Nikola

Artist Bio
Nikola Welcome-Bovell and The Truth Colours Gallery

Art galleries, the sanctuaries of human creativity, stand as portals to a world where the mundane is transcended, and the soul is set free. Like beacons of enlightenment, The Truth Colours Gallery illuminates the tapestry of inner-city Toledo with the vibrant hues of imagination and vision.

Black-owned and operated art galleries are like lighthouses amidst the vast ocean of artistic expression, casting a radiant beacon of diversity and representation. The Truth Colours Gallery of art, located in Old Towne Toledo at 7 E. Bancroft Street, stands as a living testament to the resilience of creativity, pushing against the currents of historical exclusion while illuminating the narratives and talents that have long been eclipsed.

“The Truth Colours Gallery of art is upstairs. Our event space is eccentric and inviting! House of Ginnie’s custom fashion and alterations is downstairs. Our new location is great. The Sojourner’s Truth offices have a special legacy of supporting the community while preserving heritage,” explains Fletcher Word, publisher The Sojourner’s Truth newspaper.

Who is the HGIC? (Head Gallerist In Charge)

Nikola Welcome-Bovell is the resident artist and head gallerist at the The Truth Colours Gallery.

“Yes, I am the artist behind the murals on these walls,” she shares. “I also create many of the curated one-of-a-kind gifts here at the gallery.”

Welcome-Bovell is a renowned artist from Guyana.

“I’ve been an artist from birth,” explains Welcome-Bovell. “There’s never been a starting point and there will never be an ending.

“I was born September 1977 in Georgetown, Guyana,   South America, where I lived until the age of 17. At 17 I migrated to England U.K to join my mother. For as long as I can remember, I was creating art in some way, from making craft out of mud and clay to coloring and sketching with color pencils and Markers.

“In high school my friends would supply color pens markers and water paint so I can design, draw and graffiti design on their school books. I would sketch colorful characters and tell stories in cartoon styles of my friends, for their amusement. I live for God and my art. My purpose is to serve God and to create. He has blessed me with an ability to create and I will not stop.

“At the age of 18 I attended the College of North West London U.K where I studied two years of Art and Design, one year of Design, followed by Textile Design at The University of Leeds. The Sale and Marketing. In 2010 I came to the U.S.A. I then moved to Toledo Ohio, where I have continued with my love of art and design. I had my first exhibition at the age of 19 in London U.K. I now show my work in Illinois, New York, Georgia, Ohio and Guyana. One of my dreams was/is to run my own art gallery. To have artists showcase their works without politics.”

Just as a skilled sculptor molds clay with their hands, the artist is the curator of her own reality, shaping her existence through the alchemy of their thoughts and focus. “The art gallery of the mind is boundless,” says Welcome-Bovell. The Truth Colours Gallery is the expanse where the brushstrokes of imagination can bring life to whatever masterpiece you desire.

“I love doing artistic commissions throughout the Glass City,” she says. “Painting is my love, and on any material.”

Life is not just about the serious pursuits or our burdensome obligations. It is a grand carnival, a medley of pleasure, joy, exhilaration, and amusement, where the brush of an artist’s thoughts can paint a world not chosen by others or even by the former self, but one forged right here, right now, in the vibrant hues of our desires and dreams.

“Artists have to embrace creating the world they choose,” insists gallerist Welcome-Bovell. “We are the maestros of our own reality. I want everyone to experience my art, so for me, I go through different phases of creation.”

“In some seasons of life it takes days or months for an artist to complete a project, making the work more expensive. In my current season as a designer I prefer spending less physical time so that my artwork can be more monetarily accessible.”

Nikola Welcome-Bovell’s approach to educating her clients and fellow artists shines brilliantly.

“First, decide your goals as an artist. Then, when we are able, as artists, to make our art accessible to more clients, I like to think of it as spreading our work around to more people. If that’s the goal, of course.”

The Truth Colours Gallery walls are painted in countless shades.

This gallery is a mosaic of culture, woven with threads of diverse backgrounds, each piece telling a story, painting a picture, and sculpting a memory. They are the custodians of our heritage, the guardians of our future, and the mirrors that reflect the multifaceted facets of our society.

All the artwork displayed exhibits as one vibrant canvas, daubed with the rich, oft-overlooked hues of Black culture. “We are not just a place that sells art, we are sacred storytellers,” states the artist.

Inhabiting your physical body as an artist is like stepping onto a grand stage, a stage where the spotlight is directed at your unique personality and mind. Your thoughts, like the painter’s brush, are the instruments with which you breathe life into your surroundings, casting vivid strokes of creativity onto the canvas of the world.

Art is not limited to the confines of flesh and bone; it’s a channel for the energy that sculpts entire worlds, an oracle of intelligence that births galaxies, and a repository of knowledge that beckons from the cosmos. This cosmic symphony flows through all of us, fueling all creative endeavors with joy and enlightenment.

The threads of ancestral wisdom and contemporary innovation blend seamlessly into a vibrant rainbow of artistry at The Truth Colours Gallery.

Stepping into THIS art gallery and event space is akin to stepping into a painter’s dreamscape, a sculptor’s realm of form and finesse, a photographer’s frozen moment of time. It is a theater of emotions, where the audience, silent and contemplative, becomes an integral part of the performance. Aka: You won’t regret visiting.

In the ever-racing noise in our modern world, art galleries like this emerge as serene oases where one can pause and drink from the wellsprings of inspiration. They are the secret gardens of our minds, where ideas sprout and flourish, roots intertwining with ancient echoes of history.