Superstar painter Abi Salami joins the Studio Noize fam! JBarber selected one of Abi’s paintings for a show this summer with the I Love Your Work podcast but has been a fan for a long time. Abi has incredible energy and talks about moving from her accounting job to embracing her passion as an artist. We talked about how she developed her style, what fuels her artistic drive, why she’s focused on residencies, and what all artists should take from hearing her personal story in the art world. Hopefully, we’re inspiring some folks today with another great conversation on the Noize. Listen, subscribe, and share!

Episode 121 topics include:

winning the Hopper Prize

applying for grants

6 weeks residency in Marakesh

painting Black women

finding your artistic style

making yourself unique

networking with other artists

changing careers

left brain vs right brain

evolving as an artist

Salami is a self-taught artist who explores the uncanny in the everyday. She allows her subconscious and life experiences to inform her paintings. Salami feels compelled to create and capture moments in time and life to express her thoughts and feelings. Salami's work uses a personal lexicon made up of special symbols to explore memory, mental health, and race. Destigmatizing mental illness in African communities is a huge passion for Salami.

 Salami has been selected for the Jardin Rouge art residency with Montresso Art Foundation in the early summer of 2021. The pieces created during the residency will be included in an exhibition titled BLACK/ness at 1:54 Contemporary Art Fair and curated by artist Dr Fahamu Pecou.

 She was selected as a candidate of the Saatchi Art 2020 Rising Stars under 35 Class and a 2021 New Voices Top 100 Artists. Her work has been featured on the Washington Post, NBC5 News, FOX16 Morning News, Artsy, D Magazine and Voyage Magazine.

See More: www.abisalami.com + Abi Salami IG @abi.m.salami

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