Ingela Johansson - Art Coach and Contemporary Mixed Media Artist.
- Isobel Arden
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
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Meet Ingela Johansson.
In this interview, Mark invited Ingela Johansson to create her own fantasy cultural year from the answers to some easy questions where there are no wrong answers. Enjoy her journey below.
Ingela Johansson is the kind of artist who doesn’t just decorate a room—she changes how it feels to be in it. A Swedish-born, internationally exhibited contemporary artist, Ingela creates emotionally charged, sensory-rich artworks designed to move people as much as they move through space.
Her creative process is less “sit at desk, paint neatly” and more “enter a flow state somewhere between meditation, music, and nature.” The result? Work that pulses with energy—layered textures, bold colour combinations, and materials that seem to have lived a life before they reached the canvas. Coffee stains, torn paper, charcoal, ink—nothing is off-limits if it helps tell the story.
At the heart of Ingela Johansson’s work is a deep exploration of womanhood. Her pieces honour the messy, the raw, the joyful, and the unapologetically free. These aren’t artworks that whisper politely in the corner—they speak, sometimes loudly, about identity, healing, and emotional truth.
With exhibitions across nine countries and gallery representation, Ingela has firmly established herself as a global contemporary artist. But her work doesn’t stop at the canvas. Through her concept of “Zenart”, she uses creativity as a tool for stress management and emotional wellbeing, guiding individuals and groups into their own creative flow through workshops.
Her career path is anything but linear—in the best possible way. From studying graphic design at The American College in London to art history at Sotheby’s, and fashion design in Scandinavia, Ingela’s multidisciplinary background feeds directly into her richly textured practice. She has also worked as a design director in Singapore, creating contemporary hand-knotted carpets, and spent a decade teaching marketing, design, and visual merchandising.
In 2020, she expanded her creative philosophy into print with Create to Flow, a book and card deck designed to help others unlock their own artistic process—without overthinking it.
Today, Ingela Johansson continues to create, exhibit, and teach internationally, helping people reconnect with creativity not as a performance, but as a way of being.
Ingela Johansson's Fantasy Cultural Year ... with a magic wand and time machine to hand.
Mark introduced the idea of a “fantasy cultural year” - a way to get to know each new full member that's far more spontaneous than a traditional interview — allowing imagination, travel, culture and Ingela Johansson's creative vision to collide.
This hyperthetical, global, fully funded creative journey for Ingela would be exploring the relationship between art and emotion.
🎢 The Fantasy Cultural Year Begins
Ingela chooses Angkor Wat in Cambodia—specifically the iconic temple entwined with tree roots as her favourite building.
Mark imagines her there:
Sitting at a café at sunset
Drinking coconut water
Reading The Red Silk Dress (a book connected to the same region)
Listening to Malaysian artist Yuna, especially the song “Forevermore”
✈️ The Global Research Journey
She’s “hired” by a Cambodian foundation to travel the world studying how art creates emotion and power—complete with:
TV series
Book deal
TED Talk
Global lectures
Her journey begins in Singapore.
💃 Singapore → Bali → Persian Cuisine
She’s welcomed by young artists and taken to a loft apartment
For dance, she chooses Balinese spiritual dance in Bali—valued for its authenticity and collaborative culture
Dinner: Persian cuisine (with a playful fusion twist in Singapore)
🗽 New York – Art as Sport
Next stop: New York
She chooses dressage—a horse-based sport combining movement and music—as her cultural “performance art” experience.
🐎 Mongolia – Immersive Art Experience
In Mongolia, she visits a futuristic gallery where she can step inside artworks using VR.
Her choice: Erró, known for bold, detailed, pop-art-inspired works with political and historical themes.
🎭 London Cultural Week
Back in London, Mark plans a full cultural itinerary:
Monday (Concert):
Sting (a concert she previously attended)
Also mentions INXS as a band she wishes she could see again
Tuesday (Theatre):
A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe
Wednesday (Musical):
We Will Rock You
Thursday (Opera):
Tosca at the Royal Opera House
Friday (Film):
Green Book, starring Viggo Mortensen
🍽️ Final Moment – A Dream Lunch Guest
At a fusion restaurant in London, Ingela chooses to dine with Hilma af Klint:
A pioneering abstract artist
Became famous long after her death
Possibly one of the first abstract artists ever
Known for large-scale, spiritually inspired works
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Mark Walmsley FRSA FCIM AGSM
Chief Culture Vulture
Arts & Culture Network
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