Sami #mixedmonday
Today's #mixedmonday is @samihayes.
Hi I’m Sami, a 29 year old spatial designer living in south-east London. Throughout my career I’ve designed spaces for festivals, theatres, brand activations and retail interiors. I’m currently working within the web3 space for Clay Nation, leading a small team of designers in creating a virtual festival environment.
How would you describe your ethnicity?
I describe myself as mixed from Chinese and British heritage. My mum was born in Ping Yeung village in Hong Kong New Territories and immigrated with her family in the 1960’s. My dad was born in West Sussex, England. I was born in the suburbs of Brighton with my parents and younger sister Jacqui. Brighton really lacks diversity and we were the only Chinese mixed family in the area. In my pre-teen years, I didn’t embrace my chinese heritage, in fact I did the opposite and actively tried to blend in as much as possible. My mum tried to encourage us to start Chinese Sunday school when I was around 7 but I remember not wanting to go.
As I entered my late teens I began to embrace my Chinese heritage and I realised being different could be a superpower. It was then that I started to be embarrassed about how little I understood Chinese culture and my struggle to connect to this side of myself. Full of regret for not learning when I was younger. I was still pretty lost and trying to figure out where I belonged in predominantly white spaces.
It has taken a long time lots of work, but now in my late 20’s, I love who I am and even though it’s a work in progress I finally feel comfortable in my own skin. I also have compassion for my younger self trying to find a sense of belonging instead of any regrets. This has only been possible by relocating to a more diverse city, I went to uni in Bristol and then moved straight to London after graduating. Also having vulnerable conversations with my friends of mixed heritage and self education through reading about relatable experiences. My partner of 6 years is also mixed and having each other whilst going through our own personal development simultaneously has been a huge support and safe environment to express and explore how we feel.
Has your mixed-ness influenced your career in any way?
I was brought up to believe I could do any career I wanted if I put my mind to it. My mum was the eldest daughter in a Chinese family, a role that came with a lot of duties and discipline at a young age. She was only allowed a career in one of the sciences, anything creative was completely off the table. She didn’t want me and my sister to feel we had any limitations like she did, so if there was ever something extracurricular I’d show interest in she’d find a way to help me pursue it. My dad is a real tech whizz, building computers with me as projects when I was young which has definitely benefited my career.
After studying architecture, I began working in experiential 3D design. The UK festival and theatre scenes are very white dominated and I quickly got used to being the only person who looks like me in a work environment.
It’s definitely become more important to me to feel reflected or represented in my work environment as I’ve got older and become more self aware. I wouldn’t go back to being in an environment that didn’t prioritise diversity, equity and inclusion in their core values rather than mere lip service and performative actions.
If you could describe your mixed identity in one word, what would it be?
Enriching
What is the best thing about being mixed heritage?
My outlook on life - celebrating and being open to differences. I believe that being mixed has made me more compassionate and emotionally aware of people who are also different in some way. The mixed population is growing and I think that's a beautiful thing. That means more examples of cultures combining and coming together.
