Tam Khoa Vu

I first started at Concordia with a plan to double major in English and History, followed by a brief stint in Religions and Cultures and a dalliance in Marketing, before finding my place in Design.

Since graduating I've maintained an arts practice, worked in fashion/design and I am currently running an apparel production management studio in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. 

Without knowing exactly what it all meant at that time, this "path" gave me the tools and shaped my approach to design thinking, entrepreneurship, research, problem solving, communication and working with others.

Career questions with Tam Khoa

What do you love most about your work, and what inspired you to pursue this career in the first place? 

I love making things happen, I love when people are excited about seeing their ideas and projects come to life and I love being in control of my time. I've always been happiest while creating and I'm thankful this business allows me to do it. 

Looking back, what skills have been the biggest gamechangers in your career? 

Looking back, I realize that all those late nights at the studio and the Centre for Digital Arts (CDA) taught me perseverance. They showed me how much gas in the tank I have. Throughout my career when faced with challenging projects which demanded long hours, I could pull on that experience and push through knowing I'd been there before and could get through it.

I also found it really rewarding to work with others on group projects and see how ideas often got better through collaboration, discussion and critique. 

How did Concordia prepare you for your career? 

I made it a priority to take advantage of all the shop resources available to me. I spent time in as many facilities as I could — from the metal shop and wood shop to the Fab Lab. I couldn't believe that all these studios existed under one roof, and I knew access to them would be much harder to come by after graduation.

Being able to ideate and then directly go and make it was extremely satisfying and rewarding. More than anything, I valued being surrounded by people making things or doing projects. It was motivating and pushed me to be better at whatever I was trying to learn.

If you could give your younger self one powerful piece of advice, what would it be? 

I'd tell myself: try to enjoy it all! Even if you only have $5 in your pocket and have to choose between a samosa and a cappuccino, you'll figure it out, and one day you'll have more than $5 in your pocket. 

What’s the most exciting shift happening in your industry right now? 

From a production management perspective, this is a difficult question because, as much as I love clothing and the process of making it, I often feel that the world doesn't necessarily need more of it.

Answering from a fine arts perspective, I'm really excited by the work emerging from the Vietnamese diaspora around the world. It's refreshing to see new work exploring ways to move past the familiar tropes of war, colonialism, identity, belonging, and otherness. Of course, being a part of the Vietnamese diaspora will reflect some if not all these themes, but I'm excited to see the nuanced ways these themes can be articulated in artworks.

There's a place for all of it, it's exciting to be a critical thinker right now. 

Feeling inspired?

• Experiment with your art projects making use of professional fabrication shops, workshops and equipment depots.
• Familiarize yourself with the Centre for Digital Arts to bring your audio-visual projects to life.
• Get involved with the Concordia University Centre for Creative Reuse.
• Connect with Career Counselling & Education Transitions to plan your career path.