Introducing candice leigh

candice leigh is a community builder, storyteller, and expressive creative dedicated to amplifying the voices and stories that often go unheard. With a heart rooted in connection and a voice shaped by truth, candice shows up in the world through words, spaces, and conversations that center authenticity, healing, and visibility.

Her artistry flows across many forms—spoken word, podcasting, and poetic storytelling paired with candid photography through casuallyKreative. Inspired by everyday moments—a glance exchanged at the grocery store, a stranger humming on a park bench—candice finds storylines in the ordinary and transforms them into reminders of beauty, humanity, and presence. She is deeply driven by the desire to help others be seen, to give language to the experiences that often go unnoticed.

She hosts the Coffee and Conversation podcast, a warm and intentional space where guests explore the vulnerability, purpose, and grace found in life’s unfiltered moments. She is also the voice behind Car Notes with candice leigh, a mobile podcast in the works that is rooted in reflective storytelling, curiosity, and the kind of wisdom that often visits us in motion.

As a writer and spoken word artist, candice brings her words to stages and community events—you might find her sharing poetry at open mics, holding space in quiet corners turned sacred by storytelling, or co-creating art in collaboration with fellow visionaries. She’s one half of casuallyKreative, a project founded on capturing people in their rawest form and honoring them through words that meet them right where they are.

candice’s creative practice is shaped by the little girl she once was—the one who longed to be seen, to be heard, to be held in someone’s attention. Her work is a response to that silence. It’s a declaration: You are worthy. You matter. And your story deserves a stage. Coming into her full self—as a gay Black woman, as a daughter shaped by loss, as a creator led by community—has allowed candice to write from a place of truth and power.

Her collaborations include work with Basin Arts, the Acadiana Center for the Arts Public Art Network, Greenhouse Senior Center, and creatives like Leigha Porter, Dexter Portalis, Kelsey LeAnn and Emma Sonnier—whom candice met just recently and is now in conversation with about a new collaboration, a testament to the ever-growing circles of community her work invites and inspires. She has curated open mics, exhibited her work in spaces dedicated to artistic freedom and connection, and is a published writer whose poetry and reflections have appeared in both print and online platforms. She moves through her city with the belief that art lives in every block, and that when we gather to listen—really listen—we leave behind legacy.

Whether speaking, writing, or simply holding space, candice leigh is guided by a commitment to honor the voices that too often echo unheard. And she will keep listening, keep witnessing, until every voice finds its volume.

For more information, you can visit https://candiceleigh.carrd.co/ and you can reach her via email at candiceleigh@ihavewrites.com 

Who makes up your art circle?

my art circle is made up of those who show up with heart—artists, storytellers, listeners, photographers, poets, strangers turned kin. it’s kelsey behind the lens, it’s the guests on my podcast who share raw truths, it’s the open mic crowd who scribble on napkins and speak from the soul. my art circle includes every person who believes in the quiet power of being seen and the beauty of holding space for one another.

How do you expand your art circle?

i expand it by staying open. by leaning into curiosity and conversation. sometimes it’s someone i meet in passing who becomes a collaborator, like Emma Sonnier, who reached out days after we met to explore a shared vision. i say yes to spaces where connection is possible, and i follow the echoes of vulnerability—it always leads to more community.

What value do you see in having a creative community?

creative community is everything. it reminds you that you’re not alone. it gives breath to stories that might have stayed buried and offers mirrors to see ourselves more clearly. it’s how legacy is built—through shared art, mutual care, and showing up again and again. together, we create what one voice could not do alone.

How does your artistic approach contribute to your community?

my approach is rooted in presence. i don’t just document—I witness. whether through words, photography, or conversation, i reflect what’s often overlooked: the moment before the performance, the joy between the poses, the voice that shakes but speaks anyway. by honoring the raw and unpolished, i remind people that they matter—exactly as they are.