Emily Nam [b. 1984 Australia] is a research-based interdisciplinary designer and painter, working in Brooklyn, New York; and founder of We Are Art People. Her vocabulary is elastic, incorporating paint, sound, textile and ethnographic documentation. Nam is an innovative problem solver, using systems of experimentation and process for learning.
Emily has presented work in New York City, Upstate New York, France, Sydney and Melbourne, Australia. Her artwork and projects has been included in The New York Times, Vogue, Dazed Korea, POP Magazine, Hyperallergic, Zoo Magazine, NTS Radio, Soho Radio London, i-D Magazine, The World of Interiors and in M/V for global artists including Hyukoh and 82 Major. Earlier experiences have included roles at Marc Jacobs Collection, Pop Magazine and British Vogue, undertaking a Fashion Features internship [2011]. Previously, through artwork, advertising campaigns and garment construction, Emily has been engaged in a dialogue to explore alternative systems for sustainable production and exchange in the garment industry (please read).
Education
New York Studio School, NY — MFA 2025
RMIT, Australia — B.Design(Fashion. Hons) 2010
Parsons School of Design, NY — study abroad 2008
The University of Melbourne, Australia — B.Sci(Biomedical Anatomy) 2006
Exhibitions + Selected Projects (here)
2025 Dumbo Survey, 20 Jay Street, Brooklyn NY
2024 The Textile Jukebox (group show curated by Zig Zag Zurich), Milano Fuorisalone 2024, Milano, IT
2023 LIBRARY (group show curated by Glenn Goldberg), Tappeto Volante, Brooklyn, NY
2022 SHAPES, April 21 - May 6 2022, NYSS Projects DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY
2022 [Curator] Objects For Artists, NYSS Projects DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY
2019 Sculpture (group show curated by Jilaine Jones), NYSS Projects DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY
Awards / Selected Residencies
2025 Camp, CM Von Hausswolff/Michael Esposito, Pyrenees, France
2023-2025 Two Trees CSSP Recipient, Dumbo, BK
2022 New York Studio School Post-Graduate Residency, Dumbo, BK
2016-2018 Milton and Sally Avery Award, New York Studio School
2011 Design Now! Top 8 Emerging Designers, Australia
Artist Statement
My practice oscillates at the edges of color/sound, language and ethnographic considerations — in a dialogue with and the augmentation of, non-verbal forms. Engaged in color research; I make color compositions and I utilize the act of mixing oil paint, as my medium to access painted works. The experience of color is transmitted through the sensory perceptions of haptic touch, visceral memory and audible listening. Color decisions are made through strange and unusual processes. Stacked and colliding shapes serve as an armature for color and form to function, as mathematical melodies — vibrating notations of location, movement and sound. The mechanics of searching for an image and building material, layer upon layer, extrudes the final surface.
All my work is an ongoing inquiry in expanding how we perceive; to remember how to be in relationship with our body, and the possibilities for moving between our immediate realities.
For artwork enquiries and collaborations, please email emilynamstudio[a]gmail.com.