In this episode, I chat with LeLe Chan, an interdisciplinary artist based in Vancouver, BC. Inspired by a reconnection to her ancestral roots, she creates artwork that combines elements of tribal Filipinx designs with her own modern style.
We cover the difficult and vulnerable truths about the younger days, where, as a young immigrant, she struggled to identify with her own culture, as she searched for a sense of belonging everywhere and anywhere else in her Vancouver community. It wasn't until the later years, in the wake of the pandemic and social change that sparked shortly after the tragic death of George Floyd in the U.S., that she began reflecting on what it was like to fall in love again with her Filipino culture she was so quick to hide from all those years back, and how it flourished into a transformation of her truth and that of her business purpose, and motherhood.
This inspiring conversation of culture, identity and boldness encourages us to reflect on our own past, to take the learnings into our own hands and to be curious about our own relationship to our culture and how it can enrich our truth.
Also, wear sunscreen, and love the colour of your skin!
Topics covered include:
Trusting business experts to shine in their craft
Pressure of assimilating to surroundings and community
The value of connection through ancestral history
Know your worth
Intersectionality between brand identity and cultural roots
Acts of kindness
Resources from the episode:
Celebrating Filipino Heritage Month in Vancouver
Inked by LeLe
Dalaga
Charlemagne
Pecel lele - Indonesian Deep Fried Catfish with Sambal
Connect with LeLe:
Learn more about Lele on: Inked by LeLe & LeLeChan
Find LeLe on IG: @inkedbylele
Email LeLe: hello@lelechan.com
Connect with Shobna:
Book a 30 minute conversation
Engage with me on Linked In: Shobna
Find me on IG: @soirette.connections & @lovesoirette
Learn more about Soirette Coaching: Soirette Connections
*Music credit: Love, by All Good Folks
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