Meet Vietnamese illustrator currently living in Rome, Camelia Pham.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Describe the city you’re living in and what it’s like to live there.

I’m currently living in Rome where I have a life comprised mainly of pizza and overpriced rent.

What is the best and worst thing about living in your city?

The best thing is the atmosphere at my uni. They’re pretty liberal with what they allow me to do and I’ve met a lot of fellow students who can express themselves properly through their art. There’s a long history of art in Rome and few people seem to care about the more modern stuff being produced so it’s a bit of a struggle trying to get yourself noticed.

Give us 3 words that describe what it’s like to be a creative in your city.

Liberating, challenging and eye-opening.

How did you start your career in art?

My art became a visual way to share my view of the world and a very cathartic way of expressing my negative emotions and making my own peace with them.

Were the people around you supportive of your decision on working as a creative?

I’m very lucky to have been born to a mom and dad that never learned how to be the typical Asian parents. They are both a little eccentric and embraced my art as my full-time passion quickly enough. I think maybe because they are divorced, which is quite rare in Vietnam, they felt compelled to foster my individuality and hardly ever pushed me into avenues I was uncomfortable with. My artsy friends have been a massive support for me throughout my time in Europe and Vietnam; it’s been refreshing meeting so many people who, like me, are learning to express intensely personal thoughts in the public sphere.

What are some goals and ambitions you have for your future work?

Well, I’m not complaining about my conditions right now. I’m still an unemployed art student, so all I have right now is time and freedom to experiment, which is really what every artist wants. More and more people are seeing my work every time I post and I couldn’t be happier about that. In the future, I hope to have a book out soon featuring a few of my more connected works, but after that, I’d like a studio where I’m free to create.

In the future, I hope to have a book out soon featuring a few of my more connected works, but after that, I’d like a studio where I’m free to create.

If you could collaborate with any person in the world who would it be?

I’m really bad at collaborating with people with a similar style to me because I often get nervous and competitive when I’m with them. I’d rather work with people who use different mediums like photographers, animators, or writers. My boyfriend is a writer and as cringeworthy as it may sound, I love collaborating with him. I’m hoping we could work on a book together in the future, as well as any other projects that require my innermost thoughts to be spelled out in writing.

How would you describe the women around you?

I’m lucky to be surrounded by inspirational women. Obviously, my mom is a huge inspiration for me – she’s a perfectionist and passionate about everything she does. She doesn’t rely on anyone and that’s sort of what I’m striving for, seeing as my art is so personal to me. Most of all though, she always listens to me and takes an interest in the things I care about – she’s always a mom before she’s a muse.

I’m lucky to be surrounded by inspirational women.

Were there any local female creatives that you looked up to when you were growing up?

Are there any challenging aspects of being a female in your industry?

You’ll never know where this can take you until you start.

Do you have any advice to young women who are aspiring to work in your field?

Photos courtesy of Camelia Pham.