ABOUT
There is a place between stories
between the identities we were given and the ones we chose,
between the languages we forgot and those we are learning to hold again.
There is a place between nature and nurture,
between grief and celebration,
between the ache of what was lost and the beauty of what is still being shaped.
In;Between Artistry was born in that place.
Not as an answer, but as a soft place to land.
A living, breathing space where creativity is not separate from healing.
Where identity is not something to explain, but something to embody.
Where art becomes the language we use to return to ourselves and each other.
Dear You,
My name is Kayla Kim Votapek, also known as 김난주. I was born in South Korea and was adopted at 4 months old by my adoptive parents in the United States. For as long as I can remember, I have always lived in this in-between space; between countries, cultures, languages, and communities. For years, I have tried to fit neatly into places and categories that were never truly built for me. I tried to shrink the parts of myself that felt too complicated to explain, too much for others to handle, and not enough for those who were around me. But what I have learned is that the in-between is not a wound to close; it is a place of becoming. It is where grief and joy sit side by side, where memory and imagination weave together, and where healing takes root.
In Between Artistry is my love offering to the world. It’s for those who, just like me, are still learning how to fully belong to themselves, their art, and their community. To allow us to learn The Art of Being Human. The In;Between Artistry is shaped by identity, lineage, and the stories that live in our bodies. It is the belief that love, creativity, and truth-telling can be acts of both resistance, liberation, and repair.
If you find yourself here, reading this, maybe you too know what it feels like to live
in-between. I hope my artistry reminds you that you are not alone.
Love,
Kayla Kim Votapek
Kim Nan Joo 김난주
Our Ethos
At In;Between Artistry, we are dedicated to honoring the complexity of human experience and the tender spaces where identity, artistry, healing, and justice intertwine. We believe art is not just expression; it is remembering, reclaiming, and reimagining. It is a sacred practice of healing, of returning to our bodies, and of naming what was once unspoken.
Our ethos is rooted in the belief that creativity is a pathway to both personal transformation and collective liberation. By embracing the in-between spaces where different aspects of identity intersect, we strive to create a dynamic and inclusive community that both reflects and shapes our collective journey toward justice and equity.
We celebrate the living nature of culture: carried in language, experience, lineage, memory, migration, and the body. We offer a practice where individuals can navigate the fullness of who they are with authenticity, courage, and care.
We embrace the in-between not as a place of confusion but as a sacred methodology. A liminal state of emergence. A fertile ground where contradiction, hybridity, and radical imagination coexist. This is where healing happens. Where truth can take shape without needing to fit into binaries. We believe that self-reflection, radical love, and cultural reconnection are both deeply personal and profoundly communal. They are acts of resistance, liberation, and repair, of restoration and becoming. Through creative exploration, somatic remembrance, and storytelling, we invite people to find peace and power within their multiplicity. In;Between Artistry is not only about making art; it is about cultivating an arts and healing practice that is intuitive, liberatory, and authentic to you.
Mission Statement
Educational Empowerment: Sharing knowledge, frameworks, and ancestral wisdom that explore how ethnicity, history, and culture shape both ourselves and society.
Exploring Intersectionality: Uplifting art and voices that reflect the intersections of race, identity, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, migration, class, spirituality, access, and place.
Promoting Social Justice: Using creativity as a tool for anti-racist, decolonial, and liberatory work that challenges systems of harm while imagining new futures.
Expanding Global + Digital Reach: While rooted in the local, we dream across borders; bridging diasporic stories, virtual spaces, and cross-cultural collaboration in an ever-evolving world.
Through these commitments, In;Between Artistry is not just an arts community; it is a practice of remembrance, restoration, and radical becoming.
At In;Between Artistry, our mission is to create transformative artistic experiences that illuminate the complexities of identity, nurture belonging, and move us toward collective liberation. Through interdisciplinary artistry, healing practices, and cultural storytelling, we uplift voices that live in the in-between.
We are dedicated to:
Navigating Ethnic and Cultural Identities: Hosting workshops, circles, and educational offerings that help individuals reclaim, explore, and embody their cultural backgrounds with depth and dignity.
Artistic Exploration: Providing platforms and support for artists whose work reflects intersectionality, lineage, hybridity, and healing.
Community Building: Cultivating spaces of genuine connection, cultural dialogue, and mutual care across differences.
Our Methodology: The Art of Being Human
Before there is art, there is the human being.
Sometimes the work begins in the In (인 /人) — the quiet ground of knowing yourself, reclaiming your identity, and standing in your own being. The hanja 人 means “person” and the Korean 인 means “people.” This is the place of return where you reclaim your truth, root yourself into belonging, and build the inner ground from which your voice, leadership, and artistry can grow.
Sometimes it blooms in Yun (연/緣) — the harmony between life and art. Inspired by BTS RM’s words, “I want to be a human before I do some art”, and the philosophy of painter Yun Hyong-Keun, Yun reminds us that art is an extension of our humanity. In hanja, 緣 can mean "edge," "reason," or "along something," which serves as a reminder that every act of creation has both a reason and a lived edge. Here, art is not separate from life; it emerges from the fullness of living, and it is our responsibility to find the harmony between life and art.
Sometimes it moves through In-Yun (인연 / 因緣) — the unseen threads that tie us to one another over a lifetime. In hanja, 因緣 means “cause”, and 인연 means “a brief or long-term fateful connection or relation that occurs naturally between people”. Together, they speak to the fleeting and enduring ties that shape us. This is where relationships, communities, and encounters leave their mark on us, where our work becomes a container for connection, education, healing, and mentorship.
At times, the path we walk stretches between two of these points:
From In to In-Yun, when self-awareness meets human connection, and we gather to heal, collaborate, and witness each other.
From In to Yun, when identity meets artistry, and creation becomes the way we find ourselves.
From Yun to In-Yun, when art and community transform one another, leaving both changed.
And then there are moments when all three meet in the center — when who we are, what we create, and how we connect are inseparable. These are the moments when In;Between Artistry comes fully alive: living, creating, and connecting as a practice of The Art of Being Human. The work often lives in these in-between spaces: Where self-awareness meets human connection, where identity meets artistry, where art meets community, and where all three converge, that holds identity, artistry, and connection in one breath. In;Between Artistry is more than a framework. It is a way of being. It asks: Who are you? What is your art? How do you move through the web of human connection?
It is about living authentically, rooted in self, shaped by connection, and moved by the harmony between life and art. Here, in the meeting place of self, art, and relationship, we practice The Art of Being Human.
How We Define Art
Art is more than a product.
It is a process. A portal. A possibility.
We define art as a sacred act that expresses conceptual ideas, technical skill, ancestral memory, and emotional truth. It is created to be felt. To be witnessed. To be held in the body and remembered in the soul.
Art, for us, is an offering and an opening.
Who This Space is For
In;Between Artistry is for the artists, healers, educators, cultural workers, and truth-tellers who exist in the liminal spaces between cultures, languages, identities, homes, and histories. It is also for their family, friends, and community members who want to be a part of their own artistry.
It is for those who crave a community where they don’t have to shrink, simplify, or separate parts of themselves to belong. Whether you are returning to your roots, reclaiming your voice, or reimagining the future, this is a space to be held. To be seen. To be whole.
Embracing the In-Between: A Path to Growth, Healing & Liberation
We are not just creating art.
We are cultivating a new arts landscape
one that is collaborative, intuitive, liberatory, and healing.
This is a space of restoration and radical becoming.
Of remembering what your body already knows.
Of imagining what hasn’t been dreamed yet.
In the in-between,
We simply exist and
We transform.