Photo by: Kenneth Johnson (kjohnsonpictures.com)

 Rich is the founder of We All Live Here. He started We All Live Here as an antidote to all the things that have unintentionally evolved into reasons for people to not get along. Given his background in tech and advertising, he figured he could start an organization whose mission was to use art, community, and technology to remind us all to get along and help each other succeed. If society is ever going to defeat things like racism, hatred, violence, etc. he believes we will have to start with the children. So to try and do his part, he works with schools to create public art that uses We All Live Here as a theme. He brings the art projects to life at no direct cost to the school by teaching kids graphic design, community building, and crowdfunding. This unites the staff and students involved, the broader community, and gives the students a blueprint of how to make ideas come to life for the rest of their lives.

How  did you get started?
I thought of the phrase and thought it was pretty powerful. To me it means income equality, gender equality, sexual equality, racial equality, and even environmental issues. I wanted to see if anyone would care about the phrase like I did so I made some signs and went to Lollapalooza and Pitchfork and started asking strangers if I could take their picture while they held the signs. I turned the pics into GIFs and put them on a Tumblr. The blog got featured and I ended up with 25K followers in a week. I then started getting messages from people urging me to continue spreading the message. I spoke at a school about the blog and then they wanted to do a project as a whole school and asked me to come up with something. That led to what I do now with schools and street art.  

 What has been the most challenging moment in your career?

In order to focus on we all live here, it meant I had to leave a lucrative career and risk my savings to get started doing what I felt passionate about. 

What was the most braggable moment?

I once got to be Ferris Bueller in a parade through downtown Chicago recreating the scene from the movie where they sing “Twist and Shout.”
 

What would you say is your biggest weakness? 
I inherently trust people. That usually works out great. But sometimes it burns. 
 

And your greatest strength?
I have an endlessly creative mind that allows me to come up with lots of ideas, problem solve, trust my gut and take risks.
 

What was the greatest lesson you’ve learned from a mistake?
Mistakes are good. They help you get better. 
 

What do you love most about what you do?
I love inspiring creativity in other people.
 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Jump and the safety net will appear.
 

How do you define happiness?
Happiness is accomplishing the goals you set out to achieve and appreciating that process.
 

What book are you currently reading?
The Social Animal.
 

What’s a personal habit that you believe contributes to your success?
I get up 10 minutes before sunrise every day. That let’s me see some amazing sunrises which puts me in a great frame of mind for the day.
 

Have you collaborated with another business/artist in the past? (if yes tell us how it benefited you, if no tell us how you would like to)

 

we all live here is all about collaboration. Without collaboration we wouldn’t have been able to achieve everything we’ve done so far. A collaboration should be symbiotic for all parties involved.

 

For more on Rich Alapack and the We All Live Here movement be sure to visit: www.wealllivehereproject.com 

 

And give them a follow on Instagram, @wealllivehere