We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hana Azim a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hana, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

My graduate thesis is probably the most meaningful project I’ve worked on. Titled Comfort Food, my thesis is a visual journal cookbook that explores how food shapes the overall first and second generation immigrant experience and, most importantly, helps those immigrants maintain a connection to their culture.

This book is inspired by my personal experience growing up Indian-American. Food has always been an integral part of my life. In one facet, it meant love. From the barbeque parties my family had in our backyard to the biryani my mom always made for me on my birthday. In another facet, it meant solace. Growing up, I always felt disconnected from my culture. I was jealous of other Indian-American kids, who spoke their parents’ language, danced the cultural dances, and celebrated holidays in traditional ways. Indian food, however, was the one connection I was always proud of. I never felt ashamed of bringing my cultural food to school and I would happily ask my mom to pack me idli and sambar for lunch.

Growing up surrounded by people with similar experiences to me, I knew this was something I wanted to explore further for my thesis. In this visual journal cookbook, I interview and collect recipes from 1st and 2nd generation immigrants from various backgrounds.

Hana, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I took my first art class when I was 3 years old. I remember making silly clay sculptures of a fish riding a wave. Art was all I knew growing up. I took art electives every year in middle and high school. When I started thinking about what to study in college, I wasn’t sure if I was choosing art because that’s what I wanted to do or if that’s the only thing I knew how to do. The summer before my senior year of high school, I took a 4-week intensive painting course that opened my eyes to the art world. I would spend all day at the studio painting, not realizing how much time had passed. After creating a multitude of paintings during those weeks, I realized just how much I loved creating art and that this was really something I really wanted to pursue.

My work documents the daily happenings of my life and the things that make me the happiest, such as travel and food. I take the things I experience in my day-to-day and draw them. Things like the bakery I pass on my way to school, the fishes in a restaurant aquarium, the kitchen in the pages of an Ikea catalog. I am inspired by the little snippets of happiness I see in my daily life, but I’m also inspired by the newness that I see when I travel. I’m opened to new ways of seeing the world when I travel. I like to tell that story by creating illustrations of the food I ate, the animals I saw, and the scenery I enjoyed in the places I have visited.

My art celebrates the mundane. The routine of everyday life. The comfort in the ordinary.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Although I’ve always been on the creative path, I hadn’t always been interested in a career in illustration. I studied Fine Arts in undergrad but I wasn’t satisfied with my educational experience or the work that I was creating. I felt like I hadn’t learned much and that Fine Arts and selling to galleries wasn’t what I wanted to do full-time. After graduating, I moved back home and did a multitude of random jobs from working as a gallery assistant at an auction house to doing social media for a nonprofit. During this time, I was also creating purely for myself and I realized that the work I liked to make in my free time wasn’t fine art, but illustration. I had always known about illustration, but for some reason hadn’t realized it was a career and something I could pursue until then.

For the next few months, I put all of my time into my portfolio and started applying to graduate programs. I’m currently pursuing my MFA in Illustration Practice at MICA and it has been a truly eye-opening and evolving experience. I’ve learned so much about illustration and really honed my craft here. I feel a lot more stable in my style and as an artist. I graduate in a few weeks and I’m excited (and terrified) to really delve into my illustration career.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is, by far, the community. Being surrounded by and having access to a variety of artists gives me a sense of belonging and support. The feedback I receive from other artists is invaluable and there is so much opportunity for collaboration. Some of my favorite works are the ones where I’ve collaborated with others. Seeing other artists thrive and showcase their creativity gives me so much inspiration and motivates me to be a better artist. Being part of the artistic community provides me a sense of connection, support, and inspiration that makes the creative process more fulfilling and rewarding.   

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hanaazim.com
• Instagram: @hana.toast