Emma Edmondson (b. 1984) lives and works in Southend on Sea.
Studying and graduating during the 2008 financial crash alternative economies and utopian community are at the centre of her practice.
Through sculpture, print, sound and text, she explores the power of people coming together through creative projects to change systems and rules. Recently she has been processing raw clay dug from the ground and exploring local land rights to create sculptures that sit on the ground they were made from. Through this she wants to start conversations about agency, land ownership and our connections as humans to the land we live on.
She has shown her work in spaces around the UK including Victoria & Albert Museum and Barbican, most recently with a solo show at Arcade/Campfa in Cardiff. She has been awarded commissions from Focal Point Gallery, AHRC and Artquest.
She teaches art in community spaces, schools, college, arts organisations and universities to support her practice, often on precarious contracts.
In 2016 Edmondson founded TOMA (The Other MA), a postgraduate level art programme outside of the traditional institutional model. Designed to fit the everyday lives of 21st century artists, the programme is shaped by its participants, and was created in response to the hierarchies surrounding access to higher education. Emma sees TOMA and her teaching work as part of her creative practice.
Emma also runs Dog Ear with Lu Williams, producing dog toy sculptures and texts for humans and hounds.