CR 037: Amie McNee on the Rebellious Act of Making Art

The author, podcast host, and champion of creativity discusses her new book, “We Need Your Art.”

Amie McNee, photo by Chelsea Tooley

Though Amie McNee is, first and foremost, a fiction author, to her 482,000 Instagram followers, she’s so much more: a fierce defender of the arts, a cheerleader for creators, and a constant source of inspiration. Through her podcast, her Substack, and her social media posts, McNee reminds creatives every day that the work they’re doing is not only valid, it’s critical.

Now, she’s published a manifesto, We Need Your Art, through which she encourages readers to create, provides prompts to break through creative blocks, and lays out a two-week reset to help dormant artists establish a sustainable artistic practice. She realizes that in our current political climate, making art might seem frivolous to some, but she argues that it is more essential than ever.

“Art is the way we evoke change in this world,” she says. “Yes, policy, legislation, and activism are an important part of asking for change, but we have to use our art to express ourselves, to hope fo…