Check Out Grace Corsi’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Grace Corsi.

Grace, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My parents tell me that before I could even talk, I was humming away in my baby backpack; singing was an innate way to express joy and process my experience with the world.

Growing up in verdant Seattle, the natural world nurtured my curiosity. I spent hours in the dirt constructing worlds – moss-covered forest forts, seaside driftwood domes, tiny fairy houses in the roots of trees. In high school, I discovered a passion for environmental science, a way to protect and advocate for the natural world.

At the University of Southern California, I began to refine my voice and purpose. I defied the expectation to “choose a path” by double majoring in Jazz Voice and GeoDesign, a multidisciplinary major that addresses problems of equity and sustainability in cities. I immersed myself in the creative process of music and the analytical process of understanding cities.

After graduating, I launched my career at the architecture and planning firm DLR Group. In my three years there, my role has evolved into Planning Leader. I’m passionate about urban planning because I get to work directly with communities, helping them create and implement a vision that will give them what they need to thrive.

Music remains an essential part of my life. I am currently finishing my debut album, Downriver, which will be released in Fall of 2023. I’m excited to share this collection of original songs. They’re a true expression of myself!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Being an artist – and deep empath – in a chaotic world is challenging. But I see challenges as learning moments that deepen my understanding of myself.

In college, I struggled through anxiety and depression. I had survived a tumultuous family life by dissociating from my body and living in my mind, but this no longer served me as an artist. I began to realize that my relationship with singing directly correlated to my relationship with myself. I had to learn how to process emotions in a more integrated way and let go of the childhood trauma that my body had been holding onto.

This work has fueled my artistic practice. When I surrender to my emotions – both joy and pain – my music comes from a place of groundedness and vulnerability. I can find the courage to tell difficult stories that help other people connect to their emotions.

Now, as a working professional, I struggle with self-integration. As a planner, I spend most of my day in a fascinating, analytical space. Sometimes it’s hard for me to get out of that headspace and reconnect with my intuitive, creative side. It can feel like my heart and mind are separated, which is painful. I am re-examining how I show up in professional spaces to make room for my emotional, intuitive, and artistic self.

I’m also still searching for the right balance of music and urban planning. Both require a lot of energy and passion. What does it look like to nurture my musical practice AND continue advocating for communities through my planning work?

I have to remind myself that it’s an ebb and flow. Music and planning may hold different spaces at different times in my life, and that’s okay.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In both my music and urban planning work, I am known for my ability to tell compelling stories and catalyze positive change. Plus… I am the only person I know pursuing these two (seemingly unrelated) career paths!

In my music, I am overjoyed to be nearing the finish line of my debut album, Downriver! It will be released in fall of 2023, with the first single coming out in June. Downriver is a collection of musical letters to past and future selves, written over the past nine years. It’s full of inner conflict while also brimming with self-compassion, curiosity and wonder about the world.

The music on Downriver stretches across genres, emphasizing the multiplicity in us all. When writing and arranging songs, I gravitate to a balance of simplicity and complexity, sounds that surprise me and move me. The songs range from indie bedroom jam to lush string arrangements, stitched together by nature imagery and unapologetically honest lyrics.

It’s been both liberating and terrifying to hold this whole project in my hands. I wrote and arranged the songs myself, produced the recording sessions, sang on each song, and directed every creative decision (with the help of trusted collaborators of course!). I’m so proud of this music and ecstatic to share it with the world soon!

Within urban planning, I am most proud of and excited about the impact my work is having on communities.

Recently, my team finished a plan to invest $2.44 billion in Austin’s public school buildings. Most of the projects are happening at schools in low-income communities and communities of color that have received limited investment in the past. My role was to connect data analysis with the community’s lived experiences, building the justification for more equitable investments.

Austin’s community came out last November in resounding support, passing the plan’s bond with a 74% acceptance rate. Now the projects are already starting. It was powerful to see the impacts of a planning process that truly involves the community, especially voices that have been excluded from decisions in the past.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I believe there is no potential for positive impact, creativity, or innovation without risk.

Sharing original music is always a risk – you’re opening up an authentic and vulnerable piece of yourself to the world, acknowledging a hard truth. What if you don’t get accepted or seen? But this process is also liberating. I take my charge seriously as a songwriter to say things that are difficult to say. I hope that in being vulnerable, I can create space for others to connect with their own emotions and the shared human experience.

In my urban planning work, I take risks every day by challenging traditional processes and ways of working. This means leaning into difficult conversations like identifying racial inequities and helping organizations come to terms with the harms they have (often unintentionally) caused communities. People can feel threatened, get defensive – but that discomfort means you are growing! There is no way to address a problem without truly acknowledging it, sitting with the discomfort, and deciding something needs to change. I would much rather take the risk of challenging the system than accept inequities.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gracecorsi.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grace.corsi/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-corsi-8a4b3b135/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6TXynmENyf6T4ap3t16NaD?si=cao38OhqRtetzjTKK7Twxw

Image Credits
Bella Porter, Paige Hochstatter, Mackin Carroll, Grace Corsi