In honour of world hearing day, we’ve sat down with Lebanese artist and activist for the hard-of-hearing and disabled community, Dima Antar. In our exclusive interview, Antar describes the trials and triumphs of her journey with severe hearing loss, which she was diagnosed with as an infant at age one. Antar has turned her struggles into a reason to shine through her art by creating cartoon images of medical equipment, like hearing aids, as well as other graphic optimistic designs. Her sentiment of “loving your imperfections” and confidence building is why she’s such an important activist to highlight today. Continue below to read our interview with Dima Antar for World Hearing Day.
While growing up, were there any role models you could relate to that shared your experience of hearing loss?
Dima Antar: There were no role models growing up around me to whom I could relate my experiences of severe hearing loss, but my mother has always been a role model and a very supportive mother to me till now.
What drove you to represent the hard-of-hearing community today?
DA: I decided that I wanted to be the first Lebanese deaf or hard-of-hearing person to share my experience so that I could raise awareness and help other members of the hearing-impaired and disabled communities not to feel alone. On another note, I also didn’t want any hearing-impaired person to feel what I felt back then when I was younger and unconfident. As of now, I’m not seeing a ton of representation of experiences or stories for what it looks like as a hearing-impaired person. So I wanted to raise my voice and help many.
What are some of the obstacles you had to overcome to get where you are today?
DA: While growing up, I struggled to show my hearing aids. I hid my ears with my hair straight down by my face since I was self-conscious that someone might see them and point them out. The second thing is voice notes and phone calls. I used to be shy about asking everyone to text instead of sending voice notes or calling me. Thirdly, I always needed subtitles on videos and television screens. After going through high school as a super-duper shy and unconfident kid, I eventually became comfortable in my own skin and realised that I should transform the mindset that held me back to my new self. Today, I’m happy to say I’m self-confident and love my imperfections.
What or who is the biggest inspiration for your art?
DA: Growing up, I was always passionate about art, and was always interested in creating. From elementary school through high school, I took a series of independent art lessons where I could experiment and learn with different media, materials and techniques. That’s when I realised that art is a passion and self-expression. It’s the way to communicate everything I feel, and of course, the help of my mum and support allowed me to unleash this side of me to the world.
What has been the most exciting result of merging art with advocacy?
DA: I appreciate how my artwork shows the real me and how creative I can be when I put my mind to it. As a hearing-impaired person, I rely mostly on visuals which help me be more creative and express that in my artwork. Art is a form of communication without saying a word.
