Nelson Caetano | Playing with People’s Attention

Last updated on April 21st, 2021 at 09:34 pm

Whenever I worry I’m giving my boys a little too much screen time, I remember growing up on a generous diet of cartoons, comic books and video games—and I think everything turned out fine.

It Feels Like a Lifetime Ago….

You see, way back when, I was the archetype of what you’d call a nerd—oversized glasses on my face and curled up with a good book in most social settings—and at a time long before the things that made me a nerd were ever cool.

Piles of comic books before their movies became the force they are today. Video game fan clubs before we had reddit to bring us together. But all these things were fundamental parts of my life for many years to come, especially as I drew comics of my own well into my twenties.

Though life took me down a different path than I expected (you can thank my Dad’s sage advice to get a job that pays the bills, as painful a pill it was to swallow at the time), I understand what it’s like to put your all into your creation, trying to create something truly reflecting your vision.

Playing with People’s Attention—The Day Job of Nelson Caetano

Before living my double life in IT project management and content creation, you’d find me at conventions selling my comic books, because an artist is all I could see myself becoming. I’ve never been much of one for sleep, but in my younger years I stayed up sketching up a storm—not working on the content calendar that never quits! Years later, I have two massive bins of art supplies at the foot of my desk—the stuff leftover from everything I gave away—and the odd sketch shows up on my iPad Pro from time to time.

But others stayed true to the craft, and now that I’m a little older, wiser and more able to support their artistic endeavours, I gotta do my part when their projects speak to me.

And so, for Chatting with Casey #17, I connected with Nelson Caetano, whose anthology project The Gathering Place examines parts of Toronto’s rich history often never known to many of the three million people who call this city home. I caught him at his home to discuss The Gathering Place, the journey that brought him this far, and why this project’s only the tip of the iceberg in discussing the 6ix’s 185-year-long history!

Check it out!

Be well (and warm) out there, everyone! Until the next, I remain,