We were lucky to catch up with Thi (Tee) recently and have shared our conversation below.

Thi (Tee), looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

Yes I wished I started my creative career sooner because I strongly feel like I could have gotten farther than where I’m now at the moment. I wish I built a portfolio from the beginning when I was younger because it could have definitely benefited me and possibly opened more doors to opportunities in art.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I grew up the youngest of six and you would think the attention would be all on me, but it wasn’t always like that. I had a difficult time socializing even with my own siblings since there was a huge age gap and my parents weren’t around as much. So with that, I kind of kept to myself. I found a way to express myself was through art. I fell in love with sketching real things in life or just drawing the emotions I felt. I never learned the basics of art though. I only had one art class in my life and that was in elementary. I would beg my teacher to stay for the day just because I loved being able to be creative. In my household, creative wasn’t going to pay the bills. As a Southeast Asian, growing up in low class of South Side of Providence, my parents just wanted us to be the stereotypical doctor, lawyer, etc. Art was never looked at as a career. Either gain a profession or as my mother told me find a good husband to provide for me and settle. Till she found out I was part of the LGBTQ community. It was very hard to manage coming out and wanting to peruse in art. I wished I started it sooner but I believe everything happens for a reason. I think what sets me apart from others is because I’m part of the LGBTQ community and I am a Southeast Asian aspiring artist to be, you don’t see that often in Rhode Island. I’m sure there are so many talented Khmer artists but I want to be the first open LGBTQ artist to represent Rhode Island. I want the younger generation to be able to look up to someone like me and relate. I’m happy I get to work along side AGONZA on her projects because I get to learn the basics and build my own platform. With her guidance and courage, I believe I will be able to express my art publicly and represent all of Southeast Asian communities here in Rhode Island.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I want to build my art portfolio and be able to reach out more to Southeast Asian communities with my art. The Southeast Asian communities are very underestimated especially the Khmer community. I wish to shed light on those communities and break that stereotypical barrier of not mattering how you identify yourself and be able to peruse art as a professional career.

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

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or aspiring artist is to just be able to self express without speaking. I find with someone like me who’s very shy and antisocial, I can say a lot through my art. Whatever I feel I simply draw or paint it. Whether I’m sad or happy, just being able to let these emotions and feelings flow through my hand onto paper or a canvas, just keeps me at ease. Also being able to share my art with others is a beautiful thing because, you get to share talents with others and possibly relating to another artists as well. Artists supporting other artists is what’s it’s all about and that’s what’s rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Thi_artistry

Image Credits
Photo taken next to portrait of myself done by the amazing gifted hands of AGONZA at the WaterFire Arts Center