#BGFCreativeFund — Tobi Alexandra Falade

#BGFCreativefund is a grant programme supporting Black women and non-binary UK based creatives to encourage the development of creative ideas by supporting the continuation of projects and concepts.

Tobi Alexandra Falade is a Nigerian British visual artist creating figurative oil paintings engaging with narratives of modern Black British life and dialogues of African and post-colonial contexts.

She joins us to tell us about her work and shares inspiration and advice for other artists.

Can you tell us about your project?

I make work based on my identity. Being born in Nigeria, moving to the UK at a young age, and the relationship between that. My ideas revolve around themes of the African diaspora and modern Black British narratives. I use my own personal history, and images from my family’s photo albums as a reference for the works I create. My recent project highlights women, and I painted myself in different time periods to allude to the different selves and identities that we all have.

How has the BGF Creative grant-supported your work?

Through the BGF Creative grant, I have been able to buy new materials, experiment with different methods and ideas, and create a series of new works! Additionally, being a recipient of the grant makes me feel championed and supported. This is important in any career, but especially as an artist as it can often be difficult to keep going because of my precarious income.

What impact would you like your work to have on the community?

I co-founded a community called Platform Black during my final year at University because I was one of only two black students and I didn’t feel like I had a community. At our first event, we invited three Black women artists to speak about their practice, and we had a lot of attendees! I had never seen that many people of colour at my university before, and everyone spoke about how much they needed that event. From then Platform Black became a thing. The values within all my work are centred around platforming Blackness, our histories, stories, and narratives.

“The values within all my work are centred around platforming Blackness, our histories, stories, and narratives.”

Who are your main sources of inspiration?

My favourite artist is Njideka Akunyili Crosby. She’s a Nigerian American artist who I discovered on Instagram. I instantly connected with her because she also makes works about the space in between being Nigerian and having formative experiences in the West. Her work has visual elements of Nigeria that I remember from my childhood and haven’t seen recently, like kerosene lamps and plastic containers printed with photographs of the celebrant which are usually given out as party favours. Seeing Black women in paintings was new to me at that point, so she was a major inspiration.

If you could advise other artists, what would it be?

I would say to call yourself an artist. A lot of people struggle with titles but I believe you can be who you say you are. Create works with an idea in mind, but be intuitive so you can get to a point where you let the work flow through you. Give yourself time to let your creativity flow by investigating, testing and trying different methods, and making lots of art to see what works for you. Don’t be so precious about your artwork all the time.

If you could go back 10 years and give yourself advice, what would that be?

I would introduce myself to Black artists. I didn’t know about any until I was at University and felt that not being exposed to people who look like me, and narratives I can relate to, had an impact on my artistic growth. I would also tell myself to play more. Sometimes I take my work too seriously and don’t allow enough time and space for creativity. Play more, use different materials and have fun making work.

What are your next steps?

I have a lot of exhibitions coming up, including a solo show towards the end of the year, and my big goals are to have my work in a national collection or an institution that allows the general public to spend time with the work, not just private collectors. I am also really hoping to go back to Nigeria as I haven’t been back since I was 7, and I feel like it’s the reason I’m obsessed with making art from photographs and memories. I would love to make work and collaborate with other artists there.

Insta: @tobialexandrafalade
Website: tobialexandrafalade.com
Platform Black: @platform.black
Exhibitions: Rest and Repair, Platform Black x UCLH, The Drawing Room, 1–54 New York Online