The META foundation (@meta.foundation) , in partnership with the End Street Studios (@endstreetstudios) and August House, is excited to announce the winner of the 2023 Female Artist Studio Exchange: Tamia Saunders (@_m1nx).

Tamia Saunders (b.1997) is a Johannesburg- based, multidisciplinary artist. Her work combines practices of painting, mixed media, and printmaking which she uses to explore her expressionistic portraits.
Her work, which is self -referential, explores her thoughts and emotions relative to her identity and the shifting world within which she exists. Each piece serves as an extension of her past and present self, the lessons she has learned and her subsequent growth. Saunders portraits feature exaggerated figures, melting eyes, and her use of sometimes unnatural colours, which embody her emotions at the time of creating each piece.

In 2022, she was selected for the Presidential Employment Stimulus programme (PESP3) by Artbank SA to create art for the National Museum. She has participated in local art competitions, such as the Culture Leader Arts Competition and has worked on many commissioned projects. She is currently represented by Julie Miller African Contemporary Gallery.

Saunders will join @endstreetstudios at August House for a year, starting Feb 2023.