My name is Reeny
Hua. I’m a design student of the Alberta
College of Art and Design in Calgary.
I’ll be writing about my schooling, why I applied for this residency,
and what kind of work I am producing during my time here
My program at school, Visual Communications Design, is known for its heavy course load and competitiveness -- pulling all-nighters on top of attending 5 mandatory studio classes that are 6 hours long is not uncommon. We’re expected to pump out a lot of content and meet deadlines and it does a great job of preparing us for work in the industry. And then there is the hard truth of being a millennial living in this economy is that having a degree doesn’t guarantee a career, but our degree is highly regarded and it does give us a competitive edge when applying for work in design, illustration, and advertising.
As a result of this
heavy workload, students often don’t have much time to work on personal
projects outside of school. Building a
portfolio that includes more personal work was my main motivation in applying
for this artist residency. If I hadn’t been
accepted, I would have had to work full-time in an unrelated field and could
not have done as I wanted. I was also
drawn to the community engagement aspect of the contract requirements and
wanted to see if I could teach.
To
prepare myself for public speaking and my artist talk, I joined the Wood
Buffalo Toastmasters club where I grew a little more comfortable with being in
front of people. Not enough to be as
articulate and nonchalant as I wanted but enough so that I no longer trembled
and blank out. I think I did pretty well
with my artist talk considering that I did hit on some heavy topics.
I’ve enjoyed myself
with CardboART at the Art-Themed
Urban Market and helping to run the Inside
Artist’s Studio workshop with the Arts Council. I’ve built a comradery with my fellow
resident artists that is unique as all of our art forms are very different and
all of us have different intentions with our work.
Ruddy always works at a
steady pace and it’s nice to have that energy around when I’m in the
studio. He has very strong ties to his
homeland of Namibia and his work shows that preservation. I love seeing his eyes light up when I ask
him about his home. It’s something he
does not seem to tire of and I think his art expresses something he needs to
balance the responsibilities of a shift worker supporting his family overseas.
Ruth lives and breathes
the art community here and her selflessness and dedication to the youth is
amazing. I would have loved to immerse
myself more in the arts community with her, although it seems fulfilling, I can
see how busy her life is. I don’t think I could juggle my own projects plus
community art.
Luke is working on his
Masters of Fine Arts at the University of Windsor. So I can depend on him to
give me an honest and sophisticated critique. No topic seems to be too
controversial and uncomfortable to touch upon with him. He’s almost always in the studio and he
shares his food with me sometimes.
As to what I’ve been
doing, I’ve been trying to get more in touch with my Khmer-Krom/Cambodian roots
to gain a better understanding of what I can do increase awareness for
Khmer-Krom indigenous rights abuses in Southern Vietnam. I am also exploring the complexities of my
identity as a queer, neuroatypical, 2nd generation
Asian-Canadian. It’s a tough steak to
chew and sadly lots of people still have their baby teeth in regards to these
topics.
I grew up with my
family members struggling as refugees to obtain new money successes and
recognition in academia. I live a “model
minority” life and I often feel guilty in bringing up hardships I still have to
face simply for being the way I am. I
grew up with expectations to be passive, studious, inoffensive, conservative,
and straight. Mental health issues was
hogwash and art is not a career choice.
Some lessons take generations to learn and I’m hoping that the stigmas
and stereotypes towards my identity and the identities of so many others will
die with me.
