Virginia Agyeiwah Nimarkoh (born January 1967) is a British artist and activist, based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Nimarkoh was born in London, and studied at Goldsmiths College London from 1986 to 1989, graduating with a PhD in Fine Art (Theory & Practice). Her practice combines mostly photographic and curatorial projects. She also works in community development and environmental regeneration initiatives across London. She currently works mainly with food, running a raw food business and

food insecurity Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Similarly, househo ...

social enterprise in London.

Work

Nimarkoh is interested in how we deal with identity in relation to personal history; the methods by which we record our lives, how we choose to edit our past, and in the disparity that often exists between reality, memory and the images we own of this past. A series of Nimarkoh's photo-installations was selected in 1990 by

Henry Bond Henry Bond, FHEA (born 13 June 1966) is an English writer, photographer, and visual artist. In his ''Lacan at the Scene'' (2009), Bond made contributions to theoretical psychoanalysis and forensics. In 1990, with Sarah Lucas, Bond organise ...

and

Sarah Lucas Sarah Lucas (born 1962) is an English artist. She is part of the generation of Young British Artists who emerged in 1988. Her works frequently employ visual puns and bawdy humour by incorporating photography, sculpture, collage and found object ...

for inclusion in their warehouse exhibition '' East Country Yard Show''. In 1993, Nimarkoh produced ''The Phone Box: Art in Telephone Boxes'' (London: Virginia Nimarkoh/Bookworks, 1993), an edition of 300 with original artists works as well as ''Postcard'', an artist's book consisting of 144 colour postcards forming one composite image, (London: BookWorks, 1993). Her photographic series ''Urban Utopias'' (2005–ongoing) is concerned with spaces in South East London, depicting allotments, city farms and parks. In 2008, Nimarkoh curated the research project ''Edge of a Dream: Utopia, Landscape & Contemporary Photography'', which explored utopian depictions of landscape within recent art photography in the context of global capitalism, funded by the

Arts & Humanities Research Council The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), formerly Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), is a British research council, established in 1998, supporting research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities. History The Arts an ...

, with support from

Camberwell College of Arts Camberwell College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England. The college offers further and higher education programmes, including postgraduate and PhD awards. ...

Goldsmiths A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and serviceable ...

University of London and Hand Eye Projects. The international selection of artists included Simryn Gill (AUS), Mandy Lee Jandrell (SA/UK), Virginia Nimarkoh (UK) and David Spero (UK). The research project commissioned new writing by Anthony Iles ( ''Mute'' magazine),

Kate Soper Kate Soper (born 1943) is a British philosopher. She is currently Visiting Professor at the University of Brighton.

(

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public university, public research university in London, England. The University of North London and London Guildhall University merged in 2002 to create the university. The Un ...

), John Wood (Goldsmiths), and a preface by Paul Halliday (Goldsmiths). The book ''Edge of a Dream'' was published in 2011 by Affram Books. In 2019, Nimarkoh collaborated with Fan Sissoko on the short film ''We The People'', in partnership with the Advocacy Academy, the UK's first youth activist campus, based in

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

. The original soundtrack is by Dubmorphology. The project was commissioned by

Museum of London London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

* 2011: ''Urban Utopias'', Kunstraum Lakeside, Germany.

Group exhibitions

* 1991: ''Four x 4'', Installations by Sixteen Artists in Four Gallery Spaces. Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, with

Shaheen Merali Shaheen Merali (born 1959) is a Tanzanian writer, curator, critic, and artist. Merali began his artistic practice in the 1980s committing to social, political and personal narratives. As his practice evolved, he focused on functions of a curator, ...

Houria Niati Houria Niati (born 1948) is an Algerian contemporary artist living in London. Niati specializes in mixed media installations that criticize Western representations and objectification of north African and Middle Eastern women. Her installations ...

, Sher Rajah, Lesley Sanderson; Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Wolverhampton with Osi Audu, Val Brown, Stephen Forde, Rita Keegan; The City Gallery, Leicester with Medina Hammad, Richard Hylton,

Tony Phillips Keith Anthony Phillips (April 25, 1959 – February 17, 2016) was an American professional baseball utility player who had an 18-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1982 to 1999. He played regularly at second base, but also had signifi ...

, Folake Shoga;

Arnolfini, Bristol Arnolfini is an international arts centre and gallery in Bristol, England. It has a programme of contemporary art exhibitions, artist's performance, music and dance events, poetry and book readings, talks, lectures and cinema. There is also ...

with Permindaur Kaur, Alistair Raphael, and Vincent Stokes, Curated by

Eddie Chambers Edward Chambers (born March 29, 1982) is an American former professional boxer. He challenged once for a unified world heavyweight title in 2010. He was ranked as the fourth best heavyweight in the world by '' The Ring'' at the conclusion of 200 ...

* 1994: ''Mise en Scene'' Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. * 1995: ''Care and Control'', Hackney Hospital, London, with

Donald Rodney Donald Gladstone Rodney (18 May 1961 – 4 March 1998) was a British artist. He was a leading figure in Britain's BLK Art Group of the 1980s and became recognised as "one of the most innovative and versatile artists of his generation." Rodney's wo ...

* 1995: ''Exotic Excursions'', Iniva, London with Michael Curran, Clair Joy, Tatsuo Majima, Fernando Palma Rodriguez,

Kate Smith Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was an American contralto. Referred to as The First Lady of Radio, Smith became well known for her renditions of "God Bless America" and "When the Moon Comes over the Mountain". She began ...

and Clare Cumberlidge.

Publications

* David Bate, Francois Leperlier, ''Mise-en-Scene: Claude Cahun, Tacita Dean, Virginia Nimarkoh'', ICA London, 1994. * ''The Holy Bible: Old Testament'', an artist book by

David Hammons David Hammons (born July 24, 1943) is an American artist, best known for his works in and around New York City and Los Angeles during the 1970s and 1980s. Early life David Hammons was born in 1943 in Springfield, Illinois, the youngest of ten ...

, co-produced by Virginia Nimarkoh and Richard Hylton, 2002. * ''Edge of a Dream: Utopia, Landscape + Contemporary Photography'', Simryn Gill, Mandylee Jandrell, David Spero, Paul Halliday, Virginia Nimarkoh, John Wood, Anthony Iles and Kate Soper, Affram Books 2010. * Katharine Meynell, ''Mutual Dependencies'', Artwords Press London, 2011.

References

External links

Website of Virginia Nimarkoh
1967 births Living people 20th-century English women artists 21st-century English women artists Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Artists from London Black British artists {{England-artist-stub