We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Becca Dent-Hanagan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Becca below.

Becca, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally ever since I can remember. Growing up in a small conservative town as a woman of color in the 80’s was not always easy for me. I had a hard time fitting in and feeling accepted. I felt misunderstood and would often retreat to a sacred place of my own imagination. I would create art from both my dreams and nightmares and in doing so, i constructed my own reality where I was safe and free to express myself exactly how i wanted. Becoming an artist saved me!

Becca, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My story begins in the mysterious and enchanting country of lndia. In 1980, I was abandoned by my unknown parents at the gates of The Home for Crippled and Unwanted Children in Agra, India. I was adopted a couple months later and traveled to the U.S to be with my new family. To this day, no records have been found with information about my birth family, birth name or date.

I grew up in a small town in Central PA with wonderful, supportive and loving parents who have always encouraged me to follow my dreams! My dream was to be an artist!

My parents enrolled me in art classes all through Middle and High school. In 1998 I graduated high school and decided to pursue fashion design. After graduating with an Associates degree, I went on to attend Moore College of Art & Design in the City of Philadelphia and received a BFA in 2005.

Philly would become my new home! It is where I met the love of my life and where I truly gained confidence as an artist!

After graduating from Moore, I began working for the LEAP After- school, program at The Free Library of Philadelphia promoting the arts and molding young minds. 20 years later working with the LEAP program is still something that is close to my heart.

Over the years, I have worked relentlessly to hone my skills and find my voice. My love of the Philly art community is incredibly important to me! From exhibiting in group and solo shows in my favorite local shops, bars, galleries and cafes; selling my work at three retail shops, attending ” First Friday ” open studios and gallery openings, curating art exhibits, founding art collective, Artists@Guzo, vending at various events & markets with my brand, Memento Vivere Vignettes, working with local Philly zine, Collide and spending time in my art studio! I have made some life long friends and true kindred spirits! We truly inspire one another to believe in what we’re doing and know that our voices deserve to be heard.
My work as an artist is very similar to the work I do for the after- school program. My role is to be a mentor; to the children that come in for homework help and crafts to the teens that assist me. I don’t just express my self through my visual art, aka illustration, collage, embroidery, photography, jewelry etc. I also express myself as a modified person. My parents always had National Geographic magazines laying around. I would look through them and see these beautiful tribal tattooed and pieced people. I think about it now and it actually makes perfect sense. When I was growing up, the people in these magazines were the only people that looked similar to me. I also recently found some photos of some 1800s women from Kerala, India with stretched ears and piercings that have some strong similarities to me. I felt as if I had found my family! Being a heavily tattooed and pierced person and being true to myself is important for me to break stereotypes and to inspire others that you can be anything you want to be and be proud of who you are!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

As I’ve mentioned before, growing up I’ve always struggled to fit in. I felt like I was either too Indian/South Asian to be American and too American to be Indian. I was not accepted by many traditional Indian people because, i was just adopted from India but I wasn’t familiar with any of the customs or culture. I had been raised American. Once i was even told that I wasn’t even Indian and to forget the past. I was one of out of maybe two people of color in school growing up and was often bullied so after discovering punk rock I decided that this was the perfect armor to protect myself! I felt understood for the first time. Plus, if I already looked like a ” freak ” i could blend in with the other outcast, tough looking rebels and they wouldn’t be able to touch me! Of course, lol I ended up realizing that I didn’t quite fit in this particular scene either. Apparently I wasn’t punk rock enough to be punk rock and too alternative to fit in with the in crowd. Throughout out my life I’ve had to learn how to accept and believe in myself!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I have been asked before if I could have changed the past, would I? And my response has always been the same. Never! All that I’ve been though has made me who I am today! It has made me incredibly grateful for each moment, have empathy for others, a strong and dazzling imagination, resilient and passionate. I truly believe my life is gift and I am proud of the woman and artist that I have become! ” Whether it be the tattoos on my skin, my pencil that marks a piece of paper or a needle and thread. Art is my oxygen and to be an artist, is to live! My work is a reflection of myself and the world around me. It strives to find beauty within the darkness while embracing resilience and acceptance. ” Memento Vivere!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mementoviverevignettes.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mysticsaraswati
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viverevignettes