Sabrina Abdalla is a visionary thinker and creative force who has redefined the intersection of art, wellness, and community. As the founder of The Cirri, Sabrina champions the transformative power of creative wellness—a practice rooted in reflection, balance, and self-discovery. Through her platform, she has cultivated a space that not only celebrates the essential role of creators in society but also fosters connections that amplify cultural inclusivity and collective growth.
What makes Sabrina’s work so impactful is her ability to blend the personal with the universal. Drawing from her East African heritage and her own creative evolution, she has built a platform that inspires individuals to embrace their inner artist and connect with others through intentional, meaningful exchanges. Beyond her work with The Cirri, Sabrina serves as a program manager at an innovation agency that supports startups creating technology for youth mental health. There, she specializes in designing, facilitating, and implementing co-creation as a core strategy to build better technologies. Sabrina’s story is one of resilience and reinvention—of unlearning societal expectations, leaning into the cathartic power of creativity, and building a sanctuary for self-expression.
In this conversation, Sabrina shares her journey of cultivating The Cirri, her vision for fostering intergenerational and inclusive creative spaces, and the wisdom she has gained from overcoming self-doubt to embrace her multifaceted identity. Her words remind us all of the power of reflection, ritual, and community in leading a more fulfilling life.
T. What inspired you to create The Cirri, and how has your personal journey shaped your vision for the platform?
S. I feel like we’re all creative beings and the more we invite the art of creative living the more wholesome, balanced and imaginative we are. The world doesn’t really move without artists and creators. They bring meaning, empathy, and understanding to our world and I wanted to create a space that honored that, celebrated that, and pushed us to think critically about what it means to be a creator.
T. Can you share a pivotal moment in your creative journey that significantly influenced your approach to wellness?
S. In my early twenties, I definitely felt that I was creating in a way that didn’t maximize the benefits that creative living provides. I think I was creating from a place of need. Of wanting to be validated. With that comes burnout amongst other things of self-doubt. Up until that point, I had a specific outlook on what creativity meant to me. When I write poetry, I am the most present and least distracted. In that state of creative flow, I feel that my mind is entirely void of thoughts, rumination, and instead I am trying to make meaning of my experiences all while finding the right words that grasp the weight and intensity of those experiences. I cry, I smile, I laugh, and after I feel a sense of relief, it’s cathartic. It also expands my disposition and attitude, being a creator is being reflective. You have to be a creature of ritual, who consistently reflects and attempts to better each time. I think that practice of being reflective was a pivotal moment for me and expanded my definition of what it means to be a creator. It’s balancing, its reflective, and it expands our way of being. Fundamentally, that is what wellness is to me.
T. How do you define creative wellness, and why do you believe it’s essential for personal growth and empowerment?
S. Creative wellness is using creativity as a part of your approach to living a balanced and good life. Wellness is having healthy habits and being in the pursuit of being better in health and other areas of our lives. It is just as important for us to also think about what inspires us, what is our purpose, what is our inner spirit conjuring up, and that needs to be something we share in this world. Finding that, cultivating that, sharing that is what creative wellness is. In that there is a purpose, a reflective way of living, and one that gives you a sense of accomplishment. Creative wellness is what keeps your spirit alive thats why it’s essential for our empowerment.
T. How do you see creative wellness intersecting with community building and nurturing cultural inclusivity?
S. I think community and cultural depth has to be central to anything we do. We are inspired by community, uplifted in community, and so abundant in community. We are in an ecosystem that thrives off of the relationships we have with each other and with nature so I genuinely believe that deterring from that would be unnatural. Creative wellness is also about sharing your creative endeavors and we know the power of art and creativity in bringing people together, heightening our experiences, amplifying our stories, in that way creativity and culture is the glue that binds us.
T. What strategies do you use to ensure that The Cirri creates a safe and inclusive space for all its members?
S. I’m East African, our hospitality is probably our greatest strength. I think its important to make people feel welcomed. When they are welcomed people become who they are meant to be.
T. What types of partnerships or collaborations are most meaningful to you, especially in advancing equity and creativity for women?
S. Partners that genuinely care about wellbeing and connection are those that are most meaningful to me. Intentionality is at the core of what we do and what we inspire others to do, so the types of partnerships and collaborations I look for are those that have a clear stance in supporting systemically excluded people through and through. From our creativity and strengths to our people and culture.
T. Can you share an example of a project or workshop through The Cirri that had a profound impact on participants?
S. My most memorable project was when we collaborated with Unjaded Curations and Myrtle Ave Arts to create a series of workshops with Black elderly women in Brooklyn. We worked on four workshops that led to a beautiful poetry event where the women shared their art. It was the first time we had worked with another age group and it made me realize how special and powerful intergenerational relationships were in helping us build our own sense of self. It was also something that the participants missed doing and didn’t have the capacity or space to do, so by offering that and helping them perfect their work was so rewarding and it was also very beautiful to be a part of.
T. What advice would you give women who are hesitant to explore their creative side or don’t view themselves as “creative”?
S. To begin, unlearn everything you’ve been taught about being a creative and practice developing your self concept. Once you understand what you like, how you work, what inspires you, what moves you, what you feel after certain things then you will realize how full of creativity you are. It takes courage and creative savvyness to learn yourself and when you build that self awareness you instill in yourself the courage to be creative. It’s also important to note that just because your creativity isn’t an art practice or something that has to be shared externally that it doesn’t exist. The role of creative wellness isn’t to be a professional artist, it’s to extract the creator within yourself to help you live a more fulfilling life. I feel when women are hesitant to explore their creative side it might be because we feel we have to share it for external recognition and the reality is we shouldn’t solely create for others. We must first create for ourselves.
T. What are your long-term goals for The Cirri, and how do you hope it will continue to evolve?
S. My vision is for Cirri to become a vibrant and intimate space where creatives can come together to exchange ideas, connect, and engage with one another through curated gatherings that explore and celebrate creative wellness. I hope it becomes a space for fostering meaningful conversations, collaborations, and personal growth. Cirri will serve as a sanctuary for creatives to recharge, find inspiration, and deepen their connection to both their craft and their community. That’s what my long term goals are for it and just allowing it to exist without the pressures to scale something for growth.
T. What challenges have you faced as a multidisciplinary creative and entrepreneur, and how have you overcome them?
S. There are a few types of challenges. There’s the self-doubt one, where I’ve always thought I was confused instead of being multi-faceted. It was a challenge that took me some time to overcome because I was looking for a clear conventional path and just didn’t find myself represented there. So by far the biggest challenge was creating a lane that worked for me and giving it my all. That took a lot of self-reflection and self-affirmation to unlearn that I needed to pursue something that made sense for everyone else. Then there’s the challenges that come with being an entrepreneur, where no one day is the same and the challenges are different daily. From payroll to management to strategy, all of those things require so much work and experience. I just try to take it one day at a time and so far that’s helped me overcome a lot. Ultimately, it’s a matter of remembering what drives me and why I decided to take this direction that gives me the strength to overcome the personal and external challenges I experience.
