The Changing Faces of Creativity: New York Q&A Part 3
Damien Reid— First generation, Trinidadian, Black Man
When asked the importance of building a community of people of color…
You know, I can say having seen the evolution of the growth of diversity at Anomaly specifically, I’ve witnessed what an evolution looks like. Starting at Anomaly back when it was below a hundred people, it was easier to see the lack of diversity. It’s easier to see the gaps when there aren’t many people around. But now, the diversity is increasing across not only gender but also people of color, and both of those combined has been amazing because it’s just the right thing to do. How could you not be that forward in this day and age? It’s a good business model too. It would be a poor business move to not think of those things.
When asked about his role in the evolution of diversity within the industry….
You can either sit by idle and not say anything (which I definitely wasn’t going to do and couldn’t do) or you can speak up. It wasn’t a hard conversation to have because I think that the founders, the partners, the leaders of the company at the time (many of which are still here today) agreed. They said lead it, let’s do it, and you have our support. I think over the years whether it be formally or informally, to get people of color in the door, I think it’s important to cultivate that growth – to support that growth, to understand that there are differences that need to be addressed. That there are differences that bring out the best in us. That’s always been supported across the board not just now out here in the New York office but globally. It sounds cliché, but it’s a “practice what we preach”.
Adrian Ortega— Mexican, lover, friend, brother, son, male, designer
When asked how important it is to build a community of Mexicans in the workplace…
Here, there are some Mexicans but I wish there were even more. I might be biased, but I think we bring so much positivity and vibrancy.
When reflecting about obstacles getting into the industry….
In my situation, the visa thing was very important. I would have loved to have companies when I was graduating (I went to Parsons in New York) that are aware of visas and not scared of it. I interviewed like 20 times and it was going amazing, they were loving my work, but then when I would bring up the topic about a visa, they would just freak out and be like, “Oh sorry, we haven’t done this before.” I had my own lawyer so I would say, “please just let my lawyer talk to you guys – it’s not that hard.” It’s a topic not talked about and I always have my Mexican friends asking me how I got into the industry thinking it’s so hard. It is hard, but it’s not impossible.
When asked how community can be built for people with similar identities to him…
Resourcing and how they [companies] reach out. I was lucky and blessed to have a portfolio from Parsons and a title, but there are talents, HUGE talents, by the border. I’m also from the border and there’s a lot of talent there, but they might not have the resources to build a portfolio the same way that I was lucky enough to do so. I think if resourcing reached out to other universities and other schools and saw the talent that is there and then recognized that skills can be taught, it’s really about seeing their work beyond a portfolio and seeing an idea that can then be taught here [NYC, the U.S.] with good teachers and mentors.
Jojo Yee— Third generation Chinese American, born & raised in California
When asked how her identity has evolved moving from one coast to the other…
I grew up in the Bay Area and it was very much a lot of Asian people around me so I never felt out of place. I’m like 3rd or 4th generation Chinese so I’m pretty separated I would say from my own culture. I’ve been called “white washed.” Growing up, I didn’t really see a problem with it and then now that I’ve grown up more and noticed others around me, I’ve felt sad by it. I feel I lacked that part of my childhood or lacked that part of my culture. But, it’s interesting because I spent a lot of my childhood going to visit my dad every summer in New York out in Long Island so I would attend reunions with my step family who were all white from Indiana and Arkansas. So going from the Bay Area to a place like Long Island or Indiana, Arkansas where all of a sudden me and my brother and sister were the only Asians around made me self conscious. It wasn’t that people stared, it’s just that I felt self conscious. I was like, there is no one else around that looks like me. I felt like I was never able to be a part of the community.
When asked how important creating community is for her….
It was never really such a big issue for me to create a community where I had all other Asian American friends. It’s more important to me to have a community of like-minded people or open-minded people with similar interests. Just like a shared enjoyment of things. I never think that a community has to be exclusive to a specific race or gender or sexuality; it’s more how accepted those people feel in a community.
It’s been difficult to find my community here. I think advertising is definitely full of loud voices and people who are very outward about their identity and even though I feel confident in who I am, I’ve never been a loud person and so I feel like the people that I want to find and the people that would make up my community are the quiet ones and so how do I find them?
Chiyeung Lau— Chinese-Fujianese American, writer
When asked how he describes his culture and how he brings that to the workplace…
Culture is the combination of all the standards and ideals of American society combined with the standards and ideals of my upbringing from my parents. Both are a combinations of hundreds of thousands of years of traditions. All of that submerges and influences in a way that you don’t really recognize. I think that’s my culture: American individualism and the Chinese culture of being more collective.
Khara Wagner— half Black, half Asian, wife, mother
When asked how she brings her identity to work….
The identity that I bring to work is very much what influences the way I behave and the limitations I have. So, my identity at work is centered around being a mom which means I have to go home at 6:30/7:00. It’s also centered around being the business leader of the brands I run so it means I have to behave myself and conduct myself in that way and I don’t necessarily identify for those reasons as it relates to my ethnicity or sexual preference or gender in any way. I think probably I’ve been very lucky not to feel like those things impacted me whether that’s true or not. I’m very aware of the fact that I’m in a lot of rooms where I’m the only woman, definitely the only woman of color and probably the only lesbian, but I am who I am. I grew up in the South side of Chicago. I grew up going to Jack & Jill, I grew up fair-skinned and a lot of the times people would say as a result of that you’re not really Black and you don’t have the Black experience because people make certain presumptions about you by the way you look. It’s the same with me not looking Asian enough. I’m half Black and I’m half Asian and I think that for that reason I’ve just been like OK, I don’t need to walk into the room and feel like I fit in. I don’t 100% fit in anywhere. It’s just about what I’m here to do.
When asked about her identity and how it comes up in the workplace….
I definitely let people ask about race. I think whenever I talk about my wife or family, I don’t say that I’m a lesbian; I just say “my wife”. I make people ask about my children and whether we had a donor. I don’t think it has to be incumbent on me to explain to you who I am. If you feel like you have questions then you have to be brave enough to ask those questions.
Read more stories in Part 1 and Part 2 of "The Changing Faces of Creativity" Narrative and Photo Series! Be sure to shop the entire collection below!