Interviews with the Judges: Aindrea Emelife

In our Judges' blogs we like to put the spot light on those we deem our experts and let you in on a little bit more about them. In this article we spoke to our youngest Judge; Art Critic, Curator and Presenter Aindrea Emelife. Aindrea has been a tour de force since joining our panel as a preliminary judge in 2017 and brings a fresh new perspective, bold ideas and a huge amount of passion for discovering and supporting new talent. Aindrea has both presented and written for a number of publication, namely the Financial Times, The Guardian, BBC Online, the RA Magazine amongst many others and has presented art films for Royal Academy of Arts, The Hepworth Wakefield Museum, the Dairy Art Centre and The Courtauld Gallery. Read more about our Judge Aindrea below and discover her path into the arts, her interests and where her next projects are taking her!

Q1: Tell us about your pathway into the Arts? 
My pathway to the arts was very natural. I was always interested in aesthetics and history, begging my mother to take me to the National Portrait Gallery from a young age and trying to understand the feat of artistic creation. I had an amazing Art History teacher who, amongst others throughout my education, allowed me to realise I express myself most effortlessly in discussing images and its societal context. I say to many... images predate words, so what better way to understand the world and its beauty? Curating shows came out of my writing, I see the exhibitions I curate as visual essays.
 
Q2: What are your values within the arts – why do what you do and what do you wish to champion and develop within the art world? 
I champion the exploration of identities and how multifaceted they are. This is made more accessible due to current discourse on the many nuances of identity and expression. I champion art that nods to the past and looks to the future. As an art history geek at heart (I studied at the Courtauld Insitute) I love to see new artists create exciting works and understand how they fit within the canon of art history, or if they don’t, why that’s necessary. I am very into painting about painting, so works that refer directly to the process and the materiality. But in the same vein I am so into objects, like the disintegrating works of Dominique White and more ephemeral works and performance, like Jamila Johnson-Small, where her dance exists most potently when present and not from documentation.
 
Q3: Tell us about your recent past projects
 I spent most of last year exploring with my writing; reading the great art critics and expanding on my own writing style which has been hugely therapeutic. I worked as the Digital Editor of Phoenix Magazine, which allowed me to develop my writing further and engage with different technologies and modes of presenting words, images and ideas. 

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Q4: What are you working on at the moment and over the next year? 
At the moment I am working towards the opening of my first curatorial project, After Cesaire / Modern Tropiques. The artists featured in the show are a great mix of art world staples such as model and artist Phoebe Collings James and spoken word artist James Massiah as well as the next generation of art talent (Rachel Jones is in her second year at the Royal Academy, featured in the recent RA Interims show, Irvin Pascal and Michaela Yearwood-Dan are highlights of Bloomberg's New Contemporaries 2017 and Adelaide Damoah's work speaks so beautifully of diasporic creation). After the show closes, I will be curating the East London Prize as part of the Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize and then an exhibition at an architect’s office in Soho - both in June! No rest for the wicked. 

Q5: What kind of art attracts you? (we know this is a really broad and simplistic question but any comments would be great) 
Something visually impressive that prompts a response. And whilst paying homage to the canon it sits in, seeks to say or present something new and reflects the issues and questions that interests a contemporary viewer.
 
Q6: If there is one thing you would like Artists who approach you as a Curator or Critic to do what would it be? 
I am always so humbled and flattered when an artist has read, watched or familiarised themselves with my work. But I seek to engage with artists on a similar level to them, not as part of a patriarchal power system in the art world. I would love artists to consider intricate collaboration between curator and artist. As a critic, it is hard to attend and have opinions on every artist's show or work I come across, but I love speaking to artists and am open to letting such conversations complement the opinions I make in my writing. 

Interview by Caitlin Smyth