Help Gesiye Start Her MFA at The Slade

Dear community,

My name is Gesiye and I am an interdisciplinary artist from Trinidad and Tobago. I’m writing to share exciting news: I have been accepted into the prestigious Fine Arts Media MFA programme at The Slade, University College of London starting in September 2024. To make this dream a reality, I am currently raising £10,000 towards my tuition.

Drawing inspiration from Caribbean culture, the land, mythology, ritual and oral history traditions, I create interdisciplinary installations and social practice works exploring connection, belonging, embodiment and storytelling as forms of liberation. Rooted in curiosity about the impacts of colonialism on our relationships with self, state and land, my approach is experimental and unconventional, often leading to conceptual work that takes form through various mediums including film, tattooing, animation and performance.

I believe that art can be a portal for us to vision and dream ourselves into. I work with a number of people to create space for the sharing of personal and collective stories, taking time to immerse myself in the environments and communities that I’m engaging with. My practice would not be possible without the support of my friends, family, collaborators and wider community who engage with, participate in and inspire the work that I make. My creative practice is relational - informed by my experiences as a Black, queer woman growing up in Trinidad & Tobago and by somatic healing practices, my work facilitates encounters between the individual and the community & between the body and the land.

My interest in creating interdisciplinary work that incorporates video, photography and storytelling first developed while working on my thesis for my B.A. in Visual Arts at Columbia University. Since returning home to Trinidad & Tobago in 2015, I have taught children, worked with and learned from creative professionals and developed new ways of working. I have had the opportunity to share my work in a number of local and international spaces including The Barbican, The National Museum of Trinidad and Tobago, WhiteBox Gallery, Alice Yard and FiveMyles. In addition to these opportunities, I have been awarded creative grants and commissions from institutions such as Express Newark, The National Museum of Wales, CATAPULT and The Global Fund for Women. My work has shifted significantly in the past four years as I’ve dedicated more time and resources to my creative practice. I have been expanding the participatory and social practice nature of my art, and I’m currently at a pivotal point at which the feedback, support and resources available to me through The Slade’s MFA programme would be invaluable.

For me, art can be a tool for examining, decolonising and rewriting our narratives about our past, present and future. I am committed to continuing my exploration of the ways that colonial frameworks shape our relationships with each other and with the land. This opportunity for study in the UK feels in alignment with this work, as British colonial history has deeply impacted the structures and (dis)connections that I am exploring. Access to the wider UCL libraries, including the archives at the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery, will support a deeper engagement with the research that informs my creative practice.

Anyone who knows me well can tell you that it has been my dream from a young age to be an artist. While this path can feel financially precarious, it is profoundly fulfilling. I give thanks for my community at home and abroad for the love, joy and space for honest expression that inspires and uplifts my work. I am grateful for the support that I continue to receive on this journey, from the scholarships that supported my undergraduate studies to the grants, commissions, tattoo bookings and shows that have allowed me to sustain myself as a practicing artist. This path has required me to consistently believe in myself and the impact of the work that I make, but more importantly, it’s made me aware of how deeply interwoven all of our dreams and becomings are.

Despite diligently pursuing various scholarships over the past few months to cover the international student fees for the MFA programme at the Slade, I have not yet raised the full amount needed for my first year’s tuition. With the programme beginning soon, I urgently need your support to raise £10,000. Your contribution, no matter the amount, will make a significant difference. Please donate if you can, and share this fundraiser with your friends and family. Your support will help me to take this major step in my career and I will be deeply grateful for any assistance that you can provide.

You can find out more about my work here and follow me on instagram for updates. Please reach out if you would like to donate and support in another way.

Thank you for being on this journey with me!