Manchester artist mentors new talent on BBC

A Manchester artist has had a brush with fame as a mentor on the new BBC television programme The Big Painting Challenge.

Diana Ali, 37, became a professional mentor on the show after her work impressed a BBC producer who had been following her career.

She said: “I’ve curated nationally and internationally, lectured and mentored artists in the past and have really been an active artist since my foundation course in 1998 so being chosen as a mentor for the show was a huge compliment.”

Over the course of the show, Diana helped coach five passionate amateur painters through an intensive, six-week artistic boot camp to help them perfect their skills. Each week saw different challenges and eliminations, with the contestants painting still life, landscape, animals and portraits.

The winner, Suman Kaur, was announced in the final episode last week where the four remaining artists faced increasingly difficult challenges, including painting from a boat on the River Thames.

Diana was born in Rusholme to Bangladeshi parents and grew up in Eccles.?? She studied fine art at Manchester Metropolitan University

Diana added: “Inspirations behind my work change every time I am confronted with different challenges in life but I also celebrate them – from being from a Bengali background, to being made redundant, to loss, to meeting people and being interested in cross-cultural people while travelling.

“It has been a pleasure to have an on-going passion, love hard work and enjoy what I do in art. I believe that our voices can come through in the art we produce.”

Find out more about Diana Ali’s artwork here: www.dianaali.com