Vagina Mary for the Prayer Walk Protest
© Emma Campbell 2019
Practice
Emma Campbell is a multi-disciplinary Research Associate on the Shared Island Reproductive Citizenship project and a part-time tutor in the Photography department, both at Ulster University. Her PhD was on utilising socially engaged practice as a tool for abortion rights along with Alliance for Choice where she is co-convenor. Emma is also a member of the Turner Prize winning Array Collective, whose practice is embedded in queer & feminist art and activism. She makes work that is image-based (photography and collage), participatory, performance-enhanced and active in affecting change.
Emma’s practice explores issues raised by a feminist lens on social justice in contemporary Northern Ireland, significantly she began work on the lack of abortion access for women in the island of Ireland in 2011. The stigma and secrecy combined with the attitudes fostered by colonialism and deep religious conservatism are dealt with in a variety of ways, both in her art practice and within the wider women’s sector as an activist and public campaigner.
Emma is on the Board of Directors for Outburst Queer Arts and a Trustee for the Abortion Support Network. Emma gained her Documentary Photography BA (Hons) at U.W.C.N Newport in 2001, an MFA in Photography at Ulster University in 2012 and her PhD on Socially Engaged Practice in 2024. She worked as a professional photographer and picture editor in London for over a decade for orgs such as the BBC, The Times London and Network Photographers.
Boards & Groups
Abortion Support Network/ Alliance for Choice / Array Collective / Belfast Feminist Network / British Art Network / Equality Coalition Member / HereNI Board / Inroads / Northern Ireland Art Network / Outburst Queer Arts Board / the 343 Board / Raise Your Voice / Reclaim the Agenda / Women’s Policy Group
Matt Alexander PA images December 2021, Array in the Síbín on the night of the awards ceremony. L-R Grace McMurray, Laura O’Connor, Sighle Bhreathnach-Cashell, Sinéad Bhreathnach-Cashell,, Mitch Conlon, Alessia Cargnelli, Jane Butler, Clodagh Lavelle, Stephen Millar, Thomas Wells and Emma Campbell.
Photos from around the Síbín wall, Array Collective 2021
Slapper Banner, Array Collective 2021
ARRAY
Array Collective are a group of individual artists rooted in Belfast, who join together to create collaborative actions in response to the sociopolitical issues affecting Northern Ireland. Array’s studios and project space in the city centre acts as a base for the collective, however the participating artists are not limited to studio holders. Array Collective members are: Thomas Wells, Alessia Cargnelli, Emma Campbell, Clodagh Lavelle, Sighle Bhreathnach-Cashell and Laura O’Connor (all Array Studio members) as well as Sinéad Bhreathnach-Cashell, Jane Butler (Flax), Gracie McMurrary (QSS), Mitch Conlon (PS2) and Stephen Millar (Creative Exchange).
“While artists can often write themselves into radical positions from inside the nurturing spaces of galleries, Array have reacted spontaneously and generously to the needs of their city. They have shown up on the streets and brought energy, wit, historical irreverence and a sense of the absurd to the bleak political decisions of the past decade.” (Hickey and Morrow, 2021)
The Druithaib’s Ball, New commissioned installation at the Herbert Gallery of Coventry, commissioned by Tate, curated by Hammad Nasar and Alice O’Rourke, September 2021-January 2022. Detailed information on Array’s The Druithaib’s Ball can be found here: https://culturespacecoventry.com/tp-array-collective
The jury was chaired by Alex Farquharson, the director of Tate Britain.
“One of the great joys of the Turner Prize is the way it captures and reflects the mood of the moment in contemporary British art,” he said.
“After a year of lockdowns when very few artists have been able to exhibit publicly, the jury has selected five outstanding collectives whose work has not only continued through the pandemic but become even more relevant as a result.”
Turner Prize 2021, the Herbert Gallery, September 2021-January 2022. Including public programme (in-site and off site): The Sky Gives Away, site-specific performance at the Giants’ Ring, Belfast, with Emma Brennan, Maebh Meir; Mooncat in Coventry, participatory performance by Rosa Tralee; Collaboration for accessibility guide with Anna Farley (Project Artworks).
The Mayor’s Parlour, Exhibition, curated by Jane Morrow with Sinéad Bhreathnach-Cashell and Emma Campbell, December 2021 - May 2022
As Others See Us - Ban Bidh banner on loan to the Ulster Museum for exhibition - Collage: A Political Act (2022) https://www.nmni.com/whats-on/collage-a-political-act
Morrigan Banner, Array Collective 2022