As part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival 2022 – with its theme of ‘United We Shine’ – artist Claudia Chinyere Akole conducted a three-day live art project at the vibrant Liberty Place in Sydney’s CBD.

It was sensational to start the year off by welcoming an arts-based event back into the city, and Liberty Place was decorated with rainbow-coloured floral displays and supplied free cupcakes for visitors to celebrate inclusion through the power of art.

Claudia is an illustrator, cartoonist, animator, and educator based in Sydney (Gadigal and Wangal land). She’s a self-described ‘art hag who bleeds pink’ whose work covers cultural identity, abstraction, and mental health.

At the end of the three-day activation, Claudia had produced a drawing entitled ‘Heart In My Hands’– a stunning large scale POSCA illustration on 1m x 1.6m canvas that was later put up for silent auction.

Claudia’s live art sessions were produced by aMBUSH Gallery and presented by Liberty Place.

Claudia Chinyere Akole

161 Castlereagh St
Sydney 2000