Winnipeg artist Gibril Bangura signs with gallery in England

A refugee fromSierra Leone who peddled his artwork around Winnipeg on a bicycle has signeda contract with a gallery inLondon, England.

GibrilBangura's work will first be part ofan exhibition for the United Nations in New York this summer. It willthen be sent on to London to be auctioned off to raise money for Ebola victims and their families.

"It is uplifting. It is encouraging. Itmakes me driven me to do more [and] it tells me the sky is my limit," said Bangura, whose come a long way in a short time against big odds.

Bangurafled his west African country in 2014with hiswife and three children, arriving homeless inWinnipeg in the bitter February cold.

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The family stayed at Welcome Place atemporary residence for refugees offered by theManitoba Interfaith Immigration Council Inc. then moved into a co-op housing unit.

WhileBangura cycled around, winter or summer, trying to sell art cards, he would encounternaysayerswhotold him he would never make it as an artist in the city.

But Bangura proved them wrong.In April 2015, he was invited to put his art up in Seven Oaks Hospital, becomingthe first artist to utilize a new gallery space in one of the main hallways at the hospital.

His work was then picked up bythe Gurevich Gallery in Winnipeg's Exchange District.

"Ifsomeone says something contrary to what I believe, you are only pushing me forward. That's what I believe." Bangura said."I know the only person who can stop me is me myself.

The London Gallery found Bangura's workon Facebook.

Although theart has already been sent to New York for the exhibit, Bangura himself won't be there to see it on display.He was unable to get his documentationfast-trackedthrough customs and immigration to be able to cross the border.

Gibril says whatever success comes his way, he will always live in Winnipeg.He loves the city and thewinter it gives him more time to stay indoors and paint.