Dr Sheyi Bankale

Biography

Sheyi Bankale is an international artist, editor, curator and researcher. In his work, he draws on Fine Art Photography to explore the practical interventions as a Black diaspora. He has a PhD from the Art and Design department at the University of Derby and currently a Senior Lecturer across a range of courses including BA Fine Art Photography at Camberwell College of Arts, BA Photography at LCC and University of the Arts London. Preceding this, he was Visiting Professor of Photography at the University of Derby, leading a professional development unit on the BA Photography course. Along with guest lecturer at the University of Westminster, Sotheby’s Institute of Art London, the University of Toronto and the University of Art and Design Lausanne.

Sheyi Bankale research and knowledge exchange focus relates to a Fine Art Photography practice exploring practical interventions through the imaginative playfulness of the Black diaspora. To work with installation, photography, video, and the written word to question how Black diaspora thought shapes the pursuit of coherent and disruptive concepts such as presentation, representation, aesthetics, and critique in art and culture.

Sheyi Bankale’s practice-based research maintains the role of artist rooted in photography interventions in parallel to Curator of Next Level Projects and Editor of the journal Next Level that function as alternative vehicles to extend his cultural and creative voice. His work has been instrumental not in making things new but in comprehensively questioning the characteristics that have shaped things in new ways. He has periodically published several dual language editions of the journal Next Level to disseminate Fine Art Photography communities of various international cities. Its insistence in the investigation of government-run cultural bodies, visual art universities, art museums, art markets and commercial galleries, project spaces and artist-run spaces, artists and art communities, and key historical events. The journals subsequent creative and distinctive use of print and design steer a particular reception of knowledge exchange to question various scopes and perceptions of Fine Art Photography.

Among Sheyi Bankale’s published work is New Painting by Elina Brotherus, the co-published Beach by Mike Perry and extensive exhibition catalogue writing. He has exhibited and curated nationally and internationally with exhibitions at the Barbican, National Portrait Gallery, Wapping Projects London, Photo 50 London, Artrepco Zurich, European Capital of Culture Turku and Next Level Projects.

Sheyi Bankale also worked as a judge, nominator and reviewer on Fine Art Photography for Encontros da Imagem International Photography Festival Braga, Athens Photo Festival, Mattress Factory Pittsburgh, Danish Printmakers Association, Les Rencontres D’Arles, Contact Photography Festival Toronto, Centre of Contemporary art Lagos, Finnish Museum of Photography, FotoFest Biennial Houston, Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal, Whitechapel Gallery, Dusseldorf Photo Weekend, Photographers’ Gallery and The Arts Foundation.

In recognition of Sheyi Bankale’s work, he has been the recipient of awards from the Danish Arts Council, The Fine Foundation, McCune Foundation, The Buhl Foundation, Canada Council for the Arts, Arts Council of Finland, Pro Helvetia, Avina Stiftung, Dr Georg und Josi Guggenheim Stiftung, Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation, The Zurich Cultural Fund in Britain, Minsitère de la Culture and British Council.