ANNA JOY READING
she/her | b. Newcastle | based in London
Anna Reading, now living and working in London. She holds an MfA in Sculpture from the Slade School of Fine Art (2017) and a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from Central St Martins (2010). Reading is the winner of the Mark Tanner Sculpture Award 2018-19 and is an Associate Lecturer of Sculpture at CCW, University of the Arts London.
Reading’s work deals with issues around anthropocentric perspectives and the subsequent impacts upon environments, bodies, and human psyches. Her work looks to more-than-human life forms for lessons in survival within hostile settings.
Reading’s sculptural practice incorporates a wide range of processes including kinetics, performance and combinations of industrial materials. Her works clutch, wedge and bind matter to explore novel ecosystems and science fiction landscapes. Reading's work challenges the notion of built and managed environments, considering instead the unruly spaces at the edges of a land mass, drawn from her own experiences as an island dweller in the United Kingdom.
In recent work Reading has been exploring the creativity of molluscs, weeds and wild animals adapted to living within urban settings. The works emulate natural forms of protection and shelter, imagining alternatives to extractive capitalism through adaptation, creation, and hybridisation.
Education:
2016 - 17 Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, London, MfA Fine Art, Sculpture
2007 - 10 Central St Martins, UAL, London, BA Fine Art, Sculpture
2006 - 07 Chelsea College of Art and Design, UAL, Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Prizes and Awards:
2022 a-n Bursary award
2019 The Elephant Trust Grant
2018 Mark Tanner Sculpture Award 2018 - 2019 winner, Standpoint Gallery
2018 Bloomberg New Contemporaries Artist
2015 - 2017 Siva-Finestone Scholarship, Slade School of Fine Art
2015 Creekside Open Award winner, APT Gallery
Residencies:
2017 - Artist in Residence, Academy for Visual Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University, 51 Kwun Tong Road, Hong Kong
2017 - Artist in Residence, Slade Summer School, Slade School of Fine Art, Gower Street, London
2017 - Artist in Residence, Non-Space, Rosengarde 11, Aarhus 8000, Denmark
Solo and Duo Exhibitions:
2024 - Public Sculpture Lewisham Borough of Culture, Lewisham High Street
2022 - Brute, solo exhibition, The Shuck, Kristian Day Gallery, Letchworth Garden City.
2021 - Tangle Up, Thames Side Studio Viewing Room - presentation of wall based works.
2021 - The Auguries, duo exhibition with Diane Chappalley, Informality Gallery, Henley on Thames
2020 - The Pothole, Mark Tanner Sculpture Award tour, Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre
Group Exhibitions:
2024 - These Mad Hybrids, curated by Olivia Bax, RWA Galleries, Bristol
2023 - The Amber Rooms, curated by Rosie Reed, Matts Gallery, London
2023 - 2 for 1, curated by ThorpStavri and HAZE, 50 Celebration Avenue, London
2023 - Meat Market, curated by Sophie Nowankowska, 31 Tanners Hill, London
2023 - Still Here - Abstract Sculpture by Women, curated by This Stuff Matters, APT Gallery, London
2023 - Dog Show, curated by Enzo Marra, Thames Side Gallery, London
2022 - Carry on Baggage, curated by Ben Austin, Galeria Augustine, Lisbon
2022 - Hypha Presents, 56 Conduit Street, London
2022 - Lost in a Just-In-Time Supply Chain, curated by Josh C. Wright and organised by Hypha Studios, Rushey Green, London
2021 - The House Protects the Dreamer, curated by Josh C. Wright, D-Contemporary, London
2021 - Terrestrial Act, touring group exhibition and collaborative film curated by Hot Desque
2021 - Thames Side Studios Gallery, 4th - 19th December, London
2021 - Lunchtime Gallery, 19th - 23rd December, Glasgow
2021 - Glasgow CCA, 14th November, Glasgow
2021 - NewBridge Project 3rd - 19th November, Newcastle Upon Tyne
2021 - Newcastle Theatre Royal 4th September 2021, Newcastle Upon Tyne
2021 - The Plot, outdoor sculpture presented as part of Contemporary Sculpture Fulmer, BrookeBenington Gallery
2020 - Five Hides, curated by ThorpStavri, Manor Place Baths, Londo
Professional Experience:
Current - Associate Lecturer, Creative Unions, Central St Martins, University of the Arts London, since 2022
Current - Associate Lecturer, Sculpture Foundation, Camberwell College of Art, University of the Arts London, since 2022
Current - Lead Artist, Flourish, A.C.A.V.A. North Kensington. Family co-creation workshops, since 2022
2023 - Lead Artist, RePresenting Bloomsbury commission with Camden Council.
2022 - Artist Mentor for artist recipient of A.C.A.V.A. Graduate Residency
2022 - Art School Plus Artist. ASP is an agency that provides artists with training and connections for public realm commissions
2021 - Lead Artist, Young Artist Programme A.C.A.V.A. North Kensington. Weekly co-creation project for ages 7 - 11
2021 - Visiting Lecturer, BA Fine Art, York St John University
2020 - 22 - Course Leader, Advanced Diploma Fine Art, Hampstead School of Art
2020 - 22 - Course Leader, Critical Thinking, Hampstead School of Art
2018 - 22 - Lecturer, Foundation Diploma in Fine Art, Hampstead School of Art
2018 - 22 - Course Leader, Material Inspiration, Hampstead School of Art
2020 - Artist Mentor for artist recipient of Bomb Factory Art Foundation Summer Graduate Residency
Press and publications:
2023 - Thinking Is Making: Objects In a Space, Published by Black Dog Press, 2023
2020 - Anxious Objects, Interview, Sculpture Magazine, May - June 2020, Vol 30, No. 3, p62 - 69
2020 - Sculptors on Sculpture Interview
2020 - BrookeBenington Isolation Interviews
2020 - Corridor8, Shuttered: Short Reflections on Closed Exhibtions
2020 - Art Proof Podcast, Episode 7
2019 - Elephant Magazine, Who’s Afraid of the Great Outdoors?
2019 - The Westmorland Gazette
2019 - Boundary online, Interview
2019 - The Pothole, editioned Risograph publication to accompany the Standpoint exhibition
2019 - Sculptorvox Magazine, Volume 3, interview, The Hand of the Maker, pages 148 - 157
* Please get in touch with the artist to request a full CV.
annareading.co.uk
@annareading
reading.anna [at] gmail.com





























