Olivia Twist unpacks the colourful layers to her community-driven illustration practice

First to the stage at April’s Nicer Tuesdays was Olivia Twist, who was an absolute delight as she humorously ran us through her journey and style development as a creative. Beginning with a quip to the audience – “yeah yeah” – as she said how she’s from East London (where Nicer Tuesdays takes place), she then began to dive into her inspiring ethos as an illustrator. “I aim to bring about a shock of the familiar,” she explained, highlighting the importance of turning the mundane into something special through her work. From colour-blocked scenes of people riding buses, to trainers – many many trainers – she showed how there’s multiple ways of telling a story, and it doesn’t have to be derived from something spectacular. “As an illustrator, I want to capture social history as it’s unfolding; I want to help fill in missing chapters; I want to make it easier for marginalised communities to be able to look back,” she said. “I use drawing as a conversation tool.”

Above all, Olivia explained how she wants to encourage the “taking up of space”. Achieved through masses of research and passion for her subject matter, she takes a human-centred approach to her practice – by collecting, eavesdropping and becoming part of the furniture. We saw this come to life through a collection of eye-catching and conversation-starting drawings, which included work for The Guardian, Sports Direct, St Christopher’s Hospice, and a powerful project responding to Don’t Zap The Zip, a campaign against government plans to suspend free travel for 16-18-year-olds. Olivia’s work has a clear drive and mission behind it, and we couldn’t have asked for a more energetic and motivational talk to begin the evening’s events, which you can enjoy now!