Following a successful career as a designer and art director, in 1992 Linn returned to education and gained her MA Fine Art Printmaking from Camberwell School of Art, after which she was awarded Printmaker in Residence at Kensington and Chelsea College. Since that time Linn has worked in partnership across the South West and further afield initiating projects, delivering workshops, securing funding and more recently working with higher profile arts education organisations such as Engage and Turner Margate, Roche Court Sculpture Trust, Hexham Book Festival, Southampton City of Culture Bid for 2024.
In 2022 new partnership projects working with: Salisbury City Council, Lover Pre-School, Salisbury Museum,(Insect Odyssey – 30 international artists making work in response to books gifted by The Royal Entomological Society) Test Valley Arts and Wiltshire White-Horse Ministry. Linn is Lead artist and continues to seed, root and embed creative community engagement locally as well as seeding ideas further afield.
Co-curated Drawn drawing exhibition at Young Gallery, Salisbury October 2020 - Jan2021
(Sister exhibition to Trinity Buoys Drawing Prize at Salisbury Museum)
Lead Artist at Southampton City Art Gallery, Tudor House Museum, Southampton, Artist mentor for A-space Arts Southampton on signposting partnership building/community engagement/supporting young artists or artists returning to work (women), Lover garage sale – every object tells a story project, Book bank, community gardening, Artist Mentor for B-Side arts, Kala the Arts Engagement Manager, Chapel Arts Studio Associate Artist (research for Room13 in Andover schools) 2016 – current day
Artist Educator at Roche Court Education Trust, September 2018 - current day
Leading talks / walks around the sculpture park, working with full range of age groups and abilities from primary to higher education. Leading workshops and evaluation sessions visits.
preSENSE Artist in Residence, Glimpse, Young Gallery April 2014 - June 2015
I am for walking South Wiltshire with John Creasey's walking sticks, track/tracing these using GPS, blogging, using Twitter/Facebook to connect creative paths. I am adapting a 1950's 72 drawer Library Index cabinet for a captured sound archive from workshops with many local community partners. This residency is all about engaging audiences in/out of The Young Gallery, promoting participation and re-imagining the Young Gallery. Essentially, it is a ground-up project, learning is led by the participants and the direction the project has taken has been navigated by the partners involved....So far, Hale Primary School, New Hall Hospital, Lover Friday Cafe, Book Box Lover, South Wiltshire Walking Groups, Martin Green Museum and parent/older family members have all requested workshops/networks to be explored....these are publicised on The Young Gallery website and in the press. In May/June 2015 all the Glimpse creative paths that have been explored will be shown In The Young Galleries with participant's creative responses, please join us.
Artist in Residence Cheltenham College Sept - October 2014
Curious Finds for Curious Minds, a residency that explores how I walk, find objects and use these 'finders/keepers' in my work as a contemporary artist, connecting, using IT, place, memory and context. Walking, creativity and building cognitive neural pathways through really looking and knowing, are modes that can help us adapt in our lives and re-imagine new ways of exploring and feeling part of our world. The importance of the haptic and using objects which are found on walks, seeing creative possibilities, sharing with communities through workshop, IT, research, help us navigate new paths. There are limitless ways of re-defining and engaging audiences exploring innovative, multi-sensory and cross-media approaches, reimagining the gallery space and classroom. Retrospective/new work solo exhibition until 17th of October in The White Gallery.
Brisons Veor Residency Cape Cornwall June - July 2014 and 2015
Walking Cape Cornwall, studio Space, living accommodation made 40 new works and proposed ideas for The Quiet House installation/film for 2015.
Freelance Artist, Educator, Consultancy, Community building/Workshop Leader Aug 96 – current day
Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset
Initiating and leading a variety of arts/crafts/environmental/community projects with partners such as schools, colleges, hospitals, councils, youth providers, charities, art-centre’s, wildlife trusts, and local businesses.
Manager of Independent Learning Centre Sep 10 – Aug 13
Stanbridge Earls School, Romsey
Responsible for supporting and developing children’s learning skills through mentoring, events facilitation. Delivering creativity/workshops/clubs for wellbeing and independence; transformed facility from dusty old library to vibrant relevant creative learning hub (ILC). Increased footfall from 5 to over 80 students daily (school role 180 students). Trained in: advocacy, marketing & promotion, disability & equality, safeguarding children, vulnerable adults, creative approaches to evaluation, first aid essentials, health and safety. (all certificated and dated).
Artist in Residence XTREME Studio Sep 07 – Jul 09
Kings Park Primary School Boscombe
Lead artist responsible for delivery of arts/crafts provision within the school environment. This project was funded by the Department of Education and supported by Wave Arts Agency. It was based on the model of Room 13, a ground breaking approach to non-prescriptive delivery of arts education in schools.
Printmaker in Residence (part-time) Sep 94 – Jun 95
Kensington & Chelsea College, London
Awarded studio space and teaching post after my MA. Mentored and gained City LitFE/Adult Ed Certificate.
More of Linn’s career history can be found here