Expanding the Frame: Amy Fortunato on Story, Identity, and Creative Possibility

Book artist and educator Amy Fortunato joins Unapologetically Creative to share how her early experiences shaped a career built on curiosity, complexity, and care. From her first creative spark at CalArts to her current work mentoring students and crafting museum-quality books, Amy opens up about the power of asking questions, embracing identity in all its dimensions, and resisting the urge to stay in one lane. This episode explores how thoughtful creativity can honor stories, challenge norms, and lead to paths more fulfilling than we ever imagined.

TIMESTAMPS:

• 0:25 — Introduction to Amy Fortunato and her multidisciplinary design practice

• 2:02 — Career overview and return to CalArts as part of VCFA residency

• 3:14 — Early creative experiences and lack of role models in the arts

• 4:19 — Cultural identity and underrepresentation in creative spaces

• 4:37 — The transformative impact of attending CSSSA.

• 6:59 — Lasting influence of early exposure to cross-disciplinary creativity

• 8:45 — Resisting creative categorization and embracing complexity

• 9:29 — Viewing identity and career through multidimensional “facets”

• 13:56 — Collaborative process of designing art books

• 16:27 — Favorite and most challenging aspects of book design

• 18:37 — The joy of holding the final physical product

• 21:04 — Physical books vs. e-books and the importance of tangible design

• 22:53 — Advice for students on documenting and shaping thesis books

• 25:52 — Advice to her younger self: trust the journey and stay open

• 26:35 — Defining unapologetic creativity as thoughtful irreverence