Niki Theodoulidis
Greek West-London based Photographer and artist.
Greek West-London based Photographer and artist.
Bio: Sarah has worked in the creative industries for 14+ years as a freelance graphic designer, and has now expanded into the area of arts facilitation.
Sarah’s involvement with collective arts creation was stirred most recently while creating a mural at local mental health charity MindFood, and she went on to be a co-founder of Welcome Create, a community art group at Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery.
She enjoys working with all ages, and values listening to the needs and desires of those involved to co-produce ideas, creating a sense of learning via exploration and peer-to-peer interactions, connection and increased self-confidence.
O. Yemi Tubi - An Artist and Advocate for the World’s Peace.
I am a Nigerian-born, American-trained Artist residing in the United Kingdom an artist with a unique personal style. Most of my recent paintings were influenced by the political and social upheaval of our world today and the works of Renaissance artists.
I was moved by emotion to do most of my political and socially influenced paintings “THE EAGLE HAS LANDED” was done to speak about the American-led war on terror. My painting “THE BLEEDING ROSES” was done in solidarity with Christians beheaded by ISIS in Iraq and Syria. I used my paintings “AFRICAN’T”, “HUNGER IN THE LAND OF PLENTY” and “OIL: AFRICANS’ WEALTH AND WOE” to speak about the exploitation of African nations. The Painting depicts paradoxical poverty and the riches of Africa. my work, “THE FISHERS OF MEN” is about the horror of refugees drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. I also used my painting – “UKRAINE: THE UNFORTUNATE BRIDE” to speak about the America and Russia-influenced war in Ukraine.
My works progress from political paintings to paintings of the facts of the life of people.
The theme of my works, in general, is "The Facts of Life: Roses and Thorns." Life is roses and thorns; sometimes it emanates the sweet aroma of pleasantness and sometimes it pricks and causes pains. I often use roses and thorns for portrait paintings of the facts of people's lives. I first used Roses and Thorns in my political painting “THE BLEEDING ROSES.” Since then I have adopted this floral iconography style - Roses and Thorns as my unique style in some of my paintings like “DOMESTIC ABUSE”, and “MY MOTHER, Her Majesty Platinum Jubilee: Her Rosy Reign” to name a few. Roses are for achievements and other positive parts of life and Thorns are painful challenges and negative parts of life.
Being both an artist and art psychotherapist, I am interested in the healing capacity of art as well as its role in conveying meaning and communication with both the internal and external words. I draw inspiration for my paintings from my unconscious as it manifests in dreams and visions. I am inspired by esoteric sciences such as Kabbalah and quantum mechanics. My treatment of photography evokes that of painting and is highly experimental in nature. The shots are created with the use of self-made optical devices, which allow me to beguile the camera into shooting abstract images. In more than one way these instruments replace paint tubes and brushes.
My family home is in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. I moved to Southampton to complete an Art Foundation course followed by a three-year Textile Degree at Farnham Art College, after which I worked as a print designer in London for 2 years, giving me a more rounded understanding of the textile industry.
Wanting an adventure, I spent the summer of 92 working with young children in the Catskill Mountains in New York, as part of the Camp America summer camp program, before travelling the East coast of America. Several years working in retail funded a year-long backpacking trip through Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Returning to London, I started working for Marks and Spencer, where I’d stay for the next 22 years in a variety of roles. I started as a merchandiser but soon returned to my passion as a textile designer progressing to senior textile designer within a few years.
Working for M&S as a textile designer was my dream job. I worked creatively every day with textiles, following the latest lifestyle, product, and colour trends. I travelled the world as part of a team visiting textile fairs, shopping for inspiration, and working closely with factories to deliver beautiful product for the seasonal ranges.
In 2020, the impact of COVID meant I was furloughed for seven weeks and by the end of the year, the M&S design team was reduced by half resulting in my redundancy.
In that time, my younger sister asked if I’d like to illustrate a story that she was writing for her two young sons. Redundancy allowed me to focus on illustrating the book while also giving me the time to learn about the book publishing industry. From hand-painting the watercolour illustrations, to book layout design, to learning about print and production techniques.
I sourced a UK print house as sustainability is very important to us both, and we printed the books in the UK to keep their carbon footprint low, using FCS certified paper and vegetable inks.
In 2021 Frederick the Fox was rolling off the presses! Having learned a lot about production, marketing and distribution, we published our second book, Maximus the Mouse in 2023.
Both books are beautiful rhyming stories of friendship, brought to life with colourful hand painted watercolour illustrations perfect for children up to six years old.
I work at my small kitchen table in Chiswick and enjoy painting and experimenting with my trusty set of watercolours. If I’m not painting, I’m using my MacBook Pro to digitize artwork or to stay in touch with current retail partners and to contact new potential partners, set up book readings, craft sessions, or market stalls.
Illustrating Maximus the Mouse planted the seed for me to explore other products using both my existing and new artwork. This summer I produced a range of animal alphabet prints that I’m selling through select retail partners. Each design is beautifully hand painted with watercolours then Giclee printed onto a high quality art paper using fade resist inks. Perfect for adding a personal touch to any nursery, child's bedroom or playroom . Or if you're looking for something smaller each print has been developed as a greetings card.
Future plans include product personalisation within the Inky Flamingo range.
Avishkar Chhetri was born in Porkhara Nepal and grew up in West London. He graduated with highest honours from Kingston College School Of Art & Design in Digital Arts specialising in Animation, Digital Illustration and Concept Design. Now he is undertaking a MA in Animation from the Royal College of Art
London-based Carnival artist Carl Gabriel has achieved international renown for his large-scale sculptures, lovingly handcrafted through the disappearing art of traditional wire bending. These have been exhibited at the British Library, the Science Museum in London, Ohio State University. Carl's greatest inspiration came through childhood experiences of Carnival in Trinidad.
Karc (born on 06.07.1994) earned her Master's degree in sculpture from Gdansk's Academy of Fine Arts in May 2019. After graduation, she relocated to Alaska and later to New York, experiencing life in both a remote village near glaciers with real threats of bears and lynxes, and the vibrant urban jungle of New York City. In December 2019, she volunteered in Eastern Ukraine, helping people living in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict zone.
Amidst the pandemic, she moved to London and began decorating the city with abstract graffiti compositions, contributing to the rare representation of women in street art.