Women in Art Prize winner Bianca Raffaella recently appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, bringing national attention to her tactile painting practice and to wider conversations around access, disability, and contemporary art. The interview places her work and ideas at the centre of public cultural discourse, highlighting how lived experience can reshape the way art is made, encountered, and understood.

bbc interview bianca Rafaella winner of the women in art prize

A National Conversation About Access and Art

In the interview above, Bianca Raffaella speaks about how touch, memory, and lived experience shape her approach to painting. As a registered blind artist, her work challenges long-held assumptions about visual art, resisting the idea that sight must be its primary mode of engagement.

Raffaella’s practice is often described as tactile painting — an approach that prioritises surface, texture, atmosphere, and emotional resonance. Rather than compensating for vision loss, her work embraces alternative ways of perceiving, inviting audiences to slow down and engage with art through heightened attention and presence.

“Art does not begin with sight, but with attention.”

This ethos sits at the heart of her work and underpins her contribution to broader conversations about accessibility in the arts.

Women in Art Prize Winner

Bianca Raffaella winner of the women in art prize
The Women In Art Prize CIC Overall Winner 2025 – The Art Academy Exhibition Prize

The themes explored in the BBC Radio 4 interview reflect why Bianca Raffaella was recognised as a Women in Art Prize winner. The prize celebrates artists whose practices combine artistic rigour with cultural impact, and whose work expands representation within the contemporary art world.

Raffaella’s work demonstrates that accessibility is not a limitation or an add-on, but a generative force — one capable of reshaping institutions, exhibitions, and audience engagement. Her recognition by the Women in Art Prize acknowledges both the strength of her artistic practice and her role in advancing more inclusive cultural frameworks.

Education and Early Milestones

Born in London in 1992, Bianca Raffaella became the first registered blind student to graduate from Kingston University with a First Class degree in the visual arts. This milestone marked the beginning of a career defined by both artistic excellence and institutional change.

Her paintings have been described by The Guardian as “ethereally beautiful,” noted for their soft colours, dusty shadows, and spacious compositions that evoke themes of memory, fragility, and perception.

Residencies, Representation, and Recognition

In 2023, Raffaella was personally selected by Tracey Emin for the inaugural Tracey Emin Artist Residency at TKE Studios, Margate. The residency culminated in the exhibitions TEARS and TEARS: The Final Show, positioning her as a key voice within a new generation of British artists.

In November 2024, Flowers Gallery announced representation of Bianca Raffaella, alongside her first major solo exhibition, Faint Memories, which opened at the gallery’s Cork Street space in February 2025. She has also been named one of Harper’s Bazaar’s Three To Watch, recognising her as a leading emerging figure in the British art scene.

Exhibitions Rooted in Accessibility

Accessibility is not an afterthought within Raffaella’s exhibitions — it is integral to their conception. Her solo exhibition Hushed Impressions at Orleans House Gallery was designed as a multi-sensory experience, foregrounding access while enriching engagement for all visitors.

Her work has also featured in major group exhibitions including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Bush House in collaboration with King’s College London, and Flowers Gallery’s Small is Beautiful, reflecting her sustained commitment to inclusive artistic practice across institutional contexts.

Image: Installation view, Hushed Impressions, Orleans House Gallery

Beyond the Gallery

Alongside her studio practice, Raffaella is an invited lecturer and collaborator at the Institut Français de la Mode, and has undertaken commissioned work with King’s College London in collaboration with Shape Arts and AccessArt.

She has appeared on Channel 4’s The Unique Boutique and Sky Arts’ Art Matters, presented by Melvyn Bragg. Across broadcast, academic, and institutional platforms, she continues to advocate for a broader understanding of access — not as accommodation, but as innovation.

Why the BBC Radio 4 Interview Matters

The Today programme is one of the UK’s most influential broadcast platforms. Bianca Raffaella’s presence on the programme signals a broader shift — one in which disabled women artists are not framed as exceptions, but as authoritative voices shaping contemporary culture.

Her interview offers a powerful reminder that when access is centred, artistic practice expands. In bringing her work to a national audience, BBC Radio 4 has helped amplify a vision of art that is more inclusive, more attentive, and ultimately more human.

The exhibition Bianca Raffaella: Between Heartbeats will open at The Art Academy in London in late February 2026, marking Raffaella’s award as the Overall Winner of the 2025 Women in Art Prize, presented in September 2025 in London.