We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sanjay Vora a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sanjay, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

Much of what I have become is because of my parents. It could not have been easy for them as Indian immigrants to come to this country, have children, and then support their interests in art and music. I am grateful that, they too, were musicians themselves and had broken from some of the traditions and cultural pressures that often dictate the lives of first generation children in the US. Rather than force me to learn or practice any activity, my parents filled the house with instruments that we could explore at our own time, with our own curiosity. If I asked for an oil painting set or a guitar, they would give it to me without any expectations set about how I would use them. As they supported my decisions to attend architecture school and then a masters program in painting, ultimately, I know that they just wanted me to be happy and fulfilled in life. They came to this country so that I could pursue my dreams, and that is what I will continue to do to honor their story.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a professional visual artist, educator, and musician, leader of the band, St Tropez, from Oakland, CA and the upcoming solo project, Full Indian. With both my art and music, through referencing and reliving the past, I question and confront the order and continuity of time as well as the meaning to our mortality. My art and music are layered and veiled similarly as to bring all the different feelings and emotions together as experiential works.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Creating a painting or song is in some ways a spiritual practice for me, a grounding of our lived experience that can often get lost in our present day lives. At times, I feel that I love my work the most, and maybe that is not such a bad thing! After making a painting, I stare at the piece or a picture of the piece obsessively, and similarly with a song, after its recorded, I will listen to it as if it is my favorite song for the next year. I would hope that people love my work as much as I do, but in the end, I think it is most important for ME to love the work, even if no one else does! One of my favorite parts of being an artist is to bring my family to my art openings.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I have known ever since I was a child that I need to create art and music. By continuing this pursuit into my adult life, I have found that I am reconnecting to those pure urges that I had in my childhood. I never want to lose that feeling. As I have been so moved by amazing pieces of music, art and film since I was a child, my goal is to move people with my work. I want to show my children that with hard work and dedication, you can pursue your dreams.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sanjayvora.com. www.sttropezoakland.com
• Instagram: @sanjayvora_is_full_indian
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danceinsttropez. https://www.facebook.com/artofsanjayvora

Image Credits
Carlos Marulanda Sudie Akossiwa Wentling Anthony Roberts