SalHOOTING Asha Brown

The coveted hub of INNOVATION, TALENT and COLOURFUL minds- The Faculty of Humanities and Education reigns supreme with its plethora of creatives. Asha Brown has shared her raw creativity and ingenuity embodied by the owl mascot that has helped our faculty’s brand thrive. They say that “stars are born and not made”, which she holds to its merit. We’ve all seen the mascot, but what do we know about the prodigy behind it? Who is the visual storyteller known as Asha Brown?

Asha has always been a woman Picasso. During her childhood, her father let her draw stick figures and she improved with continuous practice. While her focus has been on digital art, she has also explored traditional art like paintings in the past. Asha, by no means puts herself in a box. She is an art enthusiast in every sense and is familiarizing herself with Animation and 3D Modelling. Beyond art, she loves YouTube videos, books and animals. She enjoys taking care of her neighbours’ six dogs and hopes to create a shelter or dog park someday. Interestingly, the degree she will be awarded is Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) which was not her desired program to pursue. Regardless, it equipped her with relevant skills to sell herself as a creative. Like any owl, she wants to spread her wings and work as a Character Designer or Storyboard Artist in Vancouver. However, she would also like to return to Jamaica to help creatives such as herself.

So, what was the thought process behind our beloved mascot? Well, she wanted to portray the “typical” HumEdu student aesthetic. We are often seen as laid-back or minimalistic which others find refreshing. In fact, aside from CARIMAC, one of her favourite things about Humanities is its chill environs particularly under the “Humanities Tree”. The polo shirt on the mascot is symbolic of that. In acknowledging Asha’s artistic prowess, the common issues facing visual communicators must also be highlighted so that one day these issues will be resolved for all creatives. “Art is a luxury, not a necessity and exposure doesn’t pay a bill”, says Asha Brown. However, creatives are often underpaid and underestimated. There are also a lot of locals who do not see the point in paying for art. Sometimes creatives want to appeal to locals through their art but it isn’t well received.

The local climate can be unwelcoming to budding creatives which sometimes inculcates fear within them, but Asha provides a sense of hope for everybody who wants to share their art with the world.

“Plan, it takes a lot of planning and research. Research on the industry to know what you’re getting into and how you’re going to do it…while you’re young, just do it, you literally have nothing to lose”, says Asha Brown.

She is the quintessence of working for what you want and believing in yourself. These are two traits that everybody should aspire to possess regardless of one’s field. It is truly undeniable that within the wealth of Jamaican creatives like Asha Brown, lies the heartbeat of the nation’s future.