Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Robin Uata. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Robin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I started freelancing within creative fields back in 2015. I worked hard trying to find a creative path that truly resonated with me. For years I did everything from photography, styling, and designing. Although I enjoyed working within those fields, I didn’t feel fulfilled.

It wasn’t until I traveled to Tonga for the first time in 2018. Both my parent were born and raised there and it was surreal to be able to go there and really reconnect with my culture and roots. While there, I was inspired to create something that was creative but also had the capacity to celebrate my Pacific Islander community and culture. It was there that I decided that I wanted to create a magazine that highlighted Pasifika creatives.

I had never taken on a project of this magnitude before but I felt that this was something I needed to pursue. I felt that the years of freelancing really helped me gain a strong foundation so that I could build this publication. Although it was nerve-racking getting the process started, I took the leap and decided to launch a kickstarter campaign to raise funds in order to launch the magazine. It was a scary endeavor but I was thrilled to see how many people were interested in seeing this magazine come to fruition. I took a chance it paid off!

Since launching our first printed issue in 2020, it’s been incredible seeing how far I have come since being a freelance creative.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

For many, Pacific Islanders are well known for their athleticism in various sports. Growing up, I never felt passionate about sports or turning that into a career. I always gravitated toward the arts and loved expressing myself through creativity. That in turn made me significantly different from those within my Pasifika community. I always felt different but I learned how to really lean into that.

I’m thankful that I was able to follow my passions by launching a magazine that highlights Pacific Islander creatives. There isn’t much representation when it comes to Pacific Islanders within creative spaces. For years I thought about how exciting it would be to see a Pacific Islander grace the cover of Vogue, but I was unsure on how long I would have to wait in order to see that happen. Rather than waiting, I decided to create my own platform. I didn’t want to wait to be invited to have a seat at the table; I wanted to build my own table.

A publication like Pacificus has never existed before. One that is owned by a Tongan Pacific Islander and celebrates creatives. Our purpose as a magazine is to provide a platform for Pasifika creatives to share their work and document their stories in order to help preserve our history as a people. We are centered on celebrating creativity, community and culture.

Being able to produce something that my younger self would have loved to see feels like I’ve come full circle within combining my passion with a purpose. Pacificus is truly something that has been extremely fulfilling to create.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

It’s one thing to celebrate creatives and it’s another to celebrate creatives within marginalized groups and spaces. The world is putting in more effort to diversify its media, but we cannot experience true diversity without being given opportunities.

Understanding how far a simple like, share, or follow goes on social media can go a long way for many small businesses. As someone who creates a magazine that highlights Pacific Islander creatives, it is so beautiful to see when non-Pacific Islanders purchase my magazine. Seeing their support has been heartwarming because I know that there won’t be a way for me to reach the masses without them. If I really want to see the world celebrate creatives within the Pacific Islander community, I need the help of my peers to see why we are worth celebrating and that can only happen when there is a genuine interest in my community.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

When starting my publication, one of my biggest concerns was thinking that I didn’t have the right tools in order to build a high quality magazine. I thought that in order to produce something like Vogue, I needed to be well versed in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. For years I felt like not being knowledgable about these apps was crippling my growth and it resorted to me constantly thinking that I could never create the publication of my dreams.

In reality, I decided to work with what I had and used Canva as my main tool to create all the layouts I needed for my magazine. Of course there’s a lot of things that Canva can’t do, but it definitely gets the job done for what I was looking for. I don’t think there is any shame when working with what you’ve got and what I’ve got right now is Canva.

Contact Info:

• Website: pacificusmag.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pacificusmag/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pacificusmag
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinuata/

Image Credits
George Ngatuvai, Kassie Feinga, Alora Finau, and Jesus Rodriguez.