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The 2019 30 Under 30 Europe In Art & Culture: Creatives Making Millions, Making Social Good

This article is more than 5 years old.

The 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe Art & Culture honorees are more than outstanding artists, founders, designer and models. They are the best in the world because in their success, and through their creativity, they champion originality and goodness.

Take Conna Walker, the 26-year-old British maven behind the House of CB. She started the in brand in 2010 with about $4,000 from her dad, and in 2018 the brand made $15 million in profit. House of CB has 40 retail locations, 2.5 million followers on social, and celebrity fans like Jennifer Lopez and Kylie Jenner. This would be enough for most. Yet her ultimate goal is to hire, support and connect with women.

In the same vein, Amar Singh founded Amar Gallery in London, to exclusively represent contemporary female artists and repair the gender imbalance in the art world. The gallery’s collection now includes Guerrilla Girls, Renee Cox and Helen Frankenthaler, among others. And collectors are responsive: In 2018 the gallery brought in upwards of $3 million.

Hannah Rose Thomas has dedicated her life to painting displaced women, like those who escaped ISIS and Boko Haram, Syrian and Myanmar refugees and Rohingya children. These paintings, which testify to the strength and humanity of these women, have graced the walls of Buckingham Palace, the Saatchi Gallery, Scottish, British and European parliamentary houses, and soon, the United Nations headquarters.

Humans are looking for better. Winemakers Baia Abuladze and her family have been producing biodynamic wine for four generation in the 2,000-person village of Obcha in Georgia. Now the world is drinking it in. Their wines have been lauded by the Washington Post and Food & Wine and are served in some of the best restaurants in the world, including Hitimisu in Washington, D.C.

Levon Biss/The Forbes Collection

We want to know the story of what we’re consuming. Alex Lai’s Simple Aloee drinks, which are sold in over 6,000 stores worldwide, are anti-inflammatory and prebiotic. It's also partnered with Drop4Drop to bring Africans clean water and incorporate recycled plastic in their bottles. When he was 24, Portland restaurant founder/chef Merlin Labron-Johnson became the youngest British chef to receive a Michelin star. And with this, he’s helped author the United Nations Chef’s Manifesto, a set of actions co-authored by some of the most important chefs in the world to address the most pressing food issues of our time. In his spare time, he cooks for homeless and refugee populations using food that would otherwise be discarded. He also serves as the culinary director for The Conduit, a members club devoted to social change.

For 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 supermodels Iskra Lawrence and Adwoa Aboah, a pretty face is only a breath of their work; the breadth of their work is influencing healthy change. With over 6 million followers on social media and positions both an AerieREAL role model and National Eating Disorder ambassador, Lawrence has taught women around the world to love their bodies. Aboah has been candid about her struggles with depression and addiction, founding Gurls Talk, an online community for young women to discuss mental health issues and find solace in each other.

 

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