Insight

Miriam – Born in 1997, as a result of an Austrian-Serbian mix I grew up in the capital city of Austria, Vienna. Even before I was born my parents were exploring the world, always on the hunt for new experiences and cultures, led by curiosity.

It didn’t stop once I turned their world upside down, each step of mine being recorded on camera. They were mostly travelling around Yugoslavia with me and after turning two years old they decided to take a trip across the ocean to Bali, which meant boarding my very first flight. My interest for different cultures increased after we visited Cuba.

However, little did I know that a new difficulty was awaiting me, which I would not only master but also change my view on the world drastically. English – my worst nightmare during high school. And as stubborn as I am, I didn’t want to accept that there was “not much” I could do about it: which meant English-exercises, private lessons and in the end having to repeat the grade.
The only solution I saw was taking part in an exchange program, but with only 14 years of age it seemed close to impossible. Not only because my parents were quite sceptical but more over the fact that many countries wouldn’t approve of student visas at such a young age. Lucky as I was, I found a company which organized my exchange-year in South Africa, Johannesburg. In those 10 months I fell in love with experiencing new and different cultures and it’s also where my photography journey started.

After returning back to Austria, I graduated from high school and tried out a few different non-creative studies. In the end I had to accept that there was just no way around me doing something creative, leading me to my final choice: a Cross-Media diploma which I started in 2019.

© David Lucca Dewam