We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Victor A. Saint-Hilaire a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Victor A., we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Honestly, I’m not sure I’ve found it yet, but I can confidently say that I’m exactly where I need to be, doing what I need to be doing at the moment. The way I got here was by following my heart and always gravitating toward the activities and subject matters that were nourishing, fulfilling and inspiring to me rather than put myself in positions that felt forced or performative. This process has led to a series of decisions and experiences that eventually landed me a teaching position as an assistant artist and later on as a teaching artist curating projects with nonprofits in collaboration with youth participants and various communities in New York.
Working with others via community work and teaching opportunities was a deeply transformative experience and it taught me the importance of art as a form of medicine both for the individual and the collective. Whether it is my purpose of not, something that I enjoy is being able to share the joy and empowerment of tapping into one’s own creativity. I believe that everyone should have access to creative outlets and investing in more accessible programs would enhance people’s lives as I’ve witnessed through some of the program’s I’ve been a part of.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My name is Victor A. Saint-Hilaire, artist name VASH, and I was born in the town of Sabaneta, within the province of Santiago Rodriguez, in the Dominican Republic. I eventually moved to New York with my family, where I’ve resided most of my life. I am a multidisciplinary artist with 10 years of extensive experience in digital work, mural art and teaching/mentoring within the realms of nonprofit, collectives, and mutual aids. Some of which include ArtsWestchester, Public Assistants, Medicine Walls and Groundswell. I also have experience working with clients and companies within New York and other parts of the world such as MTV, the Bronx Brewery, Brooklyn Cloth and Kipling USA.
In the midst of commissioned work I’ve been fortunate to have the time to maintain a consistent studio practice that allows me to dive into subjects like spirituality, existentialism, self-love, identity, joy and my Dominican heritage. Most recently, some of these pieces have been exhibited at various galleries including The Riverfront Gallery and the ArtsWestchester gallery respectively.
I currently have a mural on display at the MoMA in NYC made with my dear friend DonChristian Jones in collaboration with fantastic students from the Academy of American Studies, H.E.RO. High School and New World High School.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Honesty, discipline and intention. These qualities are three of the core things that helped me grow and expand throughout my years doing art professionally.
For anyone who’s early in their journey I would recommend that they be honest about what inspires them and matters to them most to help with understanding what it is that they want to do. This means you have to be honest about what truly matters to you and see how you can incorporate that into your work so that you can find opportunities and people that can help you expand on it. This doesn’t mean you have to have it all figured out right away. I myself never thought I’d be teaching until I landed a position through a series of synchronicities shortly after graduating college. Yet in order to realize any vision and move forward it is important to be disciplined. When I was fresh out of college, I would give myself projects to help me stay sharp as I applied to art jobs. These projects helped me tremendously in developing a system and personal approach on how to navigate multiple client projects once I started landing gigs. But it needs to be said that discipline without intention can lead to unfulfilling career opportunities that may not necessarily allow you to grow both as an artist and a professional.
That said, these three qualities were really helpful to me starting out and even to this day. They have guided me down a path of career choices that led to growth, expansion and fulfilling art projects with people who genuinely respect the work that I do. I have found that the more you do the things that you love, the more people who want you to continue doing what you love will gravitate toward you.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
My parents provided me with unyielding love and support in the face of the unknown. No one in my family is a full time artist so there wasn’t someone we could use as a reference to have a better understanding of what this lifestyle would look like or what it would take to make a viable career out of it. Even so, I come from a family of entrepreneurial, resourceful, creative and hard working people and those qualities were passed down from my grandparents and parents alike. Those traits coupled with their unwavering support and presence throughout the ups and downs of my career have been infinitely important to me and I can never thank them enough for taking that leap of faith with me on this journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vasharts.com/
- Instagram: vash_art
- Other: Tiktok: vash_art
Image Credits
‘Portrait’ – Anson Wu
‘MoMa Mural’ – Dorothy Falcon
‘Ofrenda’ – Francis Montoya
‘Visions’ – Self
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
