Artist Residencies

Abraham Babajide Cole, Sylwia Ciszewska-Peciak, Sonia Levesque, Bag Lord, Rumbidzai Savanhu.

Produced in partnership between Multistory and The Wolverhampton School of Art as part of Multistory’s artist development programme, the residency supports five emerging Black Country based artists each year with time, space, funding and critical mentorship. The artists’ presence activates the building as a site of exchange between students and the professional art world; opening access to the school's specialist facilities to the wider arts community, while contributing to a multidisciplinary culture of shared learning.

The programme culminates with the sharing of their work in an exhibition in the Wolverhampton School of Art’s foyer space, which is programmed to coincide with the yearly degree show. Rather than presenting work in its final state, the exhibition shares work in progress, reflecting the programme’s commitment to supporting practice as research, and providing space for artistic experimentation and play.

Exhibition preview

Join us for the launch of the end of programme show: Wednesday 29 April, 6-8pm.

Talks from 6-7.15pm, opened with a participatory performance in the foyer gallery by artist Sonia Levesque.

Stay and explore their work afterwards, snacks and a selection drinks will be served. Booking for the talks is required due to capacity – there’s no need to book if you’ll arrive from 7.15pm to view the show. Book here

Abraham Babajide Cole is a Nigerian-born, UK-based visual artist working across painting, drawing, and mixed-media installation. His practice investigates themes of migration, identity, and cultural heritage, weaving layered visual narratives that connect personal memory with collective history. Rooted in Yoruba philosophies of selfhood beyond the physical, Cole employs abstraction, fragmentation, and material experimentation to explore the unseen forces that shape human experience. His evolving practice incorporates sculptural elements such as clay and textured surfaces, creating multi-dimensional works that reflect the fluid nature of belonging. In 2024, he was commissioned for the Mayor of London’s Untold Stories Project, collaborating with The Culture Tree and Southwark City Council to create a monumental public artwork in Peckham celebrating Yoruba heritage. His upcoming exhibition Bound by Roots, Divided by Paths (2025) expands this inquiry, examining migration stories as both personal and communal narratives.

Sylwia Ciszewska-Peciak is a Polish-born documentary photographer and mixed-media artist based in West Bromwich, UK. Her practice explores themes of migration, memory, identity, and motherhood, drawing on her personal experience of resettlement. Working across photography, collage, and sculptural installation, she investigates how personal and collective histories shape belonging. Since 2016, she has documented everyday life in West Bromwich, capturing candid, emotionally resonant moments that reflect resilience and transformation. Her work often includes self-portraiture and domestic scenes, delving into vulnerability and the emotional labor of motherhood. Recently, she has developed interactive photographic cubes, sculptural objects that invite touch and rearrangement, to express the fragmented, layered nature of memory and cultural adaptation. Through tactile materials and visual storytelling, her work offers immersive reflections on the complexities of identity and the evolving meaning of home.

Sonia Levesque: Audio-Visual Artist, Thinker & Realtime Filmmaker (Unreal Engine). As someone from a non-traditional background who is forever in pursuit of truth, freedom and play - she appreciates programmes that opens up the art world to the wider public. She firmly believes that art and creative rebellion can make the world a better place, and as such strives to create artworks which inspire others to commit their own mini acts of creative rebellion, to self-express and to use art as a lens to think critically about their world. Recent work: A Walk In The Park - an experimental moving image artwork featuring a winged faceless woman, a posthuman fine dining establishment, and a piano playing heart. Previous highlights: ArtBasel Miami, Affordable Art Fair, Aesthetica Art Prize (longlisted), OpenAI featured artist, ACE DYCP recipient, BJP Edition365 Award, Forward Film Festival, Verve Poetry Festival, Flatpack Festival, and Fringe Arts Bath Festival.

Bag Lord I am an artist from Wolverhampton, with a focus on painting. My practice moves between social commentary, observations on contemporary life in the West Midlands and thought-provoking portraiture. I have a deep interest in local history, politics and folklore. My work is directly inspired by my immediate environment and experience of wider contemporary life via a phone screen, and often takes the form of large-scale paintings, drawings, sculptures and text art works. Past activity includes, a residency and solo exhibition at Stryx Gallery, a co-curated group show on Football and Art at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, group exhibitions at the RBSA gallery, Ikon Gallery and as part of the New Art’s West Midlands graduate programme for Coventry Biennial. I have also curated multiple group shows over the years celebrating artists from the West Midlands, most recently ‘Bostin Midlands Painters’ which included art works of 43 painters from across the region.

Rumbidzai Savanhu I am a Zimbabwean artist, writer and facilitator with an interest in other mediums such as animation, set design and textiles. I work primarily as an illustrator for children’s publishing, editorial publications, arts in health and comics. Recently I have been developing my socially engaged practice with community-led co-creation projects for schools, hospitals and community centres. As a multimedia artist I explore themes of identity and hidden histories, teaching drawing, painting, creative writing, music, animation and zine making. She has previously worked with; Royal Brompton Hospitals NHS Trust, The GAP Arts Projects, Hachette, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Little White Lies, Runner’s World, Sandwich Magazine, London Wildlife Trust, Poetry Birmingham, Pop Up Projects.