Studio Update: Exhibitions & Projects

As climate change becomes something many of us now feel viscerally through scorching summers, and with such major environmental issues at stake, art has an increasingly vital role to play.

Studio

Above: me in the studio, photo by Vaughan Ives

Stilt Structure V maquette; salvaged and found materials - tin, copper, steel, brass. Below: work in progress, buddleia dyeing, shells stitched onto salvaged rubber. work in progress, buddleia dyeing, shells stitched onto salvaged rubber.

I’ve been slowly developing new work while adapting earlier pieces for upcoming shows.

Flags of the Forest (’23), an outdoor installation made from salvaged textiles, wood and steel, is being reworked. The botanically dyed fabric has bleached in sunlight, echoing our severely parched landscape. I’m dyeing and hand-stitching more patches using buddleia flowers and turmeric, building up layers and holding onto the idea of hope, repair and resilience. The work will be shown in Beyond Horizons (see below).

Last month culminated in a group of large, site-responsive sculptural installations for Winscombe Festival. I worked with Tomasin Cuthbert and schoolchildren, who created elements for the works.

Community in Landscape Installation, Winscombe Festival, in collaboration with Soap Soup Arts. Photos above by Edward Felton

Upcoming shows & projects

Black Swan Arts Open
8 Aug–27 Sept, 10am–4pm
The Long Gallery, Black Swan Arts, 2 Bridge St, Frome BA11 1BB

Where are we now?
44AD Artspace, 4 Abbey St, Bath BA1 1NN
25–30 Aug, 11am–5pm daily (closing 4pm Sun 30 Aug)
PV: 24 Aug, 5–8pm

Artists in Conversation: Wed 26 Aug, 6pm
Children’s Workshop: Sketch & Sculpt: Sun 30 Aug, 11am–1pm. With Fiona Campbell and Shirley Sharp. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Explore the process of moving between sketching and sculpting. Book via Eventbrite, £12pp.

Touring to No. 6 Bruton for Somerset Art Weeks Festival, 25 Sept–4 Oct, Fri–Sun, 10am–5pm.

FAULT: studies in survival
The Old Waiting Room, Peckham Rye Station, London SE15 4RX
Open 4–6 Sept, 12–5pm
PV: Thurs 3 Sept, 6–9pm

FAULT: studies in survival brings together 21 artists exploring endurance shaped by pressure, repetition, fatigue, uncertainty and adaptation through painting, sculpture, installation, sound and expanded practices.

Featuring: b A abike, Karl Bielik, Fiona Campbell, Theo Chaudoir, Gail Corrie, Vincent Hawkins, Andrew Graves, Geoffrey Howe, Mandy Leonard, Jo Martin, Iris McConnell, Kate McDonnell, Lou Mumford, Toshiki Ohta, Monica Perez, Steve Pettengell, Dean Piacentini, Abi Joy Samuel, Alexandra Searle, Daniel Streeter and Harry Whitelock.

London-based Anglo-Japanese DJ, broadcaster and curator Toshiki Ohta will create a specially curated sonic response for the Private View.

Curated by Jo Martin & Mandy Leonard. Installation Lead: Gail Corrie. Exhibition Music Curator: Toshiki Ohta.

Guila Tofana
The Chapel, Brompton Cemetery, London SW10 9UQ
Open studio rehearsals from 14 Sept; performances 20 Sept (times TBC).
A collaboration with Ushara Dilrukshan and Anousha Payne combining installation and performance for London Design Week.

Beyond Horizons
5 Sept–4 Oct
Stoberry Park Garden, Stoberry Park, Wells, Somerset BA5 3LD
Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun: 10.30am–4pm; Thurs: 1–7pm; Mon closed except 7 Sept, 10.30am–4pm.
Admission: adults £8 prepaid (£10 at gate); under 5s free; ages 5-18 £3.

Beyond Horizons is a new outdoor sculpture show at Stoberry Park, set to become an annual event. The 5.5 acres of landscaped grounds have dramatic views of Wells Cathedral and Glastonbury Tor, and the show forms part of Somerset Art Weeks Festival.

Family Workshop: Mini Textiles Hanging Workshop
With me, Sun 4 Oct, 10.30am–12.30pm. Book via Eventbrite, £12pp + exhibition entrance fee.

I’ve also been managing the Beyond Horizons Instagram account - do follow!

Hazelmere Sculpture Trail
Hazelmere, Hillcommon TA4 1DU
19 Sept–4 Oct, as part of Somerset Art Weeks Festival.
“A natural gallery for contemporary outdoor sculpture.”
Instagram: @hazelmeresculpture

The Gleaning on Tour
27–29 Sept ’26, St Cuthbert’s Centre, Lindisfarne TD15 2RZ.
Workshop: Sketch, Scribe, Stitch with Gill Sakakini, Polly Hall, Fiona Campbell and Rosalind Teesdale-Ives, 29 Sep 10-1. Book here.

Youth Open Exhibition, The Old Town Hall, Trowbridge

I’ve just curated the inaugural Youth Open Exhibition at The Old Town Hall with Zoe Harper. My relationship with the building goes back many years: I had an art residency and solo exhibition in the cells in 2019. Since then, the building has had a major facelift and the gallery is now a beautiful space for showing art. It’s so important to celebrate and nurture children’s creativity - art is an essential part of humanity. I’ve loved finding connections between the young artists’ work, playing with scale and style so the pieces speak to each other across the room. Congratulations to all the winners!

Art Courses

I have upcoming Eco Sculpture and Creative Sketchbooking courses starting soon with Frome Community Education. See the full range of FCE art courses. Book soon - numbers are limited.

Hope to see you at some of these events! x

Collaboration and Community

I’ve been juggling several projects recently, so progress on my own art practice has been slow. A commission, along with various home improvements and repairs, has taken up much of my time for the past month or so.

Squeezing in hours to develop a series of small-scale Stilt Structures. These fragile assemblages stand somewhere between creature and scaffold, speaking of vulnerability and repair.

Stilt Structure V

Studio shot

Stilt Structure IV, Collaged recycled paper and plant debris

UPCOMING PROJECTS & EXHIBITIONS

Collaboration and community have been key lately. It’s been a pleasure to work on a commissioned project Communities in the Landscape for Winscombe Festival, 12 July. I am co-creating a largescale sculptural installation with Tomasin Cuthbert (Soap Soup Arts) alongside students at Banwell & Sandford primary schools, and Churchill Academy (where I taught Tomasin 30 years ago!). Tomasin has worked incredibly hard organising the Festival, which brings community together, and my part is funded by Somerset Community Foundation. Do please support the Festival Crowdfunder: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/winscombe-festival-2026

Tomasin working on our collaborative installation

Installation in progress

Delighted that Clad (below) has been selected for Black Swan Arts Open, 8 Aug - 27 Sept.

Clad, 41 x 31 x 36 cm, recycled materials: fabric, sponge, polyester stuffing, wool, thread, wire, steel, 2026

Following our collaborative travelling project 'Inch by IN:CH’ that took art to the people in community spaces across South West UK in 2021, our IN:CH collective is curating a show 'Where are we now?’ in 44AD, Bath touring to No 6 Bruton for Somerset Art Weeks Festival.

44AD, 4 Abbey St. Bath, BA1 1NN, 25–30 Aug, 11am–5pm daily (closing 4pm Sun 30/08). PV: 24 Aug, 5–8pm. Events: Artists in Conversation: Wed 26 Aug, 6pm 44AD,. Free, no booking needed. Workshop: Sketch & Sculpt, Sun 30 Aug, 11am–1pm. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Led by Fiona Campbell and Shirley Sharp. Book Eventbrite £12pp.

No 6 Bruton, High Street, Bruton, Somerset BA10 0AA, 25 Sept-4 Oct (open Fri, Sat, Sun).

I’ll be exhibiting in FAULT: studies in survival, The Old Waiting Room: Peckham Rye Station, London. 3–6 Sept. The exhibition considers forms of endurance.

Excited to be collaborating with Ushara Dilrukshan & Anousha Payne in an installation & performance at The Chapel, Brompton Cemetery, London SW10 9UQ for London design week. We will be premiering Guila Tofana with open studio rehearsals from 14th and performances on 20 Sept (times tbc). Giulia Tofana was a woman famed for unleashing poison on unsuspecting husbands of 17thC Palermo and Rome. This released women trapped in abusive or unhappy marriages who lacked any legal means to divorce.

Beyond Horizons, Stoberry Park Gardens, Wells, Somerset BA5 3LD, 5 Sept-4 Oct (closed Mon), part of Somerset Art Weeks Festival. I’ll be leading a textiles workshop on Sunday 4th Oct. Get in touch if interested.

The Gleaning (origin 2021) is touring to St Cuthbert’s Centre, Prior Lane, Holy Island TD15 2RX, 27-29 Sept, 10-4 (Mon-Fri), 10-1 (Tues). Free Exhibition & events: Sun 27 - all day drop in Workshop creating textile pieces; Mon 28 - 10-12 Artists’ Tour & Talk, Tues 29 - 10-1 Workshop: Sketch, Scribe, Stitch, £15pp inc tea & cake. Book: https://shorturl.at/zssj0

Enjoyed being on the selection panel of judges for Ilminster Arts Centre Open, runs until 31 July.

I’ll be curating the Summer Youth Open Exhibition, Trowbridge Town Hall Gallery 8-19 yr olds. Last chance to get your young people to enter (free!) - deadline for submissions 5 July: https://www.tothtrowbridge.com/events/youth-open-exhibition-call-for-entries/

I’m mentoring some of SAW’s Micro Commissioned artists, and learning as I go.

My Autumn term Courses via Frome Community Education will be available to book from Monday 13th July.

Featured in Somerset Life Magazine - June issue!

Enjoy the summer and hope to see you at some of these events!

Picking up Past Threads

Stilt Structure IV, Found, discarded, recycled materials: wood, jute, fabric (some naturally dyed), leather, polyester stuffing, feathers, sponge, copper wire, sisal, thread; 174 x 76 x 78cms; 2026

This year is turning into a period of picking up past threads, nurturing what already exists, and developing new work. I’m returning to projects that were set aside for a while, rebuilding connections, and engaging with the wider community.

Upcoming:

‘Communities in the Landscape' is a community arts project which will be part of The Winscombe Festival of Arts and Nature (12th July). Tomasin Cuthbert (Soap Soup Theatre Director) - who I used to teach at Churchill School - invited me to collaborate with her to create a large-scale sculptural installation. We’re working with schoolchildren to create multiple elements for the piece, inspired by shapes in our local landscape, insect/animal forms, and temporary human structures like washing lines, tents and dens.

So far, with Reception and Year 1 children (Sandford Primary School), we’ve been using eco botanical inks to make tie dye patches, weaving beads/buttons/bottle tops into wire ‘danglies’, and painting inspired by animal tracks and water movement - all to be hand-stitched together. We’ll also be working with Churchill Academy and Banwell Primary to create small sculptural pieces, embroider surfaces and more... I’ve been enjoying all the prep!

The final structure - an ambiguous hybrid form alluding to creature, playhouse, and vista - will imply precarity, adaptability and resilience, treading the earth - sometimes lightly, sometimes leaving scars. Galvanised by the notion that humans are not centre stage, and that our existence has always been a shared one with our non-human neighbours, we’re exploring our shared vulnerabilities, and ways to heal collectively. In our contemporary world, in which technology is changing at a rapid pace and affecting us as beings, it’s more important than ever to consider our natural connections.

The Gleaning on Tour to Holy Island

In 2022, I co-curated a community art project The Gleaning with Gill Sakakini. We worked closely with Polly Hall, and were supported by Rosalind Teasdale-Ives, Bella Frey and others.

Our project was about bringing people together, community, sanctuary, care & repair, sustainability, diversity - referencing global traditions, especially the handmade.  We reused material remnants including botanically dyed fabric, handmade paper, and found objects, which were imprinted, embedded, and stitched into patchwork and appliqué.  We created 11 large-scale translucent installations suspended in front of 5m windows in Shepton Mallet church - replicating stained glass.  We engaged numerous people of different ages, backgrounds, abilities, genders, nationalities. For inspiration we looked at a range of art from countries around the world, including Korean bojagi textiles works, Gee’s Bend textiles, African textiles, Polish and Romanian folkart.

We’re taking this project to Holy Island for a week in September, and getting excited about the trip connecting north and south!  The Gleaning opens 27-29th September, St Cuthberts Church, Holy Island, Sun/Mon 10-4, Tuesday 10-1pm.  On Monday 10am-12noon we’ll give a Tour & Talk; and on Tuesday 10am-1pm were offering a free Sketch, Scribe, Stitch Workshop.

Where Are We Now?

Five years on from our travelling exhibition Inch by IN:CH, artists from the collective are coming together to present new perspectives. Our exhibition will open at 44AD, Bath 24 Aug - 30 Aug, 11-5. PV Mon 24 Aug, 5-8pm; Wed 26 Aug, 6pm, In-Conversation; Sun 11-1 children’s workshop Sketch & Sculpt, £10 with Shirley & Fiona. Touring to No.6 Bruton, as part of Somerset Art Weeks Festival, open 25 Sept - 4 Oct, Fri-Sun, 10-4.

Beyond Horizons

Delighted Flags of the Forest has been selected for Beyond Horizons, a new annual major sculpture event to be held at Stoberry Park Garden, Wells, Somerset (5 Sept - 4 Oct), timed to coincide with Somerset Art Weeks. Flags of the Forest is a large-scale sculptural installation with textiles elements activated by the weather. I’m looking forward to placing it later this year in the magnificent grounds. Thanks to the panel of judges: Theresa Bergne, Nicola Knight, Fred McDonald, Martin Staniforth, Freeny Yianni, and Frances & Tim Meeres Young.

Flags of the Forest, installed at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, 2023

Behind the scenes, I’m assisting Beyond Horizons, mainly managing the Instagram account.

Also supporting Micro Commission and Creative Pathways artists for Somerset Art Works.

Plus, developing new Stilt Structures, a series originating in 2024, some for outdoors.

Hand drawn design for outdoor Stilt Structure

My storage shed is nearing completion - it’s been a long drawn out project! Also spending time doing up my living/work spaces, appreciating what I have. 

XL Exhibition, Black Swan Arts, Frome. Last day today! Closing Hour 3-4pm - all welcome. Pleased to have donated a painting ‘Garlic’ to this fundraising exhibition, celebrating 40 years of Frome’s first arts centre. Do pop along for the final hour if near Frome!

Enjoy the summer months and hope to catch you at some point!

Spring Update

Tethered Lines: Matter Becoming - solo exhibition at No.6 Bruton. Photo Russell Sach.

John Ruskin Prize Exhibition, Trinity Buoy Wharf, London

Me with Stilt Structure II. Photo Parker Harris

Since the John Ruskin Prize Exhibition at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London (29 January -21 February), featuring Stilt Structure II, I’ve had a Solo Exhibition Tethered Lines; Matter Becoming (27 February - 8 March) at No 6 Bruton, Somerset. An intimate gallery space, I made the most of the fabulous window.

Photos above by Russell Sach

I made new work for the exhibition. Unravelling the Fury, made of rusty seat springs, rope, wood, cables, steel chains, copper, aluminium, plastic, latex, rubber, foam, fabric, sisal, twine, reclaims early meanings of the serpent. Tied to the Earth, the chthonic realm, across cultures it signifies rebirth, transformation, healing, regeneration, and the cyclical unity of life and death. In matriarchal societies, serpents were worshipped. As patriarchal religions rose, and myths evolved, the serpent’s meaning was distorted: male heroism became defined by slaying it, symbolically silencing the feminine and severing ties to the land. This piece gestures towards a worldview that honours the Earth and all life, equality, alongside an underlying reflection of our waste and consumerism.

Using reclaimed materials and labour-intensive processes, the work engaged with interconnectedness, transformation, and precarity through gestures of care and repair. The show was well received:: “Magical show of work by the ever poetic and inspiring Fiona Campbell. Her work takes on the big issues - environment, waste, the power of nature, our place in it - with such an elegance and lightness of touch that you fall in love with these twisted forms made from found objects, old bits of wire and teabags and learn that there is beauty in the most unlikely of places” - Theresa Simon. I’m grateful to Russell Sach for some excellent photos, and thanks to all who visited, spent time looking, chatting, and buying. I was present at the gallery during open times and so enjoyed the conversations and connections.

Photo Russell Sach

Riot was performed in a Fashion Show (7 February) and later on display in the Costume Exhibition at the Amulet, as part of the Snowdrop Festival, Shepton Mallet. Photos above and below by Jason Bryant.

My work will be part of a group multi-disciplinary exhibition While We’re Watching by six artists who found connection through our shared work together as invigilators at Hauser & Wirth Somerset. Taking place at No 6 Bruton, again, the exhibition runs from 27 March – 6 April (Friday–Sunday, 11am–5pm), 6 High Street, Bruton, Somerset BA10 0AA. PV: Friday 27 March, 6-8pm - all welcome!

I have a few other projects coming up including the making of a large sculptural installation for Winscombe Festival, in collaboration with Tomasin Cuthbert Menes (Soup Soup Arts) and local schools.

I’m also working behind the scenes for Beyond Horizons (Sculpture in the Garden, 4 September-5 October 2026)..

If you’d like to do a course with me, I have a few starting soon with Frome Community Education: Eco Sculpture, Drawing and Creative Sketchbooking. See the full range of courses here. Book soon as number are limited.

Alternatively, my Online Sculpture Course (self-directed) is great value at £40 - take advantage before the price goes up!

For more regular updates follow my Instagram @fionacampbellartist

The John Ruskin Prize & Upcoming Solo

Yesterday I installed Stilt Structure II at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London for The John Ruskin Prize Exhibition (64 Orchard Place, London E14 0JW). Open 29 Jan-21 Feb (Wed-Fri 11-5; weekends 10-5), it’s free entry. Looking forward to the PV this eve. Please do visit the show if you’re in London.

Stilt Structure II has been created through slow hand-stitching, and other labour-intensive processes which explore vulnerability and resilience, celebrating the resourcefulness of making. Developed as part of As Old as the Hills — a project I co-curated at Zig Zag, Glastonbury, my Stilt Structures take inspiration from fragile architectures, precarious dwellings in flood-prone regions, and my experiences in Kenya. Referencing climate change, repair cultures and global consumerism, they consider how we adapt to unstable environments, and how materials can hold stories of care, migration and survival.

Stilt Structure II, found and recycled materials: wood, steel, textiles, leather and plant-dyed fabrics, 2024

Following the John Ruskin Prize Exhibition, I have a small solo show Tethered Lines; Matter Becoming (27 Feb - 8 March), featuring new and recent sculpture, plus live demonstrations. I’ll be there each day during opening times. Join me at the Private View: Thursday 26 February, 5.30–7.30pm, or pop by another time - I'd love to see you! No.6 Bruton, 6 High Street, Bruton, Somerset BA10 0AA; open Thurs–Sun, 10am–5pm

Meanwhile, I’m still in the early stages of new work in progress for Unravelling the Fury. Daily hand-stitching and wrapping of snake forms - slow, repetitive gestures - have kept me sane this January, and helped establish rhythms for 2026. My labour-intensive processes are meditative, intentionally showing the hand of maker. Care and repair are both method and message. The work draws on ancient serpent symbolism, ecofeminist lineages, and the changing story of Medusa - exploring our entanglements with the more-than-human world.

I’m enjoying working with course participants on my Online Sculpture Course, and Drawing Course.

My next course is Creative Sketchbooking: Wednesdays 2-4pm 5 weeks starts 25 Feb; Makers’ Yard, 37 Lower Keyford, Frome, Somerset BA11 4AR. £70 + £5 materials. Book soon if interested.

I also have a self-directed Online Sculpture Course if you’d like to explore 3d. Details here.

I’ll be taking part in the eco Fashion Show, part of Shepton Snowdrops Festival, Somerset. Thanks to Denise Neville for performing in Riot with me. Always impressed by the level of skill, imagination and enthusiasm of everyone taking part. Get your tickets here. Below: pics from our rehearsal.

I hope to see you at one of my upcoming events!