Bianca Raffaella (born 1992) is a British artist, activist and public speaker.

Life and work

Raffaella is registered blind and known for 'tactile painting' along with her use of 'soft colours, dusty shadows, and smooth empty spaces which symbolise vision loss'; described by Jonathan Jones in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

as 'ethereally beautiful works'. Her work explores themes of memory,

perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous syste ...

, and fragility. The first registered blind student to graduate from

Kingston University Kingston University London is a Public university, public research university located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South London, South West London, England. Its roots go back to the Kingston Technical Institute, founded ...

with a First class degree in the

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

. Invited lecturer and collaborator at

Institut Français de la Mode An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ...

. Selected by

Tracey Emin Dame Tracey Karima Emin (; born 3 July 1963) is an English artist known for autobiographical and confessional artwork. She produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, Neon lighting, neon text ...

for the inaugural Tracey Emin Artist Residency (2023–24) at TKE Studios,

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

. Named one of ''Three To Watch, Hotly tipped female talent of the British art scene'' by

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

in their annual art supplement. In November 2024

Flowers Gallery Flowers Gallery, also known as Flowers are two galleries in London (on Cork Street in the West End, and in Shoreditch in the East End), a third in the Chelsea district of New York City, and a fourth in Hong Kong. The gallery represents over ...

announced representation of Bianca Raffaella along with her first major solo exhibition, ''Faint Memories'' in February 2025.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

* A multi-sensory exhibition focused on accessibility in the

. * Selected by

. *

Group exhibitions

*. Coordinated by

Yinka Shonibare Yinka Shonibare (born 9 August 1962), is a British artist living in the United Kingdom. His work explores cultural identity, colonialism and post-colonialism within the contemporary context of globalisation. A hallmark of his art is the bright ...

, under his theme of 'Reclaiming Magic'. * Coinciding with

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

Literature Festival. * In collaboration with

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, Shape Arts and

AccessArt Visual arts education is the area of learning that is based upon the kind of art that one can see, visual arts—drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, and design in jewelry, pottery, weaving, fabrics, etc. and design applied to more practi ...

. Coinciding with UK Disability History Month. * Inaugural artists' residency exhibition. * * The final show for the inaugural Tracey Emin Artists' Residency. *

Awards

Artist residencies

*2022/23 — Artist-in-residence, Orleans House Gallery, London *2023/24 — TEAR,

. Selected by Tracey Emin for the inaugural Tracey Emin Artist Residency (2023–24) at TKE Studios in Margate.

Commissions

*2022 — Commissioned by

in collaboration with Shape Arts and

. Coinciding with UK Disability History Month.

Features

* Selected by Tracey Emin. *November 2024 — ''Three To Watch, Hotly tipped female talent of the British art scene'',

Magazine UK.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

*
Raffaella profile at Flowers Gallery

Listen to Bianca Raffaella and Tracey Emin
on

Today (BBC Radio 4) ''Today'', colloquially known as ''the Today programme'', is BBC Radio 4's long-running morning news and current-affairs radio programme. Broadcast on Monday to Saturday from 06:00 to 09:00 (starting on Saturday at 07:00), it is produced by BB ...

from the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raffaella, Bianca 1992 births Living people 21st-century English painters 21st-century English women artists Alumni of Kingston University Activists from London Blind activists Blind artists British activists with disabilities British artists with disabilities British contemporary painters British disability rights activists English blind people English contemporary artists English women activists English women painters Feminist artists Painters from London Artists from London Writers from London