Christian Noelle Charles
Christian Noelle Charles (b. 1993, Syracuse, New York, USA)
is an interdisciplinary artist working between New York and Glasgow, Scotland. Her artistic practice is an ongoing dialogue with the self, a necessary confrontation with the internal landscapes of anxiety, memory, and becoming. The constant stream of visual and emotional information she processes daily is driven by the belief that self-avoidance is futile and direct engagement with one's inner world is essential for growth. As a Black woman whose life and creative practice bridge these cultures, Charles's work interrogates belonging, self-worth, and the intricate intersections of race, gender, and community. This journey of self-reflection is ongoing, marked by distinct periods of personal growth from embracing her physical form (2016) to understanding her upbringing's formative impact (2021), to realizing her profound connection to Scotland (2023), and a current focus on the essentiality of rest and patience for meaningful transformation (2025). These moments of looking inward are not self-indulgence, but courageous acts of self-discovery.
Central to Charles's exploration are the distinct yet complementary reflective practices of printmaking, performance, and video. Printmaking offers a solitary, meditative path, its repetitive nature demanding focused presence and creating a sanctuary for meticulous examination. Each print can be a visual manifestation of her underlying anxieties and insecurities, and importantly, a tangible, liberating release that fosters mental freedom. Performance, in contrast, is an outwardly engaged, intuitive exchange profoundly shaped by the audience. It calls for an offering of oneself and an embrace of vulnerability that can lead to a temporary transcendence and a different kind of self-awareness, with reflection often sparked by the subsequent processing of that shared experience.
Charles's international practice is informed by her education, including an MFA from The Glasgow School of Art (2018), a BFA from The Cooper Union (2016), She has undertaken significant residencies, such as the John Florent Stone Printmaking Residency at Edinburgh Printmakers (2022) and the Center For Somewhere, Take Me Somewhere residency in Johannesburg, South Africa (2023). Her work has been exhibited widely, with solo shows including WAIT A MINUTE?!! at Glasgow Print Studio (2025), NURTURE | TURTLE PARK at Tramway (2024), and WHAT A FEELING | ACT I at Edinburgh Printmakers (2023); she has also featured in group exhibitions internationally, from Athens to Bangkok and Taiwan. A recipient of the Jerwood New Work Fund (2023) and shortlisted for the Margaret Tait Award (2021), her art is held in public collections including the Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, and the National Gallery of Scotland. Ultimately, Charles's art is an invitation to see, feel, pause, and reflect, aiming to create environments where self-expression is affirmed and her evolving declaration of a fluid, layered identity can be seen fully and authentically.
Pronouns: She/Her.
Lived Experience
Hi, I’m Christian Noelle Charles. I am an interdisciplinary artist currently splitting my time, heart, and creative practice between New York and Glasgow, Scotland.
Growing up in Syracuse, New York, creativity was in my bloodstream. My mother ran a dance studio where I spent my early years developing a deep awareness of movement and my physical form, while my father, a radio DJ, filled our home with music and storytelling. Those formative spaces shaped how I see the world and laid the foundation for my current practice, which flows between printmaking, performance, and video.
My work is essentially an ongoing dialogue with myself—a necessary confrontation with my internal landscapes of anxiety, memory, and the beautiful, messy process of becoming. Navigating life as a Black woman bridging American and Scottish cultures, my art interrogates belonging, self-worth, and the intricate intersections of race, gender, and community. I firmly believe that self-avoidance is futile; looking inward and engaging directly with our inner worlds are courageous acts of self-discovery, not mere self-indulgence.
Over the years, my journey has been marked by distinct chapters of growth. In 2016, I was heavily focused on embracing my physical form and identity. By 2021, I was unpacking the profound impact of my upbringing, and by 2023, I was celebrating the deep, grounding connections and communities I’ve built since moving to Scotland. Most recently, my focus has shifted toward the radical essentiality of rest, patience, and solitude as tools for meaningful transformation.
The different mediums I use offer me distinct ways to process the constant stream of visual and emotional information I encounter daily. Printmaking is my sanctuary—a solitary, meditative, and highly repetitive practice that gives me the mental freedom to meticulously examine my insecurities and release them into something tangible. Performance, on the other hand, is an outwardly engaged, vulnerable exchange with an audience that often leads to a shared, temporary transcendence.
Ultimately, my art is an invitation. Whether you are stepping into an exhibition designed to feel like a lively, familiar beauty salon or engaging with a quiet self-portrait, I want to create environments where you are encouraged to pause, feel, and reflect. My goal is to build spaces where self-expression is affirmed, where we can celebrate joy and resilience, and where our fluid, layered identities can be seen fully and authentically.
BORN
Syracuse, New York, USA
Based and Works between New York and Glasgow, Scotland
B. 1993
SOLO EXHIBITIONS | SCREENINGS | PERFORMANCES | COMMISSIONS
2025, WAIT A MINUTE?!!, Glasgow Print Studio, Glasgow Scotland
2024, NURTURE | TURTLE PARK, Tramway Beyond Walls Commission, Tramway, Glasgow Scotland
2023, WHAT A FEELING | ACT II, Take Me Somewhere Festival, Tramway, Glasgow,Scotland
2023, WHAT A FEELING | ACT I, Edinburgh Printmakers, Edinburgh Scotland
2021, REFLECTIVE JESTER: IT’S JUST A FEELING, CCA Glasgow, Glasgow Scotland
2019, DA BE A BE, Nick Cave: Call and Response, Dance International Glasgow, Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland
2018, CC TIME, Take Me Somewhere Festival, Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland
2016, ‘36-24-36 Feminine Essence: Betrayed by the Booty’, The Cooper Union, New York
GROUP EXHIBITIONS | SCREENINGS | PERFORMANCES
2025
International Original Print Fair, Royal Society of Painters and Printmaker, Bankside Gallery, London, England
GoMA Late, SITTIN’ UP IN MY ROOM, Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow Scotland
Artist Rooms, National Galleries of Scotland: Modern One, Edinburgh, Scotland
Through Line: Connecting the Collection, Gallery Modern of Art, Glasgow, Scotland
2024
The Future is Today, Mead Gallery, University of Warwick, Warwick, England
Sandra George Commission, Craigmillar Now & GSA Exhibitions, Glasgow International
KEYLINE, Glasgow, Print Studio, Glasgow Scotland.
2023
The Printmaker's Art | Rembrandt to Rego, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh Scotland
2022
Sunkissed, Kypseli Print Studio, Athens Greece
The International Exhibition of Art Books and Zines, Three Dimensional Arts and Moving Images, Bangkok Art & Culture Center, Bangkok, Thailand.
2021
Winter Salon, From the Studio, Studio Pavillion, Glasgow Scotland
Fix 21, Catalyst Arts, Belfast, Ireland
RESET, Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh, Scotland
JOY RIDE, Hubris, Glasgow International, Glasgow, Scotland
Miraculous Noise, Viborg Kunsthal, Viborg, Denmark, March
GIVE BIRTH TO ME TOMORROW, Artist Moving Image Festival, Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland
2020
Power Play : Invisible Lines, Digital Festival, Singapore
Being Present, The OGR - Officine Grandi Riparazioni di Torino, Turin, Italy
Cabbage, Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA), Glasgow, Scotland
2019
‘PR 4 US’ with Matthew Arthur Williams, LUX/BBC Now & Next Round 2, LUX Scotland, Glasgow Scotland
Project XChange, Project X, Dance International Glasgow 2019, Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland
G • L • A • N • Y • C : LOVE HANGOVER, David Dale Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland
Shoot Your Shot, BUZZCUT Club Residency, The Poetry Club, Glasgow, Scotland
Saturday School, BUZZCUT Club Residency, Civic House, Glasgow, Scotland
Dare you do this? FFFF it!, Taiwan Gangshan Dist Contemporary Art Warehouse, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
The Bold Collective, Tron Theater, Glasgow,Scotland
YA DIG?!, ROST, Glasgow, Scotland
Mr. Mov 2 Video Art Festival, SantaGiulia Academy, Brescia, Italy
Aesthetica Art Prize, York Art Gallery, York, United Kingdom
Margaret Tait Contextual Screening: Everything is Everything, Glasgow Film Festival, Glasgow Scotland
Paracosmic Revenue, Transition Gallery, London, United Kingdom
ACQUISITIONS | PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow Scotland
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh Scotland
University of Edinburgh
University of Warwick
RESIDENCIES
2026, The Akoje Residency x King’s Foundation, Dumfries House, Dumfries, Scotland
2023, Center For Somewhere, Take Me Somewhere, The Centre For the Less Good Idea, Johannesburg, South Africa
2022, Kypseli Print Studio, Athens Greece
2022, John Florent Stone Printmaking Residency, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh Printmakers, Edinburgh Scotland
2019, Work Room Residency, Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland
2018, Creative Lab Residency, Centre of Contemporary Arts, Glasgow, Scotland
2017, London Summer Intensive, Camden Arts Centre & Slade School of Fine Art, London, United Kingdom
AWARDS
2025, a-n Artist Bursaries, United Kingdom
2024, Hope Scott Trust, Glasgow, Scotland
2023, Jerwood New Work Fund, United Kingdom
2022, John Florent Stone Residency Award, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh Printmakers, Edinburgh Scotland
2021, Shortlisted, Margaret Tait Award, LUX Scotland, Glasgow Scotland
2018, Selected Artist for Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2018, London, United Kingdom
2012-2016, Full Tuition Scholarship, The Cooper Union, New York
TALKS | PUBLICATIONS
2024, An Evening with Sandra George, GSA Exhibitions, Glasgow International, Glasgow Scotland.
2023, In Conversation with Alberta Whittle, WHAT A FEELING! | ACT I, Edinburgh Printmakers, Edinburgh Scotland
2021, In Conversation with Harold Offeh, REFLECTIVE JESTER: IT’S JUST A FEELING, CCA Glasgow, Scotland
2020, How to Act : That First Sensitive Stage of Becoming Acquainted, Map Magazine, Glasgow Scotland
2019, TALK/SHOP, The Bold Collective, Scottish Youth Theater, Glasgow, Scotland
2017, Collective Blackness, Black Radical Imagination, LUX Scotland,Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
PRESS | FEATURES | REVIEWS
2025
Layered Journey, Profile, Printmaking Today
2024
SCOTTISH MENTAL HEALTH ARTS FESTIVAL,Remember 2 Replenish: self-care is an act of resistance, Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival.
2023
BBC | The Afternoon Show , Interview
BBC | The Culture Scene, Shorts: 5. Celebrating Black Sisterhood Through Art
THE SKINNY, Manifestin' Joy: Christian Noelle Charles at Edinburgh Printmakers
ALETHEA MAGAZINE, Christian Noelle Charles: “Printmaking, especially screen printing, is the foundation for everything I do in art now."
THE LIST, CHRISTIAN NOELLE CHARLES: WHAT A FEELING! | ACT 1 ART REVIEW – SELF-CARE AS AN ART FORM (****)
FLEMING COLLECTION | SCOTTISH ART NEWS, An Interview with Christian Noelle Charles
SCOTTISH CONTEMPORARY ART NETWORK, Artists Make a Better World: Christian Noelle Charles
FEST MAGAZINE, Interview: Christian Noelle Charles
SCOTSMAN, Art reviews: Nat Raha | Christian Noelle Charles (****)| There Is Something In The Way | Makeshift | Kiosk | Synthesis: Beyond the Human
ART MAG, A Portrait in Colour: Christian Noelle Charles at Edinburgh Printmakers
WIDEWALLS, Christian Noelle Charles Explores Racial Identity, Inequality and Care through the Black Feminine Lens
ALT A REVIEW, Artist Christian Noelle Charles explores racial identity, inequality and care through the Black Feminine Lens in new solo exhibition at Edinburgh Printmakers
THE INDEPENDENT, Beauty salon twist offers new perspective for art exhibition
THE GUARDIANDredging, destruction and date rape drugs: Take Me Somewhere’s daring performance art
2021
SUBCITY RADIO, Message in the Music: Christian Noelle Charles with Zakia Sewell - 25/10/21
2020
MAP MAGAZINE, HOW TO ACT: That First Sensitive Stage of Becoming Acquainted: Christian Noelle Charles talks with Adam Benmakhlouf
EDUCATION
2018, The Glasgow School of Art, Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Glasgow, Scotland
2016, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), New York, NY
2015, Universität Der Künste Berlin, Foreign Exchange, Berlin, Germany