Name: Emmanuel Asante
Age: 24
Dreams of: Being an art teacher
10 December
It took me three months to pick up a pencil
My name is Emmanuel Asante. I’m 24 and I’m an artist. I paint murals. I’m a public speaker as well. I sometimes combine the two. I live in western Sydney with my siblings and my mum. So there are six of us in the house.
How Australia appreciates art is one of my favourite things. Australia is home to me now, but I’m from Ghana. Back home, art is not something that is appreciated. When I was a kid I used to show my teacher my drawings and I’d get praise. But after I was 11 or 12, I was constantly reminded I shouldn’t draw. Mum always wanted me to become a lawyer or a pastor. When I came to Australia in 2015 the subjects at school were different. They offered visual arts, and I was like, “Yeah, I’ll give it a try.” People kept telling me there’s no career in arts. There’s no money in arts. I should stop wasting my time. But my teacher encouraged me. That’s why I decided I would be an artist. My dream is to become an art teacher.
Making the decision to become an artist was a huge step for me because I had to go against people that I look up to in life. It was really very, very hard for me. Still, after high school I took my portfolio of drawings to the National Art School to apply for a spot and they offered me a place. The administration said that there could be some fee help, but I’m not a citizen yet. I’ve got permanent residency. I would have to pay my fees upfront to get any help financially. And I was like “There’s no way I can get $12,000 in two or three months”, so I deferred the offer.
When I deferred my offer from the National Art School my parents stopped supporting me financially. They had agreed that while I was studying they would support me, but because I wasn’t studying I had to take care of myself. My brother linked me to a labour hire company that did warehouse fulfilment for an online fashion retailer, and I worked with them for six to eight months while also doing a bit of work as a professional artist. Then, in November last year, we were told that there would be no work for us in 2020 because the agency’s contract had not been renewed. They suggested we try to get work with the new agency. I tried moving, but there was no work to be filled.
So I had no job, but I was doing some public speaking. It wasn’t frequent, but the money I would get I would use to pay rent and survive. It wasn’t much but it was alright. Then Covid-19 hit. All my appointments got cancelled. I had been applying for art competitions as well, but shows got cancelled due to Covid. It was like the world was coming to an end. Everything was cancelled. I was very anxious. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know where the money was going to come from. I had already lost my job, this little extra income was gone and now Covid was coming. I had trouble sleeping. I worried how I was going to survive.
It was hard. I had to call my counsellors, at Headspace, who helped me. I was losing my mind at that stage. I talked to them once a month. It really helped. Another charity, Settlement Services International, also helped. They sent me art materials and supplies so I could do art during that time. It took me three months after the lockdown started to pick up a pencil to draw, even though they’d given me the stuff. That’s how depressed and anxious I was.
Now things feel a bit better. I don’t think I can go back to National Art School because I can’t get the money for the fees. I’m going to go to Tafe next year to study graphic design. I want to get a certificate in the arts, then I hope I’ll get my citizenship. If I get my citizenship then I’ll go to university.
Now that everything has calmed down I have managed to get some art exhibitions under my belt. I still don’t have a job. I’m still just managing. But work is slowly, slowly starting to trickle in. I felt like I was dead, but now I’ve been resurrected.
