TSG Speaks Out: Farrah Malik, vol. 2

Why do I enjoy Public Relations? What is it about my profession that really drives and satisfies me? After thinking long and hard about these questions, I came up with a few ideas about what really gets me going when it comes to PR…

I may not be the best dancer, painter or piano player, but I firmly believe that art, no matter what form it is packaged in, is something everyone should have access to. Chicago is such a culturally diverse city and this translates to a plethora of amazing artistic outlets. I feel that art helps us understand one another and the rest of the world as a whole. To have a musician from India, a vocalist from Greece or a dance company from Russia travel to America and collaborate with an organization here is something wonderful to see. To watch as an audience at Orchestra Hall is exposed to something other than Brahms or Beethoven is a thrilling experience. For a girl who grew up in Africa – watching this “globalization” makes me feel that I am working to promote a good cause!

Being at The Silverman Group has allowed me to experience and appreciate so many different cultures through the clients we work with. I have been able to meet the most amazing individuals and every season I am affected by these artistic geniuses that come into my life and invigorate my passion for my job. They have such a zeal for what they do and a desire to touch the world through their art forms – how could I NOT be passionate about working to bring them into the limelight?
(photo of Kiran Ahluwalia, who performed with the Chicago Sinfonietta in March 2009)




Of course, we PR folk would be nowhere without the solid group of media outlets who give us a reason to do what we do. I love working with the writers, editors, producers, on-air personalities, bloggers, and tweeters to get them all what they need, how they need it, and when they need it. It has been so interesting to watch the media world change over the last five years. That alone keeps our job interesting. New/social media has added a new and unique dimension to what we as PR experts do every day! (still of the Indian silent film "A Throw of Dice" with a new score by Nitin Sawhney, which had its U.S. Premiere as part of the Grant Park Music Festival's 74th Season)

So, I guess the long of the short is that my passion for PR really stems from what and who I am working to promote and not so much the act of writing press releases and pitching stories…. Obviously, those techniques led me to this career path (see my blog dated November 24), but I actively chose the area of PR I wanted to be in and THAT is what really satisfies me when it comes down to it.



(photo of visual artist Luis De La Torre creating the backdrop for Eduardo Vilaro's "Quinceanera")