Who I Am
Hey there, I am Karthika Gupta, the founder of CulturallyOurs. I am a photographer based in the Chicago area but I am originally from India. Much of my life has been a beautiful mix of technology and creativity. Having lived and worked in many parts of the world, I always find myself surrounded by amazing friends and co-workers who bring so much rich cultural diversity into my life. I am very much aware of how important culture and diversity are in life and in business, no matter where you are.
After a successful 15 year career in banking, finance and management, I turned to photography 8 years ago as a way to creatively share compelling real life stories for my clients. Now through CulturallyOurs, I want to take that to the next level. My goal is to showcase the beautiful and the diverse world we live in by way of conversations, narratives, visuals and hands-on experiences.
We all have unique life stories that needs to be shared with the world and CulturallyOurs is the platform to do just that.
What is CulturallyOurs?
CulturallyOurs is a way for us to collectively explore, showcase and celebrate lifestyle, food, art, travel and culture from around the world. This is done through audio and visual media.
We share personal narratives and stories in our podcast, create thought provoking and informative visuals and articles through our journal, and offer immersive cultural experiences through our retreats.
Why I Created This
Today we live in a time where we are constantly connected by way of social media and 24×7 news. Yet more and more people have admitted to feeling isolated, misunderstood and alone. Even in a crowd, we often feel like we don’t know anyone ore worse yet, belong. Emotive heartfelt conversations get lost in a sea of texts, emails and swipes.
And that is why I created CulturallyOurs. It is a space to share stories and get connected to people from different parts of the world to explore cultural diversity without prejudice, religious bias or a political agenda. When we are given an opportunity to share our story and offer our unique perspective, we feel welcome, included and heard.
While diversity and inclusion can mean different things to different people across different languages, the importance of belonging is universal. The more we understand each other, the more we appreciate one another. Appreciation and understanding brings empathy and acceptance.
So I invite you to pull up a chair, turn up the volume, lean in with an open mind and engage with us via this platform.
At the end of the day, we have the same hopes, dreams and aspirations – to live a life worth living. Why not do that together?
