Artist Appau Jnr Boakye-Yiadom is the inaugural recipient of the Donna Lynas Residency. The three-year long Donna Lynas Residency is a partnership between Wysing Arts Centre, South London Gallery, Modern Art Oxford and Somerset House Studios.
Artist Appau Jnr Boakye-Yiadom is the inaugural recipient of the Donna Lynas Residency. The three-year long Donna Lynas Residency is a partnership between Wysing Arts Centre, South London Gallery, Modern Art Oxford and Somerset House Studios.
This is an opportunity for an artist at a key moment in their career in memory of curator Donna Lynas, who was widely known as Director of Wysing Arts Centre and as a long term supporter of artist development. The residency celebrates Lynas’ legacy but it also comes at a critical moment in terms of conversations around artist pay, and the sustainability of artists’ careers, long-term.
The residency is supported by four cultural organisations who Donna Lynas worked with and is a partnership between Wysing Arts Centre, South London Gallery, Modern Art Oxford and Somerset House Studios. Boakye-Yiadom, will receive an annual stipend for three years (2023-6) and the support of each partner – including mentoring, use of facilities and the opportunity to hold public programme events.
At the SLG, Boakye-Yiadom has led reading groups and in 2025 presented a new experimental sound, performance installation, After: Compliments (defrost version 2025). A single brass player played live over a period of four hours, responding in real time to the movements of the audience. At the centre of the room, an ice sculpture melted over time. The shape-shifting nature of this work interrogated ideas of power and control, ownership and ephemerality, documentation and visibility.
As part of his residency, we sat down with him to discuss his practice and what he’s been working on. Read the full interview on our Journal.
“I had a typical start of going to art school and painting. And at some point, midway through, I started to branch away from that. Painting felt like an entry point. My work became more about ideas than a painting practice, I think. I was loving just coming up with ideas.” – Appau Jnr Boakye-Yiadom
There is no expectation of an outcome from the residency. The purpose is to provide stability, and time to reflect outside the pressures of production and the habits of daily life. There is a fast cycle of production and delivery and a need to take on multiple opportunities in order to make a living. Many invitations to artists by institutions do not allow for the essential reflective time necessary to develop, reflect and progress in new directions.
Keep up to date with Boakye-Yiadom’s work by following their Instagram.
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