The point of Tikeya is to give South Asians growing up in the United States a single place to find inspiration and role models. That’s basically it. I’m creating Tikeya because it’s something I wish I had growing up.
I’m from Galveston, Texas, and in high school, I was one of two South Asians in my class. When you’re disconnected from people of your background, your sense of who you are—and who you can be—tightens. I had no idea a Dev Patel was possible, and the idea of a Hasan Minhaj still surprises me.
Instead, you’re guided by what’s around you. You look to racial caricatures in media (Baljeet from Phineas and Ferb, I’m talking about you). You let model minority stereotypes out into the real-world, mostly with the help of unknowing teachers or friends. “You’re brown, so you’ll be really good at STEM” becomes “I’m brown, so I’ll excel in STEM.”
It wasn’t until I got to college that I realized that there were more options for South Asians. I became more interested in art, music, creative writing, comedy, and more.
I’m not the only one: I see it in other South Asians around me. People in STEM or business have some photography business or Instagram accounts dedicated to poetry as their side thing. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or how exposed you were to others from your background: those creative pursuits are almost never their main things.
I’m not just leaning on anecdotes, either. While South Asian men have a 2.3% representation in American TV and film, South Asian women are significantly underrepresented at just 0.3%. The model minority myth has empirically shown to discourage exploration of creative careers.
With Tikeya, I want to showcase some people who are making art their priority. By directing more eyes to creators of similar background, we can help break down some of the systematic barriers that exist for South Asian Americans. The next great standup guitarist, painter, or architect needs people who they can look up to.
At the same time, new and upcoming artists South Asian American artists face countless barriers—cultural and familial expectations, limited representation, low financial support, and stereotyping— that hinder their growth. I’ll be focusing on sharing some of works of new artists on Tikeya in hopes that people who want to see more brown people in the arts can find and support them.
Above all, I want to make sure that a brown kid in the middle of nowhere can get proof that you don’t have to be defined by a narrow idea of a career pressed onto you.
On Tikeya, I’ll mainly be showcasing and writing about South Asian Americans who are creating things that I really like and want more people to get onto. This could be through reviews of albums created by South Asian American artists, interviews that get personal in the artistic process and influences of these creators, essays that discuss South Asian American culture more critically, or discussions of past works that really inspire me.
If you’d like to get in touch, you can reach me at contacttikeya@gmail.com (I’m not paying for a custom email yet). If you’re interested in writing for Tikeya, send me an email. Also, feel free to send me anything created by a South Asian American or related to South Asian culture—as long as it’s cool.