You’ve likely heard of The Other Art Fair – a rad four-day event where artists gather to exhibit and sell their work, while the rest of us tag along to enjoy immersive art experiences, live DJ sets, food trucks and cocktails. Sydney folks, you're in luck! The fair is set to return to your city from May 11th – 14th. Head this-a-way if you fancy nabbing a ticket, and have a squiz at the artist list if you’re thinking of buying some pretty pieces for your abode.

One artist joining the Sydney line-up this year is Nkosi Ndlovu – a Zimbabwe-born, Melbourne-based multimedia artist whose collages often centre black people in surreal, peaceful scenes. We recently had a chinwag with Nkosi to find out more about her stunning works. After you’ve had a read, swing past our win page for a chance to score a ticket for you and a mate to the Sydney fair’s opening night, plus a $250 art voucher and food and drink vouchers to spend while you’re there!

Where did your love of art begin? I’ve always been a creative person. I did all the art subjects in school and drew and painted a lot in my free time. This waned a bit as I grew older, but I always came back to it. After creating for fun and sharing it with other people, I discovered that people actually resonated with my work and this inspired me to keep going.

What mediums and techniques do you enjoy working with most? The style that I use the most is collaging (usually digital) but I do try and push myself to try different mediums like 3D modelling and painting. I enjoy collaging because it forces you to be creative – you have to use existing things and mix and match them together to create something new, in a whole other context. I think that 3D modelling is a natural progression from that; from creating surreal worlds in 2D collage.

Are there any downsides to the mediums you choose? Like any medium, it takes time to figure out what works and what doesn’t. There’s a lot of trial and error to find the right balance of elements that can make the work that you create different from what already exists out there.

Your art often focuses on black bodies surrounded by botanical elements, like leaves and butterflies, in surreal scenes. What has inspired these works, and how long did it take you to develop this style? I was initially inspired by other collage artists who used similar components, like the botanical themes. But as time went on, I started incorporating more and more of what I personally would have liked to see more of as a young kid who was gaining an interest in art. This took several years of study and refinement, but I feel like representation is so incredibly important. It means a lot to me to create work that features people who look like me in a style of art that you may not usually see them in.

When you’re not making art, how do you like to spend your time? Because I spend so much time indoors on my computer, creating my work, I like to get out and try new things and be as adventurous as I can. At the moment, I’m trying out archery.

You’re heading to The Other Art Fair in Sydney soon. What are you looking forward to? I’m looking forward to connecting with other artists and art-lovers alike! I love having the opportunity to talk about my work in person because I usually just do this over social media and it's a good change of pace.

How do you prepare for events like this? I like to gather all my best work and maybe create new pieces that really showcase and communicate my identity as an artist and hopefully this comes across to the attendees.

What do you wish you knew about being an artist before you got started? I wish I knew that you don’t always have to be actively creating to be an artist. It’s OK to step away for a while, live life and use those experiences as inspiration. It can be easy to feel like, because you haven’t created in three months, that you’re not an artist anymore, but that’s not the case.