Shantell Martin is a public speaker, curator, philosopher, cultural facilitator, teacher, choreographer, songwriter, performer, and more. From fashion and celebrity collaborations to positions at MIT Media Lab, NYU Tisch ITP, Columbia University’s Brown Institute, and choreographing a ballet at the Boston Ballet, Shantell’s drawn LINE constantly evolves. Creating new connections between fine art, education, design, philosophy, and technology, Shantell explores themes such as intersectionality, identity, and play.
In addition to prestigious solo shows at some of the most renowned art institutions including the 92Y Gallery in New York City, the iconic Albright Knox Gallery, and the New Britain Museum of American Art, Shantell has carved a path for herself that is as much intellectual as a producer and visual artist. At the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, she created a large-scale wall installation and worked with the Institute’s research group to explore how visual and computerized storytelling might influence media and technology innovation. At the NYU Tisch ITP (Interactive Telecommunications Program), she worked with her students to push the boundaries of storytelling, visual art, and technology.
A fashion and design icon in her own right, Shantell collaborated with iconic brands such as Vitra, Max Mara, Tiffany & Co, B&B Italia, and in 2021 The North Face launched a Shantell collection featuring her drawings inspired by pieces from their Search & Rescue archive. Shantell also collaborated with legendary artists such as Pulitzer Prize-winning performance artist Kendrick Lamar and acclaimed designer Kelly Wearstler. In 2019, she created large-scale drawings in the performance hall and foyer of the Lincoln Center for the company’s celebrated Art Series in collaboration with the prestigious New York City Ballet.
Some notable awards Shantell received are Central Saint Martin's/UAL Honorary Award, the highest award the institution grants (2023), 92Y, Extraordinary Women Award (2019), Shorty Award - Best in Art (2019), MoCADA Museum - Artist Advocacy Award (2017), and the Intel Women Who Spark Award - Women in Technology (2015, Awarded by People Magazine, People en Español, and ESSENCE Magazine, in partnership with Intel Corp)
Shantell has also made numerous media appearances from live performances on the Main Stage at Adobe Max, a TED Talk to performing with Kendrick Lamar at Art Basel, Miami.
As she increasingly incorporates meditative intuition into her artistic practice, Shantell hopes to teach others how to find their own LINES to inevitably find their own PATH. Her distinctive style is one of confidence. It is a confidence that has grown over time. People could look at her lines and say, "Well, I can do that" and she would reply, "Yes, you can." Knowing the many benefits of creativity on mental health and personal growth and how those benefits radiate out into all spheres of one's life and the World. Shantell has made a line distinctively hers. Now, Shantell uses her art practice not just as a passive way to create objects to admire but as an active way to teach others how to create a line that is recognizably their own.
For more details on all her awards and accolades, click here for her formal CV.
The relationship between an artist and collector should be just that... a relationship.
If you would like to acquire original artwork, please check out the Shop or if you are interested in commissioning original artwork, she would like to get to know YOU better through a series of questions to ensure the work she creates goes to great people who will love and value it; click the get started link below. For any other shop-related questions, please email sales at shantellmartin.com.
Credits
Branding & Design by Anton & Irene with love
x WHITNEY MUSEUM SHOP
2021
Shantell Martin has collaborated with the Whitney Museum Shop to create LINE by SHANTELL MARTIN, a collection of unique objects by various makers and available exclusively from the Whitney Shop in-store and online. Martin’s signature visual style uses bold, improvisational lines to draw connections between identity and belonging, expectations and experiences, and the artist and audience. Lines connect, define and communicate, both literally and figuratively, and with LINE by SHANTELL MARTIN, the artist has created new products that explore lines in unexpected ways. Martin’s incisive voice and style come together and invite audiences into her vision. This collaboration marks the first time that the Whitney Shop has invited an artist to develop and select products around a specific theme.
The shop’s ground-floor glass-enclosed space welcomes visitors to the Museum with an over 15-foot-wide and 10-foot-tall hand-painted rendering of Martin’s newly created designs to frame not only the array of exclusive products but the sun setting over the Hudson River.
“This has been an incredible journey with the Whitney Shop. I’ve always been obsessed with exploring the line between art and product and getting an opportunity to dive deeper into this has been really inspiring,” said MartinProducts included in the LINE by SHANTELL MARTIN collection include a custom-scented Nomad Noé fragrance candle that invites the owner to celebrate their own drawing; a limited edition poster featuring “Kindness Is A Better Way Forward” line drawing; a series of editions by Martin crafted by Brooklyn based Lite Brite Neon Studio; t-shirts by EVERYBODY.WORLD with a newly created print by Martin; a black and white cotton blanket with the artist’s signature “Who Are You, You Are You” phrase on both sides; and “Lines I Like,” a postcard book featuring works from the Whitney’s collection chosen by Martin, among other products.
