We had the good fortune of connecting with Mariam Naba and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mariam, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
Things that have helped me reach the state that I’m at currently, whether it’s personal or in my artistic, go beyond generality. In my time as an artist, what I realized is important and contributing is research. The amount of self-development you’ll be able to achieve when finding out more inspirations, more ways to network and get your work and voice out there. Researching has allowed me to find things that contribute to my success. It has brought me new ideas and taught me lessons. Those are the things that truly bring success to oneself, lessons that teach you what success looks like. My success has also been developing because I’ve learned how to use my experiences and personality into forming my artwork.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Getting to the place I am with my artwork, I’ve had a lot of experiences in which I had to question what I want or have to say in my artwork. Growing, as a deaf artist, I’ve had people question my perspective of the concepts I portray in my artwork. My artwork in the past few years has dealt with communication and the barriers it brings, especially between the deaf and the hearing world. I use my experiences and challenges to discuss them in my art pieces, and that’s the excitement I feel when I produce art. I feel that excitement when I’m faced with a challenge because I know I will turn this into a piece of artwork. My purpose is to shed light on those barriers and bring an understanding to those about the deaf culture.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I think it all depends on the person that is visiting and what they’re interests are. Although some of my favorite places to eat at is the Saltgrass Steakhouse alongside small coffee shops. I also love museums and art , so I would naturally introduce anyone to those areas and we get to discover new art collections together. I think walks in the city are just as fun to go on as its what truly captures the beauty of the city.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I will like to dedicate a shoutout to my mother, Samira Yusuf for pushing me to believe in myself and to anyone that has ever given me negative feedback.

Website: https://mariamnaba.wixsite.com/website
Instagram: Naba92
Linkedin: Mariam Naba
Facebook: Mariam Naba
Youtube: Mariam Naba

Image Credits
Photographer by: Royah Naba

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