Meet Billy Hunt, PCA Member Artist!
Billy Hunt
Genre/Medium: Photographer, Filmmaker, Keytarist
Where are you from? What brought you to Charlottesville? I grew up in a small town called Poquoson. It was a mixture of Retired Airforce personnel and Waterman. Early on, I knew it was not a place for me.
My wife and I moved to Charlottesville after traveling around the world in 1999-2000. We did not want to move back to Northern Virginia, and Charlottesville seemed like a great place for us to settle down. Not too big. Good arts scene. Close to our families.
What are your favorite things to do around Charlottesville? I love engaging in the arts here, Theater, Art Galleries, Music, whatever. Although I don’t find I have enough time to do it as often as I would like.
Also, my secret love. Eating out. Even though I love to cook, I would probably eat out almost every meal if I could. CHOMP!
What inspires your creativity? All the amazing work my friends are up to. I feel Charlottesville is this creative typhoon right now. It didn’t feel like this when I moved here. Now we have The Bridge PAI, The Garage, The Teahouse, The CCDC, Alloy Workshop, Filmmakers Republik, The Jefferson, The Southern, all the stuff Jennifer Tidwell and I are working on, and all the great work the PCA is doing. Most of this wasn’t here 6 years ago. Its pretty amazing when you stop and think about it. There are a lot of people working towards building an artistic community here right this minute. What an exciting time!
What do you love most about what you do? I think I have the coolest, craziest job in the world. In the last week, I photographed and filmed a Zombie Movie, Real Estate, some Architecture, and a Pirana feeding frenzy. I did a casting for an original show I am helping to write, and booked a couple of weddings. This week! How is that even possible?
What are the challenges and opportunities you face as an artist? Probably the same problems everyone faces. Time and money. Its very hard to get paid what you are worth as an artist, as everyone knows. And there are so many amazing opportunities right now, its hard to pick what to work on. To be selective in the projects you take on. I have a 3 year old son, and finding that work/family life balance is challenging. I thought about cloning myself, but then I realized my clone would kill me and take my family and money, because thats what I would do!
What are your favorite ways to stay connected with the arts community in Charlottesville? How can you not? You throw a rock, you hit an artist in this town. It probably helps that I make a living documenting people and places, and am not super stingy about rights and whatnot, so I have a lot of artists contact me for help. I love Art Drinks too. What a great idea.
