SLANT | DOMOBAAL | PRESS RELEASE | JUNE – JULY 2025
Nicky Hirst / Slant / 06.06.25 – 19.07.25
Opens: Saturday 7 June 12-6pm
Slant is an exploration of the everyday, where the simple act of seeing is elevated to an artistic act in itself. In this new body of work, looking and seeing is as important for Hirst as making. Process dissolves hierarchy. Completion is not a conclusion but a convergence. The works exist in the tension of pairing, of placing, of positioning. A shift in perspective seeks to transform the mundane into the extraordinary (and a beermat too, with words by Dorothy Parker). Nicky Hirst’s practice, between sculpture and installation, seeks out juxtapositions while positioning the everyday. On occasion, it also opens up to and invites collaboration. For this exhibition Nicky Hirst and Domobaal are also delighted to invite the following pairings:
Alex Rich will be presenting a selection of pairings from Nicky Hirst’s archive in the form of an Atoma notebook publication – one in the gallery and others available to order.
Maud Cotter’s sculpture ‘all that is necessary’ (2001) will party with Nicky Hirst’s ‘Masquerade’.
Sam Fogg (the art of the medieval) are lending sculptures that embrace the contemporary everyday with a gentle grin.
https://www.domobaal.com/exhibitions/133-25-nicky-hirst-slant-01.html
SLANT | DOMOBAAL | LONDON GALLERY WEEKEND | JUNE 2025
London Gallery Weekend offers a unique opportunity to experience London’s gallery scene. It will take place 6 – 8 June 2025 and I am delighted to have my solo exhibition opening at Domobaal on Saturday 7 June 2025. Exhibition runs until 19 July 2025.
https://www.domobaal.com/exhibitions/133-25-nicky-hirst-slant-01.html
MINIATURES | CANAL BOAT CONTEMPORARY | NOVEMBER 2024
Having launched The Miniatures Challenge (which saw nearly 600 entries) and was judged by critic Zarina Muhammad of The White Pube, and artists Gareth Cadwallader and Anne Ryan, Canal Boat Contemporary have opened an online shop of miniature work with prices ranging from £65 to £500. I am very happy to have two tiny works included.
https://www.canalboatcontemporary.com/category/all-products
JUST LOOKING | REDSTONE PRESS | NOVEMBER 2024
I am delighted to have two photographs included in this publication, curated from the lnstagram pages of writers, artists, and other everyday observers. Just Looking invites readers to pause and contemplate the extraordinary within the everyday. From city streets to country landscapes, Just Looking showcases the diverse perspectives of those who have mastered the art of observation.
Just Looking: Snapshots, close-ups and portraits of the everyday edited by Julian Rothenstein, introduction by Jarvis Cocker, with observations chosen by Ian Sansom, 190mm x 168mm, 208pp, paperback, ISBN 978-1- 7395976-4-1
https://www.theredstoneshop.com/collections/all-available-products/products/just-looking
WHAT’S IN A NAME | TOTE BAG | OCTOBER 2024
DR PANT MOULD | OLD DUMP RANT | PLUM TORN DAD | PLOD MAD RUNT | ODD RANT LUMP | LORD DAMP NUT | MAD TURD ON LP | DONALD TRUMP
I have produced a new version of my Donald Trump anagram bag, What’s in a Name (version 3) 2024, anagram tote bag, 140gsm cotton, 42×38cm, edition of 50, numbered and signed. Available exclusively from Domobaal Gallery, 3 John Street, London WC1N 2ES for £10.00 https://domobaal.com/
ELECTION ARTIST 2019 | VIDEO LINK | MAY 2024
Following the news that the next UK General Election will be held on 4 July 2024, here is a link to my 2019 Election Artist commission. The resulting work, There Was A Time, 2019-20, forms part of the Parliamentary Art Collection. There are two videos within the link that help explain the commission and my approach towards it.
https://heritagecollections.parliament.uk/exhibits/ea-2019/
THE CITY IS OURS #5 | MANHOLE COVERS | FEBRUARY 2024
Very happy to have some photographs included in this publication. The 5th issue of The City Is Ours focusses on manhole covers, each uniquely designed, revealing stories about civic identity, history, and utility. This edition showcases their evolution from mere functional objects to forms of artistic expression, featuring everything from ornate covers in Japan to the historical designs of early urban planners. It delves into how these everyday fixtures have inspired artists, engaged historians, and captivated the curious. Concept/design SerraGlia, 15×22 cm, 80 pages, 80+ images in full color/b&w, English text, Sewn glued binding, 300 copies, First Edition 2/2024, ISBN 978-952-65286-1-8
https://shop.serraglia.com/product/the-city-is-ours-5-manhole-covers
MAKE-SHIFT | BLINK | ROOM SHARE 4 | SAFEHOUSE 1 | SEPTEMBER 2023
I have curated a room of dislocation, slippage and shadows. A space for dreaming, fragments and folds. Making and unmaking. Artists include myself, Belinda Worsley, Bernard Walsh, Vincent Hawkins, Yair Meshoulam, Siân Newlove-Drew & Billy Cosby.
139 Copeland Road, London SE15 3SN
PV 6-9pm Friday 15 September 2023
Open 12-6pm Saturday 16 – Sunday 17 September 2023
MAKE-SHIFT | BLINK | ROOM SHARE 4 | SAFEHOUSE 1 | SEPTEMBER 2023
Blink’s remit is to help artists get their work out of the studio and into exhibitions, whilst building a supportive and generous community. I have been invited as a Guest Artist to curate a show during Peckham Festival 15th – 17th September 2023
https://www.peckhamfestival.org/
MASS SCULPTURE MAGAZINE | ISSUE 2 | JULY 2023
Nick Cave makes sculptures: Marcus Harvey, Marianne Walker and Egyptologist Elizabeth Frood, Sabine Elsa Müller talks to Martina Geccelli, Marcus Harvey on John Davies, Nicky Hirst talks to Annie Cattrell, Richard Perry: Reflections on Stone, Edmund De Waal: During the Night, Katrina Blannin meets Cedric Christie, Memories of Phylida Barlow 1944 – 2023, Laura White: Pasta Baroque
MASS Magazine Editorial Board: Marcus Harvey (Editor-in-Chief), Nicky Hirst (Editor), Phil King (Executive Editor), Helen Hayward (Development Editor). Please join us for the launch 20th July 2023 at AMP Studios, 897a Old Kent Road, London, SE15 1NL
https://www.masseducation.co.uk/mass-magazine
https://www.newsstand.co.uk/mass-mag/
Y BWTHYN | MACMILLAN SPECIALIST PALLIATIVE CARE UNIT | EXHIBITION | MAY 2023
I am delighted to be part of an exhibition to celebrate how artists worked with palliative care patients, their loved ones and staff in Y Bwthyn Macmillan Specialist Palliative Care Unit based at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, near Llantrisant. The eight-bed unit, which opened in 2019, features commissioned artwork overseen by curator Jane Willis of Willis Newson. The exhibition (which coincides with Dying Matters Week 8 to 14 May) is in the Oriel of the Senedd in Cardiff Bay until 20 May 2023
https://senedd.wales/visit/exhibitions/y-bwthyn/
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION | UBICUA | 9 MARCH 2023
Reflections of Loss and Silence’s Reverberations – Clara Garavelli in conversation with Nicky Hirst, Andrew Cross, Peter Fraser, Tim Ellis, Judy Milner, Jeff Knopf, Steve Chapman and Patricia Bossio. This roundtable aims to provide a platform for thoughts about silence and the differentiated affective soundscape generated by loss. Moderated by Dr Garavelli, a number of artists whose work is being exhibited as part of MUTE will reflect on their own practices as vehicles of self-reflection and interconnection, whilst expanding on ideas of the material perception of silence as a form of intersubjective listening. Ubicua, 72 Charlotte Street, London W1T 4QQ on Thursday 9th March 6.30pm
https://www.ubicuagallery.com/news
MUTE | UBICUA | FEBRUARY 2023
I have been invited to curate an exhibition for Ubicua Gallery in London, 24 February – 23 March 2023. Ubicua exists to create conversations between artists across cultures and disciplines – seeking borderless interactions between visual artists, performers, musicians and academics. MUTE is an ensemble exhibition that alludes to experiences of transience and loss. Musical instruments and related objects have been transformed, in most instances, from carriers of vibration and sound to artworks of quiet contemplation. Artists include: Steve Chapman, Andrew Cross, Tim Ellis, Peter Fraser, Nicky Hirst, Jeffrey Knopf, Judy Milner, Cornelia Parker and Katie Paterson.
https://www.ubicuagallery.com/about
THE CITY IS OURS #3 | SUPERFICIAL DAMAGES | FEBRUARY 2023
Very happy to have some photographs included in this publication, The City is Ours #3. The walls of the buildings, sidewalks, and streets in the city are in contact with a wide variety of users, uses, and activities: people walking, parents running with strollers, bikes suddenly braking, skateboarders practicing their tricks, scooters and cars being driven at full speed, and much more. All of these activities inevitably leave behind traces on the material surfaces, such as scratches, marks, and cracks.
Size 15×22 cm, 96 pages, 90+ Illustrations, full colour. Concept and design by SerraGlia, first edition 400 copies, ISBN 978-952-68784-7-8
https://shop.serraglia.com/product/the-city-is-ours-3-superficial-damages
DOMOBAAL | LONDON ART FAIR | JANUARY 2023
I am delighted to be showing some of my ‘Belles Series’ 2012-18 in Domobaal’s ‘Portrait Show’ at the London Art Fair 18 – 22 January 2023
https://www.londonartfair.co.uk/
SOCIOTYPE JOURNAL #2 | MAKESHIFT | NOVEMBER 2022
I have some photographs in Sociotype Journal – a new platform for thoughts on culture and society, that also happens to be a type specimen. This second edition is themed Makeshift and is an investigation of old things made new and new things made weird; a celebration of ingenuity on the hoof and ad hoc creativity under extraordinary circumstances. Issue #2 is typeset in their especially created typeface – Rework. Editors are Nic Carter and Henrietta Thompson
https://socio-type.com/
HARD TIMES | OCTOBER 2022
Exhibition curated by Ian Dawson and Nicky Hirst at Koppel X Piccadilly Circus London
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bed63837e3c3a697bf5cf3f/t/63bffe2a0476e8633bb51a72/1673526829039/Hard+Times_on-line_FINAL_PDF.pdf
THAT’S NOT MY AGE | CREATIVE WOMEN AT WORK | JUNE 2022
A conversation about art, life and clothes with journalist and author Alyson Walsh
https://thatsnotmyage.com/creative-women-at-work/creative-women-at-work-artist-nicky-hirst/
TENDERFOOT | TELL IT SLANT | JUNE 2022
Delighted to be a guest on Tenderfoot a website/ artwork by artist Laura White. Laura is interested in what it means to be in the world of materials, objects and stuff. She invited me to show my series of photographs under the titles; Accommodate, Cause and Effect, Glazed, Graffiti Buff, Infill, Not Here, Other Side, Shadows, Text, Tile, Traces, You Had One Job
https://tenderfoot.co.uk/nicky-hirst_tell-it-slant/
MAGCULTURE | AT WORK WITH | MASS MAGAZINE | 30 MAY 2022
This week I shared my Monday morning with Jeremy Leslie of magCulture, an online resource, a magazine shop, events producer and editorial consultancy
https://magculture.com/blogs/journal/nicky-hirst-mass-magazine
THE ELECTRIC ART CAR BOOT FAIR | 14 MAY 2022
MASS Sculpture Programme have a stall of limited edition multiples in The Electric Art Car Boot Fair which takes place at Lewis Cubitt Square, Kings Cross, London 2 – 7pm on Saturday 14 May and continues online until midnight on Monday 16 May
https://www.artcarbootfair.com/events/electric-art-car-boot-fair
ELECTION ARTIST 2019 | THERE WAS A TIME | APRIL 2022
I am delighted to say that my artwork, ‘There Was A Time’, which resulted from my Election Artist 2019 Commission, has been accepted into the Parliamentary Art Collection
https://heritagecollections.parliament.uk/exhibits/ea-2019/
MASS SCULPTURE MAGAZINE | ISSUE 1 | MARCH 2022
Henry Moore’s Helmet Heads: Edmundo Arigita talks to curator Toby Capwell, Ana Genovés and Kerry Stewart in conversation, Cy Twombly: Sculpture by Giuseppe Marasco, Maud Cotter: linked, Jeremy Butler by Krzysztof Fijalkowski, Neil Walton talks to Cathie Pilkington, Nicky Hirst in conversation with Matt Calderwood, Angela de la Cruz and Amikam Toren: Chairs, Si Sapsford: 3D Clay Printer, Stephen Nelson and Kabir Hussain in conversation, Neil Gall and David Gates: Backyard Sculpture, Sofia Silva on the Destruction of Monuments
MASS Magazine Editorial Board: Marcus Harvey (Editor-in-Chief), Nicky Hirst (Editor), Phil King (Executive Editor), Helen Hayward (Development Editor). Please join us for the launch 10th March 2022, Vigo Gallery, 7-8 Masons Yard, St. James’s, London SW1Y 6BU
https://www.turpsbanana.com/mass-mag
AR-MAZING | THE TIGER TRAIL | AUCTION | APRIL 2022
I have created a tiger for the Tiger Art Trail. The trail consists of 33 life size tiger sculptures created by international artists. They will be on public display in the city and at various museums in Singapore for 6 weeks, culminating in an auction at Sotheby’s to raise funds for Tx2 programme https://tigertrail.wwf.sg
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/wwf-tiger-trail-2022
GALLERY CLIMATE COALITION
I have joined GCC who are working towards a more sustainable art world. The goal of GCC is to facilitate the decarbonisation of the visual art sector and promote zero-waste practices.
https://galleryclimatecoalition.org/
MASS SCULPTURE SCHOOL | APPLICATIONS OPEN | DEADLINE 1 MAY 2022
MASS Studio Programme is led and delivered by Ian Dawson and Nicky Hirst. MASS is an opportunity for artists who are experienced in their practice to further explore their media and re-energise their practice, through intense work ethic and critical response from practising artists and their peers within a supportive structure. The programme runs in three 12-weeks blocks across a 10 month period.
https://www.turpsbanana.com/mass-art-school
WELL CHILD | ART AUCTION | OCTOBER 2021
Online auction goes live on 14 October with final bids on 28 October. Artists include: Guy Allen, Anish Kapoor, Charming Baker, Glen Baxter, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Adam Dant, Ian Davenport, Nigel Hall, Nicky Hirst, Patrick Hughes, David Mach, Richard Long, Mauro Perucchetti, James Reily, Sara Shamma, Kelly-Anne Davitt, David Shrigley, Ronnie Wood, Julie Verhoeven, Ray Richardson. Exclusive WellChild pieces will also be included in Christie’s Modern British Art Sale on 21 October.
https://www.wellchild.org.uk/art/
BLINK | PECKHAM FESTIVAL | 17 – 19 SEPTEMBER 2021
I have been selected by Lucy Soni to take part in the exhibition Room Share. Five artists; Dido Hallett, Min Angel, Lucy Soni, Matt Lippiatt and Scott McCracken have been invited to curate a room each for Safehouse 1, Peckham, London.
BITS AND PIECES | THE SHIP HOTEL | NEWHAVEN | 11 – 26 SEPTEMBER 2021
Artist Ian Dawson was invited to curate an exhibition with a Newhaven Wellbeing Group, alongside the Open Call. He also selected some invited artists, Alice Wilson, Louisa Minkin, Alex Schady, Laura White and Nicky Hirst.
INTERVIEW | PRINT EDITIONS GALLERY | AUGUST 2021
An interview with Nicky Hirst by Lisa Hobbs and hosted by Print Editions Gallery – a publishing platform created to promote and support contemporary artists through an online portfolio of limited edition artist’s prints and photographs. The works are sold exclusively through their online platform and published in small editions.
https://printeditions.gallery/blogs/news/interview-with-nicky-hirst
ART, COMPASSION AND COLLECTIVE ACTION | PAINTINGS IN HOSPITALS | WEBINAR
Paintings in Hospitals, in partnership with uclh arts and heritage and The HELP Portfolio, presents a virtual panel discussion exploring how these partners have ensured that art continues to support wellbeing throughout the Covid pandemic. Join panellists Sue Arrowsmith (artist), Sandra Bruce-Gordon FRSA (Director and Chief Executive at Paintings in Hospitals), Nicky Hirst (artist), Dario Illari (Founder of Jealous Gallery and Print Studio), Christian Mathews (art consultant and collector), Guy Noble (Arts Curator at UCLH), and host Andrew Hochhauser QC (art collector and Chair of Paintings in Hospitals), as they discuss the ideas and ethos of The HELP Portfolio and explore the broader ways in which art has contributed to our physical, mental and social wellbeing throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. This event celebrates The HELP Portfolio Exhibition presented by Paintings in Hospitals and uclh arts and heritage at the Street Gallery, University College Hospital between 28th June – 18th August 2021.
Webinar: 22 July 2021 6.30pm https://www.paintingsinhospitals.org.uk/Event/art-compassion-and-collective-action
MASS SCULPTURE SCHOOL | APPLICATIONS OPEN | DEADLINE 30 AUGUST 2021
In Autumn 2021 MASS Studio Programme and MASS Off-Site Programme launch. It is an opportunity for artists who are experienced in their practice to further explore their media and re-energise their practice, through intense work ethic and critical response from practising artists and their peers within a supportive structure.
https://www.turpsbanana.com/mass-art-school
PRETTY UGLY | THAMES-SIDE STUDIOS GALLERY | LONDON
I am taking part in Pretty Ugly 19 June – 4 July 2021. Curated by Andrew Ekins with artists Phillip Allen, Phyllida Barlow, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Paul Cole, Giles Corby, Andrew Ekins, Nick Fox, Nicky Hirst, Sand Laurenson, Hannah Maybank, Jane Millar, Katie Pratt, Piers Secunda, Kate Street, Jamie Partridge and Narbi Price.
Pretty Ugly brings together the work of sixteen artists, all of whom explore a fugitive beauty within, a degraded sense of reality. Each sees value in the imperfect and the irregular, the pull of the sublime and the illicit. Theirs is an aesthetic that gains potency by being elusive, abject, and impolite, while testing the capacity of what has been made to represent the content it is intended to have. The resulting forms manifest a flawed but compelling beauty, and are distinguished by a delight in a logic of brokenness.
https://www.thames-sidestudios.co.uk/news/exhibitions/2021/thames-side-studios-gallery-pretty-ugly-2021
DRAWING BIENNIAL FUNDRAISER | DRAWING ROOM LONDON | 2021
The exhibition will include more than 200 recent works on paper by leading international artists of different generations. Culminating in an online auction in the exhibition’s final two weeks, all works are available to purchase from a starting bid of £300. Proceeds from the auction support Drawing Room’s exhibition, learning and publishing programme and the growth of its unique study library.
Exhibition: Drawing Room, Elephant & Castle 21 May – 27 June
Exhibition: Cromwell Place, Kensington 1 – 5 July
https://drawingroom.org.uk/exhibitions/drawing-biennial-2021
RECREATIONAL GROUNDS: OFF SITE | THAMES-SIDE STUDIOS GALLERY | LONDON
I am taking part in the exhibition Recreational Grounds: Offsite at Thames-side Studios Gallery 29 May – 13 June 2021. Curated by Fiona Grady, Anna Lytridou and Tim Ralston with artists Henrietta Armstrong, Mike Ballard, Jack Brown, Paul Cole, Dori Deng, Rosie Gibbens, Fiona Grady, Nicky Hirst, Ted Le Swer, Anna Lytridou, Marco Miehling, Veronika Neukirch, Tom Rapsey, Tim Ralston, Shinuk Suh and Jim Woodall.
Since 2018 Recreational Grounds has been inviting artists to create site-responsive art works in an unconventional venue, a vacant car park on the Aylesbury estate in Elephant and Castle, London. The project has enabled artists to challenge their practice and work in new ways to fulfil a unique brief. The exhibition Recreational Grounds : Off Site presents this concept in a new venue and takes the project off-site. The decision to present the artists in a more formal gallery space is an opportunity to test the values and principles of Recreational Grounds, keeping the intuitive, improvisational and ephemeral aesthetic but asking the artists to re-interpret the project for a new setting. The artists will create site responsive work that will look to explore themes initially developed in previous editions of Recreational Grounds, reflecting on how their work and ideas may have changed and grown with time.
https://www.thames-sidestudios.co.uk/news/exhibitions/2021/thames-side-studios-gallery-recreational-grounds-29-may-13-jun-2021
MASS SCULPTURE MAGAZINE | COMING SOON . . .
Editorial Board: Edmundo Aragita / Phyllida Barlow / Giles Corby / Ian Dawson / Ana Genoves / Marcus Harvey / Nicky Hirst / Edward Lipski / Corin Johnson / Sophie Newell / Si Sapsford https://www.turpsbanana.com/mass-mag
WEB EXHIBITION | MOCA LONDON | MARCH 2021
During March I am having a web exhibition for MOCA, London. Each month one international artist shows works on the MOCA WE Instagram, with an additional webpage on their website.
https://www.moca.london/we_nickyhirst.html
PRINT EDITIONS GALLERY | FEBRUARY 2021
I have 5 new works with Print Editions Gallery – a new publishing platform created to promote and support contemporary artists through an online portfolio of limited edition artist’s prints and photographs. The works are sold exclusively through their online platform and published in small editions providing collectors, consultants and first-time buyers the opportunity to acquire artworks of quality at an affordable price. Print Editions Gallery is an Arts Council England funded project in partnership with Platform Art Projects.
https://printeditions.gallery/collections/nicky-hirst
THE HELP PORTFOLIO | LAUNCHING NOVEMBER 2020 | JEALOUS LONDON
I have work in a new print portfolio of sixteen UK artists. ‘Each artist has made a new signed, limited edition print which they have generously donated to the portfolio. All profits from the sale of the boxed collection of prints will be donated to sixteen charities that have been deeply affected by #COVID19, each one selected by the artists involved. Iconic British graphic designer Margaret Calvert has designed the Help logo, which features on the portfolio box and also appears as a print.’
The Help Portfolio will be available to purchase online at the special launch price of £7,500 from 11am Thursday 5 November 2020 via Jealous London who have worked with each artist to publish their bespoke artwork. The artists are: Sue Arrowsmith, Margaret Calvert, Michael Craig Martin, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Idris Khan, Ian Davenport, Nicky Hirst, Chris Levine, Elizabeth Magill, Paul McDevitt, Annie Morris, Paul Morrison, Remi Rough, Yinka Shonibare, Mathew Weir and Paul Winstanley
https://jealousgallery.com/products/help-portfolio
WHAT’S IN A NAME | LIMITED EDITION BAG | 2020
MAD LORD PUNT | DR PANT MOULD | OLD DUMP RANT | PLUM TORN DAD | PLOD MAD RUNT | ODD RANT LUMP | DONALD TRUMP | MAD TURD ON LP
Continuing my series of anagram poems I have produced a new edition of 25 cotton tote bags 40 x 38cm numbered and signed £15.00 plus p&p
Available exclusively from https://www.domobaal.com/contact.html
MENTOR | MASS CORRESPONDENCE COURSE | OCTOBER 2020
‘Imagine you are in a very, very remote place and post takes a couple of months to arrive. Or you are above the arctic circle! You send images to an esteemed colleague and await their response. The response comes months later. You are unable to ask questions of what you just read because it’s a letter, no Internet, no phones. What then happens is that you slow right down, you listen to and digest every last drop of sense in that letter. You sniff it, you sleep with it under your pillow and you constantly re-read it until you suck every last ounce of anything useful from it. You then make work and any accompanying comments that are posted off with your next work upload will be very deeply thought about. That’s it, period! Babbling, garbling, impatient ‘I must know now’ hysteria has ruined people’s ability to absorb and reflect. In doing this course you have enabled a slightly different process to take place. You learn from what you already know. The mentor is a guide. You do the work. Read, reflect then make!’ Marcus Harvey, Director
Mass Correspondence Course is an innovative distance-learning programme of online mentoring facilitated through critical, supportive written reviews by a dedicated mentor. The course is aimed at sculptors based anywhere in the world and at any stage in their career who want to develop or reinvigorate their work, whether recently graduated from art school or those without any formal arts education. Mass Correspondence Course mentors will be selected from Mass Magazine Editorial Board. Application deadline: 30th September 2020 https://www.turpsbanana.com/mass-cc
THE PRINT ASSEMBLY | PRINT SALE FOR REFUGE
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, domestic abuse figures have surged. I am taking part in a print sale to raise funds for Refuge – the UK’s largest domestic abuse charity. Launched by Kim Pappas and Emma Hayes of photography agency Process, the sale comprises works by over 100 artist/ photographers. All works are printed on Canson PhotoSatin Premium (270gsm) A3 paper and available to buy for £50 during the limited period 3 – 13 May 2020. All profits will be donated to Refuge. https://www.refuge.org.uk
ARTIST SUPPORT PLEDGE 2020 | INSTAGRAM
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many artists have found themselves without work, teaching, technical support and gallery work. Exhibitions and sales have disappeared. In an attempt to help alleviate some of this stress artist Matthew Burrows instigated the #artistsupportpledge a movement to support artists. How it works – artists post pictures of works for sale on Instagram – all under £200. Anyone can buy the work. Every time an artist makes £1,000 in sales they commit 20% on purchasing the work of another artist using the hashtag. There are no enforcements, it is a system based on trust. https://www.instagram.com/nickyhirst63
BEHIND THE ARTIST SUPPORT PLEDGE | BY FIONA GRADY
https://dateagle.art/blog_post/artist-support-pledge/
SOUND OF SILENCE PODCAST | EPISODE 82
I sat in silence for 2 minutes with Steve Chapman who is an artist, writer, speaker, coach and consultant interested in creativity and the human condition. Sound of Silence is a downloadable pause. An experimental podcast that records the silence that arises between two people. Only 100 episodes will be recorded with each lasting around 180 seconds and centring around 2 minutes of shared silence recorded face to face with a special guest. Guests so far have included musicians, adventurers, comedians, presenters, entrepreneurs, artists, humanitarians, activists, singers, poets, athletes and many more. At the end of the experiment the combined 200 minutes of silence will be transformed into an interactive public gallery exhibit. Episode 82 of the podcast is available to hear from 18 February 2020 https://canscorpionssmoke.com/sound-of-silence/
NDM PUBLIC ART COMMISSION 2018-20
Programme 2018-20, Nuffield Department of Medicine Building, Oxford University, Oxford
ELECTION ARTIST 2019-20 | INSTAGRAM | @electionartist2019
https://www.instagram.com/electionartist2019
ELECTION ARTIST 2019
I have been appointed as Parliament’s official Election Artist for the 2019 General Election. During the General Election I will observe and follow the campaign trail, before creating a unique piece of art for the Parliamentary Art Collection. The work will respond to the main themes and outcome of the election, drawing from my experiences across the UK.
https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2019/november/nicky-hirst-named-official-artist-for-the-2019-general-election/
INTERDEPENDENCE | ART LICKS WEEKEND 2019
This year Art Licks Weekend takes on the theme of Interdependence: considering how participating projects work within a network of friendship, exchange and shared dialogue. I am taking part in, Return of Come Kiss a Stranger at Why Don’t You…? HQ satellite space, London 17 – 20 October 2019
OFF THE PAGE | ANOTHER PLACE PRESS
The Northern Eye International Photography Festival is a collaboration between the Oriel Colwyn photography gallery and Aberystwyth’s The Eye Festival, 7 – 20 October 2019
Another Place Press published artists are creating a new collaborative show for the festival. APP is a small independent photobook publisher based in the Scottish Highlands. They showcase contemporary photography that explores our relationship with ‘place’ at a local or global level. https://anotherplacepress.bigcartel.com
THE TWIN | COVENTRY BIENNIAL 2019
I am showing a selection of paired images from my series Elemental Works 2012-19 as part of the The Twin: Coventry Biennial 2019. All of the exhibitions and events will explore themes, ideas and processes which resonate throughout Coventry – including translation, collaboration and togetherness whilst also exploring some of the difficulties presented by globalisation, political inequality and conflict.
4 October to 24 November 2019 https://www.coventrybiennial.com
https://www.instagram.com/nickyhirst_elementalworks
PJOYS | INSTAGRAM TAKEOVER | LONDON FASHION WEEK 2019
Pjoys is a pyjama brand on a mission to make mental health an everyday conversation. They believe no one should ever feel awkward talking about their mental health. Every pair of artist designed limited edition PJ’s that are sold helps raise awareness and funds for mental health charities. Having designed a pair of pyjamas for Pjoys, during London Fashion Week 12 – 17 September 2019, I was invited to make an artwork and take photographs at The Designer Exhibition located at The Store X, 180 Strand, London – an exhibition with a focus on Positive Fashion: Sustainability, Equality & Diversity, Craftsmanship & Community. https://www.instagram.com/pjoys
ELSEWHERE | EDGEWORK | ARTIST PROFILE #3 | SEPTEMBER 2019
As part of the Elsewhere Journal’s collaboration with Edgework Journal and Store, my artist profile is #3 in a monthly series.
https://www.elsewhere-journal.com/blog/2019/9/20/edgework-artist-profile-3-nicky-hirst
ART MONTHLY REVIEW | ALGORITHMS, GRAIL MOTHS, LARGISH TOM, MISTRAL HOG, LOAMS GIRTH, SHALOM GRIT, SOLAR MIGHT, ROAMS LIGHT, MORAL SIGHT, A GRIM SLOTH, A LOGS MIRTH, MORTAL SIGH | EXETER PHOENIX
Review by Martin Holman in Art Monthly issue no 429, September 2019
https://www.artmonthly.co.uk/magazine/site/issue/september-2019
A-N ARTIST BURSARY 2019
Delighted to be a recipient of an a-n Artist Bursary – an annual funding programme, supporting self determined professional development – I will be learning new Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign skills.
CALL & RESPONSE | INSTAGRAM TAKEOVER | EDGEWORK
Nicky Hirst and Matt Calderwood takeover the Edgework Instagram account for 9 days, 26 July – 3 August 2019 https://www.instagram.com/the_edgeworker
ALGORITHMS - FULL OF POETRY AND SERENDIPITY
ArtsCulture interview
https://artsculture.newsandmediarepublic.org/news/nicky-hirst-algorithms-full-of-poetry-and-serendipity/
ALGORITHMS, GRAIL MOTHS, LARGISH TOM, MISTRAL HOG, LOAMS GIRTH, SHALOM GRIT, SOLAR MIGHT, ROAMS LIGHT, MORAL SIGHT, A GRIM SLOTH, A LOGS MIRTH, MORTAL SIGH
Saturday 13 July – Sunday 8 September 2019 Exeter Phoenix, Bradninch Place, Gandy Street, Exeter, EX4 3LS
Preview and Artist Talk | Saturday 13 July | 3 – 5pm | All welcome
GOSH COMMISSION 2019
Great Ormond Street Hospital commissioned me to create a series of site responsive artworks informed by conversations with patients and staff and co-curate a display of artwork from the GOSH arts and heritage collection. The resulting twelve paired photographs are now installed in the new executive offices.
VA19 | VENICE AGENDAS | THE MARKET
I have been commissioned to create a new Instagram project for Venice Agendas. The photographs are a work-in-progress exploring the impact of the art market on artists, institutions, curators and writers. Venice Agendas is a platform for critical international debate and has featured at every Venice Biennale since 1999. Funded by Arts Council England.
https://www.veniceagendas.eu
https://www.instagram.com/veniceagendasartists
WORK-SHOP | DULWICH FESTIVAL 2019
Merchandise created by Min Angel, Nicky Hirst, Laura Moreton-Griffiths, Lucy Soni, Kim Thornton
11 – 12 May at Bell House, 27 College Road, Dulwich, London SE21 7BG
GOVERNMENT ART COLLECTION 2019
New World 2017, metal and wood 50 x 50 cm has been purchased by the Government Art Collection. Many thanks to Domobaal Gallery.
PJOYS LAUNCH 2019
I have designed a pair of limited edition pjs for Pjoys a new purpose-led pyjama brand which aims to make mental health an everyday conversation
http://pjoys.co.uk launches 8 March 2019
DRAWING BIENNIAL FUNDRAISER 2019
Exhibition 20 February – 3 April 2019 Drawing Room, London
Online Auction 11 – 26 March 2019
REVIEW BOOKSHOP
The Word is Art by Michael Petry published by Thames & Hudson
Book Signing 7-8.30pm Thursday 7 February 2019
Review Bookshop, 131 Bellenden Road, London SE15 4QY
https://thamesandhudson.com/the-word-is-art-9780500239667
LONDON ART FAIR 2019
15 – 20 January 2019
Art Projects: Dialogues curated by Kiki Mazzucchelli
DOMOBAAL Booth P19b
Maud Cotter, Neil Gall, David Gates, Lothar Götz, Aubrey Haskard, Nicky Hirst, Neil Zakiewicz
https://www.londonartfair.co.uk/galleries/domobaal/
STUDIO TOUR | LONDON ART FAIR 2019
Saturday 19th January 9.30am Nicky Hirst hosts a tour of her studio
PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONS 2018/19
- New Union Wharf, Cubitt Town, London
- Y Bwthyn Macmillan Specialist Palliative Care Unit, Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Wales
- Westbourne Park Baptist Church + Dolphin Living, London
PJOYS CROWDFUNDER
I have designed a pair of limited edition pjs for Pjoys a new purpose-led pyjama brand which aims to make mental health an everyday conversation
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/pjoys
MODERN ART OXFORD
On 2nd November 2018 a panel discussion at Modern Art Oxford to celebrate Art at Westgate, a programme of public art featuring work by: David Batchelor, Rana Begum, William Cobbing, Nicky Hirst and Daniela Schönbächler. Focusing on Art & Public Space within the context of Westgate Shopping Centre, this special event is chaired by Director of Modern Art Oxford, Paul Hobson.
https://www.modernartoxford.org.uk/event/art-westgate-art-tour-artists-panel-discussion/
THAMES & HUDSON
Delighted to have two works included in The Word is Art by Michael Petry published by Thames and Hudson
https://thamesandhudson.com/the-word-is-art-9780500239667
A-N 2018
https://www.a-n.co.uk/news/artists-instagram-nicky-hirst-seeking-serendipity/
Nicky Hirst / Slant / 06.06.25 – 19.07.25
Opens: Saturday 7 June 12-6pm
Slant is an exploration of the everyday, where the simple act of seeing is elevated to an artistic act in itself. In this new body of work, looking and seeing is as important for Hirst as making. Process dissolves hierarchy. Completion is not a conclusion but a convergence. The works exist in the tension of pairing, of placing, of positioning. A shift in perspective seeks to transform the mundane into the extraordinary (and a beermat too, with words by Dorothy Parker). Nicky Hirst’s practice, between sculpture and installation, seeks out juxtapositions while positioning the everyday. On occasion, it also opens up to and invites collaboration. For this exhibition Nicky Hirst and Domobaal are also delighted to invite the following pairings:
Alex Rich will be presenting a selection of pairings from Nicky Hirst’s archive in the form of an Atoma notebook publication – one in the gallery and others available to order.
Maud Cotter’s sculpture ‘all that is necessary’ (2001) will party with Nicky Hirst’s ‘Masquerade’.
Sam Fogg (the art of the medieval) are lending sculptures that embrace the contemporary everyday with a gentle grin.
https://www.domobaal.com/exhibitions/133-25-nicky-hirst-slant-01.html
SLANT | DOMOBAAL | LONDON GALLERY WEEKEND | JUNE 2025
London Gallery Weekend offers a unique opportunity to experience London’s gallery scene. It will take place 6 – 8 June 2025 and I am delighted to have my solo exhibition opening at Domobaal on Saturday 7 June 2025. Exhibition runs until 19 July 2025.
https://www.domobaal.com/exhibitions/133-25-nicky-hirst-slant-01.html
MINIATURES | CANAL BOAT CONTEMPORARY | NOVEMBER 2024
Having launched The Miniatures Challenge (which saw nearly 600 entries) and was judged by critic Zarina Muhammad of The White Pube, and artists Gareth Cadwallader and Anne Ryan, Canal Boat Contemporary have opened an online shop of miniature work with prices ranging from £65 to £500. I am very happy to have two tiny works included.
https://www.canalboatcontemporary.com/category/all-products
JUST LOOKING | REDSTONE PRESS | NOVEMBER 2024
I am delighted to have two photographs included in this publication, curated from the lnstagram pages of writers, artists, and other everyday observers. Just Looking invites readers to pause and contemplate the extraordinary within the everyday. From city streets to country landscapes, Just Looking showcases the diverse perspectives of those who have mastered the art of observation.
Just Looking: Snapshots, close-ups and portraits of the everyday edited by Julian Rothenstein, introduction by Jarvis Cocker, with observations chosen by Ian Sansom, 190mm x 168mm, 208pp, paperback, ISBN 978-1- 7395976-4-1
https://www.theredstoneshop.com/collections/all-available-products/products/just-looking
WHAT’S IN A NAME | TOTE BAG | OCTOBER 2024
DR PANT MOULD | OLD DUMP RANT | PLUM TORN DAD | PLOD MAD RUNT | ODD RANT LUMP | LORD DAMP NUT | MAD TURD ON LP | DONALD TRUMP
I have produced a new version of my Donald Trump anagram bag, What’s in a Name (version 3) 2024, anagram tote bag, 140gsm cotton, 42×38cm, edition of 50, numbered and signed. Available exclusively from Domobaal Gallery, 3 John Street, London WC1N 2ES for £10.00 https://domobaal.com/
ELECTION ARTIST 2019 | VIDEO LINK | MAY 2024
Following the news that the next UK General Election will be held on 4 July 2024, here is a link to my 2019 Election Artist commission. The resulting work, There Was A Time, 2019-20, forms part of the Parliamentary Art Collection. There are two videos within the link that help explain the commission and my approach towards it.
https://heritagecollections.parliament.uk/exhibits/ea-2019/
THE CITY IS OURS #5 | MANHOLE COVERS | FEBRUARY 2024
Very happy to have some photographs included in this publication. The 5th issue of The City Is Ours focusses on manhole covers, each uniquely designed, revealing stories about civic identity, history, and utility. This edition showcases their evolution from mere functional objects to forms of artistic expression, featuring everything from ornate covers in Japan to the historical designs of early urban planners. It delves into how these everyday fixtures have inspired artists, engaged historians, and captivated the curious. Concept/design SerraGlia, 15×22 cm, 80 pages, 80+ images in full color/b&w, English text, Sewn glued binding, 300 copies, First Edition 2/2024, ISBN 978-952-65286-1-8
https://shop.serraglia.com/product/the-city-is-ours-5-manhole-covers
MAKE-SHIFT | BLINK | ROOM SHARE 4 | SAFEHOUSE 1 | SEPTEMBER 2023
I have curated a room of dislocation, slippage and shadows. A space for dreaming, fragments and folds. Making and unmaking. Artists include myself, Belinda Worsley, Bernard Walsh, Vincent Hawkins, Yair Meshoulam, Siân Newlove-Drew & Billy Cosby.
139 Copeland Road, London SE15 3SN
PV 6-9pm Friday 15 September 2023
Open 12-6pm Saturday 16 – Sunday 17 September 2023
MAKE-SHIFT | BLINK | ROOM SHARE 4 | SAFEHOUSE 1 | SEPTEMBER 2023
Blink’s remit is to help artists get their work out of the studio and into exhibitions, whilst building a supportive and generous community. I have been invited as a Guest Artist to curate a show during Peckham Festival 15th – 17th September 2023
https://www.peckhamfestival.org/
MASS SCULPTURE MAGAZINE | ISSUE 2 | JULY 2023
Nick Cave makes sculptures: Marcus Harvey, Marianne Walker and Egyptologist Elizabeth Frood, Sabine Elsa Müller talks to Martina Geccelli, Marcus Harvey on John Davies, Nicky Hirst talks to Annie Cattrell, Richard Perry: Reflections on Stone, Edmund De Waal: During the Night, Katrina Blannin meets Cedric Christie, Memories of Phylida Barlow 1944 – 2023, Laura White: Pasta Baroque
MASS Magazine Editorial Board: Marcus Harvey (Editor-in-Chief), Nicky Hirst (Editor), Phil King (Executive Editor), Helen Hayward (Development Editor). Please join us for the launch 20th July 2023 at AMP Studios, 897a Old Kent Road, London, SE15 1NL
https://www.masseducation.co.uk/mass-magazine
https://www.newsstand.co.uk/mass-mag/
Y BWTHYN | MACMILLAN SPECIALIST PALLIATIVE CARE UNIT | EXHIBITION | MAY 2023
I am delighted to be part of an exhibition to celebrate how artists worked with palliative care patients, their loved ones and staff in Y Bwthyn Macmillan Specialist Palliative Care Unit based at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, near Llantrisant. The eight-bed unit, which opened in 2019, features commissioned artwork overseen by curator Jane Willis of Willis Newson. The exhibition (which coincides with Dying Matters Week 8 to 14 May) is in the Oriel of the Senedd in Cardiff Bay until 20 May 2023
https://senedd.wales/visit/exhibitions/y-bwthyn/
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION | UBICUA | 9 MARCH 2023
Reflections of Loss and Silence’s Reverberations – Clara Garavelli in conversation with Nicky Hirst, Andrew Cross, Peter Fraser, Tim Ellis, Judy Milner, Jeff Knopf, Steve Chapman and Patricia Bossio. This roundtable aims to provide a platform for thoughts about silence and the differentiated affective soundscape generated by loss. Moderated by Dr Garavelli, a number of artists whose work is being exhibited as part of MUTE will reflect on their own practices as vehicles of self-reflection and interconnection, whilst expanding on ideas of the material perception of silence as a form of intersubjective listening. Ubicua, 72 Charlotte Street, London W1T 4QQ on Thursday 9th March 6.30pm
https://www.ubicuagallery.com/news
MUTE | UBICUA | FEBRUARY 2023
I have been invited to curate an exhibition for Ubicua Gallery in London, 24 February – 23 March 2023. Ubicua exists to create conversations between artists across cultures and disciplines – seeking borderless interactions between visual artists, performers, musicians and academics. MUTE is an ensemble exhibition that alludes to experiences of transience and loss. Musical instruments and related objects have been transformed, in most instances, from carriers of vibration and sound to artworks of quiet contemplation. Artists include: Steve Chapman, Andrew Cross, Tim Ellis, Peter Fraser, Nicky Hirst, Jeffrey Knopf, Judy Milner, Cornelia Parker and Katie Paterson.
https://www.ubicuagallery.com/about
THE CITY IS OURS #3 | SUPERFICIAL DAMAGES | FEBRUARY 2023
Very happy to have some photographs included in this publication, The City is Ours #3. The walls of the buildings, sidewalks, and streets in the city are in contact with a wide variety of users, uses, and activities: people walking, parents running with strollers, bikes suddenly braking, skateboarders practicing their tricks, scooters and cars being driven at full speed, and much more. All of these activities inevitably leave behind traces on the material surfaces, such as scratches, marks, and cracks.
Size 15×22 cm, 96 pages, 90+ Illustrations, full colour. Concept and design by SerraGlia, first edition 400 copies, ISBN 978-952-68784-7-8
https://shop.serraglia.com/product/the-city-is-ours-3-superficial-damages
DOMOBAAL | LONDON ART FAIR | JANUARY 2023
I am delighted to be showing some of my ‘Belles Series’ 2012-18 in Domobaal’s ‘Portrait Show’ at the London Art Fair 18 – 22 January 2023
https://www.londonartfair.co.uk/
SOCIOTYPE JOURNAL #2 | MAKESHIFT | NOVEMBER 2022
I have some photographs in Sociotype Journal – a new platform for thoughts on culture and society, that also happens to be a type specimen. This second edition is themed Makeshift and is an investigation of old things made new and new things made weird; a celebration of ingenuity on the hoof and ad hoc creativity under extraordinary circumstances. Issue #2 is typeset in their especially created typeface – Rework. Editors are Nic Carter and Henrietta Thompson
https://socio-type.com/
HARD TIMES | OCTOBER 2022
Exhibition curated by Ian Dawson and Nicky Hirst at Koppel X Piccadilly Circus London
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bed63837e3c3a697bf5cf3f/t/63bffe2a0476e8633bb51a72/1673526829039/Hard+Times_on-line_FINAL_PDF.pdf
THAT’S NOT MY AGE | CREATIVE WOMEN AT WORK | JUNE 2022
A conversation about art, life and clothes with journalist and author Alyson Walsh
https://thatsnotmyage.com/creative-women-at-work/creative-women-at-work-artist-nicky-hirst/
TENDERFOOT | TELL IT SLANT | JUNE 2022
Delighted to be a guest on Tenderfoot a website/ artwork by artist Laura White. Laura is interested in what it means to be in the world of materials, objects and stuff. She invited me to show my series of photographs under the titles; Accommodate, Cause and Effect, Glazed, Graffiti Buff, Infill, Not Here, Other Side, Shadows, Text, Tile, Traces, You Had One Job
https://tenderfoot.co.uk/nicky-hirst_tell-it-slant/
MAGCULTURE | AT WORK WITH | MASS MAGAZINE | 30 MAY 2022
This week I shared my Monday morning with Jeremy Leslie of magCulture, an online resource, a magazine shop, events producer and editorial consultancy
https://magculture.com/blogs/journal/nicky-hirst-mass-magazine
THE ELECTRIC ART CAR BOOT FAIR | 14 MAY 2022
MASS Sculpture Programme have a stall of limited edition multiples in The Electric Art Car Boot Fair which takes place at Lewis Cubitt Square, Kings Cross, London 2 – 7pm on Saturday 14 May and continues online until midnight on Monday 16 May
https://www.artcarbootfair.com/events/electric-art-car-boot-fair
ELECTION ARTIST 2019 | THERE WAS A TIME | APRIL 2022
I am delighted to say that my artwork, ‘There Was A Time’, which resulted from my Election Artist 2019 Commission, has been accepted into the Parliamentary Art Collection
https://heritagecollections.parliament.uk/exhibits/ea-2019/
MASS SCULPTURE MAGAZINE | ISSUE 1 | MARCH 2022
Henry Moore’s Helmet Heads: Edmundo Arigita talks to curator Toby Capwell, Ana Genovés and Kerry Stewart in conversation, Cy Twombly: Sculpture by Giuseppe Marasco, Maud Cotter: linked, Jeremy Butler by Krzysztof Fijalkowski, Neil Walton talks to Cathie Pilkington, Nicky Hirst in conversation with Matt Calderwood, Angela de la Cruz and Amikam Toren: Chairs, Si Sapsford: 3D Clay Printer, Stephen Nelson and Kabir Hussain in conversation, Neil Gall and David Gates: Backyard Sculpture, Sofia Silva on the Destruction of Monuments
MASS Magazine Editorial Board: Marcus Harvey (Editor-in-Chief), Nicky Hirst (Editor), Phil King (Executive Editor), Helen Hayward (Development Editor). Please join us for the launch 10th March 2022, Vigo Gallery, 7-8 Masons Yard, St. James’s, London SW1Y 6BU
https://www.turpsbanana.com/mass-mag
AR-MAZING | THE TIGER TRAIL | AUCTION | APRIL 2022
I have created a tiger for the Tiger Art Trail. The trail consists of 33 life size tiger sculptures created by international artists. They will be on public display in the city and at various museums in Singapore for 6 weeks, culminating in an auction at Sotheby’s to raise funds for Tx2 programme https://tigertrail.wwf.sg
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/wwf-tiger-trail-2022
GALLERY CLIMATE COALITION
I have joined GCC who are working towards a more sustainable art world. The goal of GCC is to facilitate the decarbonisation of the visual art sector and promote zero-waste practices.
https://galleryclimatecoalition.org/
MASS SCULPTURE SCHOOL | APPLICATIONS OPEN | DEADLINE 1 MAY 2022
MASS Studio Programme is led and delivered by Ian Dawson and Nicky Hirst. MASS is an opportunity for artists who are experienced in their practice to further explore their media and re-energise their practice, through intense work ethic and critical response from practising artists and their peers within a supportive structure. The programme runs in three 12-weeks blocks across a 10 month period.
https://www.turpsbanana.com/mass-art-school
WELL CHILD | ART AUCTION | OCTOBER 2021
Online auction goes live on 14 October with final bids on 28 October. Artists include: Guy Allen, Anish Kapoor, Charming Baker, Glen Baxter, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Adam Dant, Ian Davenport, Nigel Hall, Nicky Hirst, Patrick Hughes, David Mach, Richard Long, Mauro Perucchetti, James Reily, Sara Shamma, Kelly-Anne Davitt, David Shrigley, Ronnie Wood, Julie Verhoeven, Ray Richardson. Exclusive WellChild pieces will also be included in Christie’s Modern British Art Sale on 21 October.
https://www.wellchild.org.uk/art/
BLINK | PECKHAM FESTIVAL | 17 – 19 SEPTEMBER 2021
I have been selected by Lucy Soni to take part in the exhibition Room Share. Five artists; Dido Hallett, Min Angel, Lucy Soni, Matt Lippiatt and Scott McCracken have been invited to curate a room each for Safehouse 1, Peckham, London.
BITS AND PIECES | THE SHIP HOTEL | NEWHAVEN | 11 – 26 SEPTEMBER 2021
Artist Ian Dawson was invited to curate an exhibition with a Newhaven Wellbeing Group, alongside the Open Call. He also selected some invited artists, Alice Wilson, Louisa Minkin, Alex Schady, Laura White and Nicky Hirst.
INTERVIEW | PRINT EDITIONS GALLERY | AUGUST 2021
An interview with Nicky Hirst by Lisa Hobbs and hosted by Print Editions Gallery – a publishing platform created to promote and support contemporary artists through an online portfolio of limited edition artist’s prints and photographs. The works are sold exclusively through their online platform and published in small editions.
https://printeditions.gallery/blogs/news/interview-with-nicky-hirst
ART, COMPASSION AND COLLECTIVE ACTION | PAINTINGS IN HOSPITALS | WEBINAR
Paintings in Hospitals, in partnership with uclh arts and heritage and The HELP Portfolio, presents a virtual panel discussion exploring how these partners have ensured that art continues to support wellbeing throughout the Covid pandemic. Join panellists Sue Arrowsmith (artist), Sandra Bruce-Gordon FRSA (Director and Chief Executive at Paintings in Hospitals), Nicky Hirst (artist), Dario Illari (Founder of Jealous Gallery and Print Studio), Christian Mathews (art consultant and collector), Guy Noble (Arts Curator at UCLH), and host Andrew Hochhauser QC (art collector and Chair of Paintings in Hospitals), as they discuss the ideas and ethos of The HELP Portfolio and explore the broader ways in which art has contributed to our physical, mental and social wellbeing throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. This event celebrates The HELP Portfolio Exhibition presented by Paintings in Hospitals and uclh arts and heritage at the Street Gallery, University College Hospital between 28th June – 18th August 2021.
Webinar: 22 July 2021 6.30pm https://www.paintingsinhospitals.org.uk/Event/art-compassion-and-collective-action
MASS SCULPTURE SCHOOL | APPLICATIONS OPEN | DEADLINE 30 AUGUST 2021
In Autumn 2021 MASS Studio Programme and MASS Off-Site Programme launch. It is an opportunity for artists who are experienced in their practice to further explore their media and re-energise their practice, through intense work ethic and critical response from practising artists and their peers within a supportive structure.
https://www.turpsbanana.com/mass-art-school
PRETTY UGLY | THAMES-SIDE STUDIOS GALLERY | LONDON
I am taking part in Pretty Ugly 19 June – 4 July 2021. Curated by Andrew Ekins with artists Phillip Allen, Phyllida Barlow, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Paul Cole, Giles Corby, Andrew Ekins, Nick Fox, Nicky Hirst, Sand Laurenson, Hannah Maybank, Jane Millar, Katie Pratt, Piers Secunda, Kate Street, Jamie Partridge and Narbi Price.
Pretty Ugly brings together the work of sixteen artists, all of whom explore a fugitive beauty within, a degraded sense of reality. Each sees value in the imperfect and the irregular, the pull of the sublime and the illicit. Theirs is an aesthetic that gains potency by being elusive, abject, and impolite, while testing the capacity of what has been made to represent the content it is intended to have. The resulting forms manifest a flawed but compelling beauty, and are distinguished by a delight in a logic of brokenness.
https://www.thames-sidestudios.co.uk/news/exhibitions/2021/thames-side-studios-gallery-pretty-ugly-2021
DRAWING BIENNIAL FUNDRAISER | DRAWING ROOM LONDON | 2021
The exhibition will include more than 200 recent works on paper by leading international artists of different generations. Culminating in an online auction in the exhibition’s final two weeks, all works are available to purchase from a starting bid of £300. Proceeds from the auction support Drawing Room’s exhibition, learning and publishing programme and the growth of its unique study library.
Exhibition: Drawing Room, Elephant & Castle 21 May – 27 June
Exhibition: Cromwell Place, Kensington 1 – 5 July
https://drawingroom.org.uk/exhibitions/drawing-biennial-2021
RECREATIONAL GROUNDS: OFF SITE | THAMES-SIDE STUDIOS GALLERY | LONDON
I am taking part in the exhibition Recreational Grounds: Offsite at Thames-side Studios Gallery 29 May – 13 June 2021. Curated by Fiona Grady, Anna Lytridou and Tim Ralston with artists Henrietta Armstrong, Mike Ballard, Jack Brown, Paul Cole, Dori Deng, Rosie Gibbens, Fiona Grady, Nicky Hirst, Ted Le Swer, Anna Lytridou, Marco Miehling, Veronika Neukirch, Tom Rapsey, Tim Ralston, Shinuk Suh and Jim Woodall.
Since 2018 Recreational Grounds has been inviting artists to create site-responsive art works in an unconventional venue, a vacant car park on the Aylesbury estate in Elephant and Castle, London. The project has enabled artists to challenge their practice and work in new ways to fulfil a unique brief. The exhibition Recreational Grounds : Off Site presents this concept in a new venue and takes the project off-site. The decision to present the artists in a more formal gallery space is an opportunity to test the values and principles of Recreational Grounds, keeping the intuitive, improvisational and ephemeral aesthetic but asking the artists to re-interpret the project for a new setting. The artists will create site responsive work that will look to explore themes initially developed in previous editions of Recreational Grounds, reflecting on how their work and ideas may have changed and grown with time.
https://www.thames-sidestudios.co.uk/news/exhibitions/2021/thames-side-studios-gallery-recreational-grounds-29-may-13-jun-2021
MASS SCULPTURE MAGAZINE | COMING SOON . . .
Editorial Board: Edmundo Aragita / Phyllida Barlow / Giles Corby / Ian Dawson / Ana Genoves / Marcus Harvey / Nicky Hirst / Edward Lipski / Corin Johnson / Sophie Newell / Si Sapsford https://www.turpsbanana.com/mass-mag
WEB EXHIBITION | MOCA LONDON | MARCH 2021
During March I am having a web exhibition for MOCA, London. Each month one international artist shows works on the MOCA WE Instagram, with an additional webpage on their website.
https://www.moca.london/we_nickyhirst.html
PRINT EDITIONS GALLERY | FEBRUARY 2021
I have 5 new works with Print Editions Gallery – a new publishing platform created to promote and support contemporary artists through an online portfolio of limited edition artist’s prints and photographs. The works are sold exclusively through their online platform and published in small editions providing collectors, consultants and first-time buyers the opportunity to acquire artworks of quality at an affordable price. Print Editions Gallery is an Arts Council England funded project in partnership with Platform Art Projects.
https://printeditions.gallery/collections/nicky-hirst
THE HELP PORTFOLIO | LAUNCHING NOVEMBER 2020 | JEALOUS LONDON
I have work in a new print portfolio of sixteen UK artists. ‘Each artist has made a new signed, limited edition print which they have generously donated to the portfolio. All profits from the sale of the boxed collection of prints will be donated to sixteen charities that have been deeply affected by #COVID19, each one selected by the artists involved. Iconic British graphic designer Margaret Calvert has designed the Help logo, which features on the portfolio box and also appears as a print.’
The Help Portfolio will be available to purchase online at the special launch price of £7,500 from 11am Thursday 5 November 2020 via Jealous London who have worked with each artist to publish their bespoke artwork. The artists are: Sue Arrowsmith, Margaret Calvert, Michael Craig Martin, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Idris Khan, Ian Davenport, Nicky Hirst, Chris Levine, Elizabeth Magill, Paul McDevitt, Annie Morris, Paul Morrison, Remi Rough, Yinka Shonibare, Mathew Weir and Paul Winstanley
https://jealousgallery.com/products/help-portfolio
WHAT’S IN A NAME | LIMITED EDITION BAG | 2020
MAD LORD PUNT | DR PANT MOULD | OLD DUMP RANT | PLUM TORN DAD | PLOD MAD RUNT | ODD RANT LUMP | DONALD TRUMP | MAD TURD ON LP
Continuing my series of anagram poems I have produced a new edition of 25 cotton tote bags 40 x 38cm numbered and signed £15.00 plus p&p
Available exclusively from https://www.domobaal.com/contact.html
MENTOR | MASS CORRESPONDENCE COURSE | OCTOBER 2020
‘Imagine you are in a very, very remote place and post takes a couple of months to arrive. Or you are above the arctic circle! You send images to an esteemed colleague and await their response. The response comes months later. You are unable to ask questions of what you just read because it’s a letter, no Internet, no phones. What then happens is that you slow right down, you listen to and digest every last drop of sense in that letter. You sniff it, you sleep with it under your pillow and you constantly re-read it until you suck every last ounce of anything useful from it. You then make work and any accompanying comments that are posted off with your next work upload will be very deeply thought about. That’s it, period! Babbling, garbling, impatient ‘I must know now’ hysteria has ruined people’s ability to absorb and reflect. In doing this course you have enabled a slightly different process to take place. You learn from what you already know. The mentor is a guide. You do the work. Read, reflect then make!’ Marcus Harvey, Director
Mass Correspondence Course is an innovative distance-learning programme of online mentoring facilitated through critical, supportive written reviews by a dedicated mentor. The course is aimed at sculptors based anywhere in the world and at any stage in their career who want to develop or reinvigorate their work, whether recently graduated from art school or those without any formal arts education. Mass Correspondence Course mentors will be selected from Mass Magazine Editorial Board. Application deadline: 30th September 2020 https://www.turpsbanana.com/mass-cc
THE PRINT ASSEMBLY | PRINT SALE FOR REFUGE
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, domestic abuse figures have surged. I am taking part in a print sale to raise funds for Refuge – the UK’s largest domestic abuse charity. Launched by Kim Pappas and Emma Hayes of photography agency Process, the sale comprises works by over 100 artist/ photographers. All works are printed on Canson PhotoSatin Premium (270gsm) A3 paper and available to buy for £50 during the limited period 3 – 13 May 2020. All profits will be donated to Refuge. https://www.refuge.org.uk
ARTIST SUPPORT PLEDGE 2020 | INSTAGRAM
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many artists have found themselves without work, teaching, technical support and gallery work. Exhibitions and sales have disappeared. In an attempt to help alleviate some of this stress artist Matthew Burrows instigated the #artistsupportpledge a movement to support artists. How it works – artists post pictures of works for sale on Instagram – all under £200. Anyone can buy the work. Every time an artist makes £1,000 in sales they commit 20% on purchasing the work of another artist using the hashtag. There are no enforcements, it is a system based on trust. https://www.instagram.com/nickyhirst63
BEHIND THE ARTIST SUPPORT PLEDGE | BY FIONA GRADY
https://dateagle.art/blog_post/artist-support-pledge/
SOUND OF SILENCE PODCAST | EPISODE 82
I sat in silence for 2 minutes with Steve Chapman who is an artist, writer, speaker, coach and consultant interested in creativity and the human condition. Sound of Silence is a downloadable pause. An experimental podcast that records the silence that arises between two people. Only 100 episodes will be recorded with each lasting around 180 seconds and centring around 2 minutes of shared silence recorded face to face with a special guest. Guests so far have included musicians, adventurers, comedians, presenters, entrepreneurs, artists, humanitarians, activists, singers, poets, athletes and many more. At the end of the experiment the combined 200 minutes of silence will be transformed into an interactive public gallery exhibit. Episode 82 of the podcast is available to hear from 18 February 2020 https://canscorpionssmoke.com/sound-of-silence/
NDM PUBLIC ART COMMISSION 2018-20
Programme 2018-20, Nuffield Department of Medicine Building, Oxford University, Oxford
ELECTION ARTIST 2019-20 | INSTAGRAM | @electionartist2019
https://www.instagram.com/electionartist2019
ELECTION ARTIST 2019
I have been appointed as Parliament’s official Election Artist for the 2019 General Election. During the General Election I will observe and follow the campaign trail, before creating a unique piece of art for the Parliamentary Art Collection. The work will respond to the main themes and outcome of the election, drawing from my experiences across the UK.
https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2019/november/nicky-hirst-named-official-artist-for-the-2019-general-election/
INTERDEPENDENCE | ART LICKS WEEKEND 2019
This year Art Licks Weekend takes on the theme of Interdependence: considering how participating projects work within a network of friendship, exchange and shared dialogue. I am taking part in, Return of Come Kiss a Stranger at Why Don’t You…? HQ satellite space, London 17 – 20 October 2019
OFF THE PAGE | ANOTHER PLACE PRESS
The Northern Eye International Photography Festival is a collaboration between the Oriel Colwyn photography gallery and Aberystwyth’s The Eye Festival, 7 – 20 October 2019
Another Place Press published artists are creating a new collaborative show for the festival. APP is a small independent photobook publisher based in the Scottish Highlands. They showcase contemporary photography that explores our relationship with ‘place’ at a local or global level. https://anotherplacepress.bigcartel.com
THE TWIN | COVENTRY BIENNIAL 2019
I am showing a selection of paired images from my series Elemental Works 2012-19 as part of the The Twin: Coventry Biennial 2019. All of the exhibitions and events will explore themes, ideas and processes which resonate throughout Coventry – including translation, collaboration and togetherness whilst also exploring some of the difficulties presented by globalisation, political inequality and conflict.
4 October to 24 November 2019 https://www.coventrybiennial.com
https://www.instagram.com/nickyhirst_elementalworks
PJOYS | INSTAGRAM TAKEOVER | LONDON FASHION WEEK 2019
Pjoys is a pyjama brand on a mission to make mental health an everyday conversation. They believe no one should ever feel awkward talking about their mental health. Every pair of artist designed limited edition PJ’s that are sold helps raise awareness and funds for mental health charities. Having designed a pair of pyjamas for Pjoys, during London Fashion Week 12 – 17 September 2019, I was invited to make an artwork and take photographs at The Designer Exhibition located at The Store X, 180 Strand, London – an exhibition with a focus on Positive Fashion: Sustainability, Equality & Diversity, Craftsmanship & Community. https://www.instagram.com/pjoys
ELSEWHERE | EDGEWORK | ARTIST PROFILE #3 | SEPTEMBER 2019
As part of the Elsewhere Journal’s collaboration with Edgework Journal and Store, my artist profile is #3 in a monthly series.
https://www.elsewhere-journal.com/blog/2019/9/20/edgework-artist-profile-3-nicky-hirst
ART MONTHLY REVIEW | ALGORITHMS, GRAIL MOTHS, LARGISH TOM, MISTRAL HOG, LOAMS GIRTH, SHALOM GRIT, SOLAR MIGHT, ROAMS LIGHT, MORAL SIGHT, A GRIM SLOTH, A LOGS MIRTH, MORTAL SIGH | EXETER PHOENIX
Review by Martin Holman in Art Monthly issue no 429, September 2019
https://www.artmonthly.co.uk/magazine/site/issue/september-2019
A-N ARTIST BURSARY 2019
Delighted to be a recipient of an a-n Artist Bursary – an annual funding programme, supporting self determined professional development – I will be learning new Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign skills.
CALL & RESPONSE | INSTAGRAM TAKEOVER | EDGEWORK
Nicky Hirst and Matt Calderwood takeover the Edgework Instagram account for 9 days, 26 July – 3 August 2019 https://www.instagram.com/the_edgeworker
ALGORITHMS - FULL OF POETRY AND SERENDIPITY
ArtsCulture interview
https://artsculture.newsandmediarepublic.org/news/nicky-hirst-algorithms-full-of-poetry-and-serendipity/
ALGORITHMS, GRAIL MOTHS, LARGISH TOM, MISTRAL HOG, LOAMS GIRTH, SHALOM GRIT, SOLAR MIGHT, ROAMS LIGHT, MORAL SIGHT, A GRIM SLOTH, A LOGS MIRTH, MORTAL SIGH
Saturday 13 July – Sunday 8 September 2019 Exeter Phoenix, Bradninch Place, Gandy Street, Exeter, EX4 3LS
Preview and Artist Talk | Saturday 13 July | 3 – 5pm | All welcome
GOSH COMMISSION 2019
Great Ormond Street Hospital commissioned me to create a series of site responsive artworks informed by conversations with patients and staff and co-curate a display of artwork from the GOSH arts and heritage collection. The resulting twelve paired photographs are now installed in the new executive offices.
VA19 | VENICE AGENDAS | THE MARKET
I have been commissioned to create a new Instagram project for Venice Agendas. The photographs are a work-in-progress exploring the impact of the art market on artists, institutions, curators and writers. Venice Agendas is a platform for critical international debate and has featured at every Venice Biennale since 1999. Funded by Arts Council England.
https://www.veniceagendas.eu
https://www.instagram.com/veniceagendasartists
WORK-SHOP | DULWICH FESTIVAL 2019
Merchandise created by Min Angel, Nicky Hirst, Laura Moreton-Griffiths, Lucy Soni, Kim Thornton
11 – 12 May at Bell House, 27 College Road, Dulwich, London SE21 7BG
GOVERNMENT ART COLLECTION 2019
New World 2017, metal and wood 50 x 50 cm has been purchased by the Government Art Collection. Many thanks to Domobaal Gallery.
PJOYS LAUNCH 2019
I have designed a pair of limited edition pjs for Pjoys a new purpose-led pyjama brand which aims to make mental health an everyday conversation
http://pjoys.co.uk launches 8 March 2019
DRAWING BIENNIAL FUNDRAISER 2019
Exhibition 20 February – 3 April 2019 Drawing Room, London
Online Auction 11 – 26 March 2019
REVIEW BOOKSHOP
The Word is Art by Michael Petry published by Thames & Hudson
Book Signing 7-8.30pm Thursday 7 February 2019
Review Bookshop, 131 Bellenden Road, London SE15 4QY
https://thamesandhudson.com/the-word-is-art-9780500239667
LONDON ART FAIR 2019
15 – 20 January 2019
Art Projects: Dialogues curated by Kiki Mazzucchelli
DOMOBAAL Booth P19b
Maud Cotter, Neil Gall, David Gates, Lothar Götz, Aubrey Haskard, Nicky Hirst, Neil Zakiewicz
https://www.londonartfair.co.uk/galleries/domobaal/
STUDIO TOUR | LONDON ART FAIR 2019
Saturday 19th January 9.30am Nicky Hirst hosts a tour of her studio
PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONS 2018/19
- New Union Wharf, Cubitt Town, London
- Y Bwthyn Macmillan Specialist Palliative Care Unit, Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Wales
- Westbourne Park Baptist Church + Dolphin Living, London
PJOYS CROWDFUNDER
I have designed a pair of limited edition pjs for Pjoys a new purpose-led pyjama brand which aims to make mental health an everyday conversation
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/pjoys
MODERN ART OXFORD
On 2nd November 2018 a panel discussion at Modern Art Oxford to celebrate Art at Westgate, a programme of public art featuring work by: David Batchelor, Rana Begum, William Cobbing, Nicky Hirst and Daniela Schönbächler. Focusing on Art & Public Space within the context of Westgate Shopping Centre, this special event is chaired by Director of Modern Art Oxford, Paul Hobson.
https://www.modernartoxford.org.uk/event/art-westgate-art-tour-artists-panel-discussion/
THAMES & HUDSON
Delighted to have two works included in The Word is Art by Michael Petry published by Thames and Hudson
https://thamesandhudson.com/the-word-is-art-9780500239667
A-N 2018
https://www.a-n.co.uk/news/artists-instagram-nicky-hirst-seeking-serendipity/