Elizabeth Kwant is a British Artist based in Manchester UK.

My practice bears witness to some of the most pertinent social and geo-political issues of our times.

Recurrent concerns include; global migration, immigration detention, colonialism, historical and modern slavery. Over the past twelve years I have partnered with local and national organisations, museums and galleries to give voice to issues facing the marginalised in Britain today. My films have been described as ‘hauntingly beautiful’ - holding beauty in tension with trauma, political urgency with quiet contemplation. I enjoy working with places and communities to co-create content and respond sensitively to their stories.

Examples include; Am I not a woman and a sister a four screen film installation co-created with female survivors of modern slavery produced for the International Slavery Museum (2019- 2020), Botanical Migrations a series of botanical billboard posters created for a public park in Dundee (2021), In-Transit performances for film tracing the western migration route in the Mediterranean informed by conversations with refugees (2017- 2018).

Ongoing bodies of work include Habeas Corpus a powerful series of bright vintage style travel posters documenting every British Immigration Removal Centre, their locations and capacity and Toile intricate repeat patterned prints juxtaposing contemporary socio-political subjects within decorative historical patterns.

More recently, I continue my research into British Colonial history closer to home. Volta do Mar is a performance for film, which grapples with my own identity in relation to British history. Through time spent in local archives I’m seeking to unearth that which has been forgotten. The work explores issues around trauma, amnesia, memory, land, place and identity through objects, performance and film making connections between the UK and Caribbean, the past and present (2021-)

During my MA I studied Islamic Art and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art. Following this I spent two years living in Morocco studying Arabic whilst travelling widely around the Middle East and North Africa. This time profoundly shaped who I am. Living in a place as an ‘outsider’, navigating life in a different language then relocating back to the UK whilst leaving part of myself behind, helped me to understand what Salman Rushdie meant when he wrote ‘sometimes we feel we straddle two cultures; at other times, that we fall between two stools.’ These experiences nurtured a critical eye on my own identity, whilst developing empathy with those on the margins of society.

From 2015- 2019 I founded and curated Zellij Arts, a multi- cultural exhibition space on Rusholme’s ‘Curry Mile’, showcasing the work of artists working trans-nationally from North Africa, The Middle East and diaspora.

I currently live in Rusholme Manchester, where I enjoy cooking with my Iraqi neighbour and introducing my two daughters to a diverse mix of languages and cultures. I’m a studio member at Suite Studios Salford.

CV

Lives and works in Manchester, UK.

EDUCATION

2001- 2006 MA FINE ART, 1st Class Honours with distinction. Edinburgh University/ Edinburgh College of Art

RELEVANT SHORT COURSES

2024 Sound Recording for Film, Stills Edinburgh.

2023- 2024 Art and Trauma Healing.

2011 Final Cut Pro (Post Production) Futureworks, Manchester.

2010- 2011 Modern Standard Arabic, Manchester University LEAP Certificate.

2009 Portrait Photography Course, Stills, Edinburgh.

2007- 2008 Moroccan Arabic, DMG, Rabat, Morocco.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2023 AM I NOT A WOMAN AND A SISTER at Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre’s Moving Image Gallery, curated by Susan Lord. 2021 BOTANICAL MIGRATIONS A public realm exhibition curated by Sharing Not Hoarding - collaborating with urban gardeners - in partnership with The Maxwell Centre and Ninewells Community Garden Dundee. 26th January - 26th March 2021. 2020 AM I NOT A WOMAN AND A SISTER, The International Slavery Museum, Liverpool curated by Jean- Francois Manicom.
2019 HABEAS CORPUS, Manchester Cathedral, produced for A Belonging Project, curated by PassionArt and Micah Purnell.
2018 IN TRANSIT Canada House Manchester, Supported by LJ Partnerships, sponsored by Ministry to Business.
2017 MEDITERRANEA DOK Artist Space, Edinburgh. 25th November- 3rd December. Curated by Olivia Turner.
2017 MEDITERRANEA Nomas Projects, Dundee, 16th March- 20th April curated by Cully McCullogh.
2013 TRACING PRESENCE The Accumulator Tower, The People's History Museum in conjunction with Manchester University and Platforma Festival, Manchester.
2013 TRACING PRESENCE The Mustard Tree, Manchester. In partnership with The Boaz Trust. 

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2023 DARSHAK International Print Exchange Programme (IPEP) Bihar Museum, India. 2021 DOUBLE VISION International Print Exchange Programme India (International touring exhibition) UK edition hosted by Hot Bed Press Salford. Curated by Sitara Chowfla.
2021 WHAT TO DO WITH DIFFERENCE? India International Centre, IIC Gallery, New Delhi. Curated by Art for Change Foundation 15th - 28th March. 2019 TIME AFTER [ ( ) ] AFTER TIME The Briggait, WASPS Studios Glasgow, curated by Lada Wilson and Lucy May Scofield.
2019 DISPLACED The Travelling Gallery, Scotland curated by Claire Craig.
2019 PRINT: A CATALYST FOR SOCIAL CHANGE Bury Art Museum curated by Jez Dolan.
2018 AIR GALLERY OPEN 2018 Altrincham.
2018 RADICAL AND REAL FILM SHORTS, HOME Manchester, part of Refugee Week Festival curated by Ann Louise Kershaw.
2018 WAITING group exhibition, 35 Chapel Walk Sheffield in association with Migration Matters.
2018 IN TRANSIT Genesis Centre, 15 Rue des Lavandières Sainte-Opportune, 75001 Paris.
2018 ACROSS THE SEAS Sam Scorer Gallery, Lincoln - A Time and Tide Bell Art Exhibition, part of a Continuing Arts Programme facing Lincolnshire's Coast.
2017 STILL NO LONGER AT EASE, IWAYA Community Arts Festival, Lagos, Nigeria, curated by Aderemi Adegbite, ICAF Lagos.
2017 IN NOTHING FLAT, Studiobook 17 group exhibition, Old Granada Studios, Manchester. Curated by Mark Devereux Projects.
2017 Greater Manchester Arts Prize, selected by Helen Wewiora (Director of Castlefield Gallery), Paulette Terry Brien (Co-director of The International 3, and Co-curatorial co-ordinator of The Manchester Contemporary), Rachel Goodyear (Artist), Louise Durose (Collector), Andrew Brooks (Photographer).
2017 FRAMING THE CRISIS curated by Vault Collective at System Gallery Newcastle accompanied by a public seminar "Re-imagining the Nation: Togetherness, Belonging and Mobility" led by Dr Claire Sutherland (Durham University).
2016 BE WELCOME St Ann's Church, Curated by Lesley Sutton of PassionArt.
2016 ROGUE 21 Waterside Art Centre, Sale.
2016 EUROPA at Transition Gallery London, curated by Cathy Lomax.
2016 Open Studios New Art Spaces, Chorlton, supported by The Castlefield Gallery, Manchester.
2015 Colloquies The Wall at The Hillary Step, Chorlton, Manchester. Curated by Rosalind Sandhu-Cartlich.
2013 Tracing Presence, Z-Arts, Manchester. A group show in partnership with Virtual Migrants, Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit, and Asylum Support Housing Advice produced for Refugee Week.
2013 Creative Hands Foundation Open Exhibition, Manchester.
2013 Electric Picture House Open, Congleton, Cheshire.
2013 Tracing Presence, St. Peter's Church, Manchester.
2012 TRANSITION Departure Gallery (now HUSK) London. 2012 The Cube Open 2011, Cube Gallery, Manchester. 
2011-2012 13th Annual Photographic Processes Juried Online International Art Exhibition, Upstream People Gallery. Omaha, USA.
2011 We Are All In This Together, Bureau Gallery, Manchester.
2011 SOLAS, St. Peter's Church, Dundee. 
2011 Passage, Nexus Art Cafe, Manchester. 
2009 Treasures of Beni Mellal, Moroccan Ministry of Culture, Beni Mellal & Culturelink International. Morocco. 2008 امرأة الحكمة, Galerie d’ Art Nouiga, Rabat, Morocco.
2008 Stories of Beni Mellal,  Moroccan Ministry of Culture, Beni Mellal & Culturelink International. Morocco.
2007 Exposition par les Autres, Université Sultan Moulay Slimane, Beni Mellal. Morocco.


RESIDENCIES/ TALKS/ SCREENINGS

2022 (Guest Speaker) ‘Öteki Hikayeler/The Other Stories’ Podcast produced by Dr. Gulay Ugur Goksel of İstanbul Bilgi University Center for Migration Research. 2022 (Guest Speaker) ‘Representations of Border Crossings in Media, Literature, and the Arts’ Symposium hosted by The Research Centre for Migration, Diaspora and Exile (MIDEX), University of Central Lancashire. 2022 (Film Screening) ‘Am I not a woman and a sister’ SeeSaw Manchester, part of Castlefield Gallery Associates ‘Open Screen’. 2021 (Online Recipe Sharing Event & Artist’s Talk) ‘Botanical Migrations’ hosted by Sharing Not Hoarding Dundee in partnership with The Maxwell Centre and Ninewells Community Gardens. 2020 Artist’s Talk, Autograph Rights in Focus Network. 2020 Artist’s Talk, Press Red. 2020 International Artist Residency, Art for Change Foundation, New Delhi, India.
2019 Research Residency, The International Slavery Museum / Merseyside Maritime Museum Archives Liverpool.
2018 Artist in Residence, The Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces.
2018 Panel Discussion, ‘Radical and Real Film Shorts’, led by Anne Louise Kershaw, HOME Manchester.
2017 Artist’s Talk, In Nothing Flat, curated by Mark Devereux Projects- part of StudioBook17.
2017 Artist's Talk, Nomas Projects, Dundee. 
2016 Artist's Talk Be Welcome, St. Ann's Church, Manchester.
2016 Artist's Talk Nazarene Theological College, Manchester. 
2016 Artist in Residence, The Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces, Chorlton. 
2016 Visiting Speaker,  Incarnate School, Italy. 
2013 Visiting Speaker, Nazarene Theological College, Manchester. 
2013 Artist led workshops, with Rolls Crescent Primary School and Z-Arts, Manchester. 
2013 Artist's Talk Z-Arts, Manchester. 
2012 Visiting Speaker, Canon Slade School, Bolton. 
2012 Artist in Residence, in partnership with The Boaz Trust & The Mustard Tree, Manchester.
2012 Workshop Leader & Project Planner: "Meaningful Lives" Produced as part of "5 Ways to Wellbeing". A series of Participatory art workshops with The Boaz Trust, Manchester.
2012 Guest Lecturer, Incarnate School, Italy.
2011 Workshop Leader & Producer, The Boaz Trust, Manchester.
2007 Artist in Residence, Université Sultan Moulay Slimane, Beni- Mellal, Morocco.
 
CURATED

2024 (upcoming Sept - Nov 2024) ISTORIA by George Sfougaras at The Giving Tree Manchester. 2024 SCARRED by Rachel Ho at The Giving Tree Manchester. Accompanied by an artist led workshop. 2024 STREET EYES by Micah Purnell at The Giving Tree Manchester. 2023 PATHWAYS by GEINENE CARSON at The Giving Tree Manchester. 2019 MAI AL SHAZLY in partnership with Zellij Arts and The Alexandria Library, Manchester. Supported by Mophradat.
2018 SAIMA RASHEED ON BEING produced in partnership with Asia Triennial Manchester 2018, supported with funding from Arts Council England. Accompanied by a specially commissioned workshop “An Intoduction to Indo- Persian Miniature Painting” led by Saima Rasheed.
2018 A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN by The Travelling Heritage Bureau, co- curated in partnership with Digital Women's Archive North [DWAN] and Zellij Arts, supported by The Heritage Lottery Fund.
2018 ME, MYSELF AND I: RELOCATE THE MULTI- LAYERED IDENTITY by Fatemeh Takht Keshian. Curated in partnership with Zellij Arts and The Alexandria Library, Manchester.
2018 TILTED PLANE by Lesley Halliwell. Curated in partnership with Zellij Arts and The Alexandria Library.
2017 PARADISE LOST: CURATORIAL ART LAB for Asia Triennial Manchester 2018. Hosted by The Alexandria Library, Manchester. Co- curated by Alnoor Mitha and Elizabeth Kwant.
2017 PERSONAL MAPS by George Sfougaras, The Alexandria Library, Manchester.
2017 FABRIC OF TIME: SEAS OF SPACE by Lori K. Gordon. The Alexandria Library.
2017 THIS CLOTH: AN ARCHEOLOGY OF IDENTITY by Saffina Bhatti. The Alexandria Library, Manchester.
2017 STITCHING MY SYRIA BACK by Mohamad Khayata. The Alexandria Library.
2016 AHMED ELHASSAN The Alexandria Library, Manchester.
2016 IN SEARCH OF THE PROMISED LAND by Ashleigh Beattie. The Alexandria Library, Manchester.
2016 AMANG MARDOKHY The Alexandria Library, Manchester. 
2015 THE COMING by Rachel Pearsey. The Alexandria Library, Manchester.
2015 HAZEL BURNS Photography. The Alexandria Library, Manchester.
2011 Curatorial Intern, Mathaf: The Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha Qatar.
2011 No. 1 Paint. Exhibitions Curator; Blank Media Collective, Manchester.

PUBLICATIONS/ PRESS

‘The Art of Listening: A Meditation upon the work of artist duo Gardner & Gardner’ by Elizabeth Kwant published in Artway online, Jan 2022.

‘Double Vision’ article by Chloe Carroll, in IPEP India Catalogue, December 2020.

‘Bridging Differences: Art for Change’ by Aaakshat Sinha in Art Amour India 26th March 2021 ‘Botanical Migrations’ article in Creative Dundee, March 2021 ‘Am I not a woman and a sister’ publication to accompany the research project and film, with contributing articles by Sara Jaspan, Jean-François Manicom and women from City Hearts, 2020. Interview with Jonathan Evens Artlyst, 13th June 2020. ‘Am I not a woman and a sister?’ article by Sara Jaspan published in accompanying exhibition catalogue 2020.
‘Surveying the Land: Legacies of Slavery’ by Elizabeth Kwant, published by Artway, 2nd February 2020.
Review: ‘Am I not a woman and a sister?’ by Jonathan Evens, Church Times, 11th February 2020.
BBC Africa ‘What’s New? (Episode 74) 2nd December 2019.
‘Slavery museum in Liverpool aims to confront painful legacy’ December 18th 2019 by Russell Contreras, The Associated Press (AP). Article published in The New York Times, The Washington Times, The Washington Post, Gulf Today, US News, Concord Monitor, The Jamaica Gleaner (December 18th 2019).
BBC Radio Merseyside, Interview on ‘Upfront’ with Presenter Ngunan Adamu and Curator Jean- Francois Manicom, 15th December 2019.
'Taking a look at modern slavery: exhibition at city's dockside museum provides welcome voice for contemporary victims' by Lorna Hughes, Liverpool Echo Tuesday 31st December 2019.
ITV Granada News, Friday 15th November 2019.
‘Modern day slavery put in spotlight’ John Moores Journalism, 20th November 2019, by Lewis Batty.
‘A Belonging Project’ by Jonathan Evans, Artlyst 7th Sept 2019.
VIVID "Making it as Mom, Artist and Curator" Artist Interview by Lydia Borg, published by OM ARTS, May 2018. p 10-13.
"Be Welcome" exhibition catalogue published by PassionArt designed by Micah Purnell, 2016.
"Settimo Tamanini: Trees of Great Mothers" by Elizabeth Kwant. ArtWay Visual Meditation April 17 2016.
“Un appel à la vie et à la sagesse” La Matin, Morocco. October 26th 2008.
“Snarling dogs, tattooed pigs, a live robot lesson and other degree show highlights.” The Scotsman. June 20th 2006. 

AWARDS

2020 COVID19 Arts Council Grant.
2018- 2019 National Lottery Project Grant, Arts Council England.
2017 Selected for StudioBook17 -  curated by Mark Devereux Projects.
2017 Seedbed Grant. 
2015 Seedbed Grant.
2011 Special Recognition Awards by Upstream People Gallery. Omaha, USA. 
2006 The Andrew Grant Bequest- Travel Scholarship. Edinburgh College of Art.