Article: JULIA DAKA: ARCHITECT, DESIGNER, MODEL, PHILANTHROPIST, CONSULTANT & CURATOR

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JULIA DAKA : ARCHITECTE, DESIGNER, MANNEQUIN, PHILANTHROPE, CONSULTANT & CURATRICE

Mar 8, 2023LE CERCLE ŌKAN

JULIA DAKA: ARCHITECT, DESIGNER, MODEL, PHILANTHROPIST, CONSULTANT & CURATOR

Welcome to the Cercle des Créatrices Inspirées where I meet sunny women to discuss creativity, art, self-confidence and entrepreneurship.

Margaux : It was at the studio that I had the chance to discover Julia Daka and I was immediately impressed by her career and her strength! Following our exchange, I wanted to highlight her story which I found so inspiring. Raised by her grandmother in a shantytown in Reunion, her life changes when her plastic arts teacher gives her an architecture book. Then spotted by a Russian photographer, she travels the world as a model and ends up settling in Paris where she decides to concentrate on her job as an architect.

I hope that this meeting with Julia will inspire you too to step out of your comfort zone and increase your range of possibilities!

Julia Daka is the new guest of the ŌKAN STUDIO circle

ITO EAR SCULPTURE , ITO 7 RINGS RING , ITO FIST RING AND ITO 5 RINGS CUFF

Margaux: Can you introduce yourself?

My name is Julia Daka, I am an architect, designer, model and also a philanthropist and curator in addition to being a creative consultant.

Margaux: How did you get here? What is your background ?

I was born in Mayotte but I grew up in Reunion. I took a year off and that's when I was spotted by a Russian photographer. It allowed me to travel the world and start working as a model. I stopped after two or three years to continue to focus on my job as an architect.

I was thirteen when one of my teachers, Mrs. Corbière, invited me and some of the students in my class to take part in a painting workshop. She showed us several works and famous artists and asked us to choose the one that inspired us the most. I chose Picasso's "Bottle and Candle Goat Skull". She then gave me a book on 20th century and Bauhaus architects. And I immediately fell in love. It is this book, and this professor of applied arts who knew how to detect an artistic talent in me, which allowed me to be who I am today.

Model of a building by Tadao Ando

Margaux: Tell me about a project of which you are particularly proud.

I have an association: Sadaka which gives access to education to children through contemporary art. There are all types of art: painting, sculpture, architecture, screenwriting... The idea is really to pass on everything I've learned through my experiences and encounters. that I was able to do and to share it with my community.

See this post on Instagram

A publication shared by SADAKA (@sadaka.fr)

Margaux: Would you say that you have confidence in yourself?

Yes, I have confidence in myself. Modeling has a lot to do with it. The meetings and my strength of character too. On the other hand, I sometimes feel the syndrome of the impostor in my work.

Julia Daka wears the ITO ear sculpt and the NAMI double piercing

ITO EAR SCULPTURE AND NAMI DOUBLE PIERCING

Margaux: What scares you in life?

I'm not afraid of anything. Some would say it's luck. I think it's just a predisposition I've had since I was little. It is a choice to be afraid. Until now, I have always preferred to dive head first. Fear is not part of my vocabulary, I rather consider this feeling as adrenaline.

ITO FIST RING

Margaux: Tell me about that moment when you stepped out of your comfort zone.

Every day, I step out of my comfort zone! But when I made the exhibition for Sadaka, it was the first time in my life that I felt stress. It's not so much for me that I do it or for the artists. It is especially for the hundreds of children with whom we worked in Mayotte. What is scary is disappointing them. My comfort zone was destroyed in two seconds. I hope you have strong shoulders, because you need them to put on exhibitions!