Brilliant

Original outpourings from 60 exceptional creative minds working in the arts and literature today, curated by a new kind of arts platform

Brilliant: Unexpected Art from Everywhere is a bold, visually rich celebration of today’s most exciting artists. Curated by WePresent, an award-winning digital arts and editorial platform telling unexpected stories of creativity from across the globe, many of these artworks have never before been published in print. They range from Mous Lamrabat’s color-saturated exploration of ’90s nostalgia in 2025 Senegal and Qatar, to behind-the-scenes looks at Riz Ahmed and Aneil Karia’s Oscar-winning short film The Long Goodbye and the making of FKA twigs’ electrifying music video Cellophane. Photographs by Quil Lemons, Micaiah Carter, and Renell Medrano, as well as a manifesto by Marina Abramović and an essay by Roxane Gay, were created especially for this book.

Themed around the concept of “discovery,” the featured works address a diverse range of topics, including cultural memory, immigration, the female gaze, physical transformation, and the internet. They are rendered in mediums from painting and drawing to photography, film, and music video. Each work is accompanied by a profile of the artist, providing both context and a broader look at their creative process.

These image-rich artist profiles are punctuated by literary essays and short fiction, and punchy graphic “manifestos” – guides from the likes of Ai Weiwei and Sheila Heti to living a fulfilling creative life.

Evidence that there are infinite ways to express oneself, and that brilliant, unexpected art is being created all around the world every day, Brilliant is an inspiring, untraditional art survey designed for a new generation of creators, collectors, and culture-seekers.

Featured creators include: Russell Tovey, Roxane Gay, Jarvis Cocker, Olivia Laing, Caleb Azumah Nelson, David Sedaris, Marina Abramović, Riz Ahmed, Annie Atkins, Isamaya Ffrench, Sheila Heti, Kneecap, Quil Lemons, Mous Lamrabat, Renell Medrano, Flo Ngala, Polly Nor, Moses Sumney, FKA twigs, Pussy Riot, Tillie Walden, Qualeasha Wood, and Ai Weiwei.

WePresent is an arts platform collaborating with some of the world’s most creative minds to commission unexpected stories, celebrating creativity around the world and sparking inspiration in their millions of readers. They aim to be the most representative creative site on the internet – to date they have collaborated with more than 1000 artists from over 100 countries – because they believe that more voices equals better ideas.

Russell Tovey is an award-winning British actor with an extensive background in film, television, and theater. He is also a passionate art collector and co-hosts the art podcast, “Talk Art,” with friend and gallerist Robert Diament, in which they interview leading artists, curators, gallerists, and celebrities. Their first book is the best-selling Talk Art: Everything You Wanted To Ask About Contemporary Art But Were Afraid To Ask.

Roxane Gay is the author behind the short story collection Ayiti, the novel An Untamed State, the memoir Hunger, and the acclaimed essay collection Bad Feminist. She has also turned her pen to comic books and graphic novels, including Marvel’s World of Wakanda series.