Group Two
Bella Aleksandrova
Bella is a BA Arts Management student at Goldsmiths, University of London graduating in 2021. She is Bulgarian, grew up in Cyprus and has lived in England for the last couple of years.
As an aspiring creative practitioner, Bella is dedicated to delivering meaningful change on a local basis through music, visual arts and performance, as well as community engagement. She frequently volunteers with small arts organisation around London, as a Gallery and Projects Assistant.
Bella really enjoys participating in collective creative projects, with the aim of addressing contemporary societal issues and providing opportunities for young and/or underrepresented artists. She believes in the need for accessible and inclusive art spaces, to foster lasting connections and to alleviate visible and invisible institutional barriers. She is also a self-taught abstract painter and photographer.
You can follow Bella on Instagram.
Nadina Ali
Nadina Ali is a self-taught graphic designer born and raised in Marseille, South of France. She came to the UK to study Clothing Design at University and after working in the fashion industry for 8 years she decided to venture into graphic design as an outlet to showcase her love of typography.
Her work is bold and colourful and tackles issues she cares about such as racism and equal rights for women. She also aims to spread joy with her artworks whenever possible. Nadina has always been a big street art fan and studying at the London School of Muralism will be a great opportunity to learn how to create some colourful art for the streets herself. Banksy watch out!
Emma Barnie
Barnie is a visual artist exploring storytelling through creating playful, fun and surreal work. This involves linking environment, archives and ideas to produce art both for and with the community.
Originating from near the mysterious Loch Ness, she is a long-term Lewisham resident and brings her curiosity to uncovering interesting stories in South East London. Barnie has painted several street art pieces in Lewisham and is really excited to learn about scaling and creating new murals in the local area and beyond.
You can follow Emma on Instagram.
Alicia Alfonso
Alicia was born and raised in the south of Spain where the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean sea merge. Then she moved to Granada to study sculpture and pictorial techniques at the School of Arts while daydreaming and hearing guitars and flamenco music. Attracted by Irezumi (traditional Japanese tattoos) and the beauty of tattooed bodies, she decided to step into this mysterious inked world.
Her time as a tattoo artist, doing commissions and creating art, made her realise that the availability of art for all is incredibly important for her, and what better way to bring people and art together than muralism? She believes Muralism is a powerful way to facilitate change, empowering communities speaking directly to the viewer. Three years ago she moved to London starting a new chapter of her story. She wants to grow as an artist and combine all the knowledge she’s gained to create something new and exciting.
You can follow Alicia on Instagram.
Shauna Blanchfield
Shauna is an cultural project manager from Ireland living in New Cross. She works at the Paul Mellon Centre, looking after their events programme.
Shauna studied Arts Management in Dublin, moving from a visual practice into arts facilitation, working with Dublin Contemporary, The Young Curators at Rua Red and Mayfair Art Weekend. Until 2020 she ran open studios and volunteering for Camberwell Arts Festival, staying on as a Trustee.
Shauna's personal practice is interested in identity and place, collective memories & experiences. She's hoping LSoM will provide an opportunity to explore these themes through collaborative working and community participation.
Sophia Connel
Sophia studied Human Geography in Manchester. Here she researched various creative themes including access and rights to public space, skill sharing and the therapeutic benefits of community arts spaces. She is particularly interested in the potential for mobilising public art to pose political questions, empower people and connect them with a place.
Whilst living in Mexico in 2019, she trained in etching, sculpture and oil painting. Out of this grew a desire to combine newly learnt practices with her knowledge around participatory spaces and processes, eventually leading her to this course. She was born and raised in Lewisham and is excited to reconnect with the borough through muralism.
Oscar Farmer
Oscar is based in South East London and he makes all sorts of work; from oil paintings to drawings, digital work, as well as signs every now n again. He earned a First Class BA Hons Degree in Fine Art Painting from Brighton University, and a Masters from the Royal Drawing School. He has featured work in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, two Bad Art exhibitions, at Christie's 'Best of the Drawing Year', Dumfries House Open House, Blackheath Gallery and organized, curated, and featured in “8 Artists”, an exhibition at Art Hub Gallery.
Oscar makes work in order to process the world - it’s the way he feels comfortable thinking through his experience. He has spent time doing very physical work, working in pubs and labouring, and the people he knows from that, and the emotions involved with that way of life, are what inspires him now. He works with pencil, oils, and digitally.
Eli King
Eli King is a Lewisham based Artist. Working from their home studio in New Cross, they produce paintings, drawings and sculpture. Using bright and vivid colours, Eli’s paintings explore personal traumas and disturbing subject matters. King’s paintings are made using emulsions, oil paints and oil bars. Eli is an Art Psychotherapist trainee at Goldsmiths University, has previously graduated from De Montfort University in Fine Art, and attended Chelsea College of Art & Design for their Foundation in Art & Design.
You can follow Eli on Instagram.
Sion Knight
Sion is an artist born in Lewisham. She has spent the past few years travelling and painting abroad. After a summer of living in her van she has moved back to her hometown to pursue her art. Sion’s paintings are colourful and surreal, made with a mix of spray paints and oil paints. Sion has completed several mural’s in the past and hopes with this course she can improve her skills and make a positive impact within the community!
You can follow Sion on Instagram.
Emma Thirkill Kirk
Emma is primarily a freelance digital illustrator and designer working in the Greeting Cards industry creating bright and bold designs for children and adults. As an artist, Emma enjoys working with bright colours and simple shapes. She takes inspiration from mid-century design, science fiction as well as the world around her. Before becoming a professional artist, Emma worked in the charity and social housing sectors for 10 years, in communications, project management and fundraising.
Emma is always keen to take on any creative challenge and is thrilled to be able help add more colour to the walls of Lewisham, where she has lived for the past 15 years.
Katie Mary
After 3 years as a Prison Art Tutor Katie embarked upon a travel adventure with a one way ticket to Asia, which lasted 18 months until the pandemic hit. On the road she had a digital studio creating illustrations using her laptop and tablet. Since August 2020 she has been networking in London. She found Artmongers on Instagram in October and during her time volunteering on their projects has fallen in love with creating large scale imagery.
Now with training from LSOM she is building her mural portfolio, and when the world opens up again she will return to working worldwide. Katie’s aesthetic energetically depicts vibration, sound and emotion using shape and colour inspired by classic artists such as Hilma Af Klint and Wassily Kandinsky, along with digital technology.
You can follow Katie on Instagram.