Art for the People Spotlight: Jay Cho

Please welcome Jay Cho as a member of our community! His perspective and artistry inspires thought and reflection while also challenging social norms. When asked about his advocacy and passions, Jay made it even more clear that he is trying break the mold and create a world without limits for those of every size, color, race, or culture. 

A little about Jay in his own words...

"My real name is Hyun but my friends and family members call me Jay.
I am 24 years old, born and raised in South Korea, spent my most teenage years until today in Southern California. I'm very excited to participate with an amazing group of artist for this event.
Thank you for this amazing opportunity for me to connect and share my work with the world"

Why do you create?
"Art is something I can feel, not what I see, hear, or taste. I want to inspire others through my work and deliver my story" 

What serves your purpose?
"To be the best version of myself. Finding my identity as an Asian living in America was a very long journey.The media portrays Asians to look nerdy, less attractive and unwanted. Watching TV shows, movies and dramas, there was no one that looked like me so I couldn't connect with any heroes or main characters when I was growing up.

But in my head I always knew I was far from being nerdy, I disliked math, and I didn't play the piano. On top of all this, it's also a rare case to see Asians wanting to become a successful artist.
Eastern culture and where I'm from, they teach us that life is all about stability and having a stable salary job.

Through my work and my art, I want to be the example that no matter who you are, where you're from, which color of the skin you live in, listen to your heart because your heart knows what you need"

Jay's interview brought me to tears! Making your own expectation of yourself more important than the opinions of others and living true to yourself is the best thing we all could do! I think a lot of people can relate to societal expectation and stereotypes as a driving force of a lot of the decisions we make and prejudices we may have! It is important to challenge our own biases. 

Thank you Jay, for bringing consciousness to our community in your own unique way!