Our Founder & Story
In 2022, after struggling like many during the pandemic, our founder, Pooja, took a 3-month sabbatical from her finance career in New York City to travel solo across Europe and Asia.
With time to explore, she found herself spending her days in museums and galleries, reconnecting with a long-standing interest in the arts.
But something else stood out.
As she moved from Europe to Asia, one thought kept resurfacing: how much exists beyond what we’re shown.
She realized that while she had grown up learning about iconic artists like Van Gogh, Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Warhol in the U.S., she had never been introduced to many of the Asian artists she was now encountering like Amrita Sher-Gil, Sawlaram Haldankar, Park Seo-Bo, or Kim Whanki.
It wasn’t that the work wasn’t there. It was that it hadn’t been part of the conversation.
That realization stayed with her.
Back in the U.S., the pattern became harder to ignore. Across many spaces she explored, Asian & Pacific Islander (API) artists remained underrepresented, despite the depth and range of their work.
Kala & Jeong was built from that perspective: a space shaped by curiosity, ongoing discovery, and a desire to expand what and who gets seen and amplified.
Our Mission
Kala & Jeong was created to expand how Asian & Pacific (API) artists are seen across the literary, visual, and performing arts. Our mission is to provide accessible information in the fields of art history, art culture, and art appreciation — with a focus on Asian & Pacific artists whose work is underrepresented in mainstream art education.
We focus on emerging and regionally based artists whose work reflects the depth and range of these disciplines.
Through research, travel, and ongoing discovery, we highlight artists we encounter via galleries, events, exhibitions, and creative communities around the world.
Our Name
The name “Kala & Jeong” pays homage to the two places that shaped the foundation of the platform - India and South Korea.
“Kala” (कला) reflects our founder’s Indian heritage and is a Sanskrit term for “the arts”. Ancient Indian texts reference 64 different kalas, spanning disciplines from painting and performance to the art of fashion, fragrance, and more.
“Jeong” (정) is a concept our founder encountered while studying Korean language and culture. It is a deeply rooted philosophy often described as “a growing affection or sense of connection over time”.
Together, these words reflect the origins of the platform and the perspective behind it – honoring both cultures, and the belief that art and connection evolve over time.
Our Ethos
Our ethos is grounded in a simple idea:
people don’t know what they don’t know.
For that to change, access matters.
Kala & Jeong is designed as a space to discover and explore Asian & Pacific artists across the literary, visual, and performing arts – without the barriers that often shape how art is experienced.
No pretension. No jargon. No gatekeeping. No expectation of prior knowledge.
Just a clear, thoughtful entry point into artists and work you may not have encountered before.
Our Curatorial Approach
Kala & Jeong’s selections are shaped through exhibitions, events, travel, research, social media, and ongoing conversations with galleries, institutions, and creative communities.
We follow the work first - guided by what we’re seeing, encountering, and returning to over time.
Our focus is across both emerging and established artists: particularly where new ideas are taking shape, pushing into new territory, or building momentum within local scenes.
We view Kala & Jeong as a living index:
a space to discover, learn, and connect with API artists shaping arts and culture today.
What We Offer Artists & Galleries
Kala & Jeong offers promotion and marketing services for Asian & Pacific artists and galleries, including social media promotion, digital marketing, and online feature placements designed to expand visibility and reach.
Partner with us:
Are you an API artist or gallery? Kala & Jeong promotes and amplifies emerging voices through our social media, online publishing, and digital marketing channels.