#SpillingTheTea - with Ananya Rao-Middleton

This week, we headed to Communitea café in South Norwood and spilt the (camomile) tea with Ananya, a freelance illustrator and disability activist.  She uses her experiences of being a woman of colour living with multiple sclerosis and post-concussion syndrome to inspire her creative work. We chatted about the role art plays in activism, the local collaborations that have helped her grow as an artist and how she’s managed to get her work into every single Starbucks store in the USA!

Can you share a bit about your journey into illustration?
I didn’t go down a conventional route at all – and I haven’t been to Art School. I studied History and Anthropology at University, but I’ve always been into art and drew a lot at school. But I didn’t think I was good enough to pursue it as a career and had always loved the social sciences and knew I wanted to get into Anthropology, so I put my focus on that. I did a Masters and then officially entered the world of work, with a role in Consultancy. Then, in 2018, I got re-acquainted with art again through slightly wild circumstances. I was at a work event and was involved in a Go-Karting accident which left me with a brain injury. I couldn’t work for 6 months or look at screens, so (after exhausting my library of podcasts!) I started water colour painting. I saw a leaflet about a joint exhibition in Crystal Palace, which gave me a focus and something to work towards. People were receptive to what I exhibited, and it ignited something in me - “what if I could do this for a living?” I eventually got back to work – with a role as a Marketing Director, but I found it really stressful. I was moonlighting as an illustrator in the background and had two brilliant clients (Instagram and the Houses of Parliament) and the work I did with them gave me the confidence and motivation I needed to go “all-in” as a freelancer in March 2021.

What are some of the recurring themes or messages in your work?
Disability for sure, but I think what differentiates me from other disability artists/consultants, is that I specifically focus on disability justice. For me, that’s an intersectional way of looking at disability. I think sadly what often happens in this space (in terms of well-meaning people wanting to create change) is that disability ends up being looked at in a very linear way. Being a woman of colour, means my lens is far wider and I will instinctively think about how race and gender intersect with disability.

Are there any illustrators or artists, past or present, who have particularly inspired or influenced your style?
Two names come to mind – a French illustrator called Clemence Gouy. I love her bold use of colour and feminist, fierce lens. Then there is Samantha Mash. She was one of the first illustrators I looked at when I was getting back into art and I love the strong sense of character her work conveys.  

How has your experience as a disability activist shaped your approach to illustration?
In so many ways! But specifically, in understanding ableism on a more personal level. Having interactions with doctors and colleagues, and getting comments like “you don’t look sick” have really informed the way I now look at disability. I feel like it’s one of the last remaining taboos – a subject people often feel awkward to talk about and can make a real mess of because they lack the education and language.  With things like misogyny, racism, classism, we’ve come along way (in terms of having better vocabulary to discuss things). But with disability, I hadn’t realised how limited people’s perceptions were, including my own. I think seeing the diversity of people’s disabled experiences through art is a great way to help challenge viewpoints and encourage conversation. In my work as a disability consultant, I often have to remind clients that the disabled community is hugely varied. There is no one disabled voice.

What role does art play in social justice and activism, especially within Croydon?
There’s often concern surrounding gentrification in areas (like Croydon) that are undergoing a lot of development. I think art can be a really interesting way to bridge a gap between communities and developers. I really loved the street art that was done across buildings in the town centre a few years ago and whilst it’s a little more polished, I personally love the digitalised pieces curated by Laura Nevill (and designed by local artists) that are currently outside the old Allders building. But there’s a delicate balance to be struck – if not careful, it can become a bit of a tick-box exercise, and the artist can end up being in service to the developer. I think there is scope for much more to be done in this space - for something a little more meaningful and engaging for the community.  Ultimately, art needs to be relevant to the community it serves.  

How do you see Croydon’s creative landscape evolving?
It feels quite quiet at the moment - but this isn’t specific to Croydon – I think it’s a byproduct of recent years.  Personally, I don’t feel I get many opportunities to engage with Croydon specific projects that are actually sustainable in terms of me earning a living.  So, if I want to engage with a local project, I often end up having to reduce my fees. If we want to evolve and attract more artists and creative people into Croydon, we’ve got to provide more opportunities that are fairly paid. But that being said, I do think more opportunities are on their way – especially with the arrival of more university campuses and students.

Are there any local organisations or community projects in Croydon that have helped you grow as an artist and activist?
Well, it was that exhibition in Crystal Palace that quite literally got me started on my journey as an artist. But I guess Crystal Palace isn’t technically Croydon, is it?! Shortly after that though, I worked with Savvy Theatre – initially supporting them with marketing but I ended up doing a whole re-brand for them. This was used across the website, social channels and collateral and was a great early project to have on my (freelance) CV. Then the other big local project I was involved in was with Footlocker who potentially (!) found me through my Croydon Creative Directory listing (as I know they were specifically looking for a Croydon based artist to work with). They brought me in to create a huge mural across their new store on the high street.  

What advice would you give to disabled artists who want to use their voice through art?
Not to shy away from using your story within your work. Previously we’ve been told not to talk about our disability because it upsets the status quo and might rob us of job opportunities. But I think the landscape has changed a lot. People are looking for authenticity nowadays, and your story is crucial to that. I think all marginalised communities can often struggle with Imposter Syndrome and feeling like the art world isn’t going to welcome them, but your lived experience will often inform your artwork and people resonate with that truth. However, I say this with a slight caveat. Being as open as I have been about my own disability, does mean I am sometimes tokenised and pigeonholed into being “the disabled artist” and brought in to work on very specific projects. As much as I love being hired to work on projects that I care about, its similar to how I imagine black artists feel when being hired specifically for projects during Black History Month. In order to create equity for disabled artists, business need to use them across all projects. 

In terms of more general advice – be confident in what you offer. I think this is the biggest difference I’ve seen between myself and my illustrator friends who have come out of Art School. I’ve worked in Sales & Marketing, so I’m not afraid of talking about money or haggling prices and I’m comfortable pushing back on briefs and inputting my own suggestions. I’ve found this approach attracts a lot of high-level people (who are generally the decision makers).

What are you working on at the moment?
Well, a very exciting project that recently went live, is the one I worked on with Starbucks. This has been over a year in the making and officially came out in July. Essentially, I’ve created a merchandise collection with a theme of ‘Care in Community’ which represents how people within the disabled community uplift and care for each other.

The Starbucks Creative team in the US contacted me directly (although not through the Croydon Creative Directory!) and were an absolute dream to work with. I seem to have a fair few Art Directors and Creative Directors following me on Instagram, and it was through one of them that I was put forward as a potential candidate.

It is incredible to have my artwork highlighting the disabled community in every single Starbucks in the USA. I’ve received so many messages from disabled people who are excited to be represented in such a well-known and regularly used space and from a personal perspective, and I’ve found it a really meaningful campaign to work on. However, the subsequent political situation has made the experience a little bittersweet. For clarity, there were no concerns surrounding Starbucks in relation to Palestine when I collaborated with them back in February 2023 and I stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their pursuit of justice and decolonisation.

I’m currently working on a children’s book for a US publisher. It’s actually going to be a singalong book and it’s very cute. I’m really enjoying being quite playful with it all– but I can’t say much more than that as it’s in the early stages of development.

What would be a dream project for you to work on in the future?
I really want to get into more sports illustrations because I’m very sporty. I train a lot (I do Muay Thai) and I would love to bring my passion for that into my illustrative work. So, anything to do with Combat Sports, Olympics, Paralympics, Rugby – I’m open to all sports!

For more information about Ananya, visit www.ananyapaints.com or
follow her on @AnanyaPaints.

Further info:

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