Christian Best is an American photographer, multidisciplinary storyteller who became prominent in Adelaide through his involvement with Soul Lounge, a once monthly open mic night established to cater to and showcase the artistic achievements of people from diverse backgrounds. As a photographer, Chris facilitates interactions that enable people to be unapologetically themselves and then captures moments from those encounters. Chris has been practicing photography for 15 years but didn't exhibit his work for the first time until the 2022 SALA festival. "LOCALS" , Chris's debut solo exhibition, was a celebration of the people in Adelaide who brought color to his life in Australia. 

As a poet, Chris writes from a very emotional place. Without a penchant for drawing or painting, Chris found his outlet in painting pictures with words, and using those words to make sense of his experience of the world around him. His work frequently features themes of longing, gratitude, and something adjacent to love. Christian has run theatre workshops at the Riverland Youth theater in Renmark, writing workshops for Writer’s SA and fir WRITE NOW, as part of the DREAM BIG FESTIVAL in 2023, and hosted an Soul Lounge  for OzAsia in 2022.