Cherie Federico is the Director of Aesthetica, the internationally acclaimed British art and culture brand that began with Aesthetica magazine in 2002 and is now multi-platform.

A passionate champion of new talent, Cherie is Director of the BAFTA-Qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival that sits in the national portfolio of festivals from the BFI.

She is also Director of the Aesthetica Art Prize, and Future Now, a symposium comprising panel talks and portfolio reviews, with sessions led by the Tate, V&A, and Getty. Winners and finalists have gone on to be included in exhibition at the Whitney Biennial, Barbican, Whitechapel and win various awards and bursaries.

“The pieces selected all have a certain quality that binds them together. There are landscapes that call into question environmental concerns from flooding to desolation. However, there are works that are more celebratory such as Oliva Bax’s wonderful and functional bench and Abe Odedina’s “Measure for Measure” which presents you with part of a story and does the thing that art can do so well, which allows you, the viewer, space to fill in the gaps, using your own imagination to complete the narrative. There is a range of more experienced practitioners and emerging, I am pleased that LAF makes space for artists at all stages in their careers.”

Ellie Davies, Seascapes 07, 2020. Courtesy of Crane Kalman Brighton.

“Ellie Davies’ work is ethereal and invites you to enter a new world. One where possibilities are endless. Her work also pays careful attention to the environment and in the midst of the pandemic, we must not forget about the climate crisis.”