Info:

Artist, designer, educator and producer
Based in Southend-On-Sea, Essex.

Philippa Stewart (b.1990, Wolverhampton) is a visual artist whose artistic practice operates at the intersection of experiential and field archaeology to investigate material culture, ecologies, heritage, care, place, mythopoesis, folkloric traditions, and intergenerational learning. Fascinated by the archaeological traces of human impact on environments, the excavation process and ancient sites, Philippa’s practice explores these areas of interest holistically, forming a conduit through which potential futures might manifest as a result.

Graduating from UWE with a Fashion and Textiles degree in 2012, Philippa spent a decade working as a production coordinator and designer within the fashion/textile industry. Relocating from London to Southend, Philippa has worked on a range of engagement projects and commissions, facilitating workshop delivery for galleries, museums and organisations across Essex and London including the Hayward Gallery, Southend Museums, Focal Point Gallery, Trust Links Charity, Rayleigh Museum, Redbridge Vision Libraries, BLESMA, Metal Culture, South Essex College and Southend Adult Community College.

Philippa completed The Other Ma (TOMA) 2019 – 2021 featuring in numerous group exhibitions including ‘Tend to It’ 2021 in the TOMA Project Space, Southend. Following TOMA, Philippa became a studio holder at The Old Waterworks, hosting her first pop up solo show ‘Strange Harvest’ In The Old Waterworks project space in 2022. In 2023, Philippa was awarded an A-N Time & Space Bursary and took part in an artist group residency with the Museum of Loss and Renewal in Orkney. In 2024, Philippa worked collaboratively with artist Laurence Harding to deliver a community engagement programme Rochford: A Creative Legacy, commissioned by Rochford District Council. This programme facilitated intergenerational engagement of communities living across the Rochford District with local heritage and history through creative activity.

Philippa also works as a Producer for Metal Culture in Southend (2024- present), producing and programming socially engaged projects across South Essex. Metal Southend works collaboratively with a number of project partners: Estuary Festival, Focal Point Gallery, TOMA, Southbank Centre and Essex Book Festival. Philippa also provides mentorship and support for creative practitioners through Metal’s Open Advice Sessions.

Current:

In 2026, Philippa was selected to join Future Ruins and New Worlds, an eight-part intensive, contextual and theoretically driven post-graduate programme led by Dr Ruth Kathryn Jones and Dr David Watkins.

In August, Philippa recently completed a 2 week artist residency at Studio459 in Tomar, Portugal, supported by SHED, find out more here.

Philippa is completing a Masters in Contemporary Art and Archaeology at The University of Highlands and Islands (UHI), Orkney (September 2026 and onwards).

Studio holder: The Old Waterworks
Producer: Metal Culture, Southend
Director: TheBlokHouse Studios
Advisory board member: Essex Book Festival
Morris dancer: Cockleshell Clogs

Instagram: @philippa.stewart