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About
I am a Zimbabwean 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 humble materials are embedded with meaning, memories and stories.
Through my work these materials are transformed and given permanence. This repurposing characterises my practice and draws from my childhood in Zimbabwe, where nothing is thrown away - everything is repurposed.
I came to the Uk in 2005 to study Fine Art at Cumbria Institute of the Arts. Since then I have lived and worked as an artist and workshop facilitator.
I have lived not only in Zimbabwe but also spent a few years in Cape Town which inspired work such as ‘Beacon Valley’. In my practice I have made work in response to migration with the hope of taking back control of the narrative of what it means to be a migrant.
More recently I have been focusing on my personal narrative of being a migrant. By pairing objects from my home country with materials found in my new home I hope to explore
the tension of belonging to the land of my past with the land I now inhabit.
CV
​​​Currently Showing
2 - 29 June 2025 'Perambulator', part of the Horizons festival at HOME, Manchester
14 Feb -31 May 2025 'Musika ', The giving tree, Manchester.
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Current Consultancy
2024-25 Lowry Artist advisory group, The Lowry, Salford
Workshops
2025 May 'WAST Horizons project', HOME, Manchester
2025 March 'Speak Up' Programme with Lowry and National Theatre , Salford
2023 October Temporary shelters, Leeds City of Culture 2023, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
2023 August Temporary Shelters, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
2022 October Teacher CPD, Sculpting Landscapes, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
2022 August Sculpting landscapes, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
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Higher Education
2005-2009 2:1 Bachelors of Fine Art (HONS) University of Cumbria, U.K.
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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
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Solo Exhibitions
2025 May 'Musika', The Giving Tree, Manchester
2016 Jun In search of the Promised Land, Alexandria Library, Manchester
2010 May In search of the Promised Land, Carlisle Cathedral, Carlisle, England
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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/ Press
​ https://www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk/castlefield-gallery-associates-spotlight-ashleigh-beattie/
https://axisweb.org/blog/take-me-back-to-when-the-world-made-sense
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Contact
If you'd like to know more about my work or about the workshops I deliver please get in touch.