With support from Arts Council England, I have been mentoring a group of ambitious emerging artists from ethnically diverse backgrounds, who have connections to Dartford. This funded project has offered the artists a paid exhibition opportunity, as well as in depth mentorship with a focus on professional development to give the cohort the best chance possible at becoming full time artists.

I grew up in and around Dartford, Kent, I come from a working class background and I am the first generation of my family born in the UK (with my whole family being born in Sierra Leone). I had no guidance at the start of my career and in the proceeding years I often felt disillusioned. I wanted to use my experience of being a fulltime artist since 2019 to help galvanise the careers of the cohort by having regular in person meetings, where I would detail the practical steps necessary to sustain a full time career as an artist.