Vina: Building Space for Me
CREATING A NEW NORMAL
Interviews and original transcription by Loisse Ledres | Co-written with Elise Blauuw
“2020 was my second year at my big girl career job. I was going to give it everything.”
That’s how 2020 started for Vina. It was supposed to be the year she’d get her next big promotion, her new pay raise, and a new apartment in the city.
Instead, 2020 became the year she lost her mom to COVID-19.
“My mom got COVID from work. The company she worked for made COVID testing kits. She was training so many new hires to keep up with production. No one else could do this. The world needed us to be working.”
Through her processing and grieving, Vina came to see a glaring truth: we’ve been trained to owe our lives to our employers.
“If I look back in my life, all I see is building up my career. I looked at family photos and I was always missing because I was working all the time. I was missing so many memories. How many more can I miss? And should I?”
Vina wanted a life separate from her job, where she could create using her love of her culture and art as inspiration. When none of the opportunities seemed to match her needs, she made a new one by founding Sampaguita Creative.
“It was the answer to how I wanted to grow. Since I couldn’t find the table anywhere else, I would create my own table and bring my people over. People who understand who I am.”
At Sampaguita Creative, Vina designs artwork for the Filipino community and uplifts other Filipino artists.
"Many Filipino artists hide their work out of fear of judgement from other people. I want to create the opposite of that.”
She’s still working her full-time job, but Vina now sets boundaries between her work and her art. While building her career and salary, she lost track of the person she’d been while growing up. Now Vina is working for herself and her community, journeying to become the bold and unforgiving girl she used to be in the Philippines.
“I’m starting to believe in myself more and have fun creating. And I’m starting to feel proud of my skin and my roots. I’m feeling more confident to chase my passions. It’s been an amazing journey so far.”
- VINA
Vina’s upcoming projects
@sampaguita.creative | sampaguitacreative.com
Growing Sampaguita Creative resources and products
Building Sampaguita Creative to be a community hub for other Filipinx artists to empower and support each other. She is also building a shop and avoiding selling things just to sell things. Ultimately to create a safe space for curiosity and artistry about Filipino culture.
READ MORE ABOUT CREATIVES CREATING A NEW NORMAL:
This project is part of the Creative Wildfire project, an artist grant funded by Climate Justice Alliance, Movement Generation, and New Economy Coalition.
