Alexis
In partnership with Complex Canada
But Toronto’s Alexis Eke is an interesting study in what can happen when those unspoken rules fall away, and talent gets the spotlight it so often deserves. If you already know and follow Eke’s work on Instagram and throughout the Greater Toronto area, you likely need no demonstration of her merit as an illustrator, designer, and artist. You can spot her works on large murals dotted throughout the city (Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre, Union Station, and Nuit Blanche to name a few), and brands and organizations such as adidas, Nike, Converse, the Toronto Raptors, and Google have all commissioned her work.
For a young, Black artist on the come up, this pathway—and success as a professional artist—wasn’t always so seamlessly apparent. While wildly talented, Eke also benefited from her mother’s own artistic skill and instruction to help hone her unique style before formally pursuing art further in school.
Growing up in Toronto’s North York area before moving to Scarborough, Eke also benefited from the backing of her close-knit community. Early on, she joined R.I.S.E. (Reaching Intelligent Souls Everywhere), one of Toronto’s largest and longest-running youth-led initiatives. “I think that community really showed me how important it is for different artists to actually support one another,” she says.
Described as open love letters to Black women, Eke’s portraits of these inspirational women stem from her strong connection to her Caribbean roots and her faith, as well as to the strong female influences from her own experience. With them, she asks each of us: “How are Black women represented?”
For the latest Complex Canada episode of Northern Clutch, powered by Now Playing Toronto, Complex Canada caught up with Alexis Eke in her Toronto home.