Bold and colourful artist Tiffany Anna, who has already captured the attention from the likes of Randi Zuckerberg – sister of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg – is presenting her first exhibition in London this September. TA X LDN (10-28th September 2022) is Tiffany’s first physical and virtual display of her much-anticipated NFT collections. Although Tiffany was drawn to the NFT space, she was sceptical of the male dominated industry at first. With just 16% of women in the NFT art market space, ArtTactic’s 2021 report is telling. So how can we help diversify the crypto space? Guernsey born Tiffany Anna might have the answer. After seeing @sarabaumann create @womenandweapons and how the community is embracing #WomenInNFTs Tiffany’s eyes were opened to a new world and the endless possibilities with Web3. “I am going to start by releasing four collections of four physical-backed NFTs over the next 18 months, with the aim to reinvest in myself and build up towards my very own fully digital NFT collection.” A female pioneer, the TA X LDN collection features 125 NFT works, curated in the form of a virtual reality metaverse, alongside 40 large-scale physical paintings and prints. Through her bright and ballsy artworks, Tiffany’s work presents a mixture of quirky animal paintings alongside an ultraviolet glow-in-the-dark experience. Visitors can immerse themselves in the real exhibition space, while virtual reality goggles will allow visitors to view – and buy – the new NFT artworks. Tiffany’s aim? To cross the bridge from physical into digital art and be part of the amazing community of creators and collectors. With 125 virtual mini cosmoses, and 125 physical mini cosmoses, it is an interactive experience like no other. The art changes with one flick of the light switch. With the light on, the cosmoses are breath-taking. With UV light on, however? It is ethereal, plunged into swirling blue and purple lights. Nebula A to I, are part of the Mini Cosmos collection, and are available to purchase now. Each of the 125 NFTs come with the original piece too! With a 35% growth in NFT sales expected in the next five years, Tiffany is part of a digital revolution. She is not just reshaping art, but she is also exploring the socio-techno constructs of gender and sexuality through liberating art. Tiffany’s previous collection ‘All of Me’ in collaboration with Guernsey Mind’ focused on ‘human nude bodies’ to present body positivity. 100% of the exhibition’s proceeds were donated to Guernsey Mind, a nod to Tiffany’s charitable endeavours. Although the subject of ‘mental health, body image, and feminism’ isn’t necessarily explored at TA X LDN, she is helping to diversify the NFT space. In a conversation with National World’ she said, “There are a lot of women in the NFT space, and I think one day they could take it over.” She expands and mentions how NFT’s aren’t as niche as people might think. “One of the first contacts I made was a mum from New Jersey”. Despite NFT’s growing appeal, critics see NFT’s as a ‘purely financial endeavour’. To counteract this claim, animal lover Tiffany Anna is giving 10% of proceeds from the exhibition to the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. It makes sense given that she worked with animals in Italy for 6 years after studying at art school. Her love for animals is clear at TA X LDN. With 40 paintings and limited-edition prints of brightly coloured animals including The Moon Queen, Pink Panther, and David Bowie Monkey, her passion shines brightly. Displaying her signature graffiti style, these are predominantly created using acrylic mixed with gold leaf, gems, gutta fabric pens, spray paint and super-lit powder. Each piece is made completely differently as Tiffany says, “there is no method to my madness, just creative, messy fun”. Speaking of creativity, up-and-coming artist Tiffany has it in spades. Although she went to art school, she developed her artistry during lockdown. Inspired by bold colours including duck egg blues, fuchsia pinks and cobalt, her art takes the ordinary, and turns it into something extraordinary. She finds inspiration through looking at wallpaper trends, taking note of their often wild and wacky colour combinations. After all, she loves anything slightly crazy and is always up for trying something new that glows or shines. Tiffany adds: “I am super excited about popping up in Chelsea. I am very lucky that my artwork has been so well received in Guernsey and am looking forward to seeing what people in London think as well. I absolutely love colour and my dream is to create artwork that makes people smile both inside and out. I also love making artwork that has other dimensions. I use the glowiest glow pigment to create my cosmos pieces, and also the blackest black too. I use gems and also the best gold leaf to finish off my pieces.’’ We can’t wait to see what she does next! Address: Tiffany Anna: TA X LDN exhibition takes place 10th-28th September 2022 at 340 King’s Road, Chelsea, London, SW3 5UR. For more information, please visit https://tiffany.gg/ Author Bio Ana De-Jesus is a multi-award-winning lifestyle blogger over at https://fadedspring.co.uk/ . She is also a renowned copywriter, and freelance journalist, who specializes in lifestyle, culture, fashion, and entertainment. Ana has worked with clients including TripAdvisor, Disney, MIND, Lavazza, National Gallery, and Very UK. Ana specializes in blogging, social media, copywriting, and influencer outreach. However, outside of her freelance writing business, she also works in events, including events management and coordination. Ana has been featured in publications including Cosmopolitan UK and is ranked in the top 15 UK blogs, and websites in the UK. She has also won Best British Blogger, Best Storyteller, and Freelance Newcomer to name a few.

On the 22nd of Feb Conde Nast College of Fashion held an event announcing a significant new initiative from Roberta Annan and the African Fashion Foundation in partnership with the college, to create a full annual scholarship for an African student to take a degree at the College. They also announced a new, affordable educational platform for aspiring fashion creatives from Sub-Saharan Africa. Roberta Annan and African Fashion Foundation team up with prestigious London college announcing a new scholarship and affordable course for aspiring fashion creatives from the Sub-Saharan region. Roberta Annan’s African Fashion Foundation or AFF ( https://africanfashionfoundation.org ) is joining forces with the highly prestigious Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design in London (www.Condénastcollege.ac.uk/) to provide life-changing educational opportunities for African students. The Roberta Annan Scholarship (named after the founder of the AFF) is a two-part programme which will fund a new student each year to study at the College. Initially, the successful candidate will take the College’s Vogue Foundation Programme and then move on to a BA (Hons) Fashion Communication & Industry Practice. Their tuition fees and living expenses will all be included in the scholarship grant. Roberta Annan says, “This is a wonderful opportunity for some truly creative and entrepreneurial individuals from Africa to be able to study at one of the most prestigious fashion colleges in the world. Africa is overflowing with creative young people with drive and vision, and this scholarship will change not only their lives, but the lives of the people in the communities where they will hopefully launch great businesses, armed with this training. I’m very proud and optimistic that this partnership will make a real difference.” Launching at the same time will be a second initiative, Global Fashion Perspectives. College CEO, Nick Isles says, “The idea is to explore ways to bring about new international collaborations in the fashion industry through bringing together views from diverse global and regional voices. The aim of the programme is to exchange knowledge, develop thinking, influence attitudes and policy and increase understanding. There will be a lot of elements to this including events, symposia, research, publishing, student engagement, new curricula, and new policy ideas. The first part, and this is really exciting for us, is the launch of a bespoke trio of online programmes created for and targeted specifically at Sub-Saharan Africa. These course modules will be about, Styling & Creative Direction, The Business of Luxury and Digital Content Creation & Contemporary Marketing Strategies.” The programmes are being developed with the African Fashion Foundation and the Centre for International African Fashion Education (CIAFE) and will be marketed specifically to the African fashion and media industries and the professionals who work therein. The programme will be heavily discounted to be affordable for potential candidates from the Sub-Saharan region. Frederica Brooksworth is founder and Executive Director of CIAFE. She says, "CIAFE is specifically committed to improving the standards of Fashion Education in Africa by creating partnerships between academia and the industry. This collaboration will not only provide opportunities for businesses and individuals in Africa to learn, but will also promote a two-way knowledge exchange. We are all enriched by the things we pick up from each other." Lisa Mann from the College is constructing the course and says, “The Global Fashion Perspectives programme is being specifically designed to be in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. That was something all the partners were very committed to in coming up with the idea.” The UN Sustainable Development goals that the project will be aligned with are: · Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all · Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls · Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all · Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

One of the world’s most successful NFT artists invites you to interact with his new installation titled AB Infinite 1. Andrea Bonaceto, an Italian contemporary artist and blockchain pioneer, takes over Flannels’ flagship store on Oxford Street. As an interactive digital installation AB Infinite 1 invites members of the public to become artists themselves, encouraging viewers to alter the digital artwork through a specially designed AI (Artificial Intelligence) mechanism. Andrea’s purpose-built AI collects viewer interactions online through social media channels and turns these reactions or suggestions into visual responses which then appear as part of AB Infinite 1. This represents a new user-friendly form of AI, which does not require the user to be a software specialist or coder in order to manipulate it. Those viewing the installation on Oxford Street, will be able to watch as AB Infinite 1 morphs in appearance as people interact with the piece on social media. Andrea Bonaceto has previously collaborated with Sophia the Robot – the most advanced AI humanoid robot in the world. The NFT artworks that Andrea made with Sophia the Robot represented one of the most successful NFT debuts on Nifty Gateway grossing around $3m between primary and secondary sales. Andrea Bonaceto is inspired by the interaction of technology and art in the today’s word. In 2021 he received the Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts. To make this even more accessible, people can view AB Infinite 1 on the artwork’s website www.abinfinite1.com that will go live on Monday 16th May. There are 2 steps to follow to become part of this piece: Firstly, visit www.abinfinite1.com and share your Twitter and/or Instagram account in the appropriate section of the website. Secondly, use the exhibition’s hashtag #abinfinite1 on Twitter and/or Instagram while sharing content. This will then become part of the piece forever in an abstract fashion following the AI processing. AB Infinite 1 represents a step forward in the field of programmable NFT art. This innovative approach is possible thanks to the efficiency of the Algorand blockchain, which is used as the technological backbone for this project. Algorand is widely considered as the world's most decentralized, environmentally friendly, scalable, and secure blockchain infrastructure. Bonaceto’s digital installation uses state-of-the-art technology – including an 8K resolution system – to create London’s most optically powerful screen that is entirely wrapped around the outside of the Flannels building. This enables 50,000+ people to see the artwork daily and is part of the longest running permanent art installation in Europe, offering the public new ways of accessing art. The piece will also go on tour on major museums worldwide from the end of May until the end of August, visiting countries like Italy, China and the UAE. Following the end of the tour, AB Infinite 1 will be auctioned by a major auction house. A selection of Bonaceto’s portraits will also be incorporated into the digital installation, which honour people part of Andrea’s life and as well as people of influence such as Valentina Tereshkova the first woman in space, the late George Floyd, environmental activist Greta Thunberg, astronaut Neil Armstrong and The Queen amongst others.

The exhibition titled ‘Revelations - A Portrait of Magic’ explores the lives of some of our favourite characters of the Harry Potter universe. Created over a period of six years, the fine artworks depict some of the Wizarding World’s most popular characters, including Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Albus Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. Image courtesy of Crispian Blaize Stuart McAlpine Miller’s multi-layered portraits fuse Pop Art with classical influences from Caravaggion and Hieronymus Bosch in a spectral style previously described as a ‘’supernatural realism’’ by the BBC and Radio 2 art critic Estelle Lovatt, who also applauded its 4D aesthetic. The artist comments: ‘’This collection is something that I have been working on for some time, and I am so pleased that it is now ready for all to see. The subject matter is as iconic as any I’ve interpreted or conceptualised to date. It’s been a true labour of love, six years in the making.’’ Stuart has also explored the literary themes in J.K. Rowling’s work: the ‘good versus evil’ motif that has shaped religious scripture, fables and fairy tales for millennia can be seen in the almost transparent layers of paint. Chiaroscuro - a contrast of light and dark used by the Old Masters - adds an uncanny dimension to his work, exploring facets of humanity and commenting on the choices we must make in our everyday lives. In his work: the layers of text, logos and symbols unfurl around the figures like smoke with the abstracted imagery suggesting fragmented memories. These allegorical portraits hint at an evil force and impending disaster, as symbolised by the negative imagery, which uses an inverted colour palette to create a ghostly sense of unease. The dark forces seen in classical works by artists like Albrecht Drurer, Gustav Dore and Eugene Delacroix are given a contemporary update, with past and present hovering spectrally in apocalyptic unison. The exhibition takes place in the S&P Gallery, which is a London-based gallery specialising in supplying high quality framed art prints from a diverse catalogue of limited edition artworks. Together in collaboration with Zeno Fine Art, a percentage of each artwork’s sale price will be donated to the Lumos Foundation - a charity that fights for every child’s right to a family by transforming care systems around the world. Lumos strives for a future where every child is raised in a safe, loving home, supported by family to help them thrive. Many celebrities and online personalities attended the event to further prove the success of the event organised by WeAreFEP.

On Monday the 4th of April, Ai-Da showcased a new robotics arm which allows her to paint using a palette and a brush like artists have for centuries, marking a pivot point in history becoming the first humanoid robot to do so. This comes ahead of her first major art exhibition in Venice’s famous Giardini area. It will take place during the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. In 2019 Ai-Da robot made history as the world’s first ultra-realistic humanoid robot capable of drawing people from life using the cameras in her eyes, her AI algorithms, and a pencil in her robotic hand. On the 4th of April she left her mark again, when she previewed a new cutting-edge painting arm that uses ground-breaking AI algorithms and robotics, allowing Ai-Da to paint from life using a colour palette as human artists have for centuries - something never achieved before by a humanoid robot. This poses questions that many have been too afraid to ask in the past few years especially seeing how quickly technology has been able to disrupt large sections of society. And this is the same reason why Aidan Meller - the creator of the project decided to go on this venture in the first place. He wanted to not just showcase the artworks of a robot but start the conversations about data harvesting, the future of creativity, and the direction in which humanity has been pointing in general. I attended the presentation at the British Library in a room full of journalists and photographers. There was an uneasy feeling of the unexpected. A group of eyes were dividing their attention between the people walking in and staring back - Ai-Da would look at you as you walk in, look at someone else and then stare at you a bit longer sending you a smile. As an artist one could feel the threat for the first time and question whether robots could become creative and if so, how would the trajectory of evolution of robotics look like. Just imagine a robot like Ai-Da becoming creative enough (as they already possess an abundance of information) that they are able to start producing more robots in the future. Aidan Meller shares with us the famous words of Alan Turing: “Human characteristics could never be imitated by a machine…such attempts and their results would have something like the unpleasant quality of artificial flowers.” On 23rd April 2022, Ai-Da Robot, the world’s first ultra-realistic humanoid robot artist, will open a major contemporary art exhibition in Venice’s famous Giardini during the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. While robot artworks have been exhibited during La Biennale di Venezia in previous years, 2022 will mark the first time an ultra-realistic humanoid robot artist presents a solo exhibition of artworks during La Biennale di Venezia as a human artist would. Titled Leaping into the Metaverse, Ai-Da Robot’s exhibition will take place at the Concilio Europeo Dell'Arte venue, InParadiso Gallery in the Giardini. Presented over five connected spaces, the exhibition will explore the interface between human experience and AI technology, from Alan Turing to the Metaverse, and will draw on Dante’s concepts of Purgatory and Hell to explore the future of humanity in a world where AI technology continues to encroach on everyday human life.

Yesterday the line up for the much-loved Henley Festival was announced and I was one of the lucky ones to attend their evening launch party. While some big artist names were dropped - The Script, Tom Jones and Craig David to name a few, the festival has one more reason to celebrate - its 40th anniversary. Henley Festival is a truly unique event, embracing a vibrant programme from pop to world music, classical to jazz, where art and gastronomy share equal billing with music. Across four decades, the Festival’s iconic Floating Stage has hosted a raft of global superstars including Elton John, Grace Jones, Dame Shirley Bassey, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Elvis Costello, Bryn Terferl, Jess Glynne, Will Young, BLAKE, Madness, Burt Bacharach, James Blunt, Rita Ora, Curtis Stigers & Rob Brydon, Lionel Richie, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, The Beach Boys, Tom Jones, The Jacksons, Pet Shop Boys, Jessie J, Tom Odell, Chaka Khan, Goldie, All Saints, Melanie C, Jamie Cullum, and the English National Opera. The 40th anniversary celebrations will take place from Wednesday 6th – Sunday 10th July 2022 and the headline acts, in what is expected to be the best year for the not-for-profit festival yet, will be: Wednesday July 6th – The Script & in the Nightclub Boney M Thursday July 7th – Craig David Friday July 8th – Tom Jones Saturday July 9th – Pete Tong’s Ibiza Classics with The Heritage Orchestra and Jules Buckley Sunday July 10th – 40th Anniversary Celebratory Evening And if that isn’t enough to make you book your tickets as soon as they are released to the public, every evening is topped off with a jaw-dropping firework display. For all ticket information visit the festival website here: www.henley-festival.co.uk