Aphra Shemza CV
Born 1988, UK
Lives and works between the UK and Portugal
Education
2009 – 2012 | BA Fine Art, Middlesex University | First Class
2008 – 2009 | Foundation Art, Chesterfield College, Chesterfield, UK | Awarded ‘Student of the Year’
Upcoming
Exhibition | shemza.digital roots, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, 2026
Exhibition | Elements, 2025
2026
Award | Arts Council England Project grant for shemza.digital roots
2025
Exhibition | Reflecting Change, Stephen Lawrence Gallery, UK
Commission | Synphonica 0.4, Private client
2024
Talk | Solutions for a Sustainable Art Practice, 28th November 2024, Taiwan University, Taiwan
Talk | Ocean Rise Launch, 13th June 2024, Toyen Park, Norway
Commission | Ocean Rise, Oslo City Art Collection, Norway
Talk | Shemza Digital: Across Generations, 17th April 2024, TEG Connects, Coventry, UK
Consultant | Gallery Climate Coalition Artist Toolkit (Link)
2023
Commission | D6 & D10, International Corporate Art, Global
Award | DYCP Arts Council Grant for ‘How to become a touring artist’
Exhibition | SPACER: Creativity & climate change, 4th August 2023, Margate main sands, UK
Exhibition | SPACER: Creativity & climate change, 1st August 2023, Ramsgate main sands, UK
Talk | Shemza Digital: Across Generations, 10th July 2023, EVA London, UK
Publication | Shemza, A, Todd, P & Bravo, AJ, ‘Shemza Digital: Across Generations,’ in Bowen, J, Diprose, G & Lambert, N (eds), EVA London 2023, British Computer Society, London, 2023, pp. 38-46. (Link)
Exhibition | CAS Member’s exhibition, July - December 2023, BCS London, UK
Award | Shortlisted Old Kent Road Bridge Commission, June 2023, London, UK
Workshop | World Ocean Day, 8th June 2023, Turner Contemporary, UK
Commission | Creativity & climate change, May-August 2023, SPACER, UK
Workshop | Ocean Rise, 28th April 2023, Norwegian Sculptors Society, Norway
Talk | Artist talk with Aphra Shemza and Mowgli TV, 27th April 2023, Norwegian Sculptors Society, Norway
Talk | Creative Networks: Sustainability in the Arts, 20th April 2023, Leeds Arts University, UK
Workshop | shemza.digital, 1st April 2023, Oriel Davies, UK
Talk | Shifting Ground: A journey through the work of Anwar Jalal Shemza, 25th March 2023, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, UK
Talk | Celebrating 50 years of pride, 23rd March 2023, SCOR, UK
Talk | Art Impacts: Moving Towards a Sustainable Future, 21st March 2023, National Museum of Women in the Arts, USA
Workshop | Saturday Art Club: shemza.digital, 18th March 2023, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, UK
Workshop | Youth Art Forum: shemza.digital, 15th March 2023, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, UK
Workshop | Still Lively: shemza.digital, 15th March 2023, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, UK
Workshop | shemza.digital, 20th-21st February 2023, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, UK
Commission | Celebrating 50 years of pride, Artiq, UK
Workshop | shemza.digital, 2nd February 2023, MIMA, UK
Commission | shemza.digital #13-15, MIMA, UK
Press | Exhibitions of the week, Guardian, UK(Link)
Press | Step into a Digital World, Gorgeous Radio, UK(Link)
Exhibition | Shemza Digital: Across Generations, 14th January - 16th April 2023, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, UK
2022
Collection | Computer Arts Society, London, UK
Award | Arts Council England Project grant for shemza.digital
Talk | A talk with Aphra Shemza, 9th November 2022, Middlesex University, online
Talk | Art and Sustainability, 5th October 2022, MKIAC, online
Exhibition & Talk (curator) | Art in Flux: Transformations, 22nd September 2022, National Gallery X, UK
Workshops | Sustainable Geometry workshops, 11th-13th July 2022, Shenley Brook End School, UK
Commission | Sustainable Geometry, commissioned by MKIAC, UK
Exhibition & Talk (curator) | Art in Flux: Access all Areas, 7th July - 1st September 2022, BCS, UK
Workshop | shemza.digital, 26th May 2022, Barbican, UK
Workshop | Plastic Recycling workshop, 20th May 2022, SPACER, UK
Talk | Ocean Rise: A Talk with Aphra Shemza, 23rd March 2022, online
Workshop | shemza.digital with Aphra Shemza, 2nd March 2022, Clement Saint James, UK
2021
Award | Arts Council England Project grant for shemza.digital
Award | Arts Council England Project grant for Ocean Rise
Publication | Pepper, Rob (ed), Artist’s Manual, Dorling Kindersley 2021, pp 314-315 & 326-327.
Publication | Riccardi, Valentina (ed), Creative Responses to Sustainability - UK Green Guide, Invisible Flock 2021, pp 83-84.
Publication | Shemza, A & Batchelor, S, ‘shemza.digital: Participatory art as a catalyst for social change,’ in Bowen, J, Diprose, G & Lambert, N (eds), EVA London 2021, British Computer Society, London, 2021, pp. 156-162. (Link)
Commission & Exhibition | Hive Mind in collaboration with Backstage Academy, commissioned by Lightwaves Festival, 3rd-12th December 2021, Manchester, UK
Talk (curator & chair) | Art in Flux Social: Sustainable Media Art, 1st December 2021, Online Zoom event.
Talk (curator & chair) | Art in Flux: Radical Ecology, 23rd November 2021, Online Zoom event.
Exhibition (curator) | Art in Flux at Deeep AI Art Fair, 13th - 17th October 2021, London, UK
Exhibition | Aphra Shemza Selected Works, 8th - 29th November 2021, The Other Art Fair Global, online
Talk | Sustainability in the Arts, 6th October 2021, MKIAC, Milton Keynes College, Milton Keynes, UK.
Talk (curator & chair) | shemza.digital online exhibition launch with Aphra Shemza, 30th September 2021, online
Exhibition (curator) | shemza.digital online exhibition, 30th September - 30th October 2021, online
Workshop | shemza.digital co-creation with Aphra Shemza, 27th September 2021, Woodcraft Folk, Eastbourne, UK
Workshop | shemza.digital co-creation at Tech Club, 18th September 2021, The Margate School, Margate, UK
Workshop | shemza.digital painting and co-creation workshop with Aphra Shemza, 2nd September 2021, DINA, online.
Residency | Climate Breakdown residency, September 2021-2022, SPACER, UK
Workshop | shemza.digital painting and co-creation workshop with Aphra Shemza, 26th August 2021, Aphra Shemza, online
Workshop | shemza.digital painting and co-creation workshop with Aphra Shemza, 25th August 2021, Art in Flux, online
Workshop | shemza.digital painting and co-creation workshop with Aphra Shemza, 19th August 2021, The Curve, London, UK.
Talk (curator & chair) | Art in Flux Social: 5th Anniversary Celebration, 19th August 2021, online
Press | The Top 6 outdoor Artworks to see this summer, 8th August 2021, Tabish Khan, FAD Magazine.(Link)
Workshop | Shemza Islamic Digital Painting - 10-16yrs, 2nd August 2021, V&A Museum, online.
Press | There is a new festival of Summer Lights in Canary Wharf, 1st August 2021, Katie McCabe, Timeout.(Link)
Commission & Exhibition | Ocean Rise, commissioned by Canary Wharf Group for Summer Lights Festival, 21st June - 21st August 2021, London, UK
Workshop | Family shemza.digital Painting, 25th July 2021, Festival of Curiosity, online.
Workshop | shemza.digital at Tech Club, 24th July 2021, The Margate School, Margate, UK.
Workshop | Adult shemza.digital Painting, 23rd July 2021, Festival of Curiosity, online
Talk | Anwar Jalal Shemza - A talk with Aphra Shemza, 22nd July 2021, Towner Art Gallery with the Blue Monkey Network, online
Talk (curator & chair) | Art in Flux Social: Practice and Research in collaboration with EVA conference,7th July 2021, Online Zoom event.
Exhibition | shemza.digital at The Other Art Fair, 6th - 11th July 2021, online
Exhibition (curator) | Art in Flux at The Other Art Fair, 6th - 11th July 2021, online
Exhibition (curator)| Art in Flux at CADAF Digital Art Fair, 17th - 23rd June 2021, online
Workshop | shemza.digital - Digital Painting, 29th May 2021, Once Upon a Time in Animation exhibition programme for Poole Museum, Bournemouth University and the National Centre for Computer Animation, online
Workshop | shemza.digital Digital Painting Workshop, 2nd April 2021, Norden Farm Arts Centre, online
Talk | shemza.digital with Aphra Shemza, 1st April 2021, Coventry Library, online
Talk (curator & chair) | Art in Flux: Reclaimed, 30th March 2021, online
Exhibition (curator) | Art in Flux: Reclaimed, First launched 30th March - 30th April 2021, 24th June - 4th July 2021- Kensington and Chelsea Art Week, 8th - 13th September 2021 - Ars Electronica Festival, online
Workshop | shemza.digital Digital Painting Workshop, 23rd March 2021, The Woodcraft Folk, online
Press | Aphra Shemza seeks online collaborators, 4th January 2021, Inside the Gallery Podcast.(Link)
2020
Press | Aphra Shemza, 16th December 2020, Creative Women in Tech Podcast.(Link)
Press | Artists Aphra Shemza and Stuart Batchelor invite the public to take part in new collective interactive artwork, 15th December 2020, Fiona Doyle, Artiscape.(Link)
Award | Arts Council England Project grant for shemza.digital
Publication | Shemza, A, Almena, M & Gingrich, O, ‘Transformations: New media art between communities and professional practice,’ in P.Bowen, J, Diprose, G & Lambert, N (eds), EVA London 2020, British Computer Society, London, 2020, pp. 183-188. (Link)
Press | Aphra Shemza Q&A, November 2020, The Flux Review.(Link)
Press | Art Collective Aphra Shemza & Stuart Batchelor shemza.digital, 30th November 2020, Adam Peter Hicks, Client Magazine.(Link)
Press | The Top 7 Online exhibitions to see this winter, 22nd November 2020, Tabish Khan, FAD Magazine.(Link)
Exhibition | Watermans Digital Weekender, 21st - 22nd November 2020, Watermans Art Centre, UK
Press | Shemza Digital project squares the circle of interactive online art, 18th November 2020, Berenice Healey, Verdict.(Link)
Talk (curator & chair) | Art in Flux: Shifting Ground, 18th November 2020, Online event in collaboration with National Gallery X.
Exhibition (curator) | Art in Flux: Media Arts Now, 9th September - 22nd November 2020, Online Exhibition featured at Ars Electronica Festival, Waterman’s Digital Weekender and Kensington and Chelsea Art Week, UK
Talk (curator & chair) | Art in Flux Live: AV, 18th August 2020, Online Youtube Premiere Event.
Talk (curator & chair) | Art in Flux Social: Live, 28th May 2020, Online Zoom event.
Exhibition | Mars and Beyond, 20th February - 15th March 2020, The Bargehouse, UK
Exhibition | In the Dark, 8th - 12th January 2020, The Cello Factory, UK
2019
Award | Developing Your Creative Practice Grant from the Arts Council England for the project, Solutions for a Sustainable Art Practice.
Workshop | Interactive Light Art Workshop, 26th & 27th October 2019, Space4, London, UK
Workshop | Plastic Workshop, 19th October 2019, Building Bloqs, London, UK
Exhibition | Current Climate, The Other Art Fair, 3rd - 6th October 2019, Victoria House, London, UK
Talk (curator & chair) | Art in Flux Social: Networks, 25th September 2019, The Library Club, London, UK
Exhibition (curator) | Art in Flux at the V&A Digital Design Weekend, 21st - 22nd September 2019, Victoria and Albert Museum, UK
Workshop | Plastic Workshop, 14th September 2019, Building Bloqs, London, UK
Press | Berglez, Ziva, Insight: ART IN FLUX by Aphra Shemza, encouraging sustainability in artistic practice, ClotMag, 28th July 2019. (Link)
Talk | Summer workshop, Goldsmiths University, London, 17th July 2019
Exhibition (curator) | Art in Flux at Event Two, 12th - 17th July, Royal College of Art, UK
Talk (curator & chair) | Art in Flux: Event Two prequel, EVA Conference, London, 9th July 2019
Workshop | Plastic Workshop, 23rd June 2019, Building Bloqs, London, UK
Exhibition & Talk (curator) | Radical Ecology: Sustainable Media Art, 12th June, Ugly Duck, UK
Workshop | Interactive Light Sculpture Workshop, 7th & 8th June 2019, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
Exhibition | Synphonica 2.0, part of the Play Me I’m Yours Piano Project commissioned by Canary Wharf Group, 23rd March 2019 - 22nd April 2020, Canary Wharf Estate, UK
Commission & Exhibition | Sexy Sakura, commissioned by Sexy Fish Restaurant, 18th March - 15th April 2019, Sexy Fish Restaurant, UK
Workshop | Interactive Light Art Workshop, 16th & 17th March 2019, Ugly Duck, London, UK
Exhibition | Totems (selected works), 12th March 2019, Building Bloqs, UK
Workshop | Interactive Light Art Workshop, 12th-13th January 2019, Ugly Duck, London, UK
2018
Shortlisted | ING Discerning Eye competition
Publication | Shemza, A., ‘It Starts with the Artist: Solutions for a Sustainable Media Arts Practice,’ in P.Bowen, J, Diprose, G & Lambert, N (eds), EVA London 2018, British Computer Society, London, 2018, pp. 188-192. (Link)
Publication | Shemza, A, Almena, M & Gingrich, O, ‘Flux Events: Current Trends in Media Arts,’ in P.Bowen, J, Diprose, G & Lambert, N (eds), EVA London 2018, British Computer Society, London, 2018, pp. 211-212. (Link)
Exhibition | ING Discerning Eye, 15th - 25th November 2018, The Mall Galleries, UK
Workshop | Interactive Light Art Workshop, 10th & 11th November 2019, Ugly Duck, London, UK
Talk (curator & chair) | Art in Flux: Networks, The Library Club, London, UK, 24th October 2018
Talk | Re-imagining the Mughals, Lahore Literary Festival, British Library, London, UK, 20th October 2018
Talk (chair) | Art in Flux: Goldsmiths Computational Arts MA, Goldsmiths University, London, UK, 8th September 2018
Exhibition | V & A Digital Futures, 12th July 2018, British Computer Society, UK
Talk | It Starts with the Artist: Solutions for a Sustainable Media Arts Practice, EVA Conference, British Computer Society, London, UK, 11th July 2018
Commission & Exhibition | Polychromy, commissioned by Kallida Festival, 21st - 24th June 2018, Baskerville Hall, Wales
Exhibition | Selected Works, April -12th July 2018, ITS Clubhouse, UK
Talk | Art in Flux: Contemporary Trends in the Media Arts, hosted by Guy Armitage, EVA Conference, British Computer Society, London, UK, 11th July 2018
Talk | Selected Works, ITS Clubhouse, London, UK, 29th June 2018
Talk (curator & chair) | Art in Flux: Light Art, as part of Art in Flux: Experiments in Media Arts NOW exhibition, Ugly Duck, London, UK, 1st June 2018
Curator & Exhibition | Art in Flux: Experiments in Media Arts Now, 31st May - 3rd June 2018, Ugly Duck, UK
Exhibition | Silicon Milk Roundabout, 19th - 20th May 2018, Truman Brewery, UK
Talk (curator & chair) | Art in Flux: New Social Sculpture, The Library Club, London, UK, 2nd May
Press | Glodeane Brown, On Art and Innovation: Interview with Aphra Shemza, Culture Fancier, 27th April 2018. (Link)
Press | London Live, The Other Art Fair Returns, 22nd March 2018. (Link)
Exhibition | The Other Art Fair, 22nd - 25th March 2018, Victoria House, London, UK
Exhibition | 4th LCN Showcase, 22nd - 25th March 2018, Space Studios, London, UK
Commission & Exhibition | Seconds Pass for Universal Motherhood, 10th - 18th March 2018, Anagram, Save the Children & Glaxosmithkline, London, UK
2017
Award | LCN and SPACE Studios Artist Development Program
Finalist | Artists’ Pool Illusions open call
Finalist | Its Art Call 2017 open call
Publication | Shemza, A., ‘Public Interactive Art: Environmental Challenges,’ in P.Bowen, J, Diprose, G & Lambert, N (eds), EVA London 2017, British Computer Society, London, 2017, pp. 91-93. (Link)
Exhibition | Illusions, 13 - 26th September 2017, Menier Gallery, London, UK
Press | Tabish Khan, The Top 7 Art Exhibition to see this week in London, FAD Magazine, 20th August 2017. (Link)
Exhibition | It’s Art Call 2017, 21st August - 9th September 2017, D Contemporary, London, UK
Talk | ARUP, London, UK, 27th July
Talk | Anwar Jalal Shemza and I, Courtuald Institute, London, UK, 20th July
Exhibition | Xi’an Maker Faire, 14th - 17th July 2017, Xi’an, China (with support from the British Council and Maker Faire Xi’an)
Talk | Public Interactive Art: Environmental Challenges, EVA Research Workshop, British Computer Society, 11th July
Exhibition | EVA, 11th - 13th July 2017, British Computer Society, London, UK
Press | Christina Nafzinger, Collapsing the wall that separates technology and nature with the artist Aphra Shemza, Art Maze Mag, Summer 2017. (Link)
Talk (chair) | Art in Flux: Public Media Art, Lights of Soho, London, UK, 31st May
Exhibition | Love Scenes, 17th May - 17th June 2017, Lights of Soho, London, UK
Commission & Exhibition | Post Truth and Beauty, in collaboration with Tim Murray-Browne, commissioned on the occasion of The Engine Room: International Sound Art Exhibition, 12th May - 12th June 2017, Morley College Gallery, London, UK
Talk | WITCiH Salon, The Bargehouse, London, UK, 10th May
Talk | Zealous X Meetup, Waterstones, London, UK, 1st June
Talk | Illuminating Geometry, Be Smart About Art, Gallery 286, London, UK, 28th April
Curator & Exhibition | Illuminating Geometry, 6th - 30th March 2017, Gallery 286, London, UK
Exhibition | The Other Art Fair, 30th March - 2nd April 2017, Victoria House, London UK
Exhibition | Winter Lights, 16th - 27th January, Canary Wharf, London, UK
2016
Shortlist | Blooom Award by WarsteinerFinalist | Finalist in the Zealous X Competition
Finalist | Finalist in the Chroma Red Edition open Call
Talk (chair) | Art in Flux: Light, Lights of Soho, London, UK, 21st November
Press | Matthew Crist, In Conversation with Aphra Shemza, Autumn 2016. (Link)
Commission & Exhibition | Heart Beats of Cristal commissioned by Louis Roederer, October 2016, Shangri-La Hotel, The Shard, London, UK
Commission | Composition XV, Canary Wharf Group, Level 39, One Canada Square, London, UK
Press | Lorraine Crighton-Smith, Luxury London, 14th October 2016.
Press | Luxury Channel, Champagne Louis Roederer Cristal: Made for Royalty, October 2016. (Link)
Press | Rob Wilkes, NK Guy’s: Art of the Burning Man, 17th August 2015. (Link)
Exhibition | Seeing the Unseen, 20th - 30th July 2016, Four Corners Gallery, London, UK
Exhibition | Cannes Film Festival, 19th May 2016, premier of Neon Demon with Lights of Soho, France
Exhibition | Selected Works, February-May 2016, Level 39, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, UK
Exhibition | Lights of Soho at The Other Art Fair, 7th - 10th April 2016, London, UK
Talk | Anwar Shemza, Tate Modern, London, UK, 11th MarchExhibition | Chroma Red Edition, January 2016, Safehouse 1, London, UK
Exhibition | Zealous X, 7th - 17th January 2016, Rich Mix, London, UK
2015
Finalist | Lights of Soho ‘Signs that Say What you Want Them to Say’ open call
Press | Gravity: Universal and Cosmic Art, Time Out, October edition. (Link)
Press | Composition XI, featured in GQ Magazine, October edition
Press | Composition X featured in Time Out, October edition
Publication | Shemza, A, ‘My Grandfather, Anwar Jalal Shemza’, Tate Etc, 16th October 2015. pp. 18-21. (Link)
Exhibition | Gravity, 14th October - 14th December 2015, Kinetica Museum at the Hospital Club, London, UKExhibition | Signs that Say What You Want Them to Say, 8th October - 21st November 2015, Lights of Soho, London, UK
Exhibition | Art of Burning Man, 24th July - 10th September 2015, Lights of Soho, London, UK
Talk | ‘Graduates in Art’ talk with Aphra Shemza and Sarah Barnes, No-one Artist, Lights of Soho, London, UK, 13th July
Press | Nooneartist, The Launch of “Into the Spotlight” with Nooneartist and Lights of Soho, 4th July 2015. (Link)
Press | Christina Lopez, Lights of Soho opens with City Lights, 4th June 2015. (Link)
Press | Julie Reid, Bright, Brash and Beautiful: City Lights opens at Lights of Soho, 28th May 2015. (Link)Exhibition | City Lights, 28th May - 5th July, Lights of Soho, London, UKExhibition | PHI, May 2015, Squat the Sun, London, UK
2014
Exhibition | Cosmophilia, 6th - 10th November 2014, Print House, London, UK
2013
Press | Golden Scarab, Light and Art to sculpt Illusion and Reality, 26th March 2013. (Link)
Press | Times, Kinetica says its art has the potential to advance, 1st March 2013. (Link)
Press | Telegraph, the Kinetica Art Fair in pictures, 1st March 2013. (Link)
Press | Matthew Tucker, Kinetica 2013: When Art and Science Collide, 1st March 2013. (Link)
Justine Aw, Kinetica Art Fair, 1st March 2013. (Link)
Press | Attila Nagy, I wish I could snatch some of these weird kinetic thingamajigs for my house, 28th February 2013. (Link)
Exhibition | ‘The Doors of Perception: The Thin Veil’, 27th February - 3rd March 2013, Kinetica Art Fair 2013: Kinetica Museum, Feature Show, London, UKCurator & Exhibition | Transition, 17th - 26th January 2013, Red Gallery, London, UK
2012
Exhibition | Kinetica Auction Exhibition, 10th - 29th October 2012, Mother, London, UKExhibition | RAW MMXII: Art and Design Degree Show 2012, June 2012, The Truman Brewery, London, UKExhibition | The Final Broadcast, 18th April 2012, The Russet Gallery, London, UK
2011
Exhibition | The Laws of Nature, 9th - 22nd December 2011, Subway Gallery, London, UKExhibition | New Matter, 3rd - 5th June 2011, Red Gate Gallery, London, UK
2007
Exhibition | NADFAS exhibition, Thebes Gallery, Lewes, UK
Shortlisted | NADFAS award