Meet Kiara Nguyen: Artist & Founder of Artistas de Color Unidos

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kiara Nguyen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kiara, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
I’m a super organized person, which has definitely helped me a lot considering I am also a full time college student. I have three wall organizers: a whiteboard with monthly reminders, a weekly class schedule, and a monthly calendar full of personal dates, academic dates, and business dates. On my desk itself, I have an academic planner and a bullet journal. While the planner is technically academic, I write down all the tasks I have to do, whether it’s school or business related. I use the bullet journal for daily tasks, and larger items such as ideas for social media content. The bullet journal is also where I keep my list of newsletter subscribers. The last thing I use is the digital calendar on my phone for appointment and other reminders. Overall, my skill for organization and time management has helped me succeed.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have been writing ever since I was about the age of four. First it was songs, then it moved to fiction, then poetry. I’m getting back into writing fiction now, and actually working on a little something that I hope will become big (no spoilers, sorry). I wouldn’t consider myself a professional writer, at least not yet, but I can tell you about my work with ADCU. We are almost two years into being active, which is incredibly exciting. We’re still very new, so luckily I haven’t dealt with too many roadblocks. The only “rock in my path” would just be the fact that I am a college student, so time management has been a big struggle for me. But I keep organized, and that has absolutely helped. The number one thing I want the world to know about ADCU is that we are a supportive space. We are an online arts gallery for artists of color, and we specialize in highlighting emerging artists (but artists who have been in the game for a while are still welcome to submit). We accept all forms of art, from literary to visual to music all the way to multimedia pieces.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I was born in LA, so I’ve had plenty of time to pick and choose my favorite spots. I went to high school in Santa Monica, so I recommend the Promenade for shopping and cute restaurants. There’s a really good brunch spot on Wilshire called Bru’s Wiffle. If you’re looking for good Vietnamese food I recommend Pho Daily in Gardena, or Nong La on La Brea. For ramen, the Century City Mall food court. Campos Burritos on Venice sells the best breakfast burritos. And lastly, I know it’s cheesy, but Disneyland. It’s not called “the happiest place on earth” for nothing.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh gosh, so many people. To start, my mom. She always taught me that the most important thing in life was to follow your dreams, and do what makes you happy. So I have always, always kept that in mind. Second, my eighth grade Humanities teacher, for forcing me (and everyone else in the class) to write poetry every Friday. I actually ended up loving poetry, and I might be on an entirely different path today if I hadn’t gotten into it. Third, my Race & Social Justice professor from my freshman year of college. He is the one who encouraged me to submit the piece of work that inspired Artistas de Color Unidos (which you can learn more about in the Hidden Gems – DTLA section).

Website: www.adcunidos.com

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