Emily Nam [b. 1984 Australia + living in New York City] is a research-based interdisciplinary designer and painter, and host of the artist conversation series We Are Art People. Working across multiple disciplines and communities has provided Nam with a unique and comprehensive understanding of visual communication and aesthetics. As an innovative problem solver, Emily's practice applies an integrative approach to generating projects which expand possibilities for participation and an understanding of the human condition. Artwork and projects have been featured in and designed for print publication, radio broadcast and music video, and in curatorial projects for the interior and gallery space.

Projects have been featured 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
Hyukoh M/V
82 Major M/V

Education

New York Studio School, NY — MFA 2018
RMIT, Australia — B.Design(Fashion. Hons) 2010
Parsons School of Design, NY — Integrated Design Curriculum, study abroad 2008
The University of Melbourne, Australia — B.Sci(Biomedical Anatomy + Physiology) 2006

Awards / Selected Residencies

2026 NYCxDESIGN Award Honoree
2025 Camp, CM Von Hausswolff/Michael Esposito, Pyrenees, France
2025 NYCxDESIGN Award Winner
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

Exhibitions + Selected Projects (here)

Artist Statement

My work is an interdisciplinary practice that examines color, form, and sound as systems of decision making and nonverbal documentation. Drawing from ethnographic considerations, I approach color as both material and cognitive structure—mixed, layered, and experienced—using it as a method of notation to register movement, duration, and spatial relationship. Painting operates as a score rather than an image, where pattern and shape are stacked and juxtaposed to generate rhythm, tension, and correspondence. Through research, ritualized processes, and haptic engagement with materials, each surface develops through accumulation and erasure, retaining evidence of a search rather than a resolution. Works function as microcosmic maps that invite navigation and position perception as an active process shaped by proximity, repetition, and sensory attention.


For artwork enquiries and collaborations, please email emilynamstudio[a]gmail.com.

All artwork and photography are copyrighted and protected under international copyright laws. Artwork may not be replicated or reproduced in any form without prior permission.