Giving Compass' Take:

• Bryan Terrell Clark has seen the impact that Hamilton has had on American culture, but he's already working on other projects aimed at lifting up poor, marginalized communities through art and fashion.

• What role do art and fashion play in shaping culture and society? How can funders identify and support underrepresented communities in the arts? 

• Learn more about the importance of Hamilton. 

Since its debut in 2015, Hamilton has continued to be a juggernaut on Broadway, pulling in a total gross of approximately $370 million to date. The diverse cast and expertly penned raps marked a shift not just for Broadway but also for the culture at large.

“I know it’s going to be a strange thing to say, but Hamiltonhas become the best bartending gig ever,” says Bryan Terrell Clark, who’s been playing the role of George Washington since January.

Clark is actively positioning himself to be entertainment’s next Renaissance man, not just by creating his own projects, but by making sure those coming next in his footsteps have the tools and mindset to maintain the upward trajectory. It’s a considerable amount of extracurriculars for an actor who’s still making a name for himself. But it’s Clark’s goal to use his platform, no matter the size, to infuse art with a deeper purpose.

“Hamilton‘s not going anywhere–it’s going to be on Broadway forever. But to be honest, I’m much more interested in creating content. I look at the work that Donald Glover is doing, the work that Issa Rae is doing, and I’m deeply inspired,” he says.

Part of that for Clark is his philanthropic fashion brand inDEFINED. Launched last year by Clark and his business partner Robert Raeder, inDEFINED’s mission is to erase the negative labels that society places on marginalized communities. It’s a word they coined to mean “having the freedom to define yourself from within; living without limits, labels, or definitions.”

Read the full article about Bryan Terrell Clark by KC Ifeanyi at FastCompany.