How does anyone make art in this dizzying moment? In our Now issue, Bazaar speaks to 10 creative people—dancers, comedians, pop singers, writers—about what fuels their work in 2026.
It may seem like a cliché to say that Quenlin Blackwell was destined to become the reigning queen of social media, but looking at her career trajectory over the past decade, it seems impossible to see things working out any other way. The 25-year-old Dallas native first gained notoriety on Vine (RIP), amassing over half a million followers and giving birth to iconic memes in the process. Soon after, she migrated to TikTok and eventually YouTube, where her vlogs and her popular Feeding Starving Celebrities show, where she interviews stars like Addison Rae, Pinkpantheress, and Sombr, has earned her 3.3 million followers. Her popularity—coupled with her good looks and sense of style—quickly earned her It girl status, landing her in Charli XCX’s iconic video for “360” as well as a cameo appearance on the HBO show I Love LA. Blackwell’s razor-sharp focus on her future and reliance on her family and community are proof her success is not a fluke.
I’ve received my flowers in real time because I’ve been able to cultivate a strong community around me. That’s something that people don’t realize is so integral to living a full life: the community you build around you.
My father always told me that there’s givers and there’s takers, and takers will just take and it costs nothing to give. And that’s not even monetarily; that’s emotionally, that’s energetically, that’s spiritually. The people I’ve surrounded myself with in L.A. and in entertainment and in my adult life have always poured into me and given me light and a stage and an ear and wisdom.
It all goes back to the tools I was given as a kid. I always had information on how to be grounded, stable, and how to maintain my authenticity. I don’t let anyone quiet my colorfulness. My parents told me I could be great and do great things, so that’s the mindset I went out into the world with. The human spirit and our creativity can’t be crushed. It’s an energy that exists outside of us.
So, yes, right now, the internet has been co-opted by corporations. It has been co-opted by people who are not creative. It has been co-opted by people who just want to take, take, take from what we give, give, give. But the audience and the consumer of creativity can taste when it’s not authentic. We will win because the people always win, even if we cannot win at this moment, girl. We are not winning right now! But there will soon come a time when we’re back up. We’ve got to keep pushing.
I’ve been able to maintain my sanity because I’ve been able to maintain my independence from it all. I always will have my people. I can go to my little camera setup in my room and talk to the people who have been supporting me and seeing themselves in me since I was 12. That gives me a type of armor.
This story appears in the April issue of Harper’s Bazaar.
Hair: Jacob Dillon for T3; makeup: Kimora Mulan for Danessa Myricks Beauty
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