Daily Inspiration: Meet Kim Sandara

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Sandara.

Hi Kim, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started out a creative kid in Falls Church, VA, graduated and went to the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, worked five years in the DC area juggling museum jobs and showing my work in different spaces and now live in Brooklyn, NY. I’ve been in a few artist residencies in the DMV (DC/MD/VA) area mostly working on my abstract music paintings and coming out story graphic novel “Origins of Kin and Kang.” While living in Brooklyn, NY I have shown in artist spaces like Culture Lab LIC and later illustrated for the Domestic Violence Resource Project (based in DC), Food Empowerment Project (based in CA), and California Equality (based in CA). Today I’m focused on finishing “Origins of Kin and Kang” and taking care of my cats with my lovely partner.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I got into a wild IRS scam in 2017, a year after I graduated from college. They took $11,500 away from me and I lived with my parents, worked three jobs, sold a lot of small paintings and maintained with no savings to pay it off. This was on top of MICA’s student debt that left me over $100k in debt. It hindered my chances at moving to NYC earlier for more art opportunities but I’m thankful I did stay in the DC area longer to establish a community and my art there. I ended up staying to pay my smaller loan of $30k off to MICA and started helping my parents with some of their expenses. The pandemic is really what catapulted me into NYC. I wasn’t sure of how I would get here but one day, I suddenly had a friend with a cheap room. After years of paying off debts and saving up, plus losing my job in the DMV– I came here unemployed with nothing to lose.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I make abstract paintings that translate sounds to visuals, I animate narratives about intergenerational trauma, I illustrate comics mostly pertaining to my Lao, Vietnamese, queer identity and participate in art markets when I can. I’m most proud of myself for just continuing the creative life. It’s not for the faint-hearted and yet it takes an empathetic and expressive person to continue on. I think one thing that sets me apart from some is that I love to hype up my creative friends as much as I like to do my own work. I believe in collaboration and community over competition.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is waking up with something to be happy about. Whether it’s personal or business-related, I think just waking up with hope and some joy is the first step.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kimsandara.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimthediamond/