Profile | Hong Kong immigrant to Australia who became artist in her 60s shows it’s never too late for dreams – ‘I’m very, very happy’
- Hong Kong-born, Sydney-based artist Pamela Leung decided after 30 years of ‘work, work, work’ she was going to pursue her dream of becoming an artist
- Known for political and immigrant-focused works, she talks about her story, going to art school in her 50s, and why she won’t return to Hong Kong any time soon
Hong Kong-born Pamela Leung has lived many lives.
The first-generation immigrant, now based in Sydney, Australia, has been a bank teller, a restaurant waitress and a self-made entrepreneur. She is also a mother of two and a divorcee. And then, when she was in her 60s, she decided to become an artist.
She is now regularly invited to show her mixed-media works and to perform at shows around the world.
“I am very grateful to be living my dream,” she says. “When I first started doing art, I wasn’t thinking about becoming a famous artist, all fancy. I just had the very simple mindset of wanting to fulfil my dream and go and learn.”
Nearly five decades since she made that one-way trip from Hong Kong to Australia, Leung is reflecting on a journey that proves that perseverance can make any dream come true, she says, no matter how long it takes for you to realise what you really want.
“I wasn’t happy at all with my circumstances in Hong Kong,” Leung recalls during a recent video interview. “I couldn’t see much of a future there.”