INTERVIEWS
In Conversation with: Charlene Prempeh
Founder, A Vibe Called Tech
Charlene Prempeh has quite the CV. An Oxford graduate who went on to do marketing for arts industry heavyweights including the BBC, The Guardian, and Frieze, she’s now a consultant for the Royal Academy of Arts, an FT columnist and contributing editor, an editorial board member for the Tate Magazine, and most recently the author of ‘Now You See Me: An Introduction to 100 Years of Black Design’. And that’s not even including the company she founded, A Vibe Called Tech, a Black-owned creative studio and consultancy that approaches creativity through an intersectional lens, with clients including brands like Gucci, Nike, and institutions like White Cube and the V&A. She’s also now, excitingly, our Olympia Art Ambassador.
Read about Charlene’s role at Olympia and her top picks for this year’s Frieze.
What does your role as Art Ambassador for Olympia entail?
My role is to help shape the broader cultural strategy for Olympia, advising on which institutions we should engage with and suggesting emerging and established artists to partner with. I also work with the team to look at Olympia’s existing collection of artworks and how we can make the most of the archive.
What are you doing at Olympia during Frieze?
During Frieze London, we’ll be looking at how performance art can manifest itself throughout the space, bringing this to the newly commissioned pavilion by renowned artist and craftsperson Rio Kobayashi, which opens during the London Design Festival.
Do you have any top tips of what to see at Frieze (Frieze, or Frieze Masters) this year?
I’m the co-chair of Frieze 91, Frieze’s dedicated membership programme providing access to the communities and art shaping cutting edge contemporary culture. For the London edition of the fair, we’ll be hosting a Frieze 91 event in the London residence of collector, Rajan Bijlani, who is opening up his home to host Syncretic Voices, an exhibition uniting artists and designers of South Asian origin. The curatorial project stems from that shared experience of the South Asian diaspora and aims to highlight diverse practices, uniting contrasting artistic disciplines in a single, cohesive experience, while paying homage to the rich history of arts embedded in the building itself. It’s a must see during the week.
THANK YOU CHARLENE!