Today we’d like to introduce you to Annila Yan.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Annila. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Ever since I was a kid, I was always fascinated with art. I thought about the cartoons I watched and how someone had hand-drawn each frame. After school every day, I would run home and trace the cartoons on a sheet of printer paper and eventually I taught myself how to draw my favorite characters. As a teenager, I slowly graduated out of cartoons and found myself interested in sculpture, oil painting, and charcoal instead. I spent much of my freshman year in high school creating art that I wasn’t very excited about, but what was considered pretty and impressive.
During this time, the political atmosphere shifted, and I was thrown into politics because my identity was inherently political. As an LGBT woman of color, I am so strongly affected by the way society thinks about minorities. I realized quickly that there were things that I wanted to say that I didn’t have a voice to say it with. So, I turned to my art to speak for me. There is something about art that can go beyond words and really break through a barrier to speak to the audience. I wanted to use the power of art to incite empathy that I feel is lacking in the world right now. I started creating art that was meaningful to me, and that I wanted to be meaningful to the people who saw it. I spent the rest of my time in high school looking for more opportunities to use art to speak out. I began doing graphic design for political campaigns I trusted and teaching an art class at the Del Mar County Library that encouraged kids to be emotional and creative in their art.
Right now, I am an art history and political science major at Yale. I am fueled every day by my love of art and my passion to produce social change.
Has it been a smooth road?
As an Asian American woman, pursuing an interest in politics is a more unique path. American politics severely lacks representation for Asian women and Asian people, in general. Not only is it daunting to break into a career path dominated by white men, but it is also scarier to go against the traditional definition of success my family has set. Even though the path I want to take doesn’t have any factors that work in my favor, I know that this is what I’m interested in. If I hadn’t taken that first step out of my comfort zone, I am scared to think of what life I would be living. I am happier than I have ever been because I know that I am working towards something that I am passionate about. It’s all about taking that risk and not being afraid to stray off the path. It is never too late to try something else because finding passion in life is worth everything that you might go through.
Please tell us more about your artwork, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am an artist and an activist. Most of my activism is through my art and my involvement in my community. I’ve worked for several campaigns in the Encinitas/Carlsbad area and designed for small events in my school to large national campaigns.
Which women have inspired you in your life?
Although I am inspired by iconic women who have gone against the status quo, I am mostly inspired by the women in my life. To see, first hand, women at my school pursuing their artistic passion and bravely battling societal norms is amazing. I am surrounded by friends, teachers, and family that work so hard, not only for their own happiness and beliefs but for others’ happiness as well. Knowing that the women around me are doing so much inspires me to keep pushing on.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 7605188310
- Email: annie.yan@yale.edu
- Instagram: @annilamei
Image Credit:
Annila Yan
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