In the Studio

World renowned British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare has art work exhibited across the globe, but for this project, he’ll be swapping international museum spaces and his trademark, brightly coloured wax batik fabric for a wild, rural landscape and some altogether more industrial materials. Reporter Nicola Humphries joins Yinka Shonibare as work begins on one of his most ambitious projects yet, the Ecology Green Farm. A residency space for artists, agriculturists and researchers, created with a sustainable infrastructure and food security for the local community in mind. We’ll hear from Yinka in his studio in London, and from his collaborator, architect and master planner Papa Omotayo, on the ground in Lagos, as they work together to establish an organic farm across a 54-acre site whilst overseeing their team of local artisans handmake 40,000 bricks to construct a state-of-the art, artists residence and workshop. Gardens will be planted, greenhouses filled and local craft will take centre stage. Across the year they’ll navigate lockdowns and rainy seasons, and gradually witness the centrepiece to this project, a locally styled barn house, rise from the ground, ready to become a place for people to share skills and ideas in an ambitious cultural exchange programme. Yinka shares his personal motivations for establishing the Ecology Green Farm and explains his ongoing beliefs in the relationship between art and social justice, demonstrating with this project, how the combined disciplines of architecture and science can contribute to local eco systems, food security and of course, creativity.

The fashion label Hanifa was launched in 2012 - Anifa Mvuemba's dream of a label that featured ready-to-wear clothes for women sizes 0-20, finally came true. And now she's preparing for her debut runway show in Washington, DC, and is designing shoes to accompany it, her first foray into footwear. Join Karen Baker as she meets Anifa at the drawing table where the design for a beautiful evening gown is emerging but will it make it to the catwalk? Feel the buzz as preparations for the show pick up pace and Karen meets others involved in preparing for a runway show, from music makers to make-up artists to models.

Internationally-acclaimed textile artist, Billie Zangewa calls her work “daily feminism”. Crafted in silk with thousands of tiny hand sewn stitches, her creations explore the themes of feminine strength and the power of family. As part of the BBC's 100 Women season in 2021, In The Studio joins Billie at her kitchen table in Johannesburg as she creates her latest works - visions brought to life amid one of the harshest Covid lockdowns in the world, and riots that left hundreds dead. All the while, home-schooling her 8-year-old son at the same table. Journalist Vauldi Carelse is invited into the Malawian-born artist’s home as she transforms raw silk into intricate tapestries for solo shows opening in Seoul and London this year.

Working as DRIFT, Dutch art duo Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta make spectacular immersive installations. For this September's Design Miami fair in Basel, they are presenting their biggest and most complex Shylight project to date. Seeing Shylight is a mesmerising experience, as dozens of silk flower-like lights gracefully open and close above the viewer’s head. We hear about the level of detail involved in creating the Shylights effect, with hundreds of hours spent sewing the delicate silk shapes and programming the choreography of their movement - not to mention the challenge of a global computer chip shortage. DRIFT are known for the way they use technology to explore the hidden mechanisms of nature: the movement in Shylight is inspired by the way some flowers close at night. In other works, DRIFT have programmed drones to swarm the skies in patterns based on bird flight, made concrete blocks float, and captured the fragility of dandelion seed heads. As she anticipates the final reveal in Basel, journalist Bidisha talks to Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta about their decades-long working partnership.

The Mexican artist Abraham Cruzvillegas creates beautiful, thought-provoking sculptures using items that other people have thrown away - from old plastic crates and driftwood to childrens’ toys and birdcages. Anything can be transformed into his art. His inspiration comes from growing up on the outskirts of Mexico City, in a house built by his parents using any materials they could find. He has exhibited across the world including at the prestigious Turbine Hall at the Tate in London. As Abraham constructs his latest exhibition, Autorreconstruccion: Social Tissue at the Kunsthaus in Zurich, Switzerland, he talks to Jo Fahy about his work, his ideas about inclusivity, the importance of beer to his creative process and the challenges when a sculpture collapses.

Los Angeles-based artist Sandy Rodriguez grew up on the California-Mexico border, descended from three generations of Mexican painters. For In The Studio, reporter Laura Hubber follows Sandy as she creates large-scale map paintings, which tell the story of the current political moment, while harnessing methods and materials from indigenous Mexican culture. These maps explore issues of immigration – deportations, separated migrant children and protests – against the backdrop of California’s majestic desert landscape. Sandy sees her role as ‘tlacuilo’, a Nahua word meaning artist, scribe and sage. This is demonstrated in her unique practice as she creates the maps by collecting clippings of local plants, grinding and boiling them to make her own pigments, and painting onto traditional amate paper – all techniques that come from indigenous Mexican teachings.

Dan Meis has developed a reputation for out-of-the-box, innovative thinking while creating projects that redefine their respective building types. This include a “transformable” venue in Japan that mechanically changes from arena to stadium. He also led the design for the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Host and professional football player Neil Danns gets an exclusive insight into the innovative sports architect's creative process reflected in past, present and future projects, including Everton FC’s new football stadium, a tennis centre in Los Angeles and a pitch for a yet to be named project. Neil examines the creativity it takes to bring a design to life, exploring the process of the designs, how progress is made and how the ever-present challenges are overcome.

Meet Little Amal, a 3.5 metre-tall puppet of a young nine-year-old refugee girl, created to represent all displaced children. She is travelling over 8000km, from Turkey, through Europe, ending in the UK. The Walk is an unique and ambitious travelling art festival organised by Good Chance Theatre in collaboration with Handspring Puppet Company, that brings artists, cultural institutions and community groups together in the countries Little Amal visits. Her message is “Don’t forget about us”. But at a time when the world is still fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and when anti-immigrant sentiment is present in certain countries, The Walk does not come without its challenges. Join Cagil Kasapoglu as she meets the people involved, including artistic director Amir Nizar Zuabi and general manager Sarah Loader, who travel with Little Amal across borders and seas.

George Condo, whose work blends pop culture with art history and regularly sells for millions of dollars, is breaking out of his home, his canvases and the style of painting he is best known for. Now he is exploring a new phase and In the Studio has a front row seat. Reporter, actor and filmmaker Tara Gadomski is spending time with the New York artist - who has worked with the likes of Kanye West and Andy Warhol - as he prepares for his biggest show since the world was changed by the Covid-19 pandemic. We discover how George has also been transformed, both by his time in isolation and the tentative steps he has taken back into the crowded city. What is emerging? A cosmos of living, breathing organisms created in paint, ink and crayon. Join George Condo in the studio for a whirlwind ride, as he climbs high ladders to paint the top edges of huge canvases and explains his technique and his thoughts. Prepare to see the world in a new way.

Australian director, writer and designer, Cameron Menzies, flew into Belfast from Australia in the midst of the pandemic to start his new tenure as Artistic Director and relaunch Northern Ireland Opera. Puccini's La Boheme is one of the most famous operas ever written, and tells the story of a group of Bohemians who are all desperately trying to find their way in life and love, alongside the difficulties a life of poverty and illness throws at them. This is the opera that Cameron Menzies has chosen to make his debut. It will be staged in the iconic and derelict Carlisle Memorial Church in Belfast in an area of the city which was once the flashpoint for much of the Troubles. Due to Covid, he has flipped this most classic of operas and is presenting it in a way it has never been seen before. The set will be built from scratch, and there will only be a few short weeks between first entering the church to the live performances in September. Join Marie-Louise Muir as she discovers what it takes to stage an opera in less than six weeks, and talks to the other creative voices involved, including the conductor, Rebecca Lang and the production manager, Pádraig Ó Duinnín.