JOSHUA DONKOR | RESIDENCY CELEBRATION | DegreeArt.com The Original Online Art Gallery

JOSHUA DONKOR | RESIDENCY CELEBRATION

THE RESIDENCY REVIEW

Between October '22 and January '23, Ghanaian-British painter Joshua Donkor took up residency in the Bankside Hotel Art Yard Studio managed by DegreeArt.com & Contemporary Collective. During his time in residence, Joshua expanded upon his signature artistic process of visual narration in which he looks at people and stories as the main inspiration for his work.

He specifically focussed on developing his new body of work, ‘I Have More Souls Than One', which seeks to explore transcultural and African Diaspora experiences in the Western world and how this is felt through the different generations of family.

Joshua describes the inspiration behind this concept:

“This project stemmed from my most recent journey back to Ghana at the start of 2022 with my cousin. As we have grown older our relationship with Ghana has continued to evolve. 2022 represented somewhat of a passing of the torch as my cousin was expected to take on more responsibilities within her family. This brought into focus many questions about our relationship and connection to Ghana as members of the African Diaspora.

Although we have grown up with many Ghanaian cultural influences within our lives, unlike our parents and those before, we have not grown up there. This has led to a feeling of slight disconnection from our heritage, felt most notably whenever we return."

For the duration of his residency, Joshua took over the @ContemporaryCollective Instagram account to document his experience in the studio space.

The takeover featured process shots and final artworks to provide insight into the artist’s creative process, as well as weekly summaries including video clips of various activities taking place in the residency space and the development of ongoing work.

A key element of the residencies is for the artist in residence to interact with guests,visitors and passerby.

Joshua hosted two Visual Storytelling Workshop and an Image Transfer Workshop to further engage the community with his artistic processes .With the goals of sharing and talking about the different ways people have navigated these spaces, Joshua hopes to continue having these conversations with people he meets whilst in residency and create a series of portraits mapping individuals’ experiences spanning across the diaspora, time periods and generations within families. Taking a collaborative approach, Joshua plans to engage with hotel guests and staff, as well as the general public, to facilitate an open and inclusive conversation. Further expanding on this, Joshua plans to collaborate with local artists in the area in the creation of new works.

Joshua Donkor is available to commission to create a bespoke painting oof your chosen subject and sitter. Joshua's process involves a pre agreed series of informal interviews where he gets to know the sitter and their personal journey and history. You supply the photographs (copies or originals) for him to then incorporate into your painting. To discuss a commission with us, please just get in touch for a chat about your ideas. Contact Isobel Beauchamp, Gallery Director Isobel@DegreeArt.com/ 07708 251 686


 

WATCH JOSHUA DISCUSSING HIS RESIDENCY

THE RESIDENCY CATALOGUE

 

 

 

 

 

PHOTOS FROM THE CELEBRATION EVENING


In partnership with: 
Bankside Hotel CC LINE BLANK BACKGROUND3.pngCC LINE BLANK BACKGROUND3.pngContemporary Collective

 

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