Meet Jiaxin Wang

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jiaxin Wang a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jiaxin , so glad you were able to set aside some time for us today. We’ve always admired not just your journey and success, but also the seemingly high levels of self-discipline that you seem to have mastered and so maybe we can start by chatting about how you developed it or where it comes from?

My self-discipline has been shaped by playing various sports such as soccer, basketball, and swimming from a young age. My urge on being an athlete and succeeding in those sports meant day-to-day dedication. I learned that if I had put in consistent effort every day, it would undoubtedly pay off at the end. I was never the strongest, tallest, or the fastest. I had to put in extra work at the end of training sessions, or on weekends – but going the extra mile had taught me that talent alone does not suffice. Creating a routine that works for me and truly implementing it in my daily life is essential.

Additionally, my past as an athlete left me with the habit of taking care of my body. Regular exercise and a healthy diet have become integral parts of my day-to-day life. I believe that maintaining a healthy body provides a strong foundation for clarity in the mind and provide firm grounds for my creative expressions. By nurturing my physical well-being, I ensure that my mind is sharp and ready to tackle new challenges.

This lesson extends to my creative process as well. While spontaneous sparks of inspiration are important for prompting me to create, the sparkles must be paired with self-discipline and effort in order for an idea to fully manifest its full potential. Creating art requires both inspiration and consistent practice and development to bring an idea to life .

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

After graduating from film school, I began exploring the vast possibilities of working with visual mediums. In the summer of 2024, I wrote and directed my thesis short, Melting Moment, which tells the story of a lost friendship set in a transient beachside city where people come and go like birds during migration. This project allowed me to experiment with themes of backlash of modernization, rootlessness, and impermanence.

In addition to my filmmaking endeavors, I have attended multiple residency programs as a multimedia artist, moving away from traditional narrative-driven approaches and instead focusing on experimental, visually-driven works. Many of my video art projects address themes such as the cultural appropriation of ethnic minorities, the duality of gaze, and the commodification of heritage. These topics reflect my interest in exploring social issues and their representation through visual storytelling.

On a different note, I have founded a production company named Lumine Studios. Through this venture, we provide a variety of creative solutions, including music videos, fashion shorts, advertisements, and web series. My new role as an entrepreneur enhanced my abilities to collaborate and communicate with diverse creators, while also enabling my receptibility and flexibility as a director, meeting commercial needs of each client and project, while bringing my creative vision to a larger group of audiences.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back on my journey, three qualities that have been the most crucial in shaping my path are: originality, vision, and dedication. These qualities have guided me through various creative and professional challenges,

Originality -As an artist and creator, one has to unleash one’s personal voice and utilize the uncontainable urge to voice something different. One would be able to achieve so by pondering thoroughly at one’s own experience in the world, and translating a personal experience into something that would resonate with audiences.

Vision: Having a clear vision of what I wanted to do, and sticking up for all decisions made all the difference in my journey. As a director – one has to make all the calls and providing a detailed explanation behind the decisions for your key crew to be on the same page. It wasn’t just about having a good idea—it is about making distinctive artistic choices and executing them with a determined and unwavering way.

Dedication: As an artist, uncertainty and self-doubt comes hand-in hand with our creative process. There are days when things feel like they’re moving slowly, and the results aren’t immediate. Whether it was refining my craft, diving into residency programs, or running Lumine Studios, sticking with it made all the difference. The journey isn’t always easy, but staying committed to the process is what leads to growth, even when it’s hard to see right away.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

One book that has had a significant impact on growth as an artist is The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. A big takeaway for me was this idea of “letting go.” Rubin talks about how we often get too attached to the outcome of our work—whether that’s how it’s received or where it will take us. But true creativity, he says, comes from a place of openness and being fully immersed in the process, rather than stressing over the result. Moreover, every creative act is a response to the world around us. Rubin suggests that we’re constantly absorbing everything from our environment, and our work is a reflection of that. I found this especially powerful when I think about my own work tackling social issues like cultural appropriation or heritage. It made me realize that my art is part of an ongoing conversation with the world, not just something I’m creating in a vacuum.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jiaxin-w.com
• Instagram: jx083x