking about that made life not always pathological have vanished. The conditions of the characters in “White Teeth” — their decent health care, their reasonable housing, their free university education — are gone. I’m still on the side of joy, but the question is, what kind of structures allow people to experience it. As I’ve gotten older, I write about them not out of nostalgia but out of political urgency. — L.G.

Left: a mock-up of Lin’s 493-foot Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Right: Lin with her parents, Julia Chang Lin and Henry Huan Lin, at her Yale graduation in 1981. The designer’s 44th sculpture, for the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, is scheduled to be completed next year.

Courtesy of Maya Lin (2)

Lin with her parents, Julia Chang Lin and Henry Huan Lin, at her Yale graduation in 1981. The designer’s 44th sculpture, for the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, is scheduled to be completed next year.

Courtesy of Maya Lin

Maya Lin , 64, sculptor, on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (1982) in Washington, D.C.

It was a battle to keep the Vietnam Veterans Memorial simple and spare. I was moved by World War I memorials built by the French and British. They offered a much more realistic and sobering look at the high price of war, which is human life. When I went to the site [of what would become the monument] on Thanksgiving break [in 1980, when I was 20 and in my junior year at Yale], I felt a need to cut the earth and open it up. The structure isn’t so much an object inserted into the earth; it’s the earth itself being polished like a geode. I considered everything, even the walkway, which was put in to intentionally separate the wall from the ground. If you put the granite sidewalk all the way up against the wall, it would no longer be a polished geode — it’d be a curb. I put grass there. But no one could have predicted how popular it would be, so people trampled the grass and it died.

A year or two after the memorial was built, unbeknown to me, the architects of record worked with [the National] Park Service to put in [Belgian blocks on either side of the granite path]. That needs to be rethought because it’s an ugly detail. They’re out of scale. It drives me crazy every time I see it. — L.G.

Chapman with the producer David Kershenbaum at a Los Angeles recording studio in 1987. The musician’s debut album will be reissued on vinyl this summer to mark its 35th anniversary.

From left: Lester Cohen/Getty Images; courtesy of Elektra Records

Courtesy of Elektra Records

Tracy Chapman , 60, musician, on “Tracy Chapman” (1988)

I had this notion when I first started writing songs that to respect the muse — or whatever source of inspiration brought me to put pen to paper — I shouldn’t do any editing. The first thing that came to me was meant to be. “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution,” which I wrote when I was 16, emerged from that mind-set. It was one of those songs that came out in one sitting. It’s a very forceful declaration.

A song like “Fast Car,” which I wrote when I was maybe 22, wasn’t a very long process, but it reflected a different strategy about songwriting. It was more about revelation, sharing a story about a person and the changes happening in their life. I made edits to “Fast Car.” I definitely changed words and lines. I’m too embarrassed to tell you exactly what, but it was the verse that starts “See, my old man’s got a problem.” Let’s just say that there was something else there.

In some ways, writing a song is about asking and answering questions: “Who is this character, why are they doing this and where is the story going?” When I was young, I thought all these questions could be answered with the first iteration of the song. I’m not as enamored with this idea that the very first thing that comes to mind is what I have to remain committed to. — L.G.

Jewel , 49, musician, on “Pieces of You” (1995)

Jewel at the musician Neil Young’s private studio in Northern California in 1994. An immersive exhibit of the singer-songwriter’s work will open at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark., in May.

Courtesy of the Jewel Kilcher Archive and Bershaw Archival Management

What’s important to me about “Pieces of You” is that I made an honest album. I liked [the writers] Charles Bukowski and Anaïs Nin because they told the truth about themselves, and it wasn’t always pretty. With my work, my goal was to be just as honest. “Pieces of You” wasn’t more developed than I was — I didn’t know how to play with a band, and I didn’t choose a producer who’d make me sound slicker or lend their experience to make me sound more polished. I wanted it to be a snapshot of who I was [between 16 and 19]: inexperienced, emotionally charged and trying to figure life out.

Courtesy of Craft Recordings and Jewel

Writing was medicine for me. I had extreme anxiety, panic attacks and agoraphobia. I wrote songs to calm myself down and to help me fall asleep at night. I never wrote them thinking I’d have a career. There wasn’t really a craft — it was more about what comforted me, what suited me, what interested me to think and write about. I was an avid reader, and a lot of my writing took after Flannery O’Connor, [John] Steinbeck and [Anton] Chekhov, like short stories put to music.

I remember writing at that age that I didn’t want my music to be my best work of art — I wanted my life to be my best work of art. I take music seriously, but I take that promise to myself more seriously. — L.G.

These interviews have been edited and condensed.

JANE FONDA AND LILY TOMLIN, ACTRESSES Have co-starred in three films and a TV show, from “9 to 5” (1980) to “80 for Brady” (2023).

Video by Kurt Collins

JANE FONDA: It was 1978, and I heard that Lily Tomlin was performing in a [one-woman] show called “Appearing Nitely” in Los Angeles. I don’t know how many characters she played, but she embodied them all so fully. I was smitten. I went backstage to meet her. At the time, I was in the process of developing “9 to 5” [the 1980 comedy about a trio of female office workers who overthrow the company’s sexist boss] and, as I was driving home, I thought, “I don’t want to be in a movie about secretaries unless Lily Tomlin is in it.”

LILY TOMLIN: She swept in backstage with a big cape on. We couldn’t believe it — this was Jane Fonda! For a couple of years, I’d worn a hairdo from “Klute” [the 1971 thriller for which Fonda won an Oscar], but I didn’t have it when she showed up that day. I was like, “Why did I drop my ‘Klute’ hairdo at this propitious time?”

J.F.: It took a good year to convince Lily and Dolly [Parton, the film’s other lead] to do the movie. It’s not that they weren’t interested, but it was very difficult. Why was it so difficult, Lily?

L.T.: I think I was that way about everything.

From left: Fonda, 86, and Tomlin, 84, photographed at Hubble Studio in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, on Jan. 29, 2024.

Kanya Iwana

J.F.: You are that way about everything: “I don’t know if I can do this. I’m not right for the part.” You do that every time. But it was your idea to get Colin Higgins to direct and to cast Dabney Coleman [as the boss]. You should’ve been the one producing it! My only decision was to make the movie, because one of my close friends, [the former director of the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau] Karen Nussbaum, would tell me stories about organizing women office workers and what they had to go through.

L.T.: I thought I had some lines that were hitting you over the head with the joke. Yet when the movie was released, those lines got the biggest response from the audience.

J.F.: Both of us got a kick out of Dolly’s innocence. When she showed up the first day, she’d memorized the entire script. And then the day that Dolly sang —

L.T.: Oh, that was a glorious moment.

J.F.: She used her long nails like a washboard and started to sing, “Working 9 to 5. …” Lily and I looked at each other and we knew: “This is it — we’ve got an anthem.” But I think my favorite shooting experiences were when we had the dead body in the back of the car. We went to the Apple Pan [a diner in Los Angeles] because Dolly wanted to get a cheeseburger, remember?

L.T.: Everybody would tell stories about their life, and we just fell in love with each other.

J.F.: Our worlds are so different. Our backgrounds are so different. Our senses of comedy — I mean, I don’t really have one.

L.T.: Jane was so earnest. She felt so passionate about every activist problem that she was trying to solve. It was inspiring and endearing.

J.F.: Since then, we’ve done seven seasons of [the Netflix TV series] “Grace and Frankie” [which ran from 2015 to 2022]. Ten days after we wrapped, we started a movie that we both like a lot called “Moving On.” When that came out [in 2023], I was interested in the reviews — almost every one of them talked about our chemistry. And it was like, “Well, maybe we should always work together.” — E.R.A.

Fonda: Hair: Jonathan Hanousek at Exclusive Artists Management. Makeup: David Deleon at Allyson Spiegelman Management. Tomlin: Hair: Darrell Redleaf Fielder at Aim Artists Agency. Makeup: Shelley Rucker at Aim Artists Agency. On-set producer: Joy Thomas. Photo assistant: Jeremy Eric Sinclair. Digital tech: Aron Norman

MARC JACOBS, FASHION DESIGNER, AND CINDY SHERMAN, ARTIST Have collaborated on multiple projects for the Marc Jacobs brand, from a 2005 photo book to the spring 2024 campaign.

From left: Jacobs, 61, and Sherman, 70, photographed at Go Studios in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan, on March 5, 2024.

MARC JACOBS: In 2004, I reached out to ask if you’d [be in a Marc Jacobs campaign]. I knew your work very well, and I knew that you’d done an ad in 1984 for [the French fashion brand] Dorothée Bis. That made me think, “Maybe she’d do this with us.” I was a little intimidated about asking.

CINDY SHERMAN: I was so intimidated that you’d asked. I remember thinking, “I’m going to bring a bunch of wigs and makeup.” It was just me for a few shots, but then [the German photographer] Juergen [Teller] got playful and started putting himself in the pictures. He gradually shaved parts of his face and head. He’d started the shoot with a full head of hair and beard; by the end, he was completely bald with no facial hair at all.

M.J.: I wasn’t there, but I got calls from Juergen saying, “It’s [expletive] excellent, it’s [expletive] excellent.” He says that when he’s really excited. You created some hilarious characters. There was one where you were both older, sitting on a bench.

C.S.: Rifling through a big bag.

M.J.: That image became a billboard on Melrose [Avenue in Los Angeles]. It was great because fashion campaigns like that didn’t exist back then. Nobody would’ve ever said, “ That’s our ad,” because it wasn’t exactly selling clothes or bags. But it was exciting.

C.S.: What’s funny is that you’d asked me, a year or two ago during Covid, to do something — I don’t even remember what it was. I’d gained a bit of weight, so I was self-conscious and kept turning you down. [For the 2024 campaign I ended up doing] some of the outfits were a little tight. The people assisting me said, “We can fix that.” And I said, “No, no, it’s [perfect for] the character.” I guess I could’ve thought of someone who was trying to hide, but I decided, “No, she seems like she could just let it all hang out in her leather pants.” How do you feel when you see different types of women wearing your pieces or putting them together in unusual ways?

M.J.: It’s the ultimate validation. Of all the stuff that exists out there, they’re spending their money on something I’ve made. How about you with collectors?

C.S.: Sometimes it’s a little weird. I remember an early series of horizontal pictures that I called “The Centerfolds” (1981) — I thought they were kind of disturbing, but some collector said, “I have that one hanging over my bed because it’s so sexy.” And I’m thinking, “Ugh, I don’t want to know that.” But you can’t control what happens to a piece.

M.J.: Or what other people see in it. Feedback is part of the equation. It’s like, “I’m not just doing this for me. I need you.” — E.R.A.

Production: Prodn. Hair: Tsuki at Streeters. Makeup assistant: Nanase. Photo assistants: John Temones, Tony Jarum, Logan Khidekel

CARLOS NAZARIO, STYLIST, AND WILLY CHAVARRIA, FASHION DESIGNER Have worked together on three collections since 2022.

From left: Nazario, 36, and Chavarria, 56, photographed at Chavarria’s studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, on March 18, 2024.

Emiliano Granado

WILLY CHAVARRIA: Carlos and I would see each other at Calvin Klein [Nazario has styled for the brand; Chavarria was its senior vice president of design from 2021 until 2023], but our first formal meeting was lunch at the Odeon. Like Truman Capote’s swans, we had salads and talked about water and weight loss.

CARLOS NAZARIO: It wasn’t like we were meeting to discuss a project. That sort of evolved organically.

W.C.: I was terrified to ask you to work with me. I remember texting to [see] if you’d style my [fall 2023] show. Do you know what you said? “I thought you’d never ask.”

C.N.: Willy’s work spoke to me in such a profound way. There was such a similarity — if not in aesthetic, definitely in intention. A lot of brands lack depth and a soul. I’m Afro-Latino. I grew up in New York with a certain relationship to how one presents themselves to the world, what glamour means and looks like and how it’s communicated. I was always intrigued by how Willy’s designs encompassed all those things.

W.C.: [The way we collaborate] is so natural and unpretentious. We end up telling a story that we feel good about.

C.N.: Every relationship between a stylist and designer is unique. Some designers require a lot more — from research to manufacturing and the show. Others want you to come in right at the end and say, “Let’s put that on this model.” With Willy, our conversations prior to my first day were conceptual. We talked about what he wanted it to feel like, rather than what he wanted it to look like.

W.C.: For that first show together, we wanted the cast — all people of color, many of them queer and trans — to feel elevated and empowered. Marlon [Taylor-Wiles, the show’s movement director] was going to have the models look down at the guests.

C.N.: At the rehearsal, we were like, “Maybe it’s a bit creepy.” I wasn’t uncomfortable [giving my opinion] because Willy’s such an easy person to talk to. But anytime you’re coming into a space where everyone has clearly defined roles, you feel like a stepparent. You’re a bit like, “Do I discipline the daughter? Do I tell her the skirt’s too short?” I didn’t want to overstep, but I also wanted to make my presence worth it. As we got more comfortable [with each other], we got more comfortable trying things.

W.C.: The next season, we took more risks. We wanted it to feel refined and elegant, but we also wanted to inject a youthfulness.

C.N.: At a lot of [brands], it’s like, “This season, everything’s a miniskirt. If your thighs aren’t great, see you in the fall!” Willy’s casting allows for a very broad vision in terms of what the styling can do: You’ll have someone like me, who’s 5-foot-4 [Nazario walked in the fall 2024 show], and then you’ll have someone who’s 6-foot-4.

W.C.: You’ll have a woman in her late 50s and a 17-year-old boy.

C.N.: Everyone from twinks to daddies. If you tried to dress everyone the same, it’d be a disaster.

W.C.: I can suggest something that you don’t like, and you’ll say, “Let’s go with it. Let’s see.” And I’ll do the same. I’ve worked with stylists who will deliberate over the positioning of a hat for hours. The stress level is so intense, it kills the moment. Having the freedom [to experiment reflects] a levity we want the brand to have. You know, we address serious subjects, like human rights, inclusion …

C.N.: Self-identity. But if we’re stressed, everyone’s stressed. We try to keep it light, but we also understand the weight of the responsibility. It’s rare that you work with people who understand what you’re feeling and what you want to convey. And I think our trust lies in that. — N.H.

Photo assistants: Eamon Colbert, Jordan Zuppa

MINK STOLE, ACTRESS, AND JOHN WATERS, FILMMAKER Have worked together on almost every one of his movies since “Roman Candles” (1967), including “Pink Flamingos” (1972), “Hairspray” (1988) and “A Dirty Shame” (2004).

Video by Melody Melamed

MINK STOLE: John, I’ve just been told your conference line is charging me a penny a minute.

JOHN WATERS: Oh, c’mon. I’ve been using it for 20 years. It’s never said that.

M.S.: It’s fine. I can handle it.

T: How did you two first meet?

J.W.: Mink also grew up in Baltimore, although I was friends with her older sister Mary, who now goes by Sique. My memory’s that we met in Provincetown, Mass., right before doing my second movie [the 1967 short] “Roman Candles” [in which Stole plays a party guest who gets spanked]. She was looking to go bad and found the right crowd. Prescott Townsend, one of the first gay radicals, allowed us to live in a tree fort he’d made.

M.S.: That was the summer I got introduced to homosexuality.

J.W.: Did we take acid that summer?

M.S.: I kind of think we did, yeah.

J.W.: And then we took it again 50 years later. My mother always used to say, “Don’t tell young people to take drugs.” But I’m not — I’m telling old people to. Anyway, we shot “Roman Candles” partly at my parents’ house and, oddly enough, a decade later, you filmed a big scene at that same house, in my parents’ bedroom, when you played [the delusional housewife] Peggy Gravel in “Desperate Living” [1977].

From left: Stole, 76, and Waters, 77, photographed, respectively, at Edge Studios in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, on Feb. 4, 2024, and at Waters’s home in Tuscany-Canterbury, Baltimore, on March 7, 2024.

Melody Melamed

M.S.: We threw a baseball through a window and kind of trashed the place. Your mom was a sport.

J.W.: So was yours. Mink and I were arrested [along with three other members of the crew] for conspiracy to commit indecent exposure while making [the 1969 film] “Mondo Trasho.” It was in the paper. They printed your poor mother’s address.

M.S.: We were acquitted.

J.W.: We’d been filming a scene at Johns Hopkins University with [the actor and drag performer] Divine, in full makeup and a gold lamé top with matching toreador pants, in a 1959 red Cadillac convertible with the top down in November. I never asked permission [to shoot]. The police came and we all ran. The fact that we got caught and Divine escaped didn’t say a lot for the Baltimore police. Mink played an escaped mental patient; she did a nude tap dance.

M.S.: I’d get upset when the press would call us unprofessional because, although it was true that not one of us had ever taken an acting lesson, we were incredibly professional. And none of it was ad-libbed. John wouldn’t have tolerated that. He knew every comma, every “and,” every “but.”

J.W.: What’s that French term for people who go crazy when they’re together?

M.S.: “Folie à something”?

J.W.: “Folie à famille.” Everybody chipped in, and we just went for it.

T: Mink, were there any scenes you refused to shoot?

M.S.: Before we started filming “Pink Flamingos” [1972, in which Stole plays the proprietor of a black-market baby ring], John very casually said, “Will you set your hair on fire?” And I said, “Yes, that’ll look great on film.” But then as the moment approached, I panicked.

J.W.: I was on pot when I thought of that.

M.S.: It would’ve been great, except that I’d be bald today. I think that’s the only thing I ever refused to do.

T: What’ve you learned from each other?

M.S.: In the early films, we all acted largely. We spoke in italics. In the later ones, when I’d start to behave that way, John would say, “Take it down.” I was shocked [the first time he said it].

J.W.: When we made those early movies, I was influenced by the theater of the ridiculous — by cruelty, shouting and craziness. It wasn’t them overacting, it was me telling them to overact.

M.S.: I have enormous respect for John, and John for me. Aside from the fact that I love him dearly, I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t met him.

J.W.: And we’ve never had the same boyfriend.

M.S.: Or wanted the same boyfriend.

J.W.: Mink and I have been through a lot together. We’ve fought, we’ve made up. I don’t trust people who don’t have old friends. For me, they outlast family. Mink and I are even going to be buried together in the same graveyard. We call it Disgraceland. — N.H.

Waters: Makeup: Cheryl Pickles Kinion. Photo assistants: Daniel Garton, Ashley Poole

COBY KENNEDY AND HANK WILLIS THOMAS, ARTISTS Have spent three decades collaborating on public art installations and community-focused projects, including 2023’s “Reach,” a more than 2,700-pound fiberglass-and-resin sculpture at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport of two hands nearly touching.

From left: Kennedy, 47, and Thomas, 48, photographed at Thomas’s studio in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on Feb. 28, 2024.

D’Angelo Lovell Williams

COBY KENNEDY: We met on a collaboration, actually. It was the summer of 1992.

HANK WILLIS THOMAS: I’d been recruited to work with Coby to renovate the darkroom at Howard University [in Washington, D.C.], where his father [Winston Kennedy] was the chair of the art program. We were in high school. Building a darkroom when you don’t really know how — that’s kind of the way we’ve always worked. Back then, Coby was a street writer.

C.K.: A graffiti writer, in the parlance of our times. My graffiti and school crews melded into this conglomerate [called] the Earthbound Homies.

H.W.T.: This was [during the] peak ’90s hip-hop days. The group was [made up of] all these young, primarily Black artists. I wasn’t one of them, I was a documenter.

C.K.: Hank was in museum studies, while the rest of us were in visual arts. He was very quiet and observant. It felt like he was always regarding you.

H.W.T.: The core of our relationship has been fostering opportunities for others to interlace their practices. The Wide Awakes [their most recent art collective, named after a progressive group that supported Abraham Lincoln during the 1860 presidential election] took off in my old studio in December 2019.

C.K.: We were trying to plug into society and see how we could influence it. When 2020 happened — the pandemic, the lockdown, the insurrection — we really hit the accelerator with it.

H.W.T.: I’d call the Wide Awakes our first public collaboration. But then again, 2016 is when “Reach” [their sculpture at Chicago’s O’Hare airport] first started. We’re excited to have it be one of the largest public acknowledgments of something we’ve been doing for 30 years.

C.K.: In our collaborations, we kind of fill in each other’s gaps.

H.W.T.: As a conceptual artist, I have great ideas — a lot of them. Coby, who has a history as an industrial designer and animator, is the bridge between the proposal and how it happens. With virtually every one of my public sculptures, he’s done all the initial concepting. He’s always had this ability to see what others are thinking. We also have different tastes.

C.K.: And they’re sometimes at odds with each other, which is one of the best parts [of our working relationship], because I’d hate for both of us to be middle ground.

H.W.T.: Coby has a very clear, singular vision, while I create art through consensus. I want to make a statement [so I’m often asking others], “What do you think about it?” I envy Coby’s talent. But I also think not having his talent gives me a reliance on other people, which is helpful in the context of making public art.

C.K.: I know that he’ll tell me the truth about anything I come up with, and he knows that if I have to talk trash about one of his ideas, I’ll talk trash about it.

H.W.T.: As much as I’d like Coby to think like me, then he wouldn’t be him and I wouldn’t be me. We allow each other to be who we are. — N.A.

INGAR DRAGSET AND MICHAEL ELMGREEN, ARTISTS Have worked as the duo Elmgreen & Dragset on more than 90 solo shows and site-specific installations, including a 2005 replica of a Prada store near Marfa, Texas, since 1995.

From left: Dragset, 54, and Elmgreen, 62, photographed at their studio in Neukölln, Berlin, on Feb. 7, 2024.

Julia Sellmann

INGAR DRAGSET: We met at After Dark, the only gay club at the time in Copenhagen, in 1994. I was 24 and Michael was 32. I thought he looked amazing — he had this Dennis Rodman-style hair that was bleached with baroque black patterns on it. We both had big Dr. Martens boots and were much grungier than the rest of the crowd.

MICHAEL ELMGREEN: The club was a classic disco — a lot of blown-out hair and Gloria Gaynor. It wasn’t difficult to spot each other.

I.D.: We got more than a little tipsy. When we both started to walk home, we realized that we lived not only in the same neighborhood but in the same building. That was the beginning of our 10-year romantic relationship. The artistic collaboration started eight months later, a little bit by accident. I was doing theater at the time.

M.E.: I was writing poetry and experimenting with texts that would morph in front of people’s eyes on IBM computers. To my surprise, I was considered a visual artist.

I.D.: Michael got invited to do an exhibition in Stockholm. He had the idea of creating abstract pets that people could cuddle, but he didn’t know how to make them. And I said, “Well, I’m good at knitting.” So that’s how the collaboration started.

M.E.: The Swedes are, as we know, a bit stiff; they were terrified about interacting with the artwork. So we were sitting in [opposite] corners with these knitted pets, cuddling them, and people thought it was a performance.

I.D.: That accidental performance inspired us to do more. The next one was a piece where I was furiously knitting at one end of a very long white cloth while Michael was unraveling everything from the other end. That should tell you a bit about our partnership.

M.E.: When we were coupled, we were almost the same size in clothes, so we even shared socks, we shared bank accounts, all our friends.

I.D.: We had one email account, one cellphone.

M.E.: Starting a new chapter after we split up was like meeting again, workwise. We had separate lives for some hours of the day. Suddenly, you could bring in exciting things that the other hadn’t experienced.

I.D.: It was a very difficult time. We put most things on hold, but we had one exhibition that would’ve been hard to cancel: a solo show at Tate Modern [in London]. In a big room with a window overlooking the Thames, we added another windowpane and, in between the panes, we had an animatronic but very realistic-looking sparrow that seemed to be gasping for life and flapping its wings, and nobody could help it.

M.E.: I think the beauty of it all was that we dared to stop being boyfriends because we knew we wouldn’t lose each other. Today, it’d be impossible to say who came up with what idea. It’s not two half authorships. It’s like this imaginary third persona in between us that we feed — an invisible genius kid who’s much, much younger, brighter and more charming than either of us. He’s creating the artworks. — J.H.

BOBBI SALVÖR MENUEZ, ACTOR, AND MICHAEL BAILEY-GATES, ARTIST Have collaborated on dozens of performances and photography projects throughout their decade-long friendship.

From left: Menuez, 30, and Bailey-Gates, 30, photographed at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif., on Feb. 1, 2024.

BOBBI SALVÖR MENUEZ: I curated a 2014 show at [the Brooklyn exhibition space] Muddguts that was part of a series in which I invited people who didn’t always make performance work to create something in a performance context. We’d been in a group show together before and had mutual friends, and I was excited about the work I was seeing Michael make.

MICHAEL BAILEY-GATES: It was me, Bobbi and maybe two or three other people. I had this party trick of being able to talk really fast, like an auctioneer. When I said certain phrases, one of them would stand up, and another would scream at the top of their lungs or throw an object at someone.

B.S.M.: It felt like the beginning of us making things together on the fly. We both had this down-to-get-into-it energy that was well matched.

M.B.G.: We shared an urgency to make work come to life. Sometimes it’s as simple as being a body for another person. I’ve been the lead in Bobbi’s performances, and I’ve been in the background, lying on a floor covered in red paint. Performance art in New York at the time was about executing an idea without a lot of money. These days, I don’t go into a shoot thinking we’re performing, but it’s very much that: The camera is the audience looking back at us.

B.S.M.: Michael has this ability to see the kaleidoscopic possibility of someone’s self- expression. Around 2018, I was out as nonbinary to my close friends and finding my new name. I took a break from auditions and started working part-time as a substitute teacher. When a film I’d shot the year before got into [the 2019] Sundance [Film Festival], it was an invitation to step back into the spotlight. I’d shaved my head and was nervous about that formal, public coming- out moment. It just felt so cringe. I went to Los Angeles before going to Sundance and made some pictures with Michael that were only for us. Those were the first images of Bobbi that entered the world.

M.B.G.: I never want to make a picture of somebody that’s not reflective of them. I’ve chosen in my practice to always focus on a small group of friends, and those collaborations are the grounding force of my work. Without them, what would my pictures be? They’d be something less precious. — C.R.

Makeup: Zenia Jaeger at Streeters using Submission Beauty. Hair assistant: Drew Martin. Production: Resin Projects. Photo assistants: Michael Preman, Jack Buster

Humberto Leon, restaurateur and creative director

Leon, 48, photographed at his restaurant Chifa in Los Angeles on Dec. 14, 2023.

Ryan James Caruthers

Then: The co-founder, with Carol Lim, of Opening Ceremony, the influential New York clothing store established in 2002; the co-creative director of the French fashion house Kenzo between 2011 and 2019.

Now: Co-runs three restaurants in Los Angeles — Chifa, Monarch and Arroz & Fun.

In 1975, the year I was born, my mom opened a restaurant in Lima — my mom’s from Hong Kong, my dad from Peru — and so I’ve always thought of a meal as a way to learn and to meet new people. In 2020, I’d recently quit Kenzo and sold Opening Ceremony. My sisters and brother-in-law were in the midst of changes of their own, and we’d always wanted to tell my mom’s story. So we decided to open a restaurant together in Eagle Rock, the Los Angeles neighborhood where my family first lived when we immigrated to the United States in the late ’70s. We named it Chifa, after my mom’s place in Lima, and based the menu on a similar mix of classic Peruvian dishes like lomo saltado (beef stir fry) and anticucho (meat skewers) and Chinese home cooking — though my brother-in-law, the chef John Liu, has added some of his Taiwanese family’s culinary staples, too.

Starting anything new is scary, and I didn’t have the confidence to do so until the pandemic, which gave me time to try new ideas. (I also wrote a screenplay and a script for a TV show.) I tried to channel the intuition [I’d brought to Opening Ceremony] into other fields. I realized that what I’d done with the store was ultimately about the fond memories people had of the place rather than any specific product. Food does something similar: It creates conversations and memories.

I had the same feeling when I opened the store: “Will anyone show up?” We’d built Opening Ceremony from the ground up — no ads, only word of mouth — and that experience lent itself to launching Chifa, as well as Monarch and Arroz & Fun [our second and third restaurants, which opened last year in the Arcadia and Lincoln Heights neighborhoods, respectively]. In many ways, I’m bringing the same sensibility to the restaurants that I brought to Opening Ceremony: They’re places where you can discover new things. We aren’t aiming for formality or perfection. If anything, part of the experience is dropping your fork and noticing the cool terrazzo floor or really looking at the flatware, which we made with the designer Izabel Lam. As a person who shops and eats a lot, I want to be excited, to feel that nervousness of trying something new. — M.S.

Nick Cave, musician, writer and artist

Cave, 66, photographed at his studio near his home in Brighton, England, on Jan. 29, 2024.

Then: Rose to prominence with his post-punk band the Bad Seeds, formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1983; became one of rock’s most celebrated lyricists and performers.

Now: Makes ceramics at a studio close to his home on the south coast of England, and his first major solo show, “ The Devil — A Life ,” is on view now through May 11 at Xavier Hufkens gallery in Brussels. Will release a new record with the Bad Seeds later this year.

I learned early on that the grand designs you have in life don’t always pan out. Starting in secondary school, I wanted to be a painter. I went to art school [for university in 1976] and, to my horror, failed my second year. At the same time, my first band [the Boys Next Door, which eventually became the Birthday Party] was starting to do well in the underground scene in Melbourne. I was much more interested in painting — I did figurative work that often referenced myself — but I’d failed, so I carried on with the band.

I started making ceramics during the pandemic. I collect Victorian Staffordshire-style figurines, the sort of thing an English grandmother might have on her mantelpiece, and one day I thought, “I could make these.” I found I was really swept up by clay. I struggle hugely with writing songs — not the music, but the lyrics. They never feel good enough. Mostly it’s all doubt and despair. But I don’t think I’ve felt more pleasure than I have when pulling a piece out of the kiln and looking at something I’ve made with my hands.

At some point, I had an idea to make a devil, mostly because I wanted to paint a figure in a fiery red glaze. I made one devil and then others, and eventually they began to tell a story. In the beginning, there’s a sort of lightheartedness about this wicked little guy: In his youth, he’s embedded in the world and in love with it. But then he kills his child, and [the figures] get dark and desperate. Later, he becomes remorseful and dies a terrible death. And in the end he’s forgiven by his child.

The death of a child is obviously very important to me because two of my own children have died. [Cave’s son Arthur died in 2015 at age 15. His oldest son, Jethro, died in 2022 at age 31.] And the works were saying something very powerful to me about my unfolding situation in life, something that my songs didn’t really talk about. I found that I could look at this poor devil in a pool of tears, with his lost child extending his hand to him, as a kind of meditation on my own place in the world and find a way that I — or we or whoever — may live a life. — M.H.M.

Jordi Roca, pastry chef

Roca, 45, photographed at Rocambolesc Gelateria in Girona, Spain, on March 13, 2024.

Anna Bosch Miralpeix

Then: Joined the restaurant El Celler de Can Roca — founded in 1986 by his brothers, Joan and Josep, in Girona, Spain — in 1997, becoming head pastry chef in 2000.

Now: After starting his own gelateria chain, Rocambolesc, in Girona with his wife, Alejandra Rivas, in 2012, and being diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder four years later, opened an outpost of the gelateria in Houston in 2022 with a neurodiverse team.

When I first started to lose my voice, it didn’t have much of an effect on my creative process in the kitchen. I had to learn to interact more through gesture, but I could still speak during quieter moments. That was around 2016, when I was giving a lot of interviews. It was a period in my career when I needed to speak but, instead, was a time of introspection. Once I got the diagnosis — I have an unusual expression of spasmodic dysphonia [a neurological disorder that causes spasms in the voice box] — it meant I could finally move forward. Now I think of this as just part of who I am.

The idea to open a U.S. branch of Rocambolesc, the gelateria, which has five locations in Spain, came a year or so before this. In 2015, when we were [hosting] cooking events around the world for Celler de Can Roca, we met our business partner Ignacio Torres in Houston. He has family members with autism, and having a place that would hire people with autism and Down syndrome was part of his idea from the beginning. By the time we opened Rocambolesc in Houston in 2022, we’d already had experiences in Celler de Can Roca with team members who had neurological differences. But staffing a project with a neurodiverse team was a huge personal gamble taken by Ignacio and his wife, Isabel, to transform the stigmas around neurodivergence in the United States. The project’s really been embraced in Houston. We have staff who’ve been with us right from the beginning. Of course, my own difficulties have given me a deeper empathy with people who can’t always express themselves in the way they might like. But what I’ve learned — especially through this project — is that we all live in the same world. There’re just many ways to see it. — M.S.

Cassi Namoda, painter

Namoda, 35, photographed with paintings in progress at her studio in Biella, Italy, on Feb. 25, 2024.

Claudia Gori

Then: A visual artist known for her spare yet color-rich depictions of contemporary African people and landscapes who was last based in the Berkshires region of Massachusetts.

Now: Living in Biella, in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, where she’s working in a new studio and preparing to become a mother.

Biella has a beautiful, fantastical landscape — you have a backdrop of the snowcapped Alps, but there are also palm trees, beeches, pines and cypresses. It’s an easier flight to my family in Mozambique [than from the United States]. And we’re a 10-minute drive away from my husband’s family.

I found an incredible studio where I can visualize having my child and making magnificent work. The commercial art world is a masculine environment. But this is my own world. There’s a large kitchen with big windows and an amazing chef’s oven, so there can be lunches. I’ll put in a daybed because I know I need naps. There’ll be a baby corner, with a crib and maybe some safe paints. I’m really into self-preservation and embracing femininity.

My life before was very utilitarian. Some days, I’d get to the studio early and be there until 3 or 4 a.m., eating popcorn and puffing on a cigarette. The child has already forced me to have a healthier balance with work. But I have these dreams about me before [there was] this new spirit in me. It’s not a somber or sad thing, like, “Oh, I wish I was Cassi in Tambacounda, Senegal, plein-air painting in the field.” But I’m remembering that person.

I finally got into the Italian health care system, which has been a nightmare. It’s not superfriendly to foreigners. Meanwhile, I’m preparing for a solo exhibition in September and a museum show opening in December. In my head I’m like, “The baby’s coming really soon, I don’t really have a doctor, I’m still setting up my studio and I have a 53-foot-long cargo container with all of my belongings arriving on Monday!”

There are large works to start but, with this heavy belly, I can’t balance on a ladder. I might bring the canvases down to the floor and rest them on bricks. I’m visiting a softer, more romantic side. The world’s in a dark place; why not make something beautiful? I’m seeing flamingo pink and yellow and sandy tones. It’s soft and rosy. I don’t think it’s because I’m having a girl — the sex of the baby is a surprise — but that’s how I’m feeling right now. — E.L.

Jon Bon Jovi, musician and singer-songwriter

Bon Jovi, 62, photographed at his restaurant JBJ Soul Kitchen in Red Bank, N.J., on March 1, 2024.

Sebastian Sabal-Bruce

Then: Co-founded the rock band Bon Jovi in Sayreville, N.J., in 1983. Began experiencing vocal difficulties in 2014.

Now: Is recovering from throat surgery, a process depicted, among other things, in the docuseries “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story,” out this month. Will release a new album, “Forever,” with the band in June.

My problems started about a decade ago. In 2013, we had the number one tour in the world, and I was great for 100-plus shows. But in 2014, I wasn’t really making any music, which was hard psychologically. Then some of the recordings and shows we did, especially after 2017, were challenging — my range seemed to have narrowed and it was becoming difficult to sing consistently. But none of the professionals I saw could figure it out.

In March 2022, a doctor in Philadelphia explained that one of my vocal cords was atrophying. I thought I could get my voice back in shape if I just did enough shows, so I went back on the road. But it was a struggle. Finally, that June, I had an implant put [inside the cartilage of my larynx] to bring my [vocal folds] together. There was no singing at all for the first six weeks. Then I started speech therapy. I have rehab four times a week. But I’m still not sure what to expect. Yesterday when I was rehearsing with the band, I had a rough go with the song “Limitless” from the album “2020” [released by the group that same year]. I said, “Guys, I only ever sang this song when I was broken. I don’t know how to sing it not broken.” If I had the word “lay,” I’d put an “E” on the end of it to try to push it up to pitch: “layeee.” But right after that, I popped the high notes on [our 1986 hit] “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

This new album’s much more of a collaborative record than the ones I’ve made in the past. It’s a celebration of my accepting any and all input and acts of kindness. It’s not been a good decade. It’s not been easy to not be the best guy in the band; it’s not easy to be the worst. It’s humbling but I don’t mind the humility. I just want my tools back. Yesterday, I pressed the point-of-no-return button and said yes, in theory, to a handful of possible shows abroad for the summer, the first ones since the spring of 2022. I’m not an applause junkie. I do it because I love to write a song and play it for people. If I have all my tools, it’ll be a joy. — E.L.

Grooming: Loraine Abeles

Titus Kaphar, artist

Kaphar, 47, photographed at his studio in New Haven, Conn., on Feb. 22, 2024.

Artwork, from left: Titus Kaphar, “I Knew,” 2023 © Titus Kaphar; Titus Kaphar, “Do You Want It Back?” 2023 © Titus Kaphar; Titus Kaphar, “Some Things Can’t Be Worked Out on Canvas,” 2023 © Titus Kaphar

Then: An artist whose works, which often confront family history and the experience of being Black in America, are in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, among other institutions.

Now: Wrote and directed his first feature-length film, “Exhibiting Forgiveness,” which premiered at Sundance in January. Paintings Kaphar made for the film (pictured above) will be shown at Gagosian in Beverly Hills in September.

“Exhibiting Forgiveness” started as a series of paintings — in particular, with one of a burning lawn mower. It didn’t take long to realize that what I was doing wasn’t best processed with paintings alone. [The film focuses on a successful artist, Tarrell, played by André Holland, who struggles to deal with the reappearance of his estranged, abusive father, La’Ron, played by John Earl Jelks, who’d force Tarrell to perform grueling manual labor as a child.] The power of painting’s often the absences: what’s not there, what’s implicit. You don’t know what happened before and you don’t know what will happen after. In film, you have an opportunity for elaboration.

I’ve tried hard not to read reviews of the film, though a friend sent me one. It was positive but what [the critic] wrote at the end, I’ll never forget. He said, “But I can’t say this film is entertaining.” [ Laughs. ] With film, some of us expect entertainment, to have a great time. And that response does frame the way we distinguish film from painting. As a painter, I don’t stand in front of [Pablo Picasso’s] “Guernica” and go, “This isn’t entertaining!” I didn’t approach filmmaking as anything different from painting. I wanted the film to be a painting in motion. The way I make decisions in the studio, about how to follow my intuition or instincts, or how to lay out a composition, was the same process I used on set. The difference is I had an extraordinary cinematographer and cast of actors to help me realize the paintings in my head.

At its essence, “Exhibiting Forgiveness” is about generational healing. I took on this project because I wanted to have a conversation with my children about the world I grew up in, which is so different from the world they’ve grown up in. And I think making the film helped resolve something within me. The revelation I had is that I can’t make my father out as the villain in my mind. He’s a victim of violence himself. And even though [he] created challenges for me, I’ve never wondered whether or not he loved me. — M.H.M.

Bárbara Sánchez-Kane, artist

Sánchez-Kane, 36, photographed at his studio (the artist uses she/her and he/him pronouns interchangeably) in Mexico City on Jan. 22, 2024.

Ana Topoleanu. Artwork, clockwise from left: Bárbara Sánchez-Kane, “La Diegada,” 2016, courtesy of the artist and Estudio Sánchez-Kane; Bárbara Sánchez-Kane, “Tragic Stages,” 2023, courtesy of the artist and Estudio Sánchez-Kane; Bárbara Sánchez-Kane, “Moctezuma’s Revenge,” 2017, performance by Sierva M, courtesy of the artist and Estudio Sánchez-Kane, photo: Karla Ximena

Then: The designer of Sánchez-Kane, the genderless clothing brand she founded in Mérida, Mexico, in 2016.

Now: An artist working with painting, sculpture and performance — while still running the label.

One of my first shows in a museum was at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in 2017. The curators invited me to present a collection from my fashion line that I’d shown in New York, and I said, “No, but maybe I can do a performance.” There’s a kind of freedom in making wearable sculptures because, in the end, clothing has to be ergonomic: The jacket I made with boxing gloves has an opening for your hands so you can eat a burger. But for the ICA show, I created a pair of transparent plastic pants with a metal frame that made them almost impossible to walk in. And last year, for my first New York solo exhibition, at Kurimanzutto gallery, I made a piece from 1,170 black plastic belts that was so big and heavy, I had to break it into parts to show it. I remember reading an article by the queer theorist Jack Halberstam on the work of the artist Gordon Matta-Clark, who would [create] windows in structures where they shouldn’t be. For me, the work is like that: opening windows that give you a different way of seeing what’s in front of you.

I started as an industrial engineer first and then became a fashion designer, but I’ve come to realize that it doesn’t matter what you’ve studied or haven’t. When I feel like the worst sculptor, I think, “Well, at least I’m a good designer.” And when I feel like a great sculptor, I might look at [the clothes in my studio] and think, “Those terrible [expletive] trousers!” Expanding into other fields is a way to embrace yourself. All we have is our imagination, which allows us to create things: objects, garments, skins that we wear when we go out into the world. I’m not saying they’ll save us, but maybe they can help us navigate the transition to another universe. — M.S.

Miguel Adrover, 58, Calonge, Majorca

The former fashion designer Miguel Adrover, now a full-time photographer, photographed at home on Majorca, Spain, on Jan. 8, 2024.

The provocative Spanish fashion designer, who had a New York-based clothing line, put a sheep on the runway and made a coat out of the ticking from the gay icon Quentin Crisp’s discarded mattress. He left the industry over a decade ago.

I started my own line in 1999 in New York, where I had been living in the East Village since 1991, and shut it down in 2005 and left the city. In 2012, I [returned] to present one runway show, which I called Out of My Mind. It was made up of personal garments I’d repurposed. I was 46. 

I’d been trying to find a way out of this unsustainable industry, this imaginary fantasy that fashion creates. My collections dealt with social justice, environmental consciousness and diversity before those topics became mainstream, and some seasons I didn’t sell anything. I never had a sugar daddy, and I invested everything I made back into the company. 

I miss New York a lot. I’m homesick for it, but it isn’t the same city, and fashion is very different, too — it feels inauthentic and disconnected from reality. When I was doing consulting and research for Alexander McQueen [in the mid-90s], we had no money. But the energy was amazing. When you don’t have money, that’s when you’re most creative. Now all of these big companies have so much money that it feels like a different world. [Still] I’d love to have the chance to put on one last presentation, one last show to express how I feel today and how I see the world right now. 

When I left New York, I decided to come to Majorca, where my parents have a farm. I started doing photography accidentally; I had no knowledge of cameras, every day was a process of me learning something totally on my own. There was a 300-year-old well on the property with no water inside, and I realized it could be my studio. It’s kind of like a basement; light comes from a little window high above. It reminds me of my apartment in New York. It’s where I develop my [projects]. I use things that surround me: tulips and rose bushes, fruit trees, a tropical garden, chickens. 

When I got here, I didn’t have a team [as I did in fashion], and one of the challenges was being surrounded by people who don’t care about what I did or what I’m doing. Photography was the ideal thing to do because I don’t need anybody, I can do it on my own. I don’t have any models; I started working with mannequins and, for many years, I collected them on eBay or from secondhand stores on the island. [I decided] I’d rather not use models — when you photograph human beings, they’re pretending or acting, and I was running away from that.

It’s been nine years since I found photography, and I’m really happy. I have a monograph coming out later this year. The photographs are like my biography. I’ve developed my style in photography and I have a creative language. Fashion was the platform I once used, but the soul inside me is the same. — interview by J.W.

Ralph Ellison, writer, circa 1913-94

Ralph Ellison, the author of the 1952 novel “Invisible Man,” in June 1957 during his fellowship at the American Academy in Rome.

James Whitmore/The Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Ralph Ellison spent seven years writing his only completed novel, “Invisible Man,” and its publication in 1952, when he was in his late 30s, not only catapulted him to literary fame but made him nothing less than a spokesperson for postwar America. His contemporary Norman Mailer would write of him that at his best, “He writes so perfectly that one can never forget the experience of reading him.” “Invisible Man,” a surreal picaresque that follows an unnamed Black protagonist — “a man of substance, of flesh and bone,” Ellison writes — as he travels through a country full of people who “refuse to see me,” is a book of such remarkable confidence that Ellison’s career, in later years, became mired in questions of what next? Ellison, a prolific writer of essays, reviews and criticism, worked for years on a follow-up, suffering one setback when a 1967 house fire destroyed portions of his manuscript. When he died in 1994, he left behind thousands of pages of drafts, fragments and unfinished tangents. Ellison’s literary executor and longtime friend, John F. Callahan, tried to edit the material down into a “single, coherent narrative,” as he put it, and published the result, called “Juneteenth,” in 1999; the New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani called it “disappointingly provisional and incomplete.” Ellison often struggled with writing. He once likened his second novel to a “bad case of constipation” and, in a 1958 letter to his friend the author Saul Bellow, Ellison wrote, “I’ve got a natural writer’s block as big as the Ritz and as stubborn as a grease spot on a gabardine suit.” — M.H.M.

Charles Laughton, actor and director, 1899-1962

The actor turned director Charles Laughton with the actress Sally Jane Bruce on the set of “The Night of the Hunter” (1955).

Everett Collection

Born in the last year of the 19th century, Charles Laughton left his family’s successful hotel business at the age of 26 to study acting at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. What he lacked in movie star looks — the critic J. Hoberman described him as “coarse-featured, overweight and slovenly” — he made up for in talent. Following a successful stage career in London’s West End, he turned to film, making a name for himself as a versatile character actor in the 1930s and ’40s. In 1955, at the age of 55, he made his most indelible contribution to his craft, directing “The Night of the Hunter,” a film noir so dark it easily passes today as horror. (William Friedkin, the director of 1973’s “The Exorcist,” described it as “one of the scariest films ever made.”) Robert Mitchum plays a terrifying ex-convict posing as a preacher and stalking the children of his former cellmate in order to find a hidden fortune. While casting Lillian Gish in the role of the children’s caretaker, Laughton told the actress about his disappointment in audiences’ lack of attention for movies, how they “slump down with their heads back, or eat candy and popcorn. I want them to sit up straight again,” he said. Though now often ranked among the greatest American movies, “The Night of the Hunter” — released just a few years before Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” (1960) made the psychological thriller into a marketable genre — was a commercial flop. Reviews were mixed; The New York Times’s Bosley Crowther called it “a weird and intriguing endeavor.” Years later, Terry Sanders, a second-unit director of the film, wrote that “the rejection by critics and the indifference of audiences hit [Laughton] hard and crushed his spirit. It wasn’t just disappointment he felt, it was utter and deeply debilitating devastation.” He never directed a second movie. — M.H.M.

Willis Alan Ramsey, 73, Loveland, Colo.

The singer-songwriter Willis Alan Ramsey, photographed at Sam’s Town Point bar in Austin, Texas, on March 14, 2024.

Caleb Santiago Alvarado

The singer-songwriter Willis Alan Ramsey, originally from Alabama, released his self-titled debut album in 1972, becoming a forebear of the alt-country genre. Jimmy Buffett and Lyle Lovett became devoted fans. More than 50 years later, Ramsey still hasn’t completed his second album.

I started trying to write songs around 1968. My first song was just awful, but I got better over time. I dropped out of college twice, the second time in 1970, from the University of Texas [at Austin], after discovering a folk club where I became an opening act for $5 a night. Those were golden, halcyon days in Austin filled with sunshine and margaritas and very little traffic. That fall, I left to begin performing at colleges around the country. I was briefly back in Austin to play at U.T. and, somehow, during two days there, I’d managed to play for Gregg Allman and Leon Russell, two of the most influential musicians of that decade. They both gave me their cards and said to look them up if I ever made it their way. [I went to Los Angeles] and recorded a demo at Skyhill, Leon’s personal home studio, and he basically offered me the moon to sign with his new label, Shelter Records [which folded in 1981]. I’d just turned 20. Over the next year, I recorded my first and only album to ever be released [“Willis Alan Ramsey,” often known as the Green Album for its green cover].

I finished the record when I was 21. I was just a kid. Leon gave me my career, to the extent that I’ve had one [but the reason I never released another record was also] Leon’s fault. He told me that if I signed with Shelter, he’d show me the studio and how it worked, and he did. I immediately wanted to learn everything I could about the recording process. I used seven studios and three rhythm sections [to make the record]. I was given carte blanche. The budget was 85 grand. I could do it for 200 grand [now], but I can’t do it any cheaper. I’d need to rehearse every musician. And my songs are all over the place. I get bored doing one particular style.

I’m the most frustrated recording artist you’ve probably ever met in your life. But I still feel I’ll figure something out. I’ve always been optimistic. I’ve got at least three more records of material. I’m pretty tough on myself in terms of writing, and I’m very attached to what I’ve written. I just haven’t been able to get a deal that’d work for me. I mean, the world works, you know? I think the key is just to work with the world. — interview by M.H.M.

Photo assistant: Sergio Flores

Harper Lee, writer, 1926-2016

The writer Harper Lee in her hometown, Monroeville, Ala., in 1961, the same year that her debut novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” won the Pulitzer Prize.

Donald Uhrbrock/Getty Images

“I sort of hoped someone would like it well enough to give me encouragement,” Harper Lee said in a 1964 radio interview, describing her low expectations for her 1960 debut, “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Instead, her novel, about a lawyer in the fictional town of Maycomb, Ala. (a stand-in for the writer’s hometown, Monroeville), who defends a Black man from a false accusation of rape by a white woman, became one of the biggest literary sensations of its era. Lee, who worked as an airline reservations agent in New York for a few years before quitting (with friends’ financial support) to work on her writing, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961; two years later, a film adaptation starring Gregory Peck won three Academy Awards. “To Kill a Mockingbird” would go on to sell tens of millions of copies and become a fixture of high school English classes.

Lee had a hard time with her sudden fame. After that radio interview in 1964, she mostly avoided the press and, as the years and decades passed without a second novel, Lee continued to guard her privacy, albeit regularly attending the Methodist Church in Monroeville and occasionally visiting the local high school during lessons about her work. The year before she died at age 89 in 2016, a previously unknown novel, “Go Set a Watchman,” which had been written before “To Kill a Mockingbird,” appeared to tepid reviews and claims that Lee, by then largely deaf and blind following a stroke, had been manipulated into releasing subpar work. Controversy aside, even just the announcement of a lost novel reignited interest in Lee’s lone masterpiece; at that point, sales of “To Kill a Mockingbird” in trade paperback nearly tripled. — M.H.M.

Luc Tuymans, 65, visual artist

Luc Tuymans, “Mijn Grote Vakantie” (1967).

Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner. Photo: Alex Salinas

When I was 7 or 8, we had to make drawings for school about our summer holidays. I was completely intrigued by the people gathering the garbage outside of our house in Antwerp [Belgium] — their truck, their dress code. During a summer day, I took out my colored pencils. I wrote underneath the drawing, “My Big Vacation.”

It came across as fairly cynical: My big vacation was garbage. It wasn’t meant that way. I really was intrigued by this operation. [Looking at it now] I’m amazed that there’s this perspective already in it. The teacher didn’t believe I made the drawing and took me by the ear to the blackboard to do it again in front of the class.

I’d been bullied a lot as a kid. I was extremely shy. Drawing was a way out, in a sense. I’d draw people who came to visit my parents and, at the end of the year, when exams were done, I’d make drawings for the whole class — whatever they wanted. I always had a ballpoint pen and a piece of paper with me, and people would gather around me while I was drawing, sometimes 20 to 30 of them. The kids were happy to have a drawing, but it didn’t really change the bullying pattern.

I saved most of my [childhood] drawings and gave them to my nephew. Unluckily, he lost them. This is virtually the only one that survived, and I gave it to my wife as a present.

It’s quite interesting to see the size of things — the difference between the houses and the people — and most of all, the idea of space that was already in the drawing. [If I were to redraw this today] it’d be a bit more meticulous, more worked out. But it’s an indication of things that would come later. My skepticism is embedded in this drawing without my doing that consciously — this quite specific, sardonic sense of humor. When I found it again, I had to laugh very, very hard. — J.H.

Do Ho Suh, 62, visual artist

Do Ho Suh, “Tiger Mask” (1971).

This drawing is based on a Japanese anime character, Tiger Mask, that was really popular in the ’70s. Back in those days, Korean TV broadcast Japanese anime in black and white. Everybody at school watched. The character is a pro wrestler who puts on a tiger mask to disguise his identity. I drew the mask directly from the anime. I was probably 9.

Once my friends saw it, they all wanted one. Demand for tiger masks became much greater than supply. Some of the rich kids wanted to trade their Japanese pencils — which had graphics or custom characters on the surface — and colorful erasers for a drawing. My parents couldn’t afford those things, and they weren’t available in Korea. The kids’ parents must have traveled to Japan, which was quite rare back then, and brought them back. [Eventually] I had a box full of those pencils, but I didn’t have the guts to actually use them. The pencils are untouched; the erasers are dried out. For some reason, my mom kept them all these years. — J.H.

Niki Nakayama, 49, chef and Restaurant owner

Tonkatsu is a Japanese home-style staple. It’s a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet — “ton” means “pork” and “katsu” is a sort of translation of “cutlet” — and it was my absolute favorite food when I was a kid. When my mom made tonkatsu, she’d have my sister and me do the breading, and we really bonded over that. It helped me understand family. We’d set up in the dining room and dredge the cutlets in flour, dip them into the egg wash, cover them with dried breadcrumbs and stack them high on paper plates that we’d bring in to my mother to fry up. Our kitchen had high countertops, and I can remember her standing at the stove in these three-inch platform clogs she’d wear to be a little taller. 

I loved seeing how something became something else — it felt like unraveling magic. One day when I was about 9, I came home from school and got the brilliant idea to make my own [but with chicken]. I grabbed some drumsticks from the freezer, did the breading and, while standing on a stool, dipped them in hot oil. (I never admitted this to my mom.) When they turned the color they were supposed to, I was so proud. I bit into one and it was still frozen. That was my first shock of “I can’t believe I didn’t make [this thing] the way I imagined it would be.”

Anytime I was in Japan, especially in my 20s, my friends there would ask what subarashii gochiso, or “the best thing one could possibly eat,” was for me. I’d say tonkatsu, and they’d be like, “What?!,” because it’s such a simple dish — it was like asking for a sandwich. It isn’t the sort of thing I specialize in at my restaurant [N/Naka in Los Angeles], and I don’t have it often anymore because, as I age, I’m trying to eat lighter, but I still associate it with deliciousness and with happiness. Ever since childhood, I’ve thought of food as being about coming together and cooking as an expression of care and love. Having been on the receiving end of that, I do the work that I do to try to make people happy. — K.G.

Marina Abramović, 77, performance artist

Marina Abramović, “Truck Accident (I)” (1963).

© Marina Abramović/Courtesy of the Marina Abramović Archives/ARS, 2024

When I was a teenager in Communist Yugoslavia, there were these ugly green trucks that weighed so much, they often fell over. I started taking photographs of them and trying to paint them at home. But that wasn’t enough for me, so I bought some toy cars and left them on the highway to see if the real trucks would smash them; they were always untouched. I was fascinated by car crashes. Then when I was 17 or 18 years old, I painted the big car smashed and the little car protected — the idea that innocence survives everything.

My mother studied art history, and I was always going to museums. When I was a baby, my first words weren’t “mama” or “papa”; they were “El Greco.” I had my first exhibition at a youth center when I was 14. They mostly had group shows, but I made so much work that I had my own show. I always say I was jealous of Mozart because he started at 5.

I didn’t know then that painting wasn’t my ultimate goal. It takes a long time to realize who you are. I remember the incredible joy of going into my studio — an extra space in my family’s apartment — with my little cup of Turkish coffee. I would be so much in the dream of painting that I’d accidentally drink turpentine instead of the coffee.

Though I wasn’t aware of it [until recently], this crash represents the energy that I’d create in my early performances: two bodies running toward each other, crashing into each other and making this blurry image. My research today is about the body and how to create a field in which you aren’t afraid of pain, of dying, of limits. When you’re young, you don’t see the straight line but, [looking back] it all seems so logical. — J.H.

Deborah Roberts, 61, visual artist

Deborah Roberts, “James” (1982).

Courtesy of the artist

I used to do a lot of drawings of people at church or kids in the neighborhood. I made this when I was 19, of this boy who came by to play with my brothers. My mother threw most of my drawings away. She had eight children; she couldn’t have all that stuff piling up.

[With that many siblings] you only get attention when you’re sick. But I got a lot of attention for drawing. I was the best artist in my school. The teacher would ask me, “What grade would you want?” I’d say, “I want an A+.” I had a big head. Then I went to the gifted and talented program with high school art students from all over Austin, Texas. I wasn’t the best anymore, but it just made me work harder. That’s where I was first introduced to the work of Henry Ossawa Tanner [one of the first African American painters to achieve international fame, in the early 20th century]. I didn’t even know there were Black artists. We didn’t have the internet or access to museums. We were poor.

I’d ride a small yellow bus to a community college to meet in a special room for the three-hour art class. Eventually, I became the best student in that class, at least in my head. They didn’t ask me what grade I wanted, but I still got an A.

If I were doing it now, I’d blend that hair into the wood better. I wouldn’t have light sources coming from two different areas. But if you look at my collages today, my whole idea’s about seeing people as humans, as children, as vulnerable. I think this is a very vulnerable piece. — J.H.

David Henry Hwang, 66, playwright

David Henry Hwang, manuscript of “Only Three Generations” (1968).

Courtesy of David Henry Hwang. Photo: Lance Brewer

I was about 10 years old, and my maternal grandmother got sick and it looked like she might be close to the end. I remember feeling that that’d be quite tragic — not only would I lose my grandmother but she also happened to be the family historian. I was one of those kids who, for whatever reason, was always really interested in hearing about family history. 

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, but my mom grew up in the Philippines, where my maternal grandparents still lived, so I asked my parents if I could spend a summer there. I went and collected what we’d now call oral histories from my grandmother on cassette tapes, then came back and compiled them into a 60-page family history, “Only Three Generations,” which was [photocopied] and distributed to my family members. Then in the early aughts, someone — my uncle, I think — went and printed two or three dozen copies as a bound version.

I wasn’t someone who felt [that] writing was my calling. I didn’t do another major writing project until I got to college and started writing plays, so I find it interesting that the one time I took on [something] like this was to contextualize myself in a historical framework. That’s consistent with what I’ve done as an adult: sometimes being at sea about who I am and looking at history to gain a sense of self.

The [history] starts with my great-great-grandfather, then the second [part]’s about my great-grandfather and then the third section’s about my grandmother’s generation. I [used] their real names. I think I was trying to be fairly accurate, as opposed to when it later became the basis of my [1996] play “Golden Child.” There’s a lot more liberty taken there. When we did the play on Broadway, my grandmother was still alive and came to see the show. She was supportive of it, but I feel like she liked this version better. — J.A.R.

Ice Spice wears a Balenciaga jacket, $2,150, balenciaga.com; Norma Kamali dress, $350, normakamali.com; Graff cross necklace, $14,000, graff.com; Alexander McQueen shoes, $1,150, alexandermcqueen.com; stylist’s own tights; and her own jewelry. Photographed at a private home in Los Angeles on Feb. 6, 2024.

Photograph by Shikeith. Styled by Ian Bradley

Name: Ice Spice Profession: Rapper Age: 24

Debuting in: Her first full-length album, “Y2K,” titled after her birth date — Jan. 1, 2000 — which comes out this year.

What she’s excited about: “Going on tour. I can’t wait to see my fans up close and personal and really interact with them — interacting with fans online can be a little overwhelming. All their profile pictures are of me. It feels like a bunch of me’s talking back: It’s weird. Especially when it’s pictures I’ve never seen or don’t remember.”

What she’s nervous about: “I don’t even want to put out that energy. People don’t need to know what I’m nervous about.”

How she works in the studio: “If I was already dressed up and cute, that’d produce a different vibe — but for the most part I like to be really comfortable. I need inspiration around me, too, so I’ll have stacks of money sitting next to the mic. Or I have a bunch of stickers of, like, boobs and butts, stuff like that. They’re drawings, though — I don’t just have porn in my studio.”

How it’s gotten easier since making her EP: “When I was working on [2023’s] ‘Like ..?,’ I was stressed out because I had no idea how the next song was going to come out. Each time, I was like, ‘How am I going to make another song that’s good?’ But then it happened, and then it happened again and again so, after that, I was like, ‘OK, making music is really fun.’ As long as I’m having fun, it’s going to sound fun — and I’m going to be happy with it.” — J.A.R.

Production: Resin Projects. Makeup: Karina Milan at the Wall Group

Katigbak, photographed at Lincoln Center Theater in Manhattan on Feb. 2, 2024.

Jennifer Livingston

Name: Mia Katigbak Profession: Actress and co-founder of NAATCO Age: 69

Debuting in: Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” (1899), opening this month.

What she’s excited about: “My character, Marina [the central family’s maid], infantilizes everyone. Everything is falling apart around her, but she’s like, ‘Aren’t the old ways better?’ There are a lot of possibilities in that — without getting too metaphorical about the state of Russia, politically and socially.” 

What she’s nervous about: “There’s always going to be that common nervousness of ‘I’m going to mess up,’ but somebody brought to my attention that NAATCO [the National Asian American Theatre Company, which was founded in 1989] has done quite a lot of Chekhov; I didn’t even realize it, and I chose all of them. What I find fabulous about Chekhov is that there are sad situations but also human comedy. You have to find the funny if you’re in dire straits, otherwise you’ll slit your wrists.”

How she feels about having her Broadway debut after five decades on the New York stage: “You live long enough, [expletive] happens. I’d kind of figured, ‘Maybe I’m not Broadway material.’ Usually, when Asians get cast, it’s a musical, and I’m not a singer-dancer, so it was never necessarily going to be a goal. I’m a little bit more realistic: I recently got a text [with a photo of the ‘Uncle Vanya’ ad] from a colleague who said, ‘Look at Miss Fancy Pants,’ and I’m like, ‘I’m just a working stiff.’”

How she reinterprets classics: “From the get-go, the point of NAATCO was to ask people to open their vistas in terms of ‘how, what, by whom, for whom’ in theater. We tackled the Western classics first — William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (1600) and Thornton Wilder’s ‘Our Town’ (1938) — and my only caveat was not to change them to Asian settings. I remember the first couple of years, maybe decades, people always used to ask, ‘Oh, you’re doing Shakespeare! Are you going to set it in Japan?’ Which isn’t bad, but it’s not the only way to do it. Reception was mixed; there was criticism from both Asian and non-Asian audiences. When we started to do new work — with Michael Golamco’s ‘Cowboy Versus Samurai’ in 2005 — it became a redefinition of what immigrant stories were. Most of the time, the work’s thought of as only one thing, so that was something to figure out. But you can say that about all good theater: It’s asking you to receive something in a different way.” — J.A.R.

Smith, photographed at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in the London suburb of Twickenham on Feb. 14, 2024.

Andrea Urbez

Name: Arielle Smith Profession: Choreographer Age: 27

Debuting in: A reimagined “Carmen,” based on the French writer Prosper Mérimée’s 1845 novella about a Roma woman in southern Spain, which Smith has set instead in Cuba for the version (of the same name) she’s choreographing that premieres at San Francisco Ballet this month.

What she’s excited about: “As a performer, I trained in classical ballet but then went into contemporary dance — the reason I fell out of love with ballet was that the female roles didn’t feel empowering. Not that I needed to be empowered all the time, but every story was dictated by the relationship a woman has to a man. So when Tamara [Rojo, the company’s artistic director] approached me, my first thought was, ‘How could we justify another “Carmen”?’ I wondered how the story would change if one of her lovers was a woman. Musically it’s also not the same — we’ve got a new score from the Mexican Cuban composer Arturo O’Farrill [departing from the French composer Georges Bizet’s 1875 opera], so it’s quite a leap from where it was birthed.”

What she’s nervous about: “I don’t see the point in telling a story again the same way, so that’s one element I’m not nervous about ... but I’m about everything else. The challenge is trying to tell an intimate story in a big space. To make this piece well, it has to move people in some way, and that’s what I’m anxious to get across — for people to feel something.”

How she’s translating the Spanish-set story to Cuba: “Bizet wasn’t Spanish, [so] I thought it’d be more interesting to mainly hear Cuban sounds. I’m Cuban; Tamara’s Spanish; and [the Uruguayan fashion designer] Gabriela Hearst is our costume designer. It’s a full Latinx team, but we’re all different. And this is a universal story that’s not driven by geography. It’s not set on a certain road in Havana but in the soul of these people. I’m not trying to overly examine Cuba. It’s about who I am, as a person who happens to be Cuban, and what my voice contributes.” — J.A.R.

Photo assistant: Callum Su

Pidgeon, photographed at Playwrights Horizons in Manhattan on March 10, 2024.

Sean Donnola

Name: Sarah Pidgeon Profession: Actor Age: 27

Debuting in: “Stereophonic,” a new play by David Adjmi with music by Will Butler (formerly of the indie-rock band Arcade Fire), which transfers to Broadway this month following a run at Playwrights Horizons, where it premiered last fall — that production was Pidgeon’s New York stage debut.

What she’s excited about: “This story [about a fictional band’s interpersonal struggles while recording an album in the 1970s] talks about relationships and what one has to sacrifice to make art. New York’s full of artists, and I’m excited to hear what types of conversations people have after seeing the show.”

What she’s nervous about: “The transition to the Golden Theatre. Singing’s so vulnerable. It’s one thing to mess up in front of 200 people, another to mess up in front of four times that many. Off Broadway, we’d have instruments [accidentally] break down halfway through a scene, and we’d have to figure out how to make it feel authentic.”

How she created her character, Diana, one of the band’s lead singers: “Diana’s not looking to other people to give her an example — she’s not following some blueprint. Her band’s waiting for her to make that next great song, and she gets commodified really fast. I can’t say the same for myself, but I’m [also not dealing with being] a woman in [rock in] the 1970s.”

How she settled into the three-hour play’s slowed-down, naturalistic rhythms: “Our director, Daniel Aukin, kept talking about a documentary feel. I think the design of the play — of hearing overlapping conversations — is [very] fly-on-the-wall. Because of its realism, it can evoke the feeling of a film. There’s this sense that it’s not necessarily a performance when we’re doing these shows; it’s not showy. It’s this thrill of being able to keep things private while also recognizing there’re people in the audience two feet away from you. As an actor, you really feel the tension.” — J.A.R.

Hair: Tsuki at Streeters. Makeup: Monica Alvarez at See Management

Olujobi (third from left), at the Public Theater in Manhattan on March 9, 2024, along with (from left) the “Jordans” actor Naomi Lorrain, the director Whitney White and the actors Brontë England-Nelson, Kate Walsh, Ryan Spahn, Toby Onwumere, Meg Steedle, Matthew Russell and Brian Muller.

Video by David Chow

Name: Ife Olujobi Profession: Playwright Age: 29

Debuting in: “Jordans,” her first fully staged production, opening this month at New York’s Public Theater under the direction of Whitney White. The play is about a 20-something woman named Jordan (Naomi Lorrain), the only Black employee at a creative studio, whose office life is upended when her boss hires another Jordan (Toby Onwumere), who’s also Black, to be the company’s director of culture. 

What she’s excited about: “For a while, this was that play everybody thought was great but nobody wanted to produce. I thought it’d just be a thing that ends up on the page: It’s such a crazy, visual play that lives in this imaginative space, with a lot of production elements. I’m excited to bring that to life — and have it be people’s introduction to me.”

What she’s nervous about: “Making a play that feels current — in the sense that I started writing it in 2018, did the first reading in 2019 and now we’re in 2024. The play addresses the idea of bringing people of color into a [professional] situation as a trend, not out of any genuine interest in them. It has to do with quote-unquote diversity in the workplace, and it feels like we’ve gone through three different cycles of that conversation since I started writing it. I’m trying to synthesize everything that we’ve been through in the past six years but not feel like I’m shaping the play to respond to these fluctuations.”

How she found her way to playwriting: “I was in the Public’s Emerging Writers Group in 2018, which was my introduction to theater. I was never a theater kid; film was my first love — I’d worked at the Criterion Collection during school and done my thesis in screenwriting. When I graduated [from New York University], I [only] wrote a play to get into the [playwriting] group. I had this experience of being fired three times in a row [after] graduation and felt like I had to express something about being the only Black person entering professional spaces.”

How the play’s surrealist tone came to be: “The main character gets coffee poured on her face in the first scene. For me, that was a big breaking open of the play: ‘This is the kind of world that she’s living in. What else can happen in this world?’ It has what we might call surreal elements, but I don’t always think about it that way because, within this play, everything is real. It’s not a dream.” — J.A.R.

Photo assistant: Serena Nappa. Digital tech: Zachary Smith. Production: Shay Johnson Studio

Kim, photographed at his restaurant, Noksu, in Manhattan on Jan. 15, 2024.

Daniel Terna

Name: Dae Kim Profession: Chef Age: 28

Debuting in: Noksu, the 14-seat tasting counter he’s run since last October below ground in Manhattan’s Herald Square, where he serves Korean-inflected dishes, including grilled mackerel with brown butter and squab with gochujang agrodolce.

What he’s excited about: “I had a feeling, during the pandemic, that something might change — like everyone had to start [again] from zero. Even three-star sous-chefs changed careers: They’ve stopped working in restaurants; they’re selling truffles or doing kitchen shows or TikToks. There was a gap, and I thought if I played up my Asian heritage and my French cooking background, someone would be looking for that. Then I met [the restaurant’s] owners, and they offered me this space in a Koreatown subway station.”

What he’s nervous about: “With restaurants, you prove yourself every day. There’s no tomorrow, no next week. I knew I had to have a tasting menu: I have a personal goal — I’m not telling anyone what it is — and, to reach that level, I think it can only be a tasting menu. I’m not enjoying cooking that much; it’s not a passion. This is my career. I don’t cook at home but, if I think about that goal, it makes me come to the restaurant.”

What he took from working at the New York restaurants Per Se and Silver Apricot: “I really thought, ‘What kind of person am I? What kind of cook? What’s my individualism?’ Working in fine dining is such an honor, but it’s their food. It’s not me. I started focusing on food that would represent who I was.”

How he’s handling everyone’s dietary restrictions: “Right now, we don’t accommodate, because we’re a small kitchen. But sometimes they can push you: If a guest can’t eat dairy, how do you make that sauce creamy without using milk? It requires more work, more thought, more team effort. It’s happened a couple of times, and we just freestyle.” — J.A.R.

Tyla wears an Alexander McQueen jacket $5,990, and shorts, $1,690, alexandermcqueen.com; and Prada shoes, $1,120, prada.com. Photographed at Issue Studio in Los Angeles on March 16, 2024.

Photograph by Shikeith. Styled by Sasha Kelly

Name: Tyla Profession: Singer-songwriter Age: 22

Debuting in: Her first full-length album, “Tyla,” released last month. It’s the product of more than two years of collaboration with writers and producers from around the world — and her first time traveling outside of South Africa (she grew up in Johannesburg). Together, they refined her sound, which she describes as “music that people can dance to: Afrobeats, pop, R&B and amapiano,” the last of which is syncopated electronic music that originated in South Africa in the 2010s.

What she’s excited about: “My first tour. My creative director, Thato Nzimande, and I have been speaking about this forever. I have Coachella coming up and, after sitting for so long with this music and all these ideas, I’m excited to see people’s reactions.”

What she’s nervous about: “I used to be very nervous about performing because all of this is very new and, once something’s on the internet, it’s saved forever. I don’t want to look at it years from now and be cringing . I’m a perfectionist but, as an artist, you’re never going to be happy with everything all the time. That’s something I had to learn — how to let go.”

How she synthesizes South African and American influences: “I love the sound of amapiano production, with the log drum and the shakers and the drops. But I’ve also always wanted to be a chart-topper like Michael Jackson and Britney Spears and now SZA, except I wanted to do it with my sound [her first hit, “Water,” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in October]. Obviously, people believe, ‘Oh, I have to make just pop.’ But that’s boring to me. I want to sell what I know and love.”

Why South African music has global appeal: “People say they can feel it, and that’s cool because we feel it. It’s very spiritual to us; it’s a genre we feel in our bodies. All these amapiano dance moves that everyone does, it’s not even dancers that come up with these moves — it’s just random people, drunk uncles in the corners of clubs. It’s organic, and I think people are looking for that genuine vibe.” — E.L.

Production: Shay Johnson Studio. Hair: Christina “Tina” Trammell. Makeup: Jamal Scott for YSL Beauty

Peck (near center, in a black shirt), photographed at the Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan on Feb. 27, 2024, along with (top row, from left) the “Illinoise” musicians Kathy Halvorson and Jessica Tsang, the dancer Craig Salstein, the musician Brett Parnell, the dancers Byron Tittle and Christine Flores, the musician Kyra Sims, the dancer Robbie Fairchild, the musician Daniel Freedman, the vocalist Shara Nova, the music arranger and orchestrator Timo Andres and the music director Nathan Koci; (middle row, from left) the vocalist Elijah Lyons, the dancer Ahmad Simmons, the vocalist Tasha Viets-VanLear, the dancers Ricky Ubeda and Kara Chan, the writer Jackie Sibblies Drury and the associate music director Sean Peter Forte; (bottom row, from left) the musician Domenica Fossati and the dancers Jeanette Delgado, Ben Cook, Alejandro Vargas and Rachel Lockhart.

Video by Jason Schmidt

Name: Justin Peck Profession: Director and choreographer Age: 36

Debuting in: “Illinoise,” the first stage musical he’s directing, which opens this month on Broadway after a run last month at the Park Avenue Armory. Based on the singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens’s 2005 indie-folk album, “Illinois,” the show was also conceived and choreographed by Peck, who collaborated on its narrative with the playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury.

What he’s excited about: “The ‘Illinois’ song cycle [in which every track relates to the Midwestern state] is one of the great albums of the last 20 years: [Sufjan] didn’t have a recording studio; he’d find a musician up in [New York’s] Washington Heights and record a violin part without realizing what it was going to be part of — he’d run all over, assembling [bits]. I’ve had a long collaboration with him [Peck has based six ballets on Stevens’s music, beginning with “Year of the Rabbit” for New York City Ballet in 2012], so it feels full circle, having discovered that album as a teenager.”

What he’s nervous about: “It’s not a conventional musical; it lives between genres. It’s framed as a gathering around a campfire, being intoxicated by the heat … a campfire beckons storytelling. We enter into the worlds of these people sharing stories on an evening in the wilderness. That’s a difficult thing for managing audience expectations. One of the most challenging parts is trying to tell a full story without words. There are lyrics, but even the lyrics have a sense of poetry to them. They’re not literal.”

How he brought on board his collaborator Jackie Sibblies Drury: “Sufjan was involved early in developing the musical arrangements but has been relatively hands-off [since being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disorder, last year] and wasn’t in a place where he wanted to go back to that time in his life. I needed a storytelling partner. Jackie told me how much she loved the album; when she moved to Chicago, she and her then boyfriend listened to it on the road there. A lot of these songs resonated with both of us at a coming-of-age time in our lives, and that’s part of our approach: intimate and personal.” — J.A.R.

Production: Shay Johnson Studio. Photo assistants: Shinobu Mochizuki, Tom Rauner. Digital tech: Kyle Knodell

Stella, photographed at Percy Priest Lake Park in Nashville on March 7, 2024.

Stacy Kranitz

Name: Maisy Stella Profession: Actress and singer Age: 20

Debuting in: “My Old Ass,” a coming-of-age comedy in which her character, Elliott, a young woman leaving her small Canadian hometown for college, meets her 39-year-old self, played by Aubrey Plaza, while tripping on mushrooms. In theaters this August, it’s Stella’s first movie — and her first acting project since spending much of the past decade on the TV series “Nashville” (2012-18), in which she played a country star’s singer daughter.

What she’s excited about: “Being reintroduced in a way that feels true to me. I was a baby when ‘Nashville’ started; it’s hard to have people see you as a character for so many years. You have to be careful with the next thing you do, especially after you take a break [to finish high school], and I wanted to be represented in a way that felt genuine and pushed me in the direction I wanted to go. I thought a project like this would come 10 years down the line, if ever.”

What she’s nervous about: “I think I confuse anticipation with anxiety. I just feel general anticipation all the time, whether it’s about a date this weekend or this movie coming out; it’s that feeling that something’s about to happen. In my body, I might confuse it with nerves, but there are happy and cozy feelings, as well, so it levels out.”

How she collaborated with the writer-director Megan Park on her dialogue: “I watch a lot of young adult shows and think, ‘Oh my God, we sound so dumb. We don’t talk like that.’ Not everything’s abbreviated and slang. Megan [who’s 37] knows how to write for Gen Z because she includes us in her process. She doesn’t have an ego and molds her characters to who’s playing them. We’d do scripted takes and then ‘fun runs,’ where we got to improv, and she’d add lines in the moment.”

What was it like creating the template for Plaza’s character: “You’d think Aubrey would’ve come first, but I was the first one attached to the film. In any other situation, it’d be me matching her, but I feel like Elliott is very similar to me so, when Aubrey and I met, I could feel her filming me with her eyes, trying to get a scope.” — J.A.R.

Hair and makeup: Laura Godwin

Lakota-Lynch (bottom row, in a white T-shirt), photographed at Open Jar Studios in Manhattan on Feb. 26, 2024, along with (top row, from left) the “Outsiders” composer Zach Chance, the choreographers Rick and Jeff Kuperman and the writer and composer Justin Levine; (middle row, from left) the actors Brent Comer, Jason Schmidt, Joshua Boone, Kevin William Paul and Dan Berry; (bottom row, from left) the actors Emma Pittman and Brody Grant, the director Danya Taymor, the writer Adam Rapp and the actor Daryl Tofa.

Justin French

Name: Sky Lakota-Lynch Profession: Actor Age: 32

Debuting in: “The Outsiders,” a new musical that opened this month and is based on S.E. Hinton’s 1967 novel about rival teen gangs. Lakota-Lynch plays Johnny Cade, a shy 16-year-old from an abusive home. He appeared in “Dear Evan Hansen” in 2018, but this is his first time originating a role on Broadway.

What he’s excited about: “I’ve been with the show for six years, and it finally feels fully baked. People are going to be expecting us to come out tap-dancing, but you have [the writer] Adam Rapp and [the director] Danya Taymor, and those people have never done a musical. It’s the ultimate place for an actor-singer. It’s truly a play with music [by Zach Chance and Jonathan Clay of the folk duo Jamestown Revival, and the songwriter Justin Levine], and I think it’s going to shock people.”

What he’s nervous about: “It’s going to be sad to eventually let Johnny go. I’m doing this on Broadway, but it’s like the period at the end of the sentence.”

The actor sings a snippet of James Taylor’s 1970 song “Fire and Rain.”

Video by Jordan Taylor Fuller

How he’s approaching playing a beloved character: “Johnny doesn’t have a lot of lines: He’s like an Edward Scissorhands [type] — I have to fill the space with energy. The cool thing about playing the character is that I got to imbue him with myself. I’m Native American and Black, and the story is set in Tulsa, Okla., where that’s [not uncommon]. My costume has Native American embroidery; my version of Johnny feels fully fleshed out. Of course, I stole things from Ralph [Macchio, who played the role in the 1983 Francis Ford Coppola film] and from the novel — it’s that fine line between tough and tender, but it’s tailored to me.” — J.A.R.

Production: Shay Johnson Studio. Photo assistant: Shen Williams-Cohen

Becoming a Character

The comedian and actress Meg Stalter, photographed at Smashbox Studios in Los Angeles on Jan. 24, 2024, tests a few moods in front of the camera.

Photographs by Shikeith. Styled by Delphine Danhier

The comedian and actress Meg Stalter, 33, started gaining attention on social media during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdowns when she posted absurd short-form videos playing different personae, like a Disney World team leader conducting an employee orientation. The following year, she had her TV debut on HBO’s “Hacks” as Kayla, a less than helpful assistant to a talent agent. Now she’s filming her first lead role on the new Netflix series “Too Much,” written and directed by Lena Dunham (and loosely based on Dunham’s life), in which she plays the workaholic Jessica, who responds to a breakup by moving to London.

I took so many improv classes when I first [was] doing comedy. It’s the starting point for me when I develop characters. During the pandemic, I’d do improv on Instagram Live every night. The theme would be “We’re going to Paris” or “We’re doing a women’s exercise class.” It was just me doing improv online by myself for hours. When I take on a role, I study the script and imagine if I had to improv a scene. “What would I add or take away? How’s this person different from me? What could I give to the character of my own personality?”

When I read the part of Kayla, I’d already met Paul [W. Downs, a co-creator of “Hacks”] at a stand-up show. [I found out later that] he had me in mind when he wrote the script. That was almost more nerve-racking: It was strange to think, “What if I lose this part to someone else but they were thinking of me in the first place?”

Kayla started as the assistant who comes in and says a crazy line. But in the third season of “Hacks,” she has more emotional scenes, which add another layer: When a character experiences a range of emotions, it makes the crazy stuff even funnier.

The comedian and actress tells a knock-knock joke.

At first when you get a script, you picture yourself in it and think, “Oh, well, she probably looks like me.” That changes the more you get to know the character. Lena [Dunham]’s been so open to talking through Jessica. She’ll say, “Tell me what you think about the hair,” and, “Tell me if there’re any outfits you don’t like.” She even made a playlist Jessica would listen to. There’s Avril Lavigne, Girlpool, Sabrina Carpenter. When I’m studying the script, I’ll play that in the background. Jessica’s into the dreamy side of London and Jane Austen. She’s a little girlie and wears a lot of pink. She wears [nightgowns] as actual dresses and things that’re a little bit too cute for work. I sent [the costume designer] Arielle [Cooper-Lethem] some dresses from Fashion Brand Company. They look like [they could be in an Austen adaptation] but modern and sexier. Like shirts with ribbons all over or matching sets made of lace. Everything’s kind of funny but also hot. It’s stuff I would’ve worn when I thought I was straight. I feel like Jessica’s the straight version of me.

It’s interesting to be playing a version of someone whose work I’ve admired for so long. I’ve rewatched [Dunham’s 2012-17 HBO series] “Girls” so many times. To have everything she’s written in my head but be told, “Just do it the way that you would do,” or, “This is all yours now,” it feels freeing. There’re some directors and writers who want you to say exactly what’s on paper.

When you’re in character in front of a camera, there’re certain things you can’t prepare for. I can research so much for a part — create memories for the character, talk through costume — but if it comes out differently [than what I imagined], that’s OK. It’s important to be able to let go and let the scene be what it is. Some people torture themselves after performing. They’re like, “I should’ve said this or that.” I really don’t do that. Once it’s out there, that’s what it’s supposed to be.

Stalter wears, from start: Versace dress, $1,990, versace.com ; and Alexander McQueen ring, $690, alexandermcqueen.com . Versace dress and headband, $325. Wray shirt, $185, wray.nyc ; Dolce & Gabbana dress, $2,095, dolcegabbana.com ; and Sophie Buhai earrings, $395, ssense.com .

Production: Resin Projects. Hair: Tiago Goya. Makeup: Holly Silius. Manicure: Pilar Lafargue

Making a Painting

The artist Roberto Gil de Montes, photographed at his studio in La Peñita, Mexico, on Feb. 13, 2024, painting “Man With Lizard Mask.”

Photographs by Nuria Lagarde

Since 2005, the painter Roberto Gil de Montes, 73, has lived and worked in the fishing village of La Peñita de Jaltemba north of Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific coast of Mexico. He was born in Guadalajara but moved as a teenager to Los Angeles, where he was active in the Chicano art movement. It wasn’t until he took part in the 2020 show “Siembra” at the gallery Kurimanzutto in Mexico City, though, that the art world took notice of his dreamlike Surrealist works. Next year, Gil de Montes will be the subject of a career survey at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

I live in a place where there’re no museums or galleries. I’m inspired by my surroundings — by the jungle, by the ocean. I often say there’s no better background than the ocean for painting. I have two studios: one at home, where I work on paper, and a painting studio in town near the ocean. Usually, I start at home on paper. I either sketch or use watercolor wash. If I’m going to do an oil painting, I go to the studio in town. Before I work, I might just sit around and look at books — I like [monographs about Henri] Matisse, [Paul] Cezanne, [Edouard] Manet. It’s sort of a meditation. A lot of times, an idea surges when I’m working on something already; other times, it might be a memory. Or a dream. The other day, I had a dream that I was taking a photo with my phone of a house on fire — but I was conscious that the house was a drawing. [When I woke up] I thought, “Well, I should do a painting of that.”

I’m very intrigued by how memory works and how the memory of something can trigger [a new idea]. [While putting together the career survey] I’ve revisited all of these old works of mine. Some I remember painting. Others I don’t remember at all. I’m 73 years old. I forget things, and then I start thinking, “Wow, this is interesting because if I’m working from memory and forgetting things, how’s that going to affect the work that I do? How can I explore that?” For instance, somebody sent me a painting they said was mine. I said, “No, I didn’t do that painting. I’m sorry,” only to find out that I’d signed the back. A lot of the ideas I’ve been working on come from the past. In the [2022] Venice Biennale, I had a painting [“Up,” 2021] of somebody hanging upside down or falling through the sky. That came [about] when I walked into the studio and noticed I had inadvertently put a painting upside down. I said, “Actually, that’ll make a good painting upside down.” I don’t know how other artists work. I’m very open to ideas.

Reimagining a Retrospective

The conceptual artist Jenny Holzer, photographed at her studio in upstate New York on Feb. 6, 2024, with LED text from her series “Survival” (1983-85), which will be on view at her exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum from May through September.

In 1989, the conceptual artist Jenny Holzer installed an LED scroll of aphorisms — “Abuse of power comes as no surprise” is among the most famous — on three of the six internal ramps of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. It was part of her retrospective “Untitled (Selections From Truisms, Inflammatory Essays, the Living Series, the Survival Series, Under a Rock, Laments and Child Text).” Next month, Holzer, 73, will restage the work there as part of her show “Jenny Holzer: Light Line” (which will also include other pieces from her 50-plus-year career). But this time, the LED installation — which will display the original “Truisms” and other text series — will go all the way to the top.

I’m a self-loathing, slow study so [ahead of the 1989 retrospective at the Guggenheim] I had to walk and walk around and around and around the museum. It finally occurred to me, “Oh, around and around is the answer [to how the piece should be displayed].” I’m relieved I attended to what Frank Lloyd Wright did: The building is magnificently, utterly self-sufficient. It doesn’t necessarily need art, and it’s inclined to shrug it off at times.

As I was developing the new exhibition, I started walking the museum again — and not just the ramps. I went up and down the stairs a few thousand times. I went in the elevator, in assorted bathrooms, in nooks and crannies. And in those places, I put everything from the first diagrams I made in the ’70s on up to icky paintings made by A.I.

The conceptual artist discusses a sculpture by the artist Louise Bourgeois.

Video by Joshua Charow

If I have a specialty, and I’m not certain that I do, it’s installation. I like hunting and seeing. The first step is to go blank, with no preconceptions. And then, since it is visual art, using my eyes to see. Then that mysterious thing happens: Ideas come — when you’re lucky. Otherwise, you try again.

When I’m just trying to make a new artwork for anywhere, it’s adequate to lie on the couch with my eyes closed and wait for that pizza to arrive — the “art” pizza. But when I’m [fortunate enough] to be in a building like Wright’s Guggenheim, it’s — surprise, surprise — necessary for the body to be in the space. Alert, alive, all tentacles reaching out, all senses going. And on some level, being hopeful.

Photo assistant: Ece Yavuz

Adapting an Ibsen Play

For the second time, the playwright Amy Herzog, 45, has adapted a work by Henrik Ibsen. The first was “A Doll’s House” (1879), starring Jessica Chastain. Herzog’s latest staging, “An Enemy of the People” (1882), stars Jeremy Strong as Dr. Thomas Stockmann, a physician who is shunned for warning his town that its lucrative public baths are contaminated. Michael Imperioli plays his brother, Peter Stockmann, the mayor, who seeks to suppress Thomas’s findings.

When I begin an adaptation, I first read a few different translations of the play. Then I try to get those out of my head. For “A Doll’s House” and now “An Enemy of the People,” I’ve worked with a translator named Charlotte Barslund. She does a literal translation in English, which stays as close to the feeling and meaning of the original Norwegian as possible. I go through that line by line, translating it into my own words without making any big decisions. Once I have my first version, I start the bigger work of cutting. For “An Enemy of the People,” we cut three characters. I decided to cut the character of Katherine, Thomas Stockmann’s wife, after a lot of conversations with Sam [Gold, the play’s director and Herzog’s husband]. Her sections weren’t working; they were feeling really turgid. There’re sections that his daughter, Petra [played by Victoria Pedretti], could pick up if Katherine was gone.

What was remarkable about cutting Katherine was realizing how little had to change. The fact that you didn’t have to do major surgery on the play was one tell that cutting Katherine was a good idea. It gives Stockmann this recent terrible grief. It’s a particular grief when you’re a doctor, I think, to lose a spouse — to be the doctor who can’t save your loved ones. That spring loads the play as it begins: He’s reaching a place where he can have happiness again — [only] to be completely betrayed by his community and to lose everything he’s finally gained.

Ibsen wrote domestic psychological plays and social plays. “A Doll’s House” is the former and “An Enemy of the People” the latter. [When adapting “A Doll’s House”] I learned some pretty basic things about the mechanics of making it feel leaner and more modern. But other than that, it was shockingly different to translate them and humbling that he had plays that were so totally different inside of him. This play is bigger and rangier and even more relevant than “A Doll’s House.” It’s very timely — there’re a few headlines it brings up. One is climate change. I was reading a lot about scientists who weren’t listened to when they tried to sound the alarm years ago. I was also reading Naomi Klein’s [2023 memoir] “Doppelganger” and thinking about the way the body politic becomes sick. I try to do a lot of research before writing — I read a fair amount of Ibsen biographies — so there’s no single influence that’s too loud while I’m working. When I’m really doing the translation, I need quiet and cloistering. So there’d be gaps in my communication with [Jeremy] and everyone else. Then there’d be the moments, after reading a draft, when it was time to talk and become porous again.

Jeremy was the reason for the production. From the moment I began to work on “An Enemy of the People,” I knew who was playing Thomas Stockmann. I’ve known Jeremy since 1997, and I’ve seen a ton of his work, so his voice was influencing the way I adapted that character.

[Jeremy and Dr. Stockmann] are similar in that they both have a total commitment to what they believe in. Having someone in my life with that kind of devotion to his craft and to his storytelling means that I’m coming to [the character] with the texture of a real, contemporary person. Every few days, he sends me a poem or an article or something that’s meant something to him related to the play. He sent me the William Butler Yeats poem “A Coat.” The first three lines are “I made my song a coat / Covered with embroideries / Out of old mythologies.” There’s this incidental line in Ibsen’s original [script] that people often cut — but I didn’t, I love it — when Captain Horster [Dr. Stockmann’s loyal friend] makes his first entrance before you even see Dr. Stockmann, who says, “Hang your coat on that peg. Oh, you don’t wear an overcoat?” Captain Horster is this character who has no pretense and is an uncorrupted type of human. And Ibsen has him coatless at the beginning. So the idea of a coat and what it is to cover yourself has become an interesting thematic touch point for us.

Putting Up a Gallery Show

Since graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1999, the visual artist Joe Bradley, 49, has made a habit of reinvention. His style continuously shifts, from mixed-media sculptures to line drawings to highly saturated large-scale canvases. His most recent exhibition of paintings opens this month at David Zwirner gallery in New York.

I tend to arrive at my studio [in Long Island City, Queens] around nine, turn the lights on, make a pot of coffee. Then, depending on what sort of stage the paintings are at, I’ll just start working. If it’s early on [in the piece], I’m much more active. When the paintings [begin] to come together, it’s a lot more about just looking and making little decisions to resolve things. I don’t have a real ritual. I don’t even have to be in any particular state of mind. If I’m distracted or depressed or happy or whatever, I just come in and see what happens.

I do begin with some practical decisions. I know how big the painting is going to be and what sort of surface I’m going to be working on. I know what the contour of [a show] will look like. I don’t make any sort of preparatory sketches — the paintings reveal themselves to me through the process of working on them. But the deadline [for the show] ends up being this organizing force. It’s the day your entire year revolves around, the time [by which] you know the paintings will have to be presentable and cohesive. It’s helpful to have that because, otherwise, you could keep things up in the air indefinitely.

When I paint today, I might be responding to a mark on the canvas that I made six weeks or six months ago. What I’m doing early in the process isn’t going to be available visually by the end — most of it’ll be painted out or it’ll disappear in the process. I lay traps or create little problems for myself to encounter. It’s almost like the uglier it gets in the early stages, the better the painting will be.

Building an Installation

The artist Suzanne Jackson, photographed at her Savannah, Ga., studio on Feb. 1, 2024, works on a piece that will eventually be installed on a terrace at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Kendrick Brinson

The Savannah, Ga.-based artist Suzanne Jackson, 80, has worked as a dancer, a set and costume designer, a professor and a poet — but most notably as a painter. Jackson describes her ethereal compositions as “anti-canvases,” which she creates by building up layers of acrylic paint and at times found materials, including netting and produce bags. In 2025, she’ll display a selection of work from her six-decade career, along with a new site-specific installation, as part of a retrospective at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

I’m working on a commission for the fourth-floor terrace of [SFMoMA]. It’s an installation that’ll climb the walls of the terrace and partially fill the open space. My approach is quite different than if I were working on a painting in my studio: I have to think of it in an architectural or sculptural sense. There’re technical aspects, so I’ve been doing a lot of research in airports and from airplane windows, looking at large-scale structures that don’t fall down — things on the rooftops of buildings like windsocks or poles. This piece will be built from the ground up, unlike my other work that hangs from the walls or ceiling.

I don’t go looking for ideas. I just go into the studio and start painting. Now that I’m older and not teaching, I don’t have to do anything except paint. In the morning, I roam around the house. I do the laundry. I feed the cats. I look out the window and stare at nature. I have a big window at the end of my kitchen and can see tall trees and birds and animals and insects. I go through the studio to get to the kitchen from my bedroom, so sometimes I end up stopping and looking at work I’ve already done. There’s a lot of sitting and thinking and looking. Sometimes, I’ll turn on music — Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy or Yo-Yo Ma. On Mondays and Fridays, it’s [the Savannah radio D.J. and jazz historian] Ike Carter’s show “Impressions.”

As the music flows, so does the paint — that’s a spiritual environment to be in. Other times, I’ll work in absolute silence. At the beginning, I explore. I’m never quite sure what’s going to happen. Usually, it comes spontaneously. One brushstroke leads to the next, and then it becomes another idea. I might think I have one idea when I start, but it often changes along the way to be something completely opposite. I’m just having a good time being a painter. That’s how I started, and it’s how I’m going to end.

Photo assistant: Dayna Anderson

Lorraine O’Grady,

89, new york city.

The multidisciplinary artist and critic, whose solo show at Mariane Ibrahim gallery in Chicago opens this month.

Lorraine O’Grady’s “Announcement Card 2 (Spike With Sword, Fighting)” (2020).

© Lorraine O’Grady/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, courtesy of Mariane Ibrahim, Chicago, Paris, Mexico City

I thought I was going to be a writer. My family tells me that I made my first poem when I was a year and a half old: “I like mice because they’re nice.” [In my early 30s, after working for five years] as an intelligence analyst, I went to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop for fiction. I hadn’t really been reading fiction, though, so I wasn’t very good at writing it. I spent most of my second year there translating short stories written by my instructor [the Chilean novelist] José Donoso.

Growing up, I had all these exposures to beauty. I’d gone to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston as a child and seen [Paul] Gauguin’s “Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?,” a painting that continues to influence me. And my mother was a dress designer. She redid our house every six months. By the time I was 10, I basically had everything that I’m now working with in place, but I didn’t have the language. I didn’t get that language until the early 1970s, when I read [the critic and curator] Lucy Lippard’s “Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object From 1966 to 1972.” [Then] I was ready. The ideas for my visual art already existed within my experience. I just hadn’t known they were art before.

A few years later, when I was in my early 40s, I had to have a biopsy of my breast. After — thank God, it was negative for cancer — I was thinking about what I could give my doctor as a thank-you present. Reading my copy of the Sunday New York Times, I saw a line in the sports pages about Julius Erving that said, “The doctor is operating again.” I said, “OK, this could be the start of something,” and I made a really good poem for my doctor [out of words clipped from the newspaper]. But when I finished the poem, I said, “This is too good to give to him.” Then I immediately started making newspaper poems for a project called “Cutting Out The New York Times.” I made one every week for 26 weeks. When I finished, I realized that I’d become a visual artist — or revealed that I was a visual artist. — interview by J.C.

Toni Morrison,

The author of 11 novels, including “Beloved,” “Sula” and “Song of Solomon.”

By the time Toni Morrison wrote “Beloved” (1987), her best-known novel, she’d worked for nearly two decades as a book editor. Her debut, “The Bluest Eye” (1970), was published when she was 39 and, while not a commercial success, was critically praised. She published three more books between 1973 and 1981 — including “Song of Solomon” — while still at her editing job.

Prior to going into publishing, Morrison — who had a master’s degree in American literature from Cornell University — spent nearly a decade teaching college English. After her divorce, she worked for a textbook division of Random House before joining Random House proper as its first Black female editor; there, she championed and published Black authors such as Angela Davis, June Jordan, Gayl Jones and Toni Cade Bambara. “I didn’t go to anything. I didn’t join anything,” she once said about the civil rights movement. “But I could make sure there was a published record of those who did march and did put themselves on the line.” All the while, Morrison was waking by dawn to write before heading into the office. She’d later describe those sessions as a form of liberation: “The writing was the real freedom because nobody told me what to do there. That was my world and my imagination. And all my life it’s been that way.”

For many years, Morrison considered her day job essential to her art. “I thrive on the urgency that doing more than one thing provides,” she once said. But the industry had its difficulties — the overwhelming whiteness, the increasing commercial demands — and she left her position in 1983. Four years later, at age 56, she published “Beloved.” In a preface to the 2004 edition of the book, she looks back on the rush of feelings she experienced following her last day at the job. “I was happy, free in a way I had never been, ever. It was the oddest sensation. Not ecstasy, not satisfaction, not a surfeit of pleasure or accomplishment. It was a purer delight, a rogue anticipation with certainty. Enter ‘Beloved.’”

65, New York City

The multidisciplinary artist and former drag performer, whose paintings are currently on view at the Dallas Contemporary art space and the MassArt Art Museum in Boston.

A 2023 acrylic on canvas by Tabboo! titled “Lavender Garden.”

My mother put me into an art class when I was 15 at the Worcester Art Museum, and then I went on to art school [at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design], where I majored in painting and fine art. I remember my first sale, to my aunt Julie. She wanted me to copy [Jean-François] Millet’s “The Gleaners.” I didn’t want to copy someone else’s stuff — I think one of the reasons I’m popular is that I’m very original — but I still did the painting, of course. It was a commission and I was being paid!

I started performing drag in nightclubs when I moved to New York in 1982, but I’ve always been painting, too. This isn’t something I just came up with, like, “Oh, I can’t get on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ I better start painting.” I had one-man shows and gallery exhibitions right after graduating from art school. Elton John and Gianni Versace bought my paintings. I don’t want anyone to have the impression — which certain people seem to — that I took up painting just because I stopped doing drag. I might be getting a bit more attention for it now, but I’ve always been doing it.

I usually get up at four in the morning. I feed my cat and then start painting. A lot of my paintings are sunrises. And I do sunsets and cityscapes. Or if it rains in a weird way, I’ll do a rain painting. It’s a very spiritual, meditative, private thing. There isn’t a day that goes by that I haven’t done something, and so my work gets better and better and better. And I must say, I’m a master of my craft now.

Sometimes a collector will ask, “Can we come over to the studio and watch you paint?” I tell them no. I usually do it naked. — interview by J.C.

Justin Vivian Bond,

60, new york city and the hudson valley, n.y..

The performer and multidisciplinary artist, whose work has been exhibited at Participant Inc. and the New Museum in New York City, and will be on view at Bill Arning Exhibitions in Kinderhook, N.Y., in May.

Justin Vivian Bond’s watercolor “Witch Eyes, by Viv, to Protect You From Evil Chodes: Lois” (2024).

When I was in high school, I was interested in visual art as well as music and acting, but I decided to major in theater in college because I thought it was a career that could get me out of Maryland and allow me to move to New York. I became a performer, and I’ve been doing cabaret for many years. In 2008, when I broke up my cabaret act Kiki and Herb, my rent was so cheap that I didn’t have to work as much. I started painting again, and it flows very naturally for me.

My watercolors are primarily portraits of people I know. I’ll ask them to pose for a photograph and then paint from that. I also make pseudo fan art, like my “Witch Eyes” series, which is based on iconic photographs of celebrities’ eyes. The wonderful thing about painting is that you have total control over it, if you’re lucky. Onstage, there’re so many variables. And with painting, you don’t have to be there [when people see your work]. I love being in front of an audience, but I don’t really love being among people. The pleasure for me is singing but, when the show’s over, I have to talk to a lot of people. I like all of them, but there’re too many, so it can be a little overwhelming. You don’t ever get to connect on a deeper level. The most satisfying times in my life have been when my shows have been installed and it’s the night before the opening. All of it’s exactly how I want it — the room, the lighting — and I just sit there and look and have this sense of utter satisfaction. — interview by J.C.

Wallace Stevens,

The poet, whose best known works include “The Emperor of Ice-Cream,” “The Snow Man” and “Anecdote of the Jar.”

Wallace Stevens never quit his day job. Though he had literary ambitions as a young man, serving as the editor of the Harvard Advocate as an undergraduate, he earned his degree from New York Law School and in 1916 joined the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company, where he remained, specializing in surety and fidelity claims, until his death, in 1955. Yet he was writing all the time: on his daily walk to work, at home in the evenings and sometimes in the office.

It wasn’t until 1914, when Stevens was 34, that his first post-college poems appeared in literary journals. He went on to publish seven volumes of poetry over the course of his lifetime. The first, “Harmonium,” released in 1923, sold fewer than 100 copies; the last, 1954’s “The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens,” won the Pulitzer Prize.

The themes of Stevens’s work — the affirming power of art and beauty, the sublime contained within the mundane — suggest one reason why he stuck with insurance law even as his artistic acclaim grew. His steady paycheck would have allowed writing to remain a purely creative act. In his essay “Surety and Fidelity Claims,” Stevens says of his insurance work, “You sign a lot of drafts. You see surprisingly few people. ... You don’t even see the country; you see law offices and hotel rooms.” Poetry, on the other hand — as he characterizes it in 1923’s “Of Modern Poetry” — “must be the finding of a satisfaction.” It was his livelihood, in the most artistic sense of the word.

Theaster Gates,

50, chicago.

The University of Chicago professor and multidisciplinary artist, whose solo shows at the Gagosian gallery in Le Bourget, France, and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo open this month.

Theaster Gates’s sculptural work “Sweet Sanctuary, Your Embrace” (2023).

© Theaster Gates. Photo: © White Cube

In 2000, I took a job as the arts planner at the Chicago Transit Authority. There was so much new construction happening there, and my role was to appeal to the Federal Transit Administration for a portion of the transit money to be set aside for public art. In a way, it was like an M.B.A.: I managed $26 million over four or five years. My negotiating skills went through the roof.

I’d graduated from Iowa State [in 1995] with a degree in community and regional planning and then did a [post-baccalaureate] in religious studies and fine art at the University of Cape Town. After that, I spent time in Japan studying ceramics. So when I came to the C.T.A., my background incorporated both art and community and, every day, I was leaving there and going to my ceramics studio.

In 2005, I left the C.T.A. because I outgrew the position, and I stopped making pots because I couldn’t afford my studio. I started using more recycled materials in my work [such as wood pallets]. It was during this period that I was starting to combine my knowledge of minimalism and conceptual practices with my background in building and working with my dad, who was a roofer. Now buildings have kind of become my primary monuments, and the project management and team building that I learned at the C.T.A. are really evident in the way that I create.

I did a project at the New Museum [that opened in late 2022 and] was essentially an exhibition about mourning and loss. My father had died six months prior to the opening, and I didn’t have time to mourn his death or the deaths of dear friends like [the fashion designer] Virgil Abloh, my mentor [the Nigerian curator and art critic] Okwui Enwezor, [the author] bell hooks and [the film scholar] Robert Bird. The show grew out of a desire to grapple with my feelings and honor these people. The museum didn’t necessarily have the budget to do all of the things that I wanted to, so I had to figure out, “Are there poetic ways to articulate loss that don’t require substantial build-out, or big, fancy gestures or expensive audio equipment?”

Ultimately, I included Bird’s 9,500-volume library, and Virgil Abloh’s widow loaned me his yellow diamond-studded necklace. Those were moments when limitations built new friendships and more nuanced opportunities, and I feel like having been a planner’s what made me willing to pick up the phone and say, “Hey, would you be willing to collaborate with me?” — interview by J.C.

Remember That You’re Never Truly Equipped to Start Anything

As actors, we feel like we have to be ready, but I’d say you’re never ready. You’re not prepared for something you’ve never done before, so let go of that. This past year I did some symphony gigs for the first time, and it was incredible. It was better than being ready, because I just had to be new. — Ali Stroker, 36, actress and singer

Myha’la in season one of “Industry,” 2020.

Amanda Searle/HBO

Embrace Fear — but Come Prepared

I have the curse of perfectionism, and there’ve been so many projects where I’ve said, “I’m not right for that, so I’m not going to audition.” But that’s kind of lazy, so I’ve rewired my thinking: If something’s targeting some insecurity in me, why not take the opportunity to work on that thing? I used to avoid anything with an accent but now, if I got the call for “Bridgerton,” I’d feel confident enough to go for it. Definitely do your homework, though. With almost every trading scene in “Industry,” I’ve thought, “Nope, I’m not going to be able to get the words out.” I don’t sleep the night before, and I’m wrecked the next morning. Then everything pours out because I’ve come in prepared. Filming the first season of “Industry” in 2019 was the first time I’d been on a job longer than five days, the first time I’d worked out of the country, the first everything, and I was so nervous. Go toward things that scare you. — Myha’la, 28, actor  

Make Yourself Start

Deciding what’s a good idea is an ongoing battle. But you can only think about something for so long before you just have to try it. Someone once told me that when he makes a painting he likes, he’ll make another one with the same idea to see if it holds up and then another, which I thought was pretty good advice. Sometimes I force myself to go to my studio and start painting [Gordon initially set out to be a visual artist and started focusing more on her art practice about 25 years ago], even if I don’t have an idea. I like conceptual thinking, but I also like the physicality of painting. Usually that leads me to something and, even if it doesn’t — what am I going to do, sit around and watch movies all day? — Kim Gordon, 70, musician and visual artist

Put Yourself in Your Body — and Your Past

Sometimes painting can feel like this dream I have where I’m in the back of a moving car and I’m reaching over to the front seat to try to get control. That’s a nervous system in panic. There’s a grounding exercise I like to do where I jump and really feel my feet smack the floor — trying to get yourself back into your body’s part of the trick. And then I go, “Well, who’s dreaming?” If you can get there, you’re lucid in the dream, and that’s a good place to be. Still, feelings will come up that you don’t want. When I was working on this satyr painting, suddenly the satyr was my old friend Chris, who betrayed me when I was 18 to a group of guys who beat me up. I thought, “Why am I painting Chris? I don’t want to paint Chris.” I was in flow for a while but, when I hit this painting, I experienced self-doubt and thought, “People are going to think these paintings are awful.” Then I went on Instagram and liked one of his pictures. It felt like a weird, brave task. And he wrote to me and asked if he could call me, 26 years after ghosting me, and he apologized for 20 minutes. I cried and I think he probably cried, and I felt it all melt away. And then I went back to the painting. — TM Davy, 43, artist

Kim Gordon in 1990.

Laura Levine/Corbis via Getty Images

Psych Yourself Out

If things are too hard, something’s wrong, but you also have to embrace the awkward feelings. See if you can fool yourself — I used to get self-conscious about drawing when I was a teenager in an art class with a model, and the teacher said, “Don’t think of it as drawing. Think of it as designing the page.” That really loosened things up for me. It’s amazing what you can do if you pretend. — Kim Gordon

When people say they’re self-taught, it means they asked somebody else how they did it. When I began in folk music, I went to the clubs and I begged and borrowed and asked. [More recently, having taken up painting acrylics a little over a decade ago,] I was painting [Anthony] Fauci and couldn’t figure out how to do his glasses. I called an artist friend and she had all these tricks — “Don’t try to copy the photograph,” she told me, “just use dabs of paint here and there to give the impression of glass.” It didn’t take more than 45 minutes to learn how to put glasses on Fauci. Without her, I would’ve struggled for weeks trying to get it right. — Joan Baez, 83, singer-songwriter, activist, painter and author

Don’t Sweat the End — and Work on More Than One Thing at Once

Remember that the maker almost never knows exactly what they’re making in advance. The great works often appear when we’re aiming toward something completely different. Start as soon as you see a way in. I [also] find it helpful to work on multiple things at the same time. Not in the same moment but during the same general time period. The beauty is that different projects are at different stages, so you can avoid getting burned out on any one [thing]. We can step away, work on something else and come back with new eyes, as if we’re seeing it for the first time. Tunnel vision’s easy to fall into when working on a single project for a long period. We can end up getting lost in details nobody else will ever notice, while losing touch with the grand gesture of the work. — Rick Rubin, 61, music producer and author of “The Creative Act: A Way of Being”

Murray Hill in 1996.

Catherine McGann/Getty Images

Treat Procrastination as Productivity

There were certain things I couldn’t do during the [SAG-AFTRA] strike, but I did get a book deal. It’s called “Showbiz! My Unexpected Life as a Middle-Aged Man,” and I’ve got to get that done — by June 1st! I’m used to being onstage. When I’m sitting at my desk in my studio apartment, I procrastinate quite a bit, and I’m always asking myself, “Is this part of the creative process for me, or am I just making my life harder?” But I also procrastinate in productive ways. I go for a walk — in rehab, they taught us, “Move a muscle, change a thought.” Then I come back and put on jazz music. Doing that removes the blocks, probably because jazz is so much about improvisation and I’m at my core an improviser. Another thing I’ll do to light the match is turn to others’ work. I’ll watch Dean Martin videos or a documentary or old game shows. For this memoir, I’ve been reading memoirs by other people — Gary Gulman, Viola Davis, Maria Bamford, Leslie Jones, Aparna Nancherla — and not only does that awaken my creative senses, it triggers memories. — Murray Hill, 52, comedian, actor and writer

Be Comfortable With Discomfort

There was a time when [my] body was always ready, and when I had so many axes to grind and windmills to chase [that] something would come out. Now I can’t just depend on my body being there — that I’m going to bust a move and seduce — so I have to be a little more strategic: “What’s the idea? Does it serve anyone other than you?” I’m trying to reaffirm for myself that what I have left in me to say is worth saying. Doubt is always with us, and it burns like fire. But if I refuse to give up the mantle of being a creative artist, I’ve got to do something. [You might say] “Well, why don’t you just love a child? Why don’t you go work at a soup kitchen down the street?” Because I’m a self-involved son of a bitch. Procrastination says, “I don’t dare,” but can you live with yourself if you don’t? So how do you start? Terror. Guilt. Fear. All negatives to this generation of young people who don’t ever want to be uncomfortable, but the generation that formed me and my own generation had that feeling that you’re being pushed against and you’ve got to push back, because you’re not like them. As Martha Graham said to Agnes de Mille, “There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.” I’ve got to believe that about myself, and the evidence is what I dare to do. — Bill T. Jones, 72, choreographer, director and dancer

If Your Work Goes Up in Flames, Don’t Fetishize the Ashes

One thing that eases the prospect of getting started is remembering that not everything you make needs to be for consumption or even to count as art. I recently spent nine months quietly making these works — mineral paint on cement slabs — and ended up throwing them all away because I decided they were too conventional. You’re not married to your old self, either. In 2013, there was an electrical fire at the studio I’d just moved into, and the building burned to the ground. I lost cartons of negatives and proof sheets that were over six feet tall, as well as photographs — stuff I’d made five, seven, 10, 15 years prior. Of course, it was traumatic and terrifying, but it was also freeing. Eventually I realized it was an opportunity for me to draw a line and stop making a certain kind of work. As artists, we think, “I got known for this type of thing,” or, “This is what everybody seems to like of mine.” A part of me felt, “I have to rebuild this person,” and then I thought, “Well, I don’t,” and I started something else. It was actually one of the most fruitful periods of my creative life. — Anthony Pearson, 55, painter, sculptor and photographer

Joan Baez in 1974.

David Redfern/Redferns via Getty Images

Practice Some Denial

When I was working on “Diamonds & Rust” (1975), I was at a low point of my career and I made a decision that I was going to concentrate on music and quit globe-trotting for different issues. I realized that the music needed my time and attention if it was going to be any good. Learning to live with the state of the world’s a daily practice. Everything we do, we do against the backdrop of global warming and fascism. I never dreamed I’d live in a world this chaotic and discouraging, and I’m overwhelmed but I’m also a great believer in denial — I think that’s where you have to be in order to create, or have fun or dance — providing that we set aside a certain amount of time to come out of denial and actually do something to help. — Joan Baez

Reject Fear. And Put Your Ego to Bed.

Last year, I went through what medical professionals would call a flop era. I’d had three years of the kind of lovely, psychotic busyness that has you hopping from job to job, just following green lights, but then everything went poof — the show I was working on got canceled; the financing for the film adaptation of my novel fell through. I’d been working on such personal things regarding sex and disability and, when those things ended or weren’t [well] received, I began to doubt myself. But then, you’re combating panic, and I started thinking really awful thoughts like, “Do I need to write a pilot where there’s a dead body?” Fear is the most poisonous thing to creativity. You can’t force it, and you have to listen to the work — it’ll tell you what it needs to be. Look at me getting all woo-woo, but it’s true. When you make a living off of writing, not every single project’s going to be from the depths of your soul, but I think there should always be some level of enjoyment. Starting over is really humbling, by the way. Knowing when to stop and when to start over requires giving your ego an Ambien. Real failure is letting your ego drive the bus of your life right off the cliff. — Ryan O’Connell, 37, writer and actor

Alice McDermott, 70, writer

There are three kinds of novels I’ve never taken to heart: science fiction, murder mysteries and novels about novelists. So I’ve decided to try my hand at each. If I fail, they’re probably not books I’d want to read anyway.

Thurston Moore, 65, musician and author

I’m putting the final touches on a new album, “Flow Critical Lucidity.” But after my memoir, “Sonic Life” (2023), came out, I realized my next mission was a novella, the working title of which is “Boomerang and Parsnip.” It concerns two madly in love youths in the wilds of Lower Manhattan circa 1981, and it’s wholly irreal, bordering on fantasy.

Courtesy of Samuel Delany

Samuel R. Delany, 82, writer

I’m writing a guidebook for a set of tarot cards I designed with the artist Lissanne Lake.

Susan Cianciolo, 54, visual artist

I’m preparing a solo exhibition that will open at Bridget Donahue gallery next month, so I’m making new works and curating older ones. It’ll definitely feature a book of my watercolor tree paintings, “Tell Me When You Hear My Heart Stop.”

Jenny Offill, 55, writer

I’m planning to start a band called Spacecrone. (I’ve stolen the name from a book of Ursula K. Le Guin essays.) It’ll be all female and 55-plus. Our faces will be made up like Ziggy Stardust, but we’ll wear sensible clothes and shoes. What’s kept me from starting it is that I can’t sing or play any instruments.

Alex Eagle, 40, creative director

We’re finessing our bag collection, which we’re trying to make as luxurious, but also as practical, as possible. And I’m planning to write a cookbook with my son Jack.

Jim Bennett/Wire Image, via Getty Images

Earl Sweatshirt, 30, rapper and producer

Making more music — it’s the one thing I always find myself coming back to, though every time I do, I have to overcome intense feelings of self-doubt. I also want to try stand-up, but I’m scared because there’s no music to hide behind. I don’t want dogs-playing-poker laughs, either. You know the [paintings] of dogs playing cards? Like, “Oh, it’s a rapper doing stand-up.”

Alex Da Corte, 43, visual artist

I’ve been writing an opera for some years now based on Marisol Escobar’s [assemblage] “The Party” (1965-66). It’s set at a time when the sun only shines for one day a year, and the players at the party are all wondering how to move forward while holding on to their pasts.

Danny Kaplan, 40, designer

While clay has been my faithful medium for years, I’ve lately been fueled to broaden the scope of my craft by embracing — and learning how to push the boundaries of — new materials like wood, metal and glass.

Kengo Kuma, 69, architect

Getting out of [Tokyo]. I’m doing my best to reduce the burden on big cities — I think humankind has reached a limit when it comes to congestion — and I’ve recently opened five satellite offices in places like Hokkaido and Okinawa.

Raul Lopez, 39, fashion designer, Luar

The thing I’m always meaning to restart is my video blog “Rags to Riches: Dining With the Fabbest Bitches,” an exploration of how food, fashion, music and art all connect.

Charles Burnett, 80, filmmaker

Right now I’m involved in the development of two films. The first, “Edwin’s Wedding,” is the story of two cousins, separated by the Namibian armed struggle with South Africa, who are both planning their weddings. The second, “Dark City,” also set in Namibia, is more of an emotional roller coaster about betrayal and vengeance told in the Hitchcockian mold.

Ludovic Nkoth, 29, visual artist

I’m looking to experiment outside the confines of the canvas — sculpture and video have always been lingering in the back of my head.

Elena Velez, 29, fashion designer

I want to start a series of salons to bring together great minds across multiple disciplines, while feeding the subculture that my work draws from.

Daniel Clowes, 63, cartoonist

I’ve always had the desire to do fakes of artworks I admire — to figure out how they were done, and so I could have otherwise unaffordable artwork hanging in my living room. Painting [with oil] is as frustrating and exhilarating as I remember it being when I was in art school 43 years ago, and my paintings look alarmingly not unlike the ones I did at 19.

Piero Lissoni, 67, architect and designer

I’ve started the design for several new buildings that will become government offices in Budapest. I’d like to start designing chairs, lights, skyscrapers, spacecraft. In truth, I’d like to start doing everything again.

Peter Paul Rubens’s “The Massacre of the Innocents” (circa 1610), Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto

Robert Longo, 71, visual artist

I’ve been struggling to figure out how best to make sense of the overwhelming images in the news, so I’m turning to the past. I’m working on two monumental charcoal drawings based on paintings [about war]: Peter Paul Rubens’s “The Massacre of the Innocents” (circa 1610) and Francisco de Goya’s “The Third of May 1808” (1814).

Gabriel Hendifar, 42, designer

I’m moving into a new apartment by myself after a series of long relationships. I’m excited to challenge my own ideas about how I want to live and to see how that affects the work of my design studio [Apparatus] as we begin our next collection.

Donna Huanca, 43, visual artist

I’m working on two solo exhibitions. One will be in a late 15th-century palazzo with underground vaulted rooms in Florence, Italy; the other in a modern white cube in Riga, Latvia. For years, I’ve tailored works to the architecture of their exhibition spaces, so I’m enjoying working within this duality.

Satoshi Kuwata, 40, fashion designer, Setchu

We’re about to start offering shoes. I’ve thought of the design. Now I just have to go to the factory and see them in real life.

Aaron Aujla, 38, and Ben Bloomstein, 36, designers, Green River Project

We’re starting a new collection of furniture based on offcuts from the studio that are finished with a modified piano lacquer. Hopefully, a suite of these pieces will be ready for exhibition by fall. We also have a commission we’re excited to start — a large sculptural fireplace made from three unique logs of rare wood.

Adrianne Lenker, 32, musician, Big Thief

I want to start learning how to paint. The few times I’ve tried it, I loved it but also felt daunted by all I needed to learn. I often think of my songs in terms of paintings. My grandmother Diane Lee’s an amazing watercolorist. Recently she gave me a lesson all about gray.

Melissa Cody’s “Power Up” (2023), courtesy of the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York

Melissa Cody, 41, textile artist

I’m starting to create wall tapestries that incorporate my pre-existing designs, which were handwoven on a traditional Navajo/Diné loom, but these new works are highly detailed sampler compositions made on a digital Jacquard loom.

Josh Kline, 44, multidisciplinary artist

I’m working toward shooting my first feature film — a movie, not a project for the art world.

Sally Breer, 36, interior decorator

My husband and I have started building some structures on a property we own in upstate New York — he has a construction company in Los Angeles. We’re using locally sourced wood and are 80 percent done with a studio-guesthouse, a simple 14-by-18-foot box set on foundation screws, tucked into a pine forest. This is the first time we’re really working together as a design-build team. He’s started referring to it as our “art project.”

Eddie Martinez, 47, visual artist

I’m restarting a group of large-scale paintings for an exhibition at the Parrish Art Museum [in Water Mill, N.Y.] this summer. They’re each 12 feet tall and based on a drawing of a butterfly. The series is called “Bufly” since that’s how my son, Arthur, mispronounced “butterfly” when he was younger. I’d put the paintings aside while I finished my work for the Venice Biennale. Now I’m locked in the studio, painting like a nut!

Karin Dreijer, a.k.a. Fever Ray, 49, singer-songwriter

I’ve been thinking about learning to play the drums. They’ve always felt like a bit of a mystery to me.

Eric N. Mack, 36, visual artist

I’m starting to recharge in order to begin my next body of work. I journal, read, explore the Criterion Channel and get deep-tissue massages. I keep wishing I’d organize the fabrics in my studio.

Jenni Kayne, 41, fashion designer

We’re starting the next iteration of the Jenni Kayne Ranch [the brand’s former property in Santa Ynez, Calif., where she’d invite guests for yoga, dining and spa experiences], only this time we’re heading to upstate New York. We’re calling it the Jenni Kayne Farmhouse, and it’ll include a self-care sanctuary where slow living is a genuine ritual.

Christine Sun Kim, 43, multidisciplinary artist

I have a bit of an adverse reaction to people doing American Sign Language interpretations of popular songs on social media — they’re usually based entirely on the lyrics in English, when rhyming works differently in ASL. So I’ve been wanting to make a fully native ASL “music” video. One day.

Ellia Park, 40, restaurateur

I’ve started collaborating with the in-house designer at Atomix, one of the restaurants I run with my husband, Junghyun Park, on custom welcome cards for the guests that feature bespoke artwork.

Awol Erizku, 35, visual artist

Awol Erizku’s “Pharrell, SSENSE” (2021), from "Awol Erizku: Mystic Parallax" (Aperture, 2023), courtesy of the artist

I’m focused on my exhibition “Mystic Parallax,” opening in May in Bentonville, Ark. [which will include concerts and portraits of such people as Solange and Pharrell Williams]. What I never seem to get around to is archiving all of my negatives in the studio.

Jeremiah Brent, 39, interior designer

As I navigate the [effect of the] ever-so-saturated interior design algorithm, I’m challenging our team to expand the language we speak, diversifying design references by looking to the unexpected: playwrights, films, historians and science.

Vincent Van Duysen, 61, architect

I’m focusing on the 90th anniversary of [the Italian furniture company] Molteni & C. I’m also excited about our recent addition to the family — a black-and-tan dachshund called Vesta after the virgin goddess of the hearth and home.

Kwame Onwuachi, 34, chef

I’m working on launching a sparkling-water line — the proceeds of which will help bring clean water wells to African countries — and starting to write my third cookbook. I start everything I think of.

Larissa FastHorse, 52, playwright and choreographer

I’m adapting a beloved American musical — I can’t say which — into a TV series. Which is scary because, even though I just adapted “Peter Pan” for the stage, the TV process is the opposite: Instead of cutting down a three-hour musical, I have to add hours and hours of content. So it feels like beginning over and over again.

Peter Halley, 70, visual artist

I’ve started to paint watercolors. Now that I’ve reached 70, I thought it was about time. The images are arranged in a grid like on a comic book page, but the narrative’s asynchronous. They’re based on images of one of my cells exploding, an obsession I’ve had going all the way back to the ’80s.

Darren Bader, 46, conceptual artist

I want to start an art gallery called Post-Artist that regularly shows art but refuses to name who made it. No social media presence. I also want to do what Harmony Korine is doing, except with none of that content.

Jeff Tweedy, 56, musician, Wilco

I’m about to record an album of new music with my solo band, which isn’t really solo at all. I’m bringing my sons and the close friends and quasi family who’ve been playing with me live for the past 10 years or so into the studio. I’ve written songs that feel like they can be a vessel for all of our voices together: a miniature choir. There’s really no experience that compares to singing with other people. I think it tells us something about how to be in the world.

Charles Yu, 48, writer

I’m about to start promoting the “Interior Chinatown” series [based on Yu’s 2020 novel]. I’d like to get into music and service. My son’s a drummer, and he’s awakened some latent impulse in me. And my daughter and wife have been volunteering. I’m not exactly sure what’s been keeping me from either. I could say work, but I suspect the actual answer is nothing.

Elyanna, 22, singer-songwriter

I’d love to improve my Spanish. I visit my family in Chile at least once a year and, every time I fly back to L.A., I realize that I need to keep practicing.

Boots Riley, 53, filmmaker and musician

I’m getting ready to start filming a feature I wrote about a group of professional female shoplifters who find a device called a situational accelerator that heightens the conflict of anything they shoot it at. I also have a sci-fi adventure: a janky, lo-fi epic space funk opera. My dream is to use the same crew and shoot the two movies back to back in Oakland, Calif. [where I live]. That’s one thing about being 53 — I want to be able to spend more time with my kids.

Damien Maloney/The New York Times

Sable Elyse Smith, 37, visual artist

I’ve recently embarked on an operatic project. Yikes! MoMA invited me to make a sound piece that’ll open in July, and it’ll be a kind of prelude to a larger version. It’s titled “If You Unfolded Us.” It’s a queer love story and a coming-of-age story about two Black women.

Satoshi Kondo, 39, fashion designer, Issey Miyake

My latest experiment with washi , or traditional Japanese paper, is blending fibers extracted from the remaining fabrics of past clothing collections with the pulp mixture from which washi is made. It’s a way of playing with color and texture.

Laila Gohar, 35, chef and artist

Almost all of my work has used food as a medium and has therefore been ephemeral. Making work that isn’t — namely, sculptures — is an idea I’ve been toying with for a while, but I haven’t been able to jump into it yet. I once read something an artist said about how she thought male artists are more concerned with legacy than female artists, and that female artists are more comfortable creating ephemeral work. This rang true for me, but now I feel slightly more confident about making things that might outlive me.

Patricia Urquiola, 62, architect and designer

I was nominated [last year] as a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid, so now I’m writing the acceptance thesis, or discurso de ingreso . It’s an occasion to reflect on ideas — for example, I reread the philosopher Bruno Latour, who argues that design “is never a process that begins from scratch: To design is always to redesign.”

Luke Meier, 48, and Lucie Meier, 42, fashion designers, Jil Sander

We’ve started making some objects — glass and ceramics. We aren’t at all experienced in these fields, so it’s invigorating to play again.

Kevin Baker/Courtesy of Number 9 Films.

Marianne Elliott, 57, director

I’ve always wanted to do a film, but it requires so much time and theater is a hungry beast, so it’s eluded me until now: “The Salt Path,” starring Gillian Anderson, is based on a true story about a remarkable English couple [who embark on a 630-mile hike].

Samuel D. Hunter, 42, playwright

Last year, I was approached by Joe Mantello and Laurie Metcalf, who wanted someone to write a play for Joe to direct and Laurie to star in. I’d never met either of them but, if I had to pick one actor on earth to write a role for, it would be Laurie. “Little Bear Ridge Road,” a dark comedy about an estranged aunt and nephew who are forcibly reunited after the passing of a troubled family member, will go into rehearsals in May.

Thebe Magugu, 30, fashion designer

When I was 16, I began writing a novel, taking place between the small South African towns of Kimberley and Kuruman, that I’ve contributed to every year since. It currently sits as a huge slab of a book — around 80,000 words — and I’ve been meaning to rewrite and polish the earlier chapters. I’ve given myself the next 10 years [to finish the project]. It’ll be a gift I give to myself when I turn 40.

Misha Kahn, 34, designer and sculptor

I have an idea for this toothpaste project called Zaaams that’s expanded, of its own volition, into an entire cinematic universe. Sometimes an idea can grow so big that it’s unmanageable and nearly unstartable. Sometimes I’ll really start working on it, but I get overwhelmed by the seismic rift in society it would cause and feel dizzy. Crest, if you’re reading this, call me.

Nell Irvin Painter, 81, visual artist and writer

I’m way too old to be a beginner. I’m 81 and have already written and published a million (OK, 10) books. But a very different kind of project’s been tugging at me: something like an autobiographical Photoshop document with layers from different phases of my life in the 1960s and ’70s — spent in France, Ghana, the American South. I’d have to be myself at different ages.

Courtesy of Nell Irvin Painter

Sharon Van Etten, 43, singer-songwriter

In 2020, I became familiar with the work of Susan Burton, the founder of A New Way of Life, which provides formerly incarcerated women with the care and community they need to get their lives back on track, and was so moved by her story I asked my record label if it was OK to use money from my music video budget to produce a minidocumentary on the organization, “Home to Me.” I still have a lot to learn about filmmaking, but I think it’s the beginning of something beautiful.

Piet Oudolf, 79, garden designer

I’m starting the planting design for Calder Gardens, a new center dedicated to the work of the artist Alexander Calder in Philadelphia. I’m working on it with Herzog & de Meuron architects, and it’ll include a four-season garden that will evolve with the months. Early in the year, it’s about ephemerals (bulbs). Spring is when woodland flowers are important. Summer will be the high point of the prairie-inspired areas, and in fall and winter there’ll be seed heads and skeletons. I think a good, harmonious garden is like a piece of living art.

Rafael de Cárdenas, 49, designer

As a consummate shopper, I’ve always thought the best way to bring my interests together would be with a store — a lab for testing things out and creating a connoisseurship in the process. I’m thinking Over Our Heads (the second iteration of Edna’s Edibles in [the 1979-88 sitcom] “The Facts of Life”) meets Think Big! (a now-closed shop in SoHo) meets [the London gallery] Anthony d’Offay meets [the defunct clothing store] Charivari meets [the old nightclub] Palladium.

Gaetano Pesce, 84, architect and designer

I’m working on a possible collaboration with a jewelry company from Italy. I can’t say the name yet, but the pieces stand to be very innovative. Also, another collaboration with the perfume company Amouage inspired by time I spent in Oman’s Wadi Dawkah and the beautiful frankincense trees there.

John Cale, 82, musician and composer

Ever since I played viola in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales, I’ve been hypnotized by the thought of the discipline needed to conduct. My attention soon wandered — from John Cage to rock music. Now, 60 years on, it’s finally time.

Nona Hendryx, 79, interdisciplinary artist and musician

I’m working on the Dream Machine Experience, a magical 3-D environment that’ll be filled with music, sound, images and gamelike features. It’ll premiere at Lincoln Center this June. [My idea was] to create an imaginative world inspired by Afro-Futurism that encourages a wide, multigenerational audience to share.

Faye Toogood, 47, designer and visual artist

I’d like to develop a jewelry collection, but I haven’t. Is it because no one’s asked — no phone call from Tiffany! — or because I’m struggling to understand how adornment fits into our current world?

Freddie Ross Jr., a.k.a. Big Freedia, 46, musician

I’m recording a kids’ album and publishing a picture book for early readers. Much of my art is about language and the unique colloquialisms that we have in bounce culture. Children respond to its snappy rhymes and phrases.

Danzy Senna, 53, writer

Every time I write a novel, I think, “This is the most masochistic experience I’ve ever had — I’m going to quit this racket.” But I feel incomplete without this depressive object to feel beholden to. I just finished editing one book [“Colored Television”] and have the sinking feeling I’m about to start another.

Jackie Sibblies Drury, 42, playwright

I’m starting, hopefully in earnest, to write a play in collaboration with the director Sarah Benson inspired by action movies. We were intrigued by the problem of trying to put chase scenes or action sequences onstage, where it’s difficult to build momentum or suspense because in theater we have less control over the viewer’s eye, among other things. But hopefully the play will be about what it means to see ourselves in these macho cis men who often get hurt pretending to almost die for our entertainment — or something like that?

Lindsey Adelman, 55, designer

I’m putting together a digital archive of my work and ephemera — about 30 years’ worth — revisiting everything from the sculpture I made as a student at RISD to the paper lights David Weeks and I sold for $25 to datebooks where I scribbled notes about things I wished would come true and then did. I hope it’ll encourage others to start something. I want them to understand, “Oh, this was the first step … this beautiful, finished thing was inspired by a piece of garbage dangling from a streetlamp.”

Elizabeth Diller, 69, architect, Diller Scofidio + Renfro

David Wall/Getty Images

Since 2012, when my studio was doing research for a contemporary staging of Benjamin Britten’s chamber opera of Henry James’s “The Turn of the Screw,” I’ve been meaning to start a book about ghosts. While ghosts are a well-trod literary device, their visual representation on stage and screen also has a rich history that can be told through the lens of an architect. Despite the fact that ghosts transcend the laws of physics, they’re stubbornly site-specific — they live in walls, closets, attics and other marginal domestic settings, and they rarely stray from home.

David Oyelowo, 48, actor

Something that three friends and I are in the process of building and developing is a streaming platform that we launched last year called Mansa. The idea — born out of growing frustration with making things that I love and then having to use some kind of distribution mechanism where the decision makers are almost always people who don’t share my demographic — is Black culture for a global audience. Essentially, we started a tech company that intersects with our love of story and our need to create [pipelines] for people of color and beyond to be seen.

Franklin Sirmans, 55, museum director, Pérez Art Museum Miami

There’s a recurring exhibition that I’ve worked on with [the curator] Trevor Schoonmaker since 2006 called “The Beautiful Game” that consists of art about soccer. We do it every four years because of the World Cup, and I’m starting to get into the 2026 iteration. I’ve also been trying to finish a book of poems since I graduated college more than 30 years ago. But it’s happening. It’s not like you don’t write a good sentence every now and then.

Jamie Nares, 70, multidisciplinary artist

I’ve always loved this line of poetry [from the Irish poet John Anster’s loose translation of Goethe’s “Faust”] that goes, “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” One thing I’ve begun recently is a revisiting of my 1977 performance “Desirium Probe,” for which I hooked myself up to a TV that the audience couldn’t see, and relayed what was happening onscreen through re-enactment. Now I’m going to do it with YouTube videos chosen at random from the wealth of rubbish and interesting stuff on there. And as a video, because I’m not as agile as I once was.

Joseph Dirand, 50, architect and designer

My firm has just started developing, with a French company called Zephalto, a prototype of the interiors for a hot-air balloon that will take travelers to the stratosphere, and the carbon footprint of the journey will be equivalent to that of the production of a pair of blue jeans. The balloon is transparent, so it’ll be almost as if you’re going up in a bubble of air — riders will see the curve of the earth. We’re designing three private cabins: sexy, organic cocoons that reference the ’60s and the dream of space, but are otherwise pretty minimal. The landscape is the star of the show.

Amaarae, 29, singer-songwriter

I’m working on the deluxe version of my 2023 album, “Fountain Baby.” The approach for the original album was very maximalist — I organized these camps all over the world and had a bunch of people come through to work on the music. Afterward, I felt underwhelmed — not by the project but by how I felt at the end of it all. [So] I stripped back everything so it’s just me and my home setup, trying ideas. Before, I was really lofty, but now my feet are touching grass a little bit.

Jennifer Egan, 61, writer

I’m starting a novel set in late 19th-century New York City. As always with my fiction, I have little idea of what will happen, which lends an element of peril to every project! Time and place are my portal into story, and I’m interested in a time when urban America was crowded and full of buildings we occupy today, yet the landscape beyond seemed almost infinite.

Carla Sozzani, 76, gallerist and retailer

Just as my partner, Kris Ruhs, and I revamped the then-unknown Corso Como area of Milan, we’re now putting our energy into the construction of a new studio for him, as well as the expansion of the Fondazione Sozzani [cultural center], both of which are in Bovisa, another old industrial neighborhood. I wanted to be an architect when I was young, but my father said, “No!”

Stephanie Goto, 47, architect

If my clients allow me to peel one eye away from their commissions, I’d like to dive deeper into the renovation of my own property in Connecticut, which includes the circa 1770 former home of Marilyn Monroe and a tobacco-and-milk barn that will house my studio.

Amalia Ulman, 35, visual artist and filmmaker

I’m beginning to write the script for my third feature film — probably my favorite part of the process, when I just need to close my eyes and see the film in my head. It’s the closest to a holiday because it feels like daydreaming.

Wim Wenders, 78, filmmaker

Several years ago, I started a project about the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, who, along with others, designed the new Los Angeles County Museum of Art that’s being built now. The working title of the film is “The Secret of Places,” and it’s done in 3-D. My dream is to make a comedy one day. [ Laughs .] Seriously. [ Laughs again .] I’m working on it.

Wendy Red Star’s “Beaver That Stretches” (2023), © Wendy Red Star, courtesy of the artist and Sargents Daughters

Wendy Red Star, 43, visual artist

I’ve started highlighting Crow and Plateau women’s art history by making painted studies of parfleches, these 19th-century rawhide suitcases embellished with geometric designs. I’m learning so much about these women just by their mark making, but have only come across a few that have the name of the person who made it, so I’m titling my works by pulling women’s and girls’ names from the census records for the Crow tribe between 1885 and 1940.

Nick Ozemba, 32, and Felicia Hung, 33, designers, In Common With

Next month, we’re opening Quarters, a concept store and gathering space in TriBeCa that will feature our first furniture collection.

Bobbi Jene Smith, 40, dancer, choreographer and actress

My husband, Or Schraiber, and I are creating a work composed of solos for each dancer of L.A. Dance Project, where we’ve been residents for the past year and a half. We’ve had the unique opportunity to connect deeply with some of the dancers, and this — a gratitude poem for each of them — will be our culminating project. They’ll each be a few minutes long and characterized by physicality set against silence.

Editor’s note: The architect and designer Gaetano Pesce, whose comments are included in this piece, died on April 4 at age 84.

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