INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN COLLECTION

INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN COLLECTION

VOLUME 1 - ARTISTS AND AUTHORS - 2021

VOLUME 2 - ACTIVISTS- 2022

INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN PORTRAITS

COLOURING BOOKS

Lily of Uwu Studio created a plethora of portraits of diverse women who inspired her. After her years in education, being subject to a significantly mono cultural curriculum, lacking in diversity and . The UK’s education system is heavily centred on white men when looking at the arts and creativity. Her biggest lifes passions are art, culture and literature and after continually being fed Eurocentric male content, Lily decided to change the scope of her knowledge and research women and people of colour who had achieved wonderful things. This went on to inspire Lily’s creative practise but also highlighted the realisation that a whole new cultural experience had opened up for her, and wanted to share this knowledge with everyone, especially young people of colour.

Fast forward to 2020, the end of Lily’s illustration degree. She created high colour, vibrant portraits of some inspirational people who was starting to influence her work. After receiving great feedback on the beauty of the artwork, she was faced with a barrage of questions about who these people were. There was no context and people were not engaging fully or educating themselves. She then diversified and created the colouring book. Removing colour from the illustrations, leaving line only illustrations for people to colour.

This is a conceptual way to engage with blackness it is an internalised way to engage in this way but also creatively. An oppertunity to empower young people of colour and enhance the representation of feminism for people of colour. Creating it on her own terms and reaching wider audiences and engaging with more people.

The response to the first book was astounding and so came volume 2 on activists. The hope is to continue this project wider, creating more volumes and in future hoping to create Uwu Studios first children’s publication.