Skip to content
University of East London
  • Staff login
  • Student login
  • Study

    Study

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    Undergraduate study

    View all of our undergraduate subjects.

    Explore now
    • COURSES
      • Undergraduate
      • Postgraduate
      • Getting back into education
      • Subjects
      • May starts
      • Apprenticeships
    • STUDENT INFORMATION
      • Student life
      • Current students
      • New students
      • Accommodation
      • Term dates
      • Fees and funding
      • Scholarships
    • VISIT UEL
      • Open days and events
      • Our location
  • International

    International

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    Virtual Open Events

    Need support during your admission journey?

    Attend our virtual events
    • APPLYING
      • Advice for your region
      • Pre-degree courses
      • Immigration advice and compliance
      • Transferring to UEL
      • International admission deadlines
      • Pre-sessional English
      • Malvern House pathway programmes
    • STUDENT INFORMATION
      • Accommodation
      • Term dates
      • Fees and funding
      • Scholarships
    • VISIT UEL
      • Open days and events
      • Our location
      • Virtual open events
  • Your career

    Your career

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    Are you an employer?

    Advertise a vacancy on our platform today.

    Get started
    • STARTING YOUR CAREER
      • Career Zone
      • Explore your career
      • Career coaching and mentoring
    • GETTING A JOB
      • Meet employers
      • Be your own boss
      • Volunteering
      • Work while you study
  • Partners

    Partners

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    Are you an employer?

    Advertise a vacancy on our platform today.

    Get started
    • Partnerships at UEL
    • Train your workforce
    • Share your skills
    • Connect with our people
  • Our research

    Our research

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    REF 2021

    Read about our Research Excellence Framework submissions and results

    Impact case studies
    • Postgraduate research students
    • Research impact
    • Partnerships
    • REF 2021
  • About

    About

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    Connected campus

    We are improving our three campuses for people to study, work and live.

    What we're doing
    • OUR UNIVERSITY
      • Our schools and subjects
      • Staff
      • Governance
      • Professional services
      • Vision 2028
      • Alumni
      • Accreditations
      • Sustainable Development Goals
    • TEACHING AND SUPPORT
      • How we teach
      • Mental wealth
      • On-campus nursery
    • GET INVOLVED
      • Events
      • News
    • GET IN TOUCH
      • Our location
      • Contact us
  • Home
  • About
  • Never not
  • East london voices

Barbara Ayozie

Hero Carousel

Never Not East London photos

I am a visionary and an activist, and I work within the creative industry as an art director.

I am a visionary and an activist, and I work within the creative industry as an art director. My parents are Nigerian, and a lot of my work is inspired by tribalism. I love ancient art because that is where everything began. I am inspired by tribes in general as they are the purest form human expression. They are the most beautiful and interesting. The most honest and raw.

I was born in Italy in a little town called Castel Goffredo which is part of Mantova, not far from Milan. My surroundings, being in Italy in a village in the 80s to the late 90s, were wealthy and very much white, so I have a lot of Italian behaviour and culture. My Italian background is in the softness in my work but also the kindness of my soul.

My mum and older sister are in Italy; my father is in Nigeria. My twin brother and sister live in London. My brother lives with me although he is in a serious relationship and will move soon.

I moved to London when I was 19 and I've always been quite a loner. Don't get me wrong, I'm a sociable person, but I am so used to my own company that being alone doesn't bother me. It may be part of being an artist too because I have a whole internal world to retreat into. I am a romantic and an idealist. The way I love is Italian with some African thrown in. Although I push the boundaries with my work, the execution comes from traditional backgrounds like what you may find in Italian art, architecture or fashion.

 Barbara Ayozie

My inspiration comes from life and human behaviour. In the last six months a lot of significant events, like the death of George Floyd, Corona Virus and many injustices in the world, have moved and inspired me to push boundaries and work hard. I also find inspiration in music. The evolution of my style has come from the evolution of the music I listen to. I am really into the late 50s, 60s, 70s in terms of south east Asia and Africa. I am a member of the Royal Opera House and I love classical music and ballet.

There are a lot of references in my creative process and art. I grew up watching Japanese anime, One Piece remains my favourite. I went to the twenty-year anniversary in London. Pop-art needs to be mentioned too, I love the likes of Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock and Lichtenstein. I studied graphic design and history of art at school and my work remains very graphic with colourful expressions inspired by anime and pop-art.  

Lockdown has been a challenge professionally because I am freelancer but I take care of my mental health and my body so I can overcome whatever is happening in the world. I am a spiritual person. I got myself moving, played tennis and practiced yoga. I spent a lot of time exercising and then sitting down and researching, writing, approaching agencies and keeping busy finding creative opportunities.
I am writing a script and working on a pitch for a short film and may be directing my first film - so that’s exciting and keeping me busy and focused.

You may also want to view...

Subjects

How we teach

We focus on the complete person. We offer a personalised approach that takes account of your career readiness, soft skills and wellbeing. Our approach is called Technology Enhanced Active Learning (TEAL) which combines traditional face-to-face, on campus tuition with cutting-edge technology.

Help us make this site better by telling us what you think about this page

Social Media

Follow us on social media:

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Youtube Instagram TikTok

University of East London

University Way

London, E16 2RD

United Kingdom



T. +44 20 8223 3000


Explore UEL

  • About UEL
  • Take a virtual tour
  • Calendars
  • Freedom of information
  • Governance management
  • Services and departments
  • Find us
  • Contact us

The University

  • Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate
  • News
  • Events
  • Jobs

University of East London

University Way

London, E16 2RD

United Kingdom



T. +44 20 8223 3000


Copyright ©2023 University of East London

  • Accessibility
  • Data protection
  • Sitemap
  • AccessAble
  • Modern slavery
  • Legal and compliance
  • Cookie settings
  • Privacy