Hello
I am an award-winning transdisciplinary artist, researcher, and curator.
My work centres on identity & place, histories of displacement, embodied experiences of migration, the legacies of colonialism, social practices, and transcultural aesthetics.
My work is socially and politically engaged and has been created through research, collaborations and participatory workshops that include photography, video, installations and interventions.
I strongly believe in sharing and inclusivity, and while I am aware of the limitation of this online format for experiencing art, much of my work can be viewed on this website. I hope you enjoyed it, and you are more than welcome to share.
My Story
I began my practice as an activist, facilitating public interventions and creating participatory and collaborative projects. Having a background in the history of art [BA], architecture [PHD] and curatorial studies [PGC] and education [Dip], these actions have always been creative and transdisciplinary. More recently, through several artists' residencies, I have also had the privilege to engage with studio-based work centring on my own lived experiences of intersectionality.
A few years ago, I was asked in a job interview what I do as an artist; I replied, "Trouble," - which was a way to contextualise my work in relation to the concept of transgression in the writings of George Bataille, Michel Foucault and bell hooks which I engaged with in my PhD. After a few stormy years in academia, I took the risk, left and dedicated my time to my art practice - developing socially engaged practices and working in museums, galleries, schools and community centres, libraries and public spaces. This work was enabled by commissions from private and public bodies, local councils, museums and charities and often with the generous support of Art Council England.
In the past decade, my work was shown in places such as Trafalgar Square, Tate Modern, Turner Contemporary, the South Bank Centre, Rich Mix, National Maritime Museum, the Jewish Museum, Brighton Museum, Worthing Museum, and the People's History Museum [Manchester]. My work has also been exhibited internationally in galleries and museums in the USA, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Israel-Palestine and South Africa.
In 2016 I moved from London to Brighton and funded the Socially Engaged Art Salon [SEAS] in my living room. SEAS, which became a not-for-profit community company [CIC], aimed to promote socially engaged art practices and artists from underrepresented sectors. Since then, SEAS has been invited to stage exhibitions in The Black and Ethnic Minority Community Centre, LGBTQ+ Ledward Centre, and other community venues in the UK. Supported by local charities, the local authorities and Art Council England SEAS has curated over thirty exhibitions and shown the work of hundreds of BPOC, migrants and LGBTQ+ artists, creating numerous cultural events. SEAS work can be viewed on www.seasbrighton.org