Sabah: Trusting My Creative Vision

CREATING A NEW NORMAL

Interviews and original transcription by Loisse Ledres | Co-written with Elise Blauuw

“It’s up to us to save our people.”

Sabah’s life goal is to become a director in filmmaking, and so she saw being a Creative Director in advertising as a path to get there. When she got her first-ever advertising internship, she was perfectly on track for her goal. But when the pandemic hit, Sabah’s focus was challenged by changes in the world, and changes in herself.

“I got to go back home [to have time] with my family and myself that I didn’t have in previous years. Time with family showed me what I wanted and where I came from.”

While living at home, Sabah began reconnecting with her family, her Tigrayan culture, and the Tigrinya language.

“I am first gen Tigray American, with not much community in my area. I wasn’t immersed as much. Relearning more about my culture, learning my language Tigrinya, and learning about my roots gave me the boost to go after my passions and goals.”

When a war broke out in the Tigray region of Ethiopia in late 2020, Sabah saw the harm it would cause to her community—a community she hadn’t fully felt a part of before the pandemic. 

“I always felt awkward at Tigrayan gatherings but now I feel comfortable acknowledging not knowing. I want to make it a bigger part of my life.” 

In this time of much growth, Sabah realized she doesn’t need anyone to tell her she was ready to take action. She has always wanted to be an artist. She had to trust that she already was. 

“All this time has been a lot of preparing. The pandemic has really sped up with facing my own purpose.”

Sabah began creating content about the war by starting a series of projects. Her platform is @bytigray on Instagram, where she uses images, videos, and graphics to highlight the stories of Tigrayans and the beauty of Tigrayan culture. 

“I want to use the space as a way to inspire Gen Z and Millennials in the international community [to] get involved in the ways they can.”

Along the way, Sabah has broadened her tunnel-vision to include loving herself, her roots, and her community.

“My love for myself before was stagnant. I didn’t realize there’s more to tap into. It’s really necessary to love yourself first.”

And now she sees that her talents in the creative industry are just another way that she can do exactly that.

“For the first time in my life I can create my own ideas. I know I can do it. I’ve had a block but now it’s slowly fading and I trust myself to create amazing things. I don’t want to wait on other people to give me permission to do this.”

- SABAH

Sabah’s upcoming projects

@bytigray

• EMBODYING THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE THROUGH ART 

  • Make art about what me and others are going through. To create a reflection of the times.

• HIGHLIGHT TIGRAYAN CULTURE AND WAYS TO AID DURING THE WAR THROUGH ART (@BYTIGRAY)

READ MORE ABOUT CREATIVES CREATING A NEW NORMAL:

This project is part of the Creative Wildfire project, an artist grant funded by Climate Justice Alliance, Movement Generation, and New Economy Coalition.