IKEA Artist in Residence: 
Mentorship with Annie Leibovitz

From an early age, I have always participated in and had a passion for creative arts and crafts. And now, as a 22-year-old junior at Arizona State University working towards my BA in Art Studies, it all makes sense.

What was then a strong attraction to any cool-looking art has now progressed to an obsession with telling stories that feature vibrant colours, dynamic lighting and framing in both photography and short filmmaking.

I love to deep dive into black photography and cinema, while also studying other historical and cultural art rooted in the Black experience across the world. My curiosity about these complexities informs my creative storytelling and narratives portrayed in the work.

My name is Zélie Hallosserie. I’m French and currently studying photography and videography in Belgium near the French Border.

I started photography three years ago but a career in art was never the plan for me. I used to believe that I would become a scientist and had the dream of saving lives. Recently, I realised that it was not for me – I needed something more creative but still full of meaning. That is why I left Biology studies for Photography studies, with the goal of becoming a documentary photographer.

It won’t save the world in the way that saving lives would, but I’d like to create a space to reflect on the world with a sensitive and slow approach of the subjects.

I’m Praise, a multi-disciplinary artist who works across conceptual photography, poetry, music, and graphic design. I live in Lagos where I have been observing and creating works to better understand myself. I work as a graphic designer by day and an artist by night.

My work focuses on myself as the subject as well as other people and spaces. I would describe my work as sensitive, vulnerable, imaginative and experimentative. With a missionary background, I am used to moving from place to place and country to country, so I enjoy capturing the brief emotional connections I have to those places.

I am inspired by paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries, the Japanese design system, calligraphy and colour, and also the visual compositions in movies by Wong Kar-wai, Quentin Tarantino and Denis Villeneuve.

My name is Toma and I’ve recently graduated from college with a degree in Cinematography.

Having moved home seven times since I was a child, I struggled to create a bond with any space I inhabited. The places I lived in, alone or not, were never more than just a place to fall asleep and wake up the next day, going out to escape it.

Hoping to find the feeling of home, I photographed friends who had recently moved out of their parents’ homes, while trying to understand how they could make a new place feel like home. I realised then that, for me, home was never a place, but a feeling of intimacy that I shared with people who were dear to me.

I’m hoping to pursue a career in photojournalism and would like to focus my work on people, their surroundings and how the two are indispensable to each other.

I’m Elena, an artist from Kyiv who always looks for adventures with a camera in my backpack.

I love finding inspiration in the small things that often go unnoticed, but also in traditional art forms like fine art, literature, and movies.

Travel is also a big part of my life. When I was 19, I spent a year living in China, then travelled solo through Southeast Asia, worked in Saudi Arabia and explored Europe – taking on challenges and capturing stories in each country.

However, my life took an unexpected turn on 24 February 2022, a fateful day when I found myself at home. I was there during the Battle for Kyiv,  volunteering and helping my country, and I continue to do so to this day.

I’m Trâm, a cognitive neuroscience student with ambitions of combining my research with analogue photography. Through this format, I can better express my feelings, particularly feelings of nostalgia. I’m a very nostalgic person and you can see that come through in my work.

I love expressing and sharing stories through my work. Not only my own but those I hear in my environment and the stories shared by strangers I meet.

I appreciate all arts and sciences, particularly analogue photography, and one of my favourite pastimes is people-watching.

As a child, I believed financial safety would make our house a family home. Naturally, I still think safety is a prerequisite for any home, but I now prioritise self-expression through my interior design, my body and my artwork.