By Lama Alshami
In a world that values stability, financial security and traditionalism, being an artist is often dismissed by societal expectations. To many, the arts are a hobby rather than something to make a long-term career out of. As a result, students find there is a strong pressure to pursue practical career paths in fields such as law, science or business—but the desire to make art remains deep inside.
For those of us from immigrant families, ideas of success can greatly differ from one another. Despite nearly 100,000 immigrants working in professional and technical occupations in arts and culture, according to The Government of Canada, STEM-related jobs may be valued more.
Throughout high school, I did everything possible to get into the country’s top programs within scientific fields, believing that this definition of success was more important than following my passions. But when I was accepted into the journalism program at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), I knew this was the path I was meant to follow.
I have a strong desire to tell stories that are often left untold. I want to write and express myself. Yet, even with that acknowledgement, there was a lingering feeling that I could not call myself an artist. Using a word that bold felt foreign to me. I had never published my work, made any money from my writing or even begun a portfolio.
This raised a common, yet controversial question within me: What makes an artist an artist?
I’ve heard the phrase “everyone is an artist,” but what does it actually take to be able to identify as one? Is it necessary to make money from your art or is it enough to be passionate about the creative process? Are there some standards that we need to pass to truly earn the title? Or is the term fundamentally flawed because it leaves so much unanswered?
Elena Khan, a second-year performance acting student at TMU, has struggled with similar questions herself. She instead believes in a much broader interpretation.
“The word artist has such a professional implication, but I really think to be an artist, all you have to do is create,” she said.
She explained that there can’t be one definition because everyone has their own vision of what a true artist is. According to her, trying to come up with criteria “doesn’t make sense because it’s so subjective and it can mean a different thing for anyone.”
The Oxford English Dictionary contains 15 different definitions for the word artist, which incorporate a range of skills such as fine arts, surgery and alchemy as well as those who create work requiring imagination or creativity.
I believe the ambiguity surrounding an artist’s label is often intensified by the overwhelming pressure to meet people’s standards. The fear of not actually being good enough can lead someone to question their ability to make art. This self-doubt can materialize as imposter syndrome and can be incredibly pervasive within the arts.
No matter how hard they may have worked to achieve their goals, they are convinced that they do not deserve the place they are in. For artists, their work is constantly being evaluated, scrutinized and judged which can lead to higher levels of doubt and lower self-confidence, as stated in a research study on imposter syndrome.
The pressure to meet people’s expectations with her art left Khan feeling self-conscious about calling herself an artist for much of her life. It wasn’t until she got accepted into the acting program at TMU that she began to feel comfortable identifying with the term.
But even once she was in an arts program, the doubts never fully went away. Khan said she deals with imposter syndrome all the time.
“There’s always a thought in the back of your mind that you can do more,” she said.
“It is even more difficult when you’re in a program with a bunch of other artists and you’re seeing their work every day, you’re seeing their progression and you cannot help but compare yourself to others,” Khan explained.
The pressure to overcome these feelings is possible through self-assurance. “You’re on your own path to becoming an artist and that the only person you should be comparing yourself to, is yourself,” she said.
Mira Taher, an environmental design student at OCAD University, said she does not know anyone who has not felt imposter syndrome before. She believed these feelings come up due to comparing oneself to others.
“You see someone that has more skill than you…and you think ‘Okay, I’m not that good,’” she said.
These thoughts are often exacerbated by the negative connotations around the term “artist.”
“When you first tell people that [art] is what I’m gonna do for the rest of my life, you get so many people who are like, ‘Oh that’s not a real job’ and ‘You’re not gonna get anywhere with it,’” Taher recalled.
While those responses drove her to prove them wrong, they also planted seeds of doubt. “What if I’m not a good artist?” She wondered. “What if I can’t make a career out of doing what I love?”
Going into journalism, I have been on the receiving end of many similar phrases, where people don’t see the value in studying the arts. In their eyes, an artist is someone who couldn’t find what they would call a “real” job.
Khan stressed what people do not understand is that while the work artists do may be different from those in predominantly STEM subjects, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s still hard work. “A lot of people don’t clock that in, they think we’re just playing games all day.”
When Khan told her dad she wanted to pursue acting, he told her that she could do it as a hobby rather than a career. So, she supported herself through the process. She paid for her own acting classes with the money she got from her part-time job, obtained her own professional headshots and prepared for her university auditions alone.
For Taher, even though her parents were very supportive of her pursuit of the arts, she still felt like she was being steered away from the “expressive arts” and more into architecture. Her internal conflict contested the narratives that surround immigrant families. Though she valued a different career path, art was still viewed as less viable to those around her, especially when compared to jobs that promise financial security.
“Most people want to have a higher paying job, so they view art as less respected,” Taher said.
The disconnect between passion and practicality is something many artists struggle with. Wanting to do what you love but also being worried about what others will think is one of the driving forces behind not wanting to call yourself an artist. At times, it feels like a bold declaration. But art was never meant to be polite, it was always about self-expression.
Something instructors commonly say to students in journalism school is that we’re already journalists. We may be students but we are doing the work, just like how someone employed in a newsroom is doing the work. Just because we’re not getting paid for it or because our articles are only going to be seen by our professors does not make us any less worthy of the title. The same should be true for calling yourself an artist. There shouldn’t be a standard to pass, only the will to create, for whatever reason that may be.
To be able to properly express who you are, Khan said to “use that same courage that you use to make art, to call yourself an artist.”
After all, she said, the “best way to get over the fear is to throw yourself into the fire.”
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