Founder and CEO of Vacation With An Artist (VAWAA)
Tell us about you and your company.
VAWAA is an online platform that offers mini-apprenticeships with curated master artists all over the world. From Buddhist Rin bell making in Japan (with one of only ten remaining Japanese masters), to pottery in Spain, to bamboo crafting in Nepal, to stone sculpting in Mexico. Currently, there are 114 artists in 26 countries.
Our intention is to transform the world through creativity. We see meaningful hands-on cultural immersions as the ultimate antidote to mass tourism. We want to help people everywhere reconnect to their creative purpose and local communities during their travels. In addition, we want to provide a global platform for master artists to teach and help in the preservation of their craft.
As a young architecture student in India, I spent my summers working with master artists and makers all over India. I learnt way more about myself and the world in those few days than “school.” I left feeling inspired. It shaped how I traveled for the next 20 years. Fast forward to 2015, I was designing products at a digital agency in New York.
I noticed a few emerging trends—people wanted experiences over things, they wanted to disconnect with tech and connect with their hands, and immerse in creative communities. This led to the creation of VAWAA.
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