AYA SHALKAR
AYA SHALKAR IS A CONCEPTUAL MULTI-MEDIA ARTIST WHOSE WORK WHICH ADDRESSES CULTURAL IDENTITY AND GENDER ROLES HAS AMASSED HER A GLOBAL AUDIENCE WITH 800,000 FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM, NUMEROUS COVERS AND FEATURES IN INTERNATIONAL MEDIA AND A PLACEMENT ON THE PRESTIGIOUS FORBES ‘30 UNDER 30’ 2024 LIST.
BORN IN KAZAKHSTAN AND EDUCATED IN BOTH EUROPE AND NEW YORK, AYA GRADUATED WITH A MASTERS DEGREE IN 2020, SPEAKS 4 LANGUAGES FLUENTLY AND DRAWS CREATIVE INSPIRATION FROM THE MANY CULTURES AND COUNTRIES SHE HAS EXPERIENCED THROUGHOUT HER LIFE. WITH A STYLE OF STORYTELLING THAT IS OFTEN METAPHORICAL AND MULTI-LAYERED, SHE IS ABLE TO BRILLIANTLY EXPRESS AND TRANSLATE COMPLEX SOCIOLOGICAL ISSUES IN A WAY THAT IS PALATABLE TO A CROSS GENERATIONAL AUDIENCE.
AYA IS ALSO THE CO-FOUNDER OF STUDIO ONEKI, AN EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN STUDIO BASED IN KAZAKHSTAN. HER ARTISTIC PRACTICE IS ROOTED IN HER CENTRAL ASIAN BACKGROUND AND KAZAK VISUAL AND MATERIAL CULTURE, WITH MANY OF HER WORKS ADDRESSING CULTURAL IDENTITY AND GENDER ROLES. SHE INCLUDES THE TECHNIQUES OF EMBROIDERY, PATCHWORK,AND FORMS OF TRADITIONAL APPLIED ARTS THAT ARE PREDOMINANTLY PRACTISED BY WOMAN. AYA’S VISION IS INFLUENCED BY HER GRAPHIC DESIGN TRAINING AND PASSION FOR SCI-FI. HER ARTISTIC UNIVERSE IS A PLACE WHERE CENTRAL ASIAN HERITAGE MEETS SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY. FURTHER, SHE PULLS HER MODELLING AND ACTING EXPERIENCE IN ORDER TO INCORPORATE HER OWN BODY AND IMAGE INTO HER ARTISTIC PROJECTS.
REPRESENTED BY THE PRESTIGIOUS NEW YORK GALLERY, SAPAR CONTEMPORARY, AYA MOST RECENTLY EXHIBITED AT UNTITLED ART FAIR IN MIAMI - WHERE SHE UNVEILED HER SWORD TRIPTYCH - THE INTRODUCTORY PIECES TO THE WORLD OF PERI (@WORLDOFPERI), A CONCEPTUAL FEMINIST FANTASY UNIVERSE. THIS WORK IS PART OF AYA’S LARGER CYCLE CENTRED ON CENTRAL ASIAN FEMALE WARRIORS AND FOLLOWING HER 2023 DEBUT, WHICH WAS A CRITICAL AND COMMERCIAL SUCCESS, SHE WILL CONTINUE THE SERIES AT THIS YEARS UNTITLED ART FAIR MIAMI.
THE NEXT YEAR SEE’S AYA DEVELOP HER ARTISTIC PRACTICE IN EUROPE, WHERE SHE WILL SPEND THE MAJORITY OF HER TIME. SHE LOOKS FORWARD TO BRINGING A FRESH, GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE TO THE CREATIVE CONVERSATION AROUND CULTURAL IDENTITY IN A VOICE THAT IS UNIQUELY HERS.
