drawing

anime through black eyes – solo exhibition

| Aliyah Art

The self-curated solo exhibition “Anime Through Black Eyes” commemorates all of Aliyah’s works that widen the horizon of diversity in anime form. It also celebrates characters from anime and other popular culture that people, especially in the black community, look up to and are empowered by.

Anime is popular in the black community, its depiction of emotional and beautiful stories, the protagonist’s struggles,and their ability to overcome obstacles. It evokes courage in us, and it’s exciting to watch the story’s progression. With the hurdles people of colour face every day, having to jump through more hoops to get further in life, anime has been a saving grace where that struggle is relatable.

AfroFlux Con 2023

| Aliyah Art

I was invited to table at AfroFlux Con earlier this month – it was an exciting and both scary opportunity for me as it was my first time selling my artwork outside of London! I’m so happy I went to this event and honoured which had some other wonderful and innovative stalls from artists to jewellery makers.

The feedback and popularity of my artwork was amazing. ALIYAH ART is going national to sell her artwork! I am definitely motivated to sell my art in person at more events across the UK now.

FROM SCRATCH – CLOSING CEREMONY

| Aliyah Art

Thursday 7th April 2022

The closing ceremony for the first successful group exhibition by my good, dear friend Annette Fernando is happening this Thursday. I am very happy to announce that not only did I feature in the exhibition, but I’ll also be hosting the event on the night!

I felt with my experience and confidence built up from doing YouTube videos and Twitch livestreams, this was the next step up for me to go. I am very excited to host and present on the night!

There will be exclusive postcards of the artwork featured in the exhibition for sale, also some amazing performances from bands, musicians to spoken word poets on the night.

Being part of this exhibition has been such an achievement for me, I’m so happy to be able to share my artwork with my friends and family. It’s made me hungry for more – I will be featuring in more group exhibitions and soon will have my own solo exhibition too (it’s about time I did!)

This has made me proud to call myself an Artist!

Body Positivity

| Aliyah Art

During the second lockdown in UK, I was asked by the major lingerie brand (that I also love!) Curvy Kate, to do my first partnership takeover with them on Instagram! They wanted me to model the sets they sent over to me and also create a piece of art. It was both very exciting and nerve-wrecking as I’ve not ever modelled lingerie before, nor ever fathomed the thought of it because I’ve always felt really insecure about my body for as long as I can remember.

This opened the gates to body positivity for me, something I have followed for so long to feel reassured about myself. Now it’s my turn to get to be a part of that movement too and inspire others! The reality is that I am actually very sporty and very fit, but my body doesn’t change shape or “lose weight” this is just my frame – and I am healthy and CURVY!

Check out my takeover in the story highlights here: https://www.instagram.com/curvykate/

OCEAN – It’s Not About

| Aliyah Art

OCEAN’s latest single ‘It’s Not About’ is now out on all good streaming platforms! It’s a beautiful ballad and she is super talented, I’m so honoured to have worked on the cover artwork for this awesome song which is so catchy!

OCEAN – Amnesia Artwork

| Aliyah Art

With over 50,000 streams on Spotify alone, I am so proud of the collaboration on this artwork for OCEAN’s first every single ‘Amnesia’. It’s so catchy and dreamy – definitely go and have a listen to it! With the success of this collab, I can confirm we will be doing another one very soon!

A BAD BXTCH

| Aliyah Art

I recently made myself a Spotify playlist to lift up my mood, help me feel good and remind myself of the bad B I really am. I think it’s important for us women to empower ourselves, to take ownership and feel good about our bodies too! This is what I was channelling whilst drawing this image.

You can follow the Spotify playlist here!

The Taro Series

| Aliyah Art

Being a big lover of bubble tea and most of my wardrobe containing purple/lilac clothes, I was driven and inspired to illustrate my love for taro flavoured bubble tea!

I also love green tea and brown sugar flavours too. So there may be more images to come with the different friends who love to drink bubble tea just as much as me!