CREATIVE DIRECTOR; CULTURAL ICON & PHILOSOPHER; RENOWNED VISUAL ARTIST
Shantell Martin is a public speaker, intuitive philosopher, cultural facilitator, curator, choreographer, songwriter, performer, and more. From fashion and celebrity collaborations to adjunct professor positions at NYU Tisch ITP, Columbia University’s Brown Institute, visiting scholar at MIT Media Lab, and choreographing a ballet at the Boston Ballet, Shantell’s LINE constantly evolves. Creating new connections between fine art, education, design, philosophy, and technology, Shantell explores themes such as intersectionality, identity, and play.
In addition to prestigious solo shows at some of the most renowned art institutions including the 92Y Gallery in New York City, the iconic Albright Knox Gallery, and the New Britain Museum of Contemporary Arts, Shantell has carved a path for herself that is as much intellectual as a producer and visual artist. At the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, she created a large-scale wall installation and worked with the Institute’s research group to explore how visual and computerized storytelling might influence media and technology innovation. At the NYU Tisch ITP (Interactive Telecommunications Program), she works with her students to push the boundaries of storytelling, visual art, and technology.
A fashion and design icon in her own right, Shantell collaborated with iconic brands such as Vitra, Max Mara, Tiffany & Co, B&B Italia, and in 2021 The North Face launched a global capsule collection featuring her drawings inspired by pieces from their Search & Rescue archive. Shantell also collaborated with legendary artists such as Pulitzer Prize-winning performance artist Kendrick Lamar and acclaimed designer Kelly Wearstler. In 2019, she created large-scale drawings in the performance hall and foyer of the Lincoln Center for the company’s celebrated Art Series in collaboration with the prestigious New York City Ballet.
Some notable awards Shantell received are the 92Y, Extraordinary Women Award (2019), Shorty Award - Best in Art (2019), MoCADA Museum - Artist Advocacy Award (2017), and the Intel Women Who Spark Award - Women in Technology (2015, Awarded by People Magazine, People en Español, and ESSENCE Magazine, in partnership with Intel Corp).
Some of her recent solo exhibits include Subliminal projects, CA, New Britain Museum of American Art, CT (2020), hpgrp Gallery, Tokyo Wave, Band Of Vices Gallery, LA (2020), The May Room, Governors Island, NY (2019), Lines and Words, Denver Art Museum, CO (2019), and Find Your Way, Lincoln Center, New York City, Ballet, NY (2019).
Shantell has also made numerous media appearances from live performances on the Main Stage at Adobe Max and performing with Kendrick Lamar at Art Basel, Miami to being profiled on CNN.
As she increasingly incorporates meditative intuition into her artistic practice, Shantell hopes to teach others how to find their own LINES to inevitably find their own PATH. Her distinctive style is one of confidence. It is a confidence that has grown over time. People could look at her lines and say, "Well, I can do that" and she would reply, "Yes, you can." Knowing the many benefits of creativity on mental health and personal growth and how those benefits radiate out into all spheres of one's life and the World. Shantell has made a line distinctively hers. Now, Shantell uses her art practice not just as a passive way to create objects to admire but as an active way to teach others how to create a line that is recognizably their own.
Topics:
-
Join acclaimed artist Shantell Martin as she delves into the evolving relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and artistic expression. Drawing from her early adoption and experimentation with AI-assisted drawing techniques and her more recent reflections on its role in the creative process, Shantell explores the transformative potential of AI in creative spaces. Through thought-provoking anecdotes and insights, this talk navigates the complex terrain where technology meets creativity, examining the challenges and opportunities AI presents for artists, creatives and entrepreneurs. Discover how AI can serve as a tool for amplifying human creativity, pushing the boundaries of artistic exploration, and sparking new modes of self-expression—but don’t forget to keep the human element at the core. Shantell will leave audiences inspired to embrace AI as a partner in their own creative journey, harnessing its power to aid projects and free up time to focus on more diverse, human-centered opportunities and unlock new realms of artistic possibility.
-
Join renowned visual artist and creative director Shantell Martin for a fireside chat discussing her expansive career and creative endeavors. From poetry readings to musical performances to live drawings, Shantell uses her interactive style and spontaneity to draw audiences into the conversation at the intersection of music and movement, wordplay and storytelling, social commentary, and the willful ignorance of traditional modalities of the medium. Shantell will draw the audience into a moment of discovery and curiosity.