Sara Heywood

Intrinsic to my practice is an urgent dialogue between humans, heritage and environmental land legacy and their impact on the planet for future generations. Utilising photography, drawing, installation and sculpture, alongside found and natural materials, I attempt to address our present-day relationship to the world around us, the legacy and imprints we leave behind, and the physical and emotional repercussions of a planet in climate crisis.

Projects often start with a period of in-depth research and development. This includes exploring locality, heritage & archives, social and personal narratives, ecologies and built environments before responding with the most appropriate materials and processes.​ Works often include socially engaged collaborations or participatory experiences.

I hold a BA Hons. (Fine Art) and MFA from Edinburgh College of Art (1996) and have gone on to exhibit in the UK and abroad, undertaken international artist residencies and commissions including most recently at PADA Studios, Lisbon, Portugal and Orford Ness, Suffolk, UK. I was also recently short-listed for the 7th John Ruskin Prize 2025 for her work 'Camera Obscura – Hertford Union Canal' (2024).

My commissioned projects include 'The Greenhouse' with Bow Arts Trust, 'Mulberry Tree of Plenty' (Trellis 2) with UCL East, and 'Reflections on Home', Alton Estate, with Artscape Management and Redrow Homes. 

I am also an experienced artist educator working with organisations including Barbican Centre, Bow Arts Trust, Camden Art Centre, Chisenhale Gallery (CAP), Cubitt Arts, The National Trust, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, South London Gallery, University College London (UCL), and Whitechapel Gallery.