A quick word regarding 美

Hey There!

I’m Manasa, and I’d like to thank you for coming down to our Medium page. I thought I’d tell you a little bit about how 美 came about.

In my first year at university, I found myself fascinated by the world of academia I was thrown into. I loved what I was learning, but I missed interacting with artists — with people who lived and breathed their art form, who were constantly finding new ways to create and who brought with them a fun way to see the world. I sent a long rant of an email to some of my friends, whom, being the wonderful generous people they are, decided to come on board for a new project.

As such, 美：a series of creative talks was born. Our humble little team would invite artists who create and practice in Tokyo to share their work with us. Every couple of months we’d have a session where inspiring speakers (from corporeal mime artists to sculptors, photographers and fashion bloggers) showed us a little slice of their life and work. Over the years, we realised that artists don’t always have to be an archetype — they masquerade as professors, light up marathons on their way across the country, they are people all around us with extraordinary stories.

And now that I’m in my final year of chairing 美, I would like to say a huge resounding thank you to all the members of our team — for believing in this girl’s idea, for respecting the process and for always, always being supportive. This would have never materialised without you guys.

To everyone who has ever attended a session, we are so thankful you appreciate the artists and their stories just as much as we do.

To all the members who will join us this year, I assure you, you won’t regret it. I look forward to seeing the direction you take 美 in, and trust you will enjoy the process just as much as we did.

And most importantly, to the artists who have shared their stories with us, and to all our future artists, for being the reason we do this. Your stories make our world go round, thank you for joining us.

And so,

Here’s to celebrating creative beauty.

Manasa Sitaram

Founder, 美: a series of creative talks.