Role Models and Road Maps
Part 1
I chose to research one of my role models in the art world, Maria Qamar, also known as @hatecopy on Instagram. Qamar is a Desi-Canadian artist whose work focuses on the intersection of Desi feminine identity and feminism and social change. Although Qamar is an artist and I am more focused on design, I still see a lot to learn in terms of how she finds inspiration and how she used social media to grow her career.
I researched Qamar on LinkedIn, where I learned that her background was originally in advertising copywriting at Canadian companies like One Advertising, J. Walter Thompson Worldwide, and The Tite Group. She worked copywriting for about 4 years, hated it, and was later fired (hence the handle hate copy). After leaving copywriting behind, she began creating and circulating her artwork full time through Instagram, where she found a huge following and support from celebrities like Mindy Kaling. While she is much more famous now, it took about 5 years or so for her to begin reaching a wider audience.
Qamar has been awarded the KOBO Emerging Writer 2018 for her book, Trust No Aunty. She has also had her work featured at the Richard Taittinger Gallery in Soho and most recently, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Toronto. Two of the other most notable artists featured at MOCA were artists Suzy Lake and Kris Knight.
Qamar has written her own book, “Trust No Aunty,” and illustrated for books like “Indian-ish.” She has also written her own advice column for Flare Magazine. She continues to do advertising campaigns with a variety of companies like Google, Microsoft, HP, Nike and many more.
Qamar is closely linked to actress Mindy Kaling, who has decorated her sets (and house) with Qamar’s paintings. Qamar has also worked with other Indian-American/Canadians, like Canadian politician Jagmeet Singh, food writer Priya Krishna, writer Padma Lakshmi, and political comedian Hasan Minhaj.
Qamar has been featured in publications like NUVO Magazine, Juztapoz Magazine, and the National Post.
In Toronto in 2014, the average rental price for a 2-bedroom was $1,225 (and has steadily increased since). I think this most likely impacted Qamar’s development, as she stayed at a copywriting job an extra 6 months while starting Hatecopy. Qamar is still somewhat early in her career and was definitely impacted by the pandemic as well, as she not only used it as further inspiration for art, but also had to return to social media to promote her work after beginning to be featured in galleries.
Part 2
Identify at least 3 companies or opportunities (grants, residencies, competitions, etc.) you’d like to pursue post-graduation. These do not need to be things you discovered in the previous part of this assignment.
I want to attend the Grace Hopper Conference post-graduation (it’s been virtual for the last 2 years) to meet and connect with other women in STEM and more specifically, in UX. I would ideally like to be sponsored by my work to attend.
I would also like to attend the EYEO festival to learn more about intersections of art and technology. Again, I’d ideally like to be sponsored to attend by my company, but students can also volunteer and attend for free in exchange.
I’m also interested in professional organizations like UXPA (User Experience Professionals Association) which holds events and has mentorship and networking opportunities. You can join as a member for a $15 yearly fee, or attend their events as a volunteer or general public (which I may consider doing first).
