Support Series — Khyati Trehan
Khyati Trehan
Meet Khyati (she/her)
—
An award-winning independent graphic designer and visual artist living and working in New Delhi, India. Her work is textural, playful, emotive, and driven by an ache to make the intangible tangible. She took some time to share her work and what Support means to her.
As a BIPOC creative, what does “support” mean to you?
Support is first ‘empathy’; understanding that my reality, and what it takes me as a creative from a developing country to reach the same goals, or get to the same places, is vastly different from what it takes for someone who’s in a position of privilege relative to me. I wish this wasn’t true but I do find myself and other BIPOC creatives needing to work harder to prove ourselves.
Who has supported you and why was it meaningful?
Family. It's easy to take the support of family for granted, and every now and then I get a rude awakening of how uncommon it is for Asian parents to support their children without hesitation to pursue a non-traditional and creative profession. I've been very very lucky.
What is a big challenge being a BIPOC creative in your industry?
Getting paid equitably vs. my peers, navigating microaggressions and distrust, working harder to prove my expertise, and tokenism.
What is your cultural heritage and how has it influenced your work?
I’m Indian and grew up in the capital; New Delhi. It’s a difficult question to answer because ‘Indianness’ is too plural to define. That said, a sense of abundance and the pursuit to find balance in chaos often show up in my work, much like life here in India.
Why is BIPOC representation meaningful to you?
I've come to learn that there is no shortage of BIPOC creatives, they just receive far less visibility. BIPOC representation is a small but significant way of kindling hope and inspiration.
Why is DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) important to you and your industry?
DEI is unarguably good for people and has proven time and again to be good for the work.
Why are telling BIPOC stories important to you?
Including BIPOC stories in pop culture and narratives grants a truer representation of our reality. In a world so polarized, BIPOC stories need to be heard now more than ever.
