Singer, Theatre, Model (She/Her)
Meet Grace Hwang
As a child, Grace used singing to rewrite her reality. Since age 4, she has dreamed of a singing career as a Korean-Vietnamese-Canadian artist. The YouTube self-taught singer, musician and actress eventually enrolled in the Etobicoke School of the Arts (ESA), where she pursued Musical and Drama Theatre. During her gap year, she continued to pursue the arts through TV, movies, voice work, and commercial bookings.
After leaving music for three years, Grace rediscovers her passion for singing in ways that now feel authentic to her identity. She no longer sings to someday be, but sings to feel present in her emotions.
On the contrary, she allowed herself space to discover new areas of passion. Grace sparked an interest in modelling during high school - but never pursued the idea, believing it was not viable under industry height standards and as a person of colour. Yet, in 2022, she chose to freelance in the Toronto creative community where she developed herself as a model and is now signed professionally. As a professional model, she has worked with Fashion Art Toronto (FAT), their collaboration with TIFF, the e-commerce brand Vlone, and more. Through the internship, she will eventually release her first original song.
"I’m Not"
Song & Music Video Snippets by Grace Hwang — Artist Statement [EXCERPT]
“Why sing if you are not good at it?"
That line rang in my head repeatedly until I completely abandoned music. My original song, I'm Not, is the first song I've written since 2021. This piece became a gateway to rekindling my relationship with music while healing the relationship I lost with myself while being consumed by a romantic relationship.
Singing served as a place of escape. I'm able to pretend to live through the story of each song. Hyperanalyzing and mimicking each artist's singing style developed my voice and allowed me to master the art of imitation. As a first-generation immigrant child, imitating was vital to surviving Western society. While skillful in imitation, I never hounded into my self-identity and my authenticity. When engulfed by another being's thoughts, ideas, and morals, authenticity can become misconstrued if never foundationally developed.
