I have brought together a selection of a few of the projects I have been working on recently to give you a flavor of the kinds of things I work on and the variety of themes I explore. Please get in touch if you would like to see a more focussed portfolio of my design work for print and web, or details of the co-production work I have delivered. If you are looking for more information about my performance work as Quinie, please visit this website.
It's Time to Act, Co-produced book with Children of Prisoners Europe, 2020
Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) is a pan-European network working with and on behalf of children with imprisoned parents. This child-friendly version of the Council of Europe Recommendation from April 2018 has been prepared by COPE members with help from children and young people across Europe. It includes children’s voices throughout and is an example of how children can be involved and advocate for what they want and need. I designed the book and managed the inclusion of young people's drawings from Prisons across Scotland.
Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) is a pan-European network working with and on behalf of children with imprisoned parents. This child-friendly version of the Council of Europe Recommendation from April 2018 has been prepared by COPE members with help from children and young people across Europe. It includes children’s voices throughout and is an example of how children can be involved and advocate for what they want and need. I designed the book and managed the inclusion of young people's drawings from Prisons across Scotland.
Design and illustration of Writing Awards with The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2020
The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival’s Writing Awards, in partnership with Bipolar Scotland, is one of the most enduring successes of the festival. An opportunity for first time, and more established writers, to be published in a collection of shortlisted work, the annual ceremony is often where we discover what the festival is really about, as writers from across Scotland and further afield take inspiration from the festival theme in poignant, powerful, personal and often ingenious and surprising ways. I have worked on the awards book for over 5 years now, and it is always a pleasure.
See the publication in full here
The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival’s Writing Awards, in partnership with Bipolar Scotland, is one of the most enduring successes of the festival. An opportunity for first time, and more established writers, to be published in a collection of shortlisted work, the annual ceremony is often where we discover what the festival is really about, as writers from across Scotland and further afield take inspiration from the festival theme in poignant, powerful, personal and often ingenious and surprising ways. I have worked on the awards book for over 5 years now, and it is always a pleasure.
See the publication in full here
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Caring Conversations, Artist in Residence with The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival and See Me .
The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (SMHAF) and See Me commissioned a new piece of work on the theme of Health and Social Care (H&SC). The commissioned work was part of the SMHAF programme in May 2018. The work was developed with community groups based in Paisley in close consultation with SMHAF and See Me. The work has Health and Social Care as its theme and engaged with those who work in a H&SC setting and those that receive H&SC care services. The project culminated in a month long exhibition of multimedia artworks with workshops open to the public throughout the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2018.
In collaboration with Kevin Andrew Morris and Simon Worthington.
The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival (SMHAF) and See Me commissioned a new piece of work on the theme of Health and Social Care (H&SC). The commissioned work was part of the SMHAF programme in May 2018. The work was developed with community groups based in Paisley in close consultation with SMHAF and See Me. The work has Health and Social Care as its theme and engaged with those who work in a H&SC setting and those that receive H&SC care services. The project culminated in a month long exhibition of multimedia artworks with workshops open to the public throughout the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2018.
In collaboration with Kevin Andrew Morris and Simon Worthington.
On Bikes, Artist in Residence.
Leading on the collaborative designs of logos and mural painting of bike hubs across Glasgow with young people from local schools.
St Pauls Youth Forum (2017- ongoing)
Leading on the collaborative designs of logos and mural painting of bike hubs across Glasgow with young people from local schools.
St Pauls Youth Forum (2017- ongoing)
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Wee Monsters, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Tobacco control.
Design and delivery of a participatory process to raise the profile of tobacco control and the impact secondhand smoke has on children and families, and to create signage permanent for a smokefree play park at the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC). (February 2018- December 2018)
Design and delivery of a participatory process to raise the profile of tobacco control and the impact secondhand smoke has on children and families, and to create signage permanent for a smokefree play park at the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC). (February 2018- December 2018)
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Katie Schwab and Quinie, Cairn Gallery, textiles, blown glass, tapestry, essay and performance works. (Aug - October 2018)
A Quinie, or quine-stane, is a corner-stone, a foundational stone of a building. I am an artist and musician and I use the name Quinie to explore my position as a student of the foundational space that women occupy in the Scots song tradition. This show featuredmy songs and the beautiful textile works of artist Katy Schwab.
Cairn Gallery is in Pittenweim, Fife. I did a live Quinie performance there on the opening day.
A Quinie, or quine-stane, is a corner-stone, a foundational stone of a building. I am an artist and musician and I use the name Quinie to explore my position as a student of the foundational space that women occupy in the Scots song tradition. This show featuredmy songs and the beautiful textile works of artist Katy Schwab.
Cairn Gallery is in Pittenweim, Fife. I did a live Quinie performance there on the opening day.
Co-production Workshops and toolkit. Project Manager and co-production lead, Iriss
Co-production is a process that creates change. It is a way of working with, rather than doing to, people and communities to achieve better outcomes. A co-production project sees people who access support as assets and builds on people’s existing capabilities. In addition, it breaks down the barriers between people who use services and professionals. Co-production projects are planned, developed and delivered by a group of people who have different backgrounds and interests. The outputs of a co-production process can be huge, such as services, processes and pathways, or small, such as a community hall’s furniture, a poster, a blog page. Done well, the co-production process can support organisations and individuals become agents for change. As part of my work with Iriss, I developed this free resource focuses on putting ideas into action. For more information about my work with Iriss please visit our website.
Co-production is a process that creates change. It is a way of working with, rather than doing to, people and communities to achieve better outcomes. A co-production project sees people who access support as assets and builds on people’s existing capabilities. In addition, it breaks down the barriers between people who use services and professionals. Co-production projects are planned, developed and delivered by a group of people who have different backgrounds and interests. The outputs of a co-production process can be huge, such as services, processes and pathways, or small, such as a community hall’s furniture, a poster, a blog page. Done well, the co-production process can support organisations and individuals become agents for change. As part of my work with Iriss, I developed this free resource focuses on putting ideas into action. For more information about my work with Iriss please visit our website.
Atopic Art / Expressions of Eczema / Bio and Beyond
Artist | 2015-2017 | Dundee Science Centre, Summerhall Edinburgh, Lifespace Dundee | ASCUS Eczema Outreach Scotland, Trever Gordon, Professor Sarah Brown
Supported by: Wellcome Trust, University of Dundee's School of Medicine and The Arts and Ethics Research Group at the University of Edinburgh
Atopic Art: Expressions of Eczema’ is a partnership project between ASCUS Art & Science, Prof Sarah Brown and Eczema Outreach Scotland. The project first began in early 2015 with ASCUS commissioning myself and artist Trevor Gordon to deliver participatory workshops to families affected by eczema at venues across Scotland inlcuding Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness. From these workshops, and through further consultation with Eczema Outreach Scotland and their members, we developed new artwork inspired by the individual art created by participants during the workshops, and based around the theme of ‘living with eczema’. We creatively incorporated the participants artwork into the final pieces, and worked beyond this to develop new ideas that reflected both the ideas that emerged from this process, along with works inspired by personal expressions of their own experiences of living with eczema. The works have since toured a number of exhibitions across Scotland, including Science Festivals and most recently Dundee Lifespace: Science Art Research gallery.
Photo Credits: Sandra Franco, ASCUS, Raybird Media
Artist | 2015-2017 | Dundee Science Centre, Summerhall Edinburgh, Lifespace Dundee | ASCUS Eczema Outreach Scotland, Trever Gordon, Professor Sarah Brown
Supported by: Wellcome Trust, University of Dundee's School of Medicine and The Arts and Ethics Research Group at the University of Edinburgh
Atopic Art: Expressions of Eczema’ is a partnership project between ASCUS Art & Science, Prof Sarah Brown and Eczema Outreach Scotland. The project first began in early 2015 with ASCUS commissioning myself and artist Trevor Gordon to deliver participatory workshops to families affected by eczema at venues across Scotland inlcuding Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness. From these workshops, and through further consultation with Eczema Outreach Scotland and their members, we developed new artwork inspired by the individual art created by participants during the workshops, and based around the theme of ‘living with eczema’. We creatively incorporated the participants artwork into the final pieces, and worked beyond this to develop new ideas that reflected both the ideas that emerged from this process, along with works inspired by personal expressions of their own experiences of living with eczema. The works have since toured a number of exhibitions across Scotland, including Science Festivals and most recently Dundee Lifespace: Science Art Research gallery.
Photo Credits: Sandra Franco, ASCUS, Raybird Media
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The Big W
Artist / 2016 / Winchburgh / Dallas-Pierce-Quintero, West Lothian Council Planning Services
The Big.W- A Public Art Plan for Winchburgh’ is a vision for how public art can help shape the £1 billion development of Winchburgh, near Edinburgh. Working with local residents, West Lothian Council Planning Services, Community Arts services, the Winchburgh developers and their design team we have envisioned a series a projects that can form part of this transformation in the medium to long term future.
I developed and delivered a community workshop to facilitate the communities involvement in the public art strategy. This work was then included as the cover and illustrations within the strategy produced by Dallas-Pierce-Quintero.
Artist / 2016 / Winchburgh / Dallas-Pierce-Quintero, West Lothian Council Planning Services
The Big.W- A Public Art Plan for Winchburgh’ is a vision for how public art can help shape the £1 billion development of Winchburgh, near Edinburgh. Working with local residents, West Lothian Council Planning Services, Community Arts services, the Winchburgh developers and their design team we have envisioned a series a projects that can form part of this transformation in the medium to long term future.
I developed and delivered a community workshop to facilitate the communities involvement in the public art strategy. This work was then included as the cover and illustrations within the strategy produced by Dallas-Pierce-Quintero.
Farm Hack: Living a good life on hard land
Artist / chef | 30th-2nd October 2016 | The Big Shed, Loch Tay | Common Good Food, Nourish Scotland, The Big Shed
Farm Hack is a community of farmers and growers developing appropriate tools for small scale ecological farming. The event brought together farmers, growers, crofters, orchardists, agroecologists, fabricators, tinkerers, engineers and IT programmers to demonstrate and share tools, skills & ideas. Over the two days there where field demonstrations, practical workshops, seminars, entertainment, good food, local ale and celebration.
Working with produce grown by the community, and locally sourced meat and fish, I delivered a weekend worth of meals. Steaming pots of stew, colourful salads, and local herbs came together to create feasts based on traditional Scottish farmhouse cooking. I also designed the visual identity for the weekend, creating hand printed programmes for participants.
Photo Credits: Clem Sandison
Press: Farm Hack Film
Artist / chef | 30th-2nd October 2016 | The Big Shed, Loch Tay | Common Good Food, Nourish Scotland, The Big Shed
Farm Hack is a community of farmers and growers developing appropriate tools for small scale ecological farming. The event brought together farmers, growers, crofters, orchardists, agroecologists, fabricators, tinkerers, engineers and IT programmers to demonstrate and share tools, skills & ideas. Over the two days there where field demonstrations, practical workshops, seminars, entertainment, good food, local ale and celebration.
Working with produce grown by the community, and locally sourced meat and fish, I delivered a weekend worth of meals. Steaming pots of stew, colourful salads, and local herbs came together to create feasts based on traditional Scottish farmhouse cooking. I also designed the visual identity for the weekend, creating hand printed programmes for participants.
Photo Credits: Clem Sandison
Press: Farm Hack Film
Co-designing St Pauls’ Youth Forum
Artist & Designer | 2017 | Glasgow | St Pauls’ Youth Forum, Blackhill on Bikes & Blackhills growing
St. Paul’s Youth Forum is a collection of youth focused programmes based in Provanmill in the North East part of Glasgow. Our programmes provide young people between the ages of 0-25 with opportunities to learn, develop, and interact in a safe and fun environment. I have been working with the team at St Paul’s Youth Forum to co-create a visual identity for the service using creative workshops and consultation with the young people.
Artist & Designer | 2017 | Glasgow | St Pauls’ Youth Forum, Blackhill on Bikes & Blackhills growing
St. Paul’s Youth Forum is a collection of youth focused programmes based in Provanmill in the North East part of Glasgow. Our programmes provide young people between the ages of 0-25 with opportunities to learn, develop, and interact in a safe and fun environment. I have been working with the team at St Paul’s Youth Forum to co-create a visual identity for the service using creative workshops and consultation with the young people.
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Quinie: The Haar / Gaitherin Shells
Artist / performer | 2016- Ongoing | Glasgow | Greater Lanarkshire Research Council, Oliver Pitt and Green Door Studios
Cassette, Edition of 50, with hand made felt cover and tape design by Josie Vallely, with source notes.
Video work In collaboration with Joel White, Gordon Bruce and Imogen Bidwell
Quinie is performance project exploring unaccompanied Scots song. Quinie, or quine-stane, refers to a cornerstone- a foundation. My project is concerned with exploring the foundational space that women occupy in our interpretation of the Scots tradition. Inspired by North Eastern Scots source singers, I bring together a range of sources and sparse accompaniments to create new material routed in the tradition. My repertoire focuses on stories sung from women’s perspectives, songs that document domestic life and explore the relationship between place and identity. I am particularly influenced by the work of poet Marion Angus, and the repertoire of Lizzie Higgins.
In the new year I will developing this project. By immersing my self in the narratives of the NE of Scotland- through archive, song, photography, landscape, mark making, walking and print process- I will develop a new repertoire of songs that investigate the tensions and inconsistencies that exist between the formidable (mountains / moor / ocean) and domestic (tedium / objects / care). These songs will be based in traditional works but incorporate new interpretations, sounds and spoken word.
Artist / performer | 2016- Ongoing | Glasgow | Greater Lanarkshire Research Council, Oliver Pitt and Green Door Studios
Cassette, Edition of 50, with hand made felt cover and tape design by Josie Vallely, with source notes.
Video work In collaboration with Joel White, Gordon Bruce and Imogen Bidwell
Quinie is performance project exploring unaccompanied Scots song. Quinie, or quine-stane, refers to a cornerstone- a foundation. My project is concerned with exploring the foundational space that women occupy in our interpretation of the Scots tradition. Inspired by North Eastern Scots source singers, I bring together a range of sources and sparse accompaniments to create new material routed in the tradition. My repertoire focuses on stories sung from women’s perspectives, songs that document domestic life and explore the relationship between place and identity. I am particularly influenced by the work of poet Marion Angus, and the repertoire of Lizzie Higgins.
In the new year I will developing this project. By immersing my self in the narratives of the NE of Scotland- through archive, song, photography, landscape, mark making, walking and print process- I will develop a new repertoire of songs that investigate the tensions and inconsistencies that exist between the formidable (mountains / moor / ocean) and domestic (tedium / objects / care). These songs will be based in traditional works but incorporate new interpretations, sounds and spoken word.
Exploring Violence: reflecting on personal experience of domestic and state violence
Artist | 2015 | Mossheights community flats, Glasgow | Govan and Craigton Integration Network and artist Bellinda Gilbert Scot
Together with Artist Belinda Gilbert Scott, I ran a series of workshops with the GCIN’s women’s group, exploring experiences of state and domestic violence. As part of GCIN’s 16 days of action, we co-created a series of posters about violence in our communities. Expressed in Arabic and English, we used bold collage to explore this potentially difficult theme to great effect.
Artist | 2015 | Mossheights community flats, Glasgow | Govan and Craigton Integration Network and artist Bellinda Gilbert Scot
Together with Artist Belinda Gilbert Scott, I ran a series of workshops with the GCIN’s women’s group, exploring experiences of state and domestic violence. As part of GCIN’s 16 days of action, we co-created a series of posters about violence in our communities. Expressed in Arabic and English, we used bold collage to explore this potentially difficult theme to great effect.
Prescriptions: Artists’ Books and the Medical Humanities
Artist | April-September 2016 | University of Kent, Beaney house of Art and Knowledge | Dr Stella Bolaki and Egidija Čiricaitė
Supported by: Wellcome Trust, The Maine Women Writers Collection; Department of English; Westbrook College of Health Professions; and Women’s and Gender Studies (University of New England); as well as from The Centre for Gender, Sexuality and Writing; The Centre for American Studies; and the Faculty of Humanities (University of Kent).
The Prescriptions exhibition presents artists' books by Maine book artist Martha Hall for the first time in the UK. Hall's books, created from 1998 until her death in 2003, document her experiences with breast cancer and her interactions with the medical community. They use many constructions and designs that challenge the conventional book form and demand a physical reading. The Prescriptions exhibition also includes a supporting show of artists’ books by national and international artists responding to themes of art and wellbeing. My Artists Book, COPD:Derek’s story was selected for the exhibition and publications.
Photo Credit: Egidija Čiricaitė
Artist | April-September 2016 | University of Kent, Beaney house of Art and Knowledge | Dr Stella Bolaki and Egidija Čiricaitė
Supported by: Wellcome Trust, The Maine Women Writers Collection; Department of English; Westbrook College of Health Professions; and Women’s and Gender Studies (University of New England); as well as from The Centre for Gender, Sexuality and Writing; The Centre for American Studies; and the Faculty of Humanities (University of Kent).
The Prescriptions exhibition presents artists' books by Maine book artist Martha Hall for the first time in the UK. Hall's books, created from 1998 until her death in 2003, document her experiences with breast cancer and her interactions with the medical community. They use many constructions and designs that challenge the conventional book form and demand a physical reading. The Prescriptions exhibition also includes a supporting show of artists’ books by national and international artists responding to themes of art and wellbeing. My Artists Book, COPD:Derek’s story was selected for the exhibition and publications.
Photo Credit: Egidija Čiricaitė
Communal Leisure
Co-producer / artist / facilitator | 2016- Ongoing | Glasgow | Communal Leisure collective, Independent artists and writers, Counterflows Festival
Communal Leisure is a space for discussion and sharing of music, art and politics, based in Glasgow. We aim to unpack ideas of work, labour, ‘DIY’ culture, and leisure. Our online poster wall primarily features events that are non-profit, free or cheap, politically aware and implicitly or actively working against forms of oppression based on race, gender, sexuality, ability, bodies and class. We have an open collective of people working on both our print and online forms. Together with Artist Oliver Pitt, I design the print publications of communal leisure. I also contribute to the collective, facilitating events, encouraging new people to get involved and sharing our work.
Press: Glasgow based post-DIY platform launches Communal Leisure
Co-producer / artist / facilitator | 2016- Ongoing | Glasgow | Communal Leisure collective, Independent artists and writers, Counterflows Festival
Communal Leisure is a space for discussion and sharing of music, art and politics, based in Glasgow. We aim to unpack ideas of work, labour, ‘DIY’ culture, and leisure. Our online poster wall primarily features events that are non-profit, free or cheap, politically aware and implicitly or actively working against forms of oppression based on race, gender, sexuality, ability, bodies and class. We have an open collective of people working on both our print and online forms. Together with Artist Oliver Pitt, I design the print publications of communal leisure. I also contribute to the collective, facilitating events, encouraging new people to get involved and sharing our work.
Press: Glasgow based post-DIY platform launches Communal Leisure
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Commonwealth Cookery
Artist | 2015 | Glasgow | Open Jar collective, Clem Sandison , Central and West Integration network
Central and West Integration Network had 2 commonwealth
cookery projects in 2015 funded by Celebrate and Glasgow City Council Area Budget. Together with Open Jar’s Clem Sandison and Central and West Integration network’s women’s group, we created a recipe book of home dishes form across the world. This Cookbook was created through a series of workshops delivered by Open Jar Collective exploring the ingredients and flavours of different cuisines. The project is part of the wider Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games legacy.
We worked with a group of women with a love for food, who came together to share the flavours of their childhood. Almost all of the recipes in the book have been passed down by mothers, grandmothers and aunties, through the ritual of women preparing family meals together in the kitchen.
Photo Credits: Clem Sandison
RSPB Garden festival
Artist | 2015 | Glasgow | RSPB and Kelvingrove Bio Blitz
The Garden festival is a collaborative effort between RSPB Scotland, Glasgow City Council, community groups and community gardens, encouraging everyone to explore Glasgow’s green spaces and create more homes for nature. I worked on the visuals for the festival based on digital collage techniques, using patterns created in community workshops inspired by the RSPB Glasgow priority species: house sparrows, pipistrelle bats, hedgehogs, bumble bees, water voles, and swifts. The workshops took place on a busy afternoon in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, where we created textures painted with paintbrushes crafted from nature. Have you ever tried painting with a pine cone? It's messy! I also ran a ‘make your own nature notebook’ session during the Kelvingrove Bio Blitz. Teaching basic book making, collage and binding skills.
Press: A patch-worked collage of critters
Artist | 2015 | Glasgow | RSPB and Kelvingrove Bio Blitz
The Garden festival is a collaborative effort between RSPB Scotland, Glasgow City Council, community groups and community gardens, encouraging everyone to explore Glasgow’s green spaces and create more homes for nature. I worked on the visuals for the festival based on digital collage techniques, using patterns created in community workshops inspired by the RSPB Glasgow priority species: house sparrows, pipistrelle bats, hedgehogs, bumble bees, water voles, and swifts. The workshops took place on a busy afternoon in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, where we created textures painted with paintbrushes crafted from nature. Have you ever tried painting with a pine cone? It's messy! I also ran a ‘make your own nature notebook’ session during the Kelvingrove Bio Blitz. Teaching basic book making, collage and binding skills.
Press: A patch-worked collage of critters
A People’s history of the Woodcraft Folk
Artist & Designer | 2013- ongoing | UK wide | The Woodcraft Folk and the Media co-op
I have a long running relationship with the co-operative youth group The Woodcraft Folk, and have worked with them on a number of projects. Most recently I have been involved in their heritage project- celebrating 90 years of the organisation. Along with The Media Co-op, we co-designed and the new heritage website and accompanying resources. I also run sessions for young people and ran a group for 16-18 year olds from 2011 to 2012.
Artist & Designer | 2013- ongoing | UK wide | The Woodcraft Folk and the Media co-op
I have a long running relationship with the co-operative youth group The Woodcraft Folk, and have worked with them on a number of projects. Most recently I have been involved in their heritage project- celebrating 90 years of the organisation. Along with The Media Co-op, we co-designed and the new heritage website and accompanying resources. I also run sessions for young people and ran a group for 16-18 year olds from 2011 to 2012.
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Joey's Midnight Adventure and other stories
Artist & Designer | 2015 | Crookston Castle Primary School, Glasgow | Historic Scotland
I was lead artist on the Historic Scotland Crookston castle project. With the support of staff, I delivered a week long intensive course on making a picture book- Pupils from Crookston Castle Primary School wrote, illustrated and published a series of books about the castle. Members of the local community then helped the pupils bring their stories to life by creating puppets and story sacks to go with them. We explored characterisation, graphic design, book design, mood boards and even ran our own book launch. The books and props are available for other young people to borrow, enhancing their own visits to the 15th century castle that is next to the school.
Photo credit: Historic Scotland
Artist & Designer | 2015 | Crookston Castle Primary School, Glasgow | Historic Scotland
I was lead artist on the Historic Scotland Crookston castle project. With the support of staff, I delivered a week long intensive course on making a picture book- Pupils from Crookston Castle Primary School wrote, illustrated and published a series of books about the castle. Members of the local community then helped the pupils bring their stories to life by creating puppets and story sacks to go with them. We explored characterisation, graphic design, book design, mood boards and even ran our own book launch. The books and props are available for other young people to borrow, enhancing their own visits to the 15th century castle that is next to the school.
Photo credit: Historic Scotland
