shop now

Your New Favorite Women's Travel Memoir: CALL YOU WHEN I LAND

PRE-ORDER
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
BUY
OUR TRAVEL BOOK!

Unearth Women

  • Feminist City Guides
  • Travel
    • Travel Trends & Tips
    • Hotels
    • Food & Drink
    • Pandemic Travel
  • Women-Owned
  • Women to Watch
  • BIPOC Stories
  • Unearth Women Stories
  • About Unearth Women
  • Our New Book, Wanderess!
  • Shop Our Online Store
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Writer Guidelines
  • Contact Us
  • Buy Our Writers Coffee
January 9, 2019

Vacation with an Artist with this New Female-Led Company

By:Rachel Gould

As the founder of VAWAA (Vacation With An Artist), Geetika Agrawal wants you to see the world and experience local culture through the eyes of a living, working artist. From rattan weaving in Penang to tattoo art in Barcelona, each of the 45 VAWAAs currently on offer (with hundreds more soon to come) encourage travelers to forge a deeper connection with the culture and traditions of the places they visit; by nurturing their passion for or curiosity about craftsmanship, and by facilitating an inward journey toward personal growth. Below, Agrawal speaks to Unearth Women about what prompted her to start her own business, and how VAWAA will change the way you travel.

UNEARTH WOMEN (UW): WHAT LED UP TO VAWAA’S INCEPTION?

Geetika Agrawal (GA): I am a designer, traveler, and a life long learner! Before I started VAWAA I was the Creative Director at a New York-based digital agency for about 10 years. My background is in architecture and industrial design.

I think everyone’s looking for ways to improve themselves. The current opportunities out there include personal coaching or exist in the wellness space, like yoga retreats, but there was nothing in the creative space. Art helps us grow. This is something that I personally experienced over the last 20 years…after living in new places, getting used to new routines, learning new skills. I saw that there was a gap: nothing combined travel and the arts, which are incredible ways to grow.

UW: SO WHAT EXACTLY IS A VAWAA, AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

GA: VAWAA are mini apprenticeships with master artists and craftspeople around the world. The way it works is you go to our site, where we’ve curated a list of artists around the world. Each of these experiences last about four to seven days so that you can really immerse yourself in a skill. No matter your skill level or interest, you can truly make the most of that time and connect with people in an intimate way. Just browse the artists on the site and submit a request for booking. We help you confirm the trip, we help you with planning; local information, how to get there, where you can stay. Once you’re there, you’re in the hands of the artist. They’re there to guide you.

Courtesy of VAWAA

UW: HOW DOES A VAWAA HELP YOU TRAVEL DIFFERENTLY?

GA: It’s a way to get to know a place from a cultural perspective. The way we typically experience the [artistic] culture of a place is through museums, but most of the artists whose work you find in museums are dead. With a VAWAA, you’re actually working with a living artist, truly seeing how they are shaping their local culture and, hence, society at large. It’s a very intimate way to explore the culture of a place. So that’s the travel aspect. The personal aspect is that it helps you connect with other people and travel internally.

UW: WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF ARTIST-LED TRIPS THAT TRAVELERS CAN PARTICIPATE IN?

GA: You can make bicycles in Bangalore, learn calligraphy in Kyoto, ceramics in Slovenia, tango in Buenos Aires, cook medieval cuisine in Italy, the art of tattooing in Brazil, paper mache in Spain, printmaking in Paris–the variety is wide!

Geetika Agrawal | © Medium
Geetika Agrawal, the Founder of VAWA | © Medium

UW: WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR NEWEST OFFERINGS? MOST POPULAR?

GA: We have three new photography retreats that were recently announced. These are a little different from the core experiences that we offer in that they’re designed for small groups of six to eight people. In March, we’re hosting a photography retreat with one of the VAWAA artists in Gran Canaria at carnival time. It’s for six people who will spend six days getting to know the island, hanging out together, going on photo shoots, getting to know the place and participating in local culture.

Then we have another one in Italy in April, and that’s with world-renowned photojournalist Manoocher, who’s documented pretty much all of the [modern day] wars around the world from the front lines. This trip is about documenting Easter week in that part of the world where there are some very deep cultural traditions.

The third one is a photography retreat in May in Norway, sailing around the archipelagos. So those are our three new experiences. As for the most popular ones, we definitely see a lot of people going for ceramics, textiles, calligraphy, and tango, but it really depends upon your personal interest is.

UW: WHO IS THE IDEAL VAWAA PARTICIPANT?

GA: I’d say the ideal VAWAA participant is someone who really values personal growth, who is looking for ways to learn new things, to be more creative, to go deep into cultures. It’s for people who are feeling burnt out from work and need some new inspiration or self-reflection time that’s a little more active rather than passive. Of course a VAWAA is great for people who have artistic interests and who want to pursue them further, whether it’s your side hustle or something that you like to do in your free time. It’s for people who are already artists, looking to become more serious about their skill sets. So you may already be a ceramic artist, but maybe you want to learn glazing and tools to your existing skill sets.

VAWAAs are for any age group 18 and up. So age is not a limit, skill is not a limit, it’s really about curiosity.

Porcelain ceramics with artist Sally in Paris | Courtesy of VAWAA

UW: What’s next for you? How do you hope to see VAWAA expand in the coming year?

GA: A lot of exciting things this year! Most importantly we will be adding 500 new artists to our platform, and these will be spread across the world so there will be lots of new opportunities. And lots more stories! More content about slow travel, craftsmanship, and personal growth.

3 Comments

About Rachel Gould

Rachel is Executive Editor at Unearth Women. As Executive, Rachel is tasked with capturing the compelling narratives of formidable ladies from around the world as well as editing stories for the print publication. Formerly Art & Design Editor at Culture Trip, where she was an original member of the core editorial team that collaboratively established the digital publication’s voice, Rachel lives in pursuit of the social, cultural, and political power of visual art.

Rachel is living in her hometown of New York City, where she currently works as a freelance journalist and hosts art vlog Several Circles, which delves into the human interest stories of pioneering artists from history to the contemporary day.

« The Woman on a Mission to Paddle the Nile River
How SheEo’s Founder is Championing Female Entrepreneurs »

Comments

  1. Ged Merino says

    November 4, 2019 at 7:00 am

    Hi Rachel,
    I am a new york artist and planning a trip to Japan to learn the At of Boro and Sashika. i love your article about vacationing with an artist. Any suggestions for Japan and the Philiipines where i am ooking to learn he traditional weavings
    And is it for female travelers only?
    Thank you
    Ged

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Landing this November!

Unearth Women’s New Travel Guide

The Unearth Women Newsletter

Let’s Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Member of the Female Founder Collective

Menu

  • Press
  • Writer Guidelines
  • Buy Our Writers Coffee
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Unearth Women· Design by Alpine Lane

  • About Unearth Women
  • Our New Book, Wanderess!
  • Shop Our Online Store
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Writer Guidelines
  • Contact Us
  • Buy Our Writers Coffee