Bio:
The great designer, Shantell Martin is a visual artist best known for her large scale, black-and-white drawings. She performs many of her drawings for a live audience. Born in Thamesmead, London, Martin lives and works in New York. Along with exhibitions and commission for museums and galleries, Martin frequently works on international commercial projects, both private and public.

How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?
I grew up in Thamesmeade, South East London. Need I say more?

What do you do?
I’m an artist and a designer.

What excites you in the work you do?
The ability to be a part of positive impact and progress and growth.

Who or what inspires you professionally?
The world inspires me but there’s also a very deep internal drive that inspires me everyday to create positivity in the world and in myself.
 
What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?
Probably the work that I did with the New York City Ballet. It was a tremendous work of collaboration with the Ballet and the impact I was able to see from the work that was created was undeniable and absolutely inspiring.

Featured Project Name: 
Church and The May Room
 
Featured Project Location: 
Governors Island, New York USA
 
Featured Project Completion Date: 
2019

Role in Featured Project: 
Artist, Designer, Production
 
Featured Project Description:
Opening the doors to Church, Martin’s work that enlivens the exterior of the former military chapel Our Lady Star of the Sea. The May Room will transform its interior into an immersive, introspective environment. Welcoming the public inside the building for the first time in 20 years, The May Room will transform the space into a site for gathering, reflection and performance as part Governors Island, the Trust for Governors Island’s 2019 Public Art Commission.

Photography Credit:
Roy Rochilin, Timothy Schenck