Premio Combat Prize

KELSEY MONTAGUEKelsey Montague’s pen and ink drawings reflect a unique worldview. Originally from Colorado, Montague has lived in Florence, London, New York City and Los Angeles. She studied Art, Design and Media, with combined studies, at Richmond, the American International University in London, where she received an American Bachelor of Arts degree (summa cum laude), as well as a British Bachelor of Arts degree with First Class Honors. At school her interactive, controversial ‘Wall’ won her the best junior art award. This piece explored the antagonistic relationship between certain groups of students at the school. Her senior year Kelsey was again awarded this time with the ‘Outstanding Graduate in Art, Design and Media’ Award.
After school her travels have taken her to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Oceania, and her artwork has been featured in exhibitions in Boulder, Florence, London and New York. Montague’s observations and experiences are translated in her drawings, offering a perspective that is both broadly universal and deeply personal. Each work is intuitively created, revealing multiple, intricate layers. These ‘drawings within drawings’ are imbued with memories, dreams, emotions and, above all, the artist’s uniquely creative style.
Most recently Kelsey has been creating large scale, interactive street murals around the world. Each piece provides an opportunity for people to step into the work and become a ‘living work of art.’ Participants are encouraged to post pictures of the work, and their interaction with it, on social media under the hashtag #whatliftsyou. Thousands of people have participated in an online discussion about what inspires them in their lives. This art has been featured by Forbes, MTV, Buzzfeed, Refinery 29, Mashable, Taylor Swift and Vanessa Hudgens.
Kelsey is one of very few artists who are exploring how public art, interactive art and social media intersect. Her street artwork specifically invites people into a piece and then invites people to share their experience online. She believes that art should not be separated from the human experience. Instead the human experience should have a hand in creating the art itself.
This idea extends to her Counter Culture Piece ‘Tupac Gangsta Poet’. This piece is a very intimate portrait of the human experience of Tupac Amaru Shakur. It is filled with imagery that points out key elements of his life, his loves and his work.