Artist Bio
Ayesha Feisal is a British/Sierra Leonean multidisciplinary artist based in London, working across sculpture, painting and drawing.
Her practice explores the transformative power of womanhood, looking at the relationship between body, memory, material and environment. Drawing on personal experience, ancestral narratives, spirituality and the natural world, she creates works that reflect on resilience, renewal and the ways in which emotional, cultural and physiological experiences become embedded within the body. Through material experimentation , she embraces transformation as both a conceptual framework and a physical act.
Alongside her artistic practice, Feisal was a founding member of the Black British Female Artist (BBFA) Collective, established in 2015 to address the underrepresentation of Black female artists within the UK arts sector. Through exhibitions and collaborative projects, the collective created platforms for artists from across the African diaspora and contributed to broader conversations around representation within the arts.
Her work has been exhibited internationally, including Sierra Leone’s Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, Tate Britain, Gallery 1957, Gagosian, the Royal Academy of Arts and Art X Lagos.
Exhibition History:
2026 (May – Nov) 61st Venice Biennale: National Pavilion of the Republic of Sierra Leone
2025 Soft Tissues, Hard Truths, Lemonseed Project/ Havant House, London
2024 Mek We Chat, 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning, London
2024 Constellations Part 1: Figures on Earth and Beyond, Gallery 1957, London
2023 Freedom Frequencies, Tate Britain, London
2023 Rites of Passage, Gagosian, Britannia St, London
2022 The Black Effect (The Joy In Identity), SMO Contemporary Art (Nigeria), Hogan Lovells, London
2022 Garden of Souvenirs, Solo show, Tafeta Gallery, London
2021 Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, Main Galleries, London
2021 ING Discerning Eye Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
2020 Negritude Re-Embodied, Hoxton 253 Gallery, London
2019 ArtX Lagos (Tafeta Gallery/ BBFA) Lagos, Nigeria
2019 No Room For Fear, Hogan Lovells LLP, in partnership with the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, BBFA and SMO Contemporary Art (Nigeria), Holborn, London
2019 Transitions (solo show), Tafeta Gallery, Fitzrovia, London
2019 The Next Wave: The Power of Authenticity and Self Validation (HAART), Hoxton Arches, London
2018 BBFA Presents/, Tafeta Gallery, London
2018 Dakar Biennale, OFF Dak’Art, GoST group show, Dakar, Senegal
2018 1:54 Contemporary Art Fair ‘Off The Tracks’ (Little Africa/ Des Gosses), Marrakech, Morocco
2017 Gallery of Small Things), Bisi Silver Project, Lagos, Nigeria
2017 ‘A Seat At The Table’, BBFA Collective), 198 Gallery, London
2016 ‘Formation’, Solo Show, Camden Image Gallery, London
2016 Art Meets Music, Hoxton Gallery, London
2016 Black British Female Artist (BBFA) Discussion Forum, Lacey Contemporary, UK
2015 Vision To Reality (BBFA Collective), TEDx, Euston, UK
2015 AACDD Festival BBFA Collective), Bargehouse Gallery, Oxo Tower, London
Projects/ Workshops
2024 Mek We Chat, Ubele Initiative
2021 Lead Artist, Drawing Act V, Drawing Room UK https://drawingroom.org.uk/draw/drawing-acts/
2020 Go Art, Go Home, Small Green Shoots
2018 ‘Off The Tracks’ Ephemeral Artist Residency, Little Africa/Des Gosses Marrakech, Morocco
Panels / Talks
2026 Unlearning Strong Woman: Beauty In Ashes (podcast YouTube episode )
listen : https://open.spotify.com/episode/7xqjoZUHMLqnpmwuQBBfFR?si=CQYNKaHJTbi8x32IbmkdSg
2020 University of the Arts, London ‘ Blackground’ event panel
2020 Negritude Reimbodied, 253 Hoxton Project Space
2019 The Power of Authenticity and Self Validation, Hoxton Arches
2016 African Routes, Lacey Contemporary Gallery
Education:
1999 BA (Hons) Graphic Fine Art (University of East London)
1994 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design (College of North East London)
Press
2026 https://artafricamagazine.org/minor-keys-major-shifts-sierra-leones-resonant-debut-in-venice/
2025
Lemonseed Project /Unframed Artist Series
2019 https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/the-rise-of-african-art-a4244361.html
Publications:
2026 Sierra Leone Pavilion, Venice Biennale (Exhibition Catalogue), Venice , Italy
2022 Drawing Act V, Along the Line, In The Space
Ayesha Feisal 