Nancy Yu aka NC Qin - Earning a Living as an Asian Australian Artist & Mastering Glass Art | Ep.18

We’re joined by Nancy Yu, aka. NC Qin, a Sydney-based cast glass artist and sculptor.  Nancy creates glass weaponry exploring concepts of history, heritage and psychology. She has a long list of accolades that include winning the National Emerging Art Glass Prize in 2020 and The Vicki Torr Prize in 2021 and being featured in museums and art galleries worldwide. 

In this episode, we hear about Nancy’s journey in becoming an artist, as it was not an easy feat, especially in an Asian household. She recounts the years of convincing her parents to allow her to pursue the artist pathway and takes us through the different skills she’s had to learn along the way. 

We also delve into the inspirations behind Nancy’s incredible work, and she gives us some insight into how artists can make a living. 

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:38 Wearing “Different Hats” as an Australian-Asian Artist
• 4:02 Do Artists Have a Team Behind Them?
• 5:54 Carlingford Art Workshops & Art As an “Extracurricular”
• 9:59 Nancy’s Upbringing
• 13:41 The Entrance Exam Into CAFA
• 22:55 “Going Back to the Motherland” & Nancy’s Dad’s Girlfriends
• 24:29 Convincing Her Parents to Let Her Pursue Art as a Career
• 30:15 Getting Into ArtExpress & Glass-Art
• 34:27 Diving Deeper into Glass-Art
• 38:01 Nancy’s Glass-Art Process
• 42:41 The Concept Behind “Smiling Axe”
• 45:51 Drawing from Ancient History as an Art Inspiration
• 55:29 Getting Noticed by Art Galleries
• 1:01:11 Nancy’s Career Breakthrough
• 1:06:42 How Does an Artist Make a Living?
• 1:07:52 Nancy’s Advice For Chasing the Artist Pathway
• 1:11:17 Advantages & Disadvantages of an Australian-Asian Artist
• 1:14:36 Nancy’s Future Plans
• 1:16:16 Outro