Monday, October 11, 2021
Chizu Nara
Women in Lighting: My name is Chizu Nara. I'm a lighting designer and the co-founder of New Light Pottery, which I started with my husband.
My major was economics at university, although I was interested in architecture in high school. I didn't have enough background to apply for the architecture faculty, so I couldn't choose what I wanted at that time.
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2 comments:
I love reading stories of women that have successfully started their own business while also taking care of a young family. It is so powerful and inspiring but I also feel like it is becoming common news heading. It is great that women are being so successful in their careers but I think the normalizing of it can make it seem like it’s not as big of a feat as it is. Specifically, she brings up concerns about not wanting to mention that she needed to leave work for childcare reasons. I hate when I hear stories of women not feeling comfortable in their workplace to even talk about their kids, as if it makes them less of a professional. I am glad that this women was able to overcome this in some form. I have read in several other articles talking about how the design and entertainment industry are not a friendly workplace, specifically for women that have children. I hope that there are less of these stories as we move forward.
I have talked to so many women in design industries that model the situations Chizu Nara is speaking on. It is easy to say that the industry is becoming more inclusive towards women. Yes, this is true things are getting better, but they are not done changing. Almost every woman I have met as a young girl in the industry, specifically those who worked on Broadway, have pointed out the ability to have a family in the industry today. It is almost like they seem eager, delighted, and surprised to share this fact because when they were my age, it was not something they believed. I think as our generation becomes older and the woman who have eagerly shared the ability to have a family with us take leadership roles, it will be more normalized to have children in the industry. This interview was a good reminder of the realism and pressure many women feel to conform to the industry.
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