Ashleigh Beattie
I am a Zimbabwean British artist based in Manchester. My practice explores themes of displacement and belonging as a migrant living in the diaspora. I work mainly in sculpture and installation, repurposing everyday materials such as newspapers and tin cans. These fragile materials are embedded with meaning, memories and stories. Through my work these found materials are transformed and given permanence. This recycling characterises my practice and draws from my childhood in Zimbabwe, where nothing is thrown away - everything is recycled.
In the past I have made work in response to the migration crisis. Exploring the journeys of migration and the injustices many face.
More recently I have been working on a series of sculptures and installations that explore the ‘Resource Curse’ in Zimbabwe. It is this sometimes fractured and fragile relationship we as humans have with the land we live on that I am interested in. The new work I am making is an exploration of my own relationship I have to the land of my past and present and is a searching for how, if possible, these two worlds exist alongside each other.
Current Consultancy
2024-25 Lowry Artist advisory group, The Lowry, Salford.
Workshops
October 2023 Temporary shelters, Leeds City of Culture 2023, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds.
August 2023 Temporary Shelters, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
October 2022 Teacher CPD, Sculpting Landscapes, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds.
August 2022 Sculpting landscapes, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
Higher Education
2005-2009 2:1 Bachelors of Fine Art (HONS) University of Cumbria, U.K.
Group Exhibitions
2021 Sep HOME: Manchester Open Art Exhibition, Manchester.
2019 Mar Rocking The Boat, Creative Recycling Gallery, Chorlton, Manchester.
2014 Mar The Luck Of Edenhall, The Old Fire Station, Carlisle.
2010 Nov The Meeting Point, National Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe.
2009 Jul Summer Exhibition, Cecil Street Projects, Carlisle, England.
2009 Jul Summer Exhibition, Bank Gallery, Carlisle, England.
2009 Jun This side of Somewhere, University of Cumbria, Carlisle, England.
2008 Dec Love in the Asylum, Wasps Studios, Glasgow, Scotland.
2008 Sep Liquidizer, Vault Gallery, Lancaster, England
2008 Feb Seconds Out- Redefined, University of Cumbria, Carlisle, England
Solo Exhibitions
2010 May In search of the Promised Land, Carlisle Cathedral, Carlisle, England
2016 Jun In search of the Promised Land, Alexandria Library, Manchester.
Grants/ Awards/ Residencies
2007-2009 University of Cumbria, Undergraduate Scholarship.
2009 Undergraduate Arts Achievement Award, University of Cumbria.
Commissions
2013 Nov Illustration for cover of GWC Annual Report, Cape Town, South Africa
Reviews
27-10-2010 “Zimbabwe: Breda New Art Sensation”, T. Monda, The Zimbabwe Herald.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201010261145.html
Artist Focused Groups
2015- 2016 “Scene Maker ” with Creative Scene, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
