Sarah-Joy Ford

Sarah-Joy Ford is an artist and independent scholar working with textiles to explore the complexities and pleasures of queer communities, histories and archives. Her practice sits at intersection of digital and traditional: using strategies of quilting, digital embroidery, digital print, applique and hand embellishment. Her deep material investment in surface pattern design, and embellishment is part of my femme-ethical methodology that prioritises softness, emotionality, and aesthetic preoccupation.

She was the recipient of an NWDTCP award for her PhD research examining quilting as an affective methodology for re-visioning British lesbian archive, at Manchester School of Art. Her work has recently been commissioned for A Tall Order at Touchstones, Rochdale (2023); Un-Defining Queer at The Whitworth, Manchester (2023) and a new site-specific installation for Manchester Science Park (2022-2023). Recent solo exhibitions include Looking for Lesbians at ONE Gallery 2022 (Los Angeles), Beloved at Plas Newydd Historic House and Gardens 2022 (Llangollen).

Her twinned solo shows of new works HARE and RABBIT open at Bobinska Brownlee Gallery (London) in September 2023 and Bury Art Museum February 2024 respectively.