Published 26/06/2020
Bridgeman Images champions diversity in art and we take pride in our relationships with artists worldwide. As part of our ongoing Art of Diversity initiative, we're making it our mission to give a platform to artists from across the globe.
This month, we're spotlighting several artists whose work is inspired by similar themes - outlining their creative practices, their inspirations and what they intend to do with their platform in 2020.
Ken Nwadiogbu (b. 1994, Lagos, Nigeria) creates innovative drawings on various surfaces as he challenges and investigates Black socio-political structures and issues while engaging in multidisciplinary modes of storytelling. Inspired by issues relating to those around him, he began creating works that reflect their struggles, with hopes of making a change in his community.
Popularly known as KenArt, Nwadiogbu is credited for beginning the ‘Contemporealism’ movement, a fusion that is primarily centred around Hyper-Realism and Contemporary art. His works can be found in collections like The Dean Collection, owned by Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean and Alicia Keys; TheWASP Rugby team, The Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, as well as the collections of other esteemed personalities.
Artist Sinta Tantra (b.1979) is known for her colourful large scale public artworks and geometric paintings. Living and working in between her two studios in London and Bali, Tantra’s artwork occupies multiple dimensions and scales. Her canvas shifts comfortably from a bridge slicing through the urban skyline to a stretched linen frame produced within the intimate setting of her studio – each artwork is an abstract blueprint for her utopian aspirations.
Born in New York to Balinese parents, Tantra grew up in London and studied art at the Slade School of Fine Art (2003) and at the Royal Academy Schools (2006). Within her work, motifs derive from Western movements such as Bauhaus, Art Deco, modernism and abstraction. Her Balinese identity within the post-colonial context is central to her work. The drawings of 20th century Balinese artist, architect and stone carver I Gusti Nyoman Lempad have informed explorations into two-dimensional lines and three-dimensional space. Her pop-tropical colour palette draws from the culture and environment of Bali.
An artist, illustrator, and arts educator, Colin Bootman’s work is internationally recognized and has received numerous, highly acclaimed awards in recent years, including a Coretta Scott King Honor and an IRA Teacher’s Choice Award among others. A Trinidad native, Colin Bootman moved to New York as a child and received formal training at LaGuardia High School of the Arts. At a young age, Bootman was inspired by both the rich and diverse culture of the island of his native home and his adjustment to new surroundings in New York City. Today, he still enjoys teaching and presenting in schools in New York and across the US.
Aïcha Fall is a street photographer and finalist of the Independent Photography Award 2019.
Born in Abidjan, Côte d´Ivoire, Aïcha Fall lived her childhood there before leaving for France for her studies. Over time, Aïcha learned to create a link between her identity, her culture and her traditions, through Art.
Aïcha is a storyteller and she uses photography to write and tell her stories. Full of life, of movements whether spontaneous or composed, the scenes she captures are always talkative and original. Bursting with creativity, she diverts elements that surround her to transform them into works of art.
She is a visionary and above all an African woman. And for her the best way to combine her vision and her identity was to go back home.
Through this journey she finally achieves the mission that had been intended for her all this time. The responsibility to represent her African culture, her continent, her heritage, and her community.
Emmanuel Amponsah is a self-taught and passion-driven Ghanaian based artist with unique interests in photography and art direction. A principal theme in his art is that of a distinct blend of realism, social issues addressing minimalism and the exhibition of black symbolism. His inspiration is to create awareness and tell the hidden stories about black heritage, melanin appreciation and social issues.
Yi is a Chinese-Australian contemporary illustrator and visual artist currently living in Perth, Western Australia.
Her work is mainly portraiture, and her style would be best described as minimalistic, bold and semi-abstract.
Osinachi is a self-taught digital artist whose work explores personal experiences within a technological environment. Osinachi, who grew up in Aba, Nigeria, produces drawings using Microsoft Word, where he utilizes the basic limited design palette of the word processing software to create narrative illustrations.
Naira Mushtaq is a multidisciplinary artist from Lahore, Pakistan. Ms. Mushtaq received her masters from Central Saint Martins with distinction, as a recipient of International Vice Chancellor Scholarship. Her practice explores the deconstruction and re-framing of the vernacular, found photographs and film archives focusing on history, memory and social commentary stemming from a desire to understand memory.
She is part of an artist-run collective called WAH, or We Are Here, building a bridge between London and Lahore that focuses on providing support and platforms through events and exhibitions for women of color, asserting the fact 'that we exist in the art world, to prevent our erasure'. She is also a member of an artist collective called Awami Art Collective which focuses on creating a public discourse, ranging from rapid urbanization and themes of violence in the name of religion. Being part of AAC allows her in engaging withthe viewer as a key component in her work.
Born in 1977 in Eastern Turkey, Güler Ates has been living and working in London for the past 19 years. She graduated in 2008 from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Printmaking. Currently, she is Digital Print Tutor at the Royal Academy Schools. Her work can be found in the print collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Royal Academy of Art and the Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR) in Rio de Janeiro. Ates’ work has been exhibited at the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy for the last several years as well as in solo exhibitions worldwide. Her work has been featured in numerous groups shows and she continues to expand her practice.
Discover more from our Art of Diversity inspired selection here.
