Mary Sewell

Biography

Mary gained a BA(Hons) in fine art at Sheffield Hallam University in 1993 and an Art foundation course at London College of Printing 1989.

Since then she has taught in various educational contexts, including schools, young people's projects, and arts residencies. She has worked with the Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust on the National Portrait Gallery Project, running workshops with schools interpreting loans from the National Portrait Gallery and the Graves portrait collection. In 2006 She visited Somaliland, East Africa, with MAMA East African Women's Project where she made photographic documentation of local women market traders. She has illustrated two educational books about Nomadic Women in Somalia and Asylum Seekers both published in 2007.

She has won several regional arts awards including an Arts portfolio Award from West Midlands Arts, resulting in an exhibition of her work and artist talks at Midlands Art Centre in Birmingham. A travel award from Yorkshire and Humberside arts and the Nehru Centre India, enabled her to learn dance, yoga and traditional arts in Madhya Pradesh, India, this resulted in a residency, where she delivered arts workshops to students at Corpus Christi School in Kerala India.

She is currently working with the Arts Media Project, running photography workshops with young people in youth groups around Sheffield.

Selected Exhibitions

Forthcoming exhibitions

You can see work included in the Ferens Art Gallery Hull, Open Exhibition 13 February - 18th April 2010.

Previous exhibitions

You can see a permanent collection of black and white photographs at The Kashmir on Spital Hill, Sheffield.

Feb 2010: The Ferens Art Gallery Open Exhibition, Hull

Aug 2009: Grainthorpe Festival of Arts, Lincolnshire.

May 2009: Open Up Sheffield and South Yorkshire

Oct 2007: Pink. eveArt, Winter Gardens, Sheffield.

May 2007: Open Up Sheffield and South Yorkshire.

Nov 2006: HOST06 Huddersfield Northlight Gallery www.northlightgallery.org.uk

May 2006: Open Up Sheffield and South Yorkshire.

Apr 2006: Glory Sheffield artists showing at the Workstation, Sheffield.

Sep 2005: IWAA-GB. The Workstation, Sheffield.

Jul 2005: The Garden Rooms Presents group exhibition of work by The Garden Rooms studio holders at The Merlin Theatre, Sheffield.

May 2005: Open Up, Sheffield.

Dec 2004: Merlin Theatre Café: Garden Rooms, Sheffield.

Mar 2004: Group exhibiton at The Clock Tower Gallery, Sheffield.

Nov 2002: Shedding light, black and white photographs at The Tin Drum Cafe, Brighton.

Mar 1999: Portfolio showcase at The Midlands Art Centre, Birmingham. www.macarts.co.uk

Jul 2000: SOLO. Tin Drum Café. Brighton.

May 1999: Network Gallery touring Exhibition. The visual Arts Trust Shewsbury.

Mar 1999: Portfolio Showcase. Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham.

Oct 1994: Signals Changing. Huddersfield Art Gallery.

Sep 1994: Signals Changing. Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield

Awards

2006/07: Last Mile Award. Supported by Inspiral, Sheffield. To develop a website, and marketing material to promote my business.

1998: Arts Portfolio Award. To create a high quality portfolio. Granted by West Midlands Arts.

1997: Arts for Everyone. To create an Arts web site based on a real journey around the western desert in Egypt. “Gardening the Desert” was made in collaboration with two other artists and consists of photographs, digital imagery, film, sound, and text. Granted by Yorkshire Arts.

1996: Digital Imagery Award. granted by Yorkshire Arts

1995: Kala Vasudha. Traditional Indian Arts Course. Part funded by Kala Vasudha, Yorkshire and Humberside Arts and The Nehru Centre India.