I’m at an uncomfortable juncture in my artistic career. I have experienced a challenging season of survival in the aftermath of covid, which at times has caused me to question the purpose of my work. Perhaps this is discouraging to read, but I believe from this position truly innovative and surprisingly insightful ideas can emerge. I’m choosing to see the potential for creative wonder in this difficulty, like a piece of carbon undergoing tremendous heat and pressure eventually resulting in a diamond. Therefore, I’ve reflected deeply whilst preparing for this application and have noticed an area of focus expanding within my art practice; a longing for my art to feel more demonstratively invitational and connecting. For its design and presentation to pursue people and bring them together. Additionally, I wish to work on another large-scale project that pushes the limits that can be placed on analogue collage and disrupt the limits I have placed upon myself as the result of the challenging season. Therefore, with this bursary I would create sister murals – a two-part, large-scale mural with one exhibited in Darlington and the other in Liverpool. The murals would originally be hand cut, then scanned and printed onto large dibond sheeting for public display. I believe that an artwork that connects two places by design and captures the spirit of two Northern nuclei will inspire a spirit of coming together for local and wider audiences. As my practice is deeply rooted in storytelling, I plan to spend time learning the cities, speaking with people, gathering stories and people’s hopes for the future. In response to this research, I would source imagery, historical photographs and texts to experiment with and form artworks that champion both places. I would plan for their public display, arranging private views to launch their arrival and encourage further visits. The opportunity to make this work would allow me to dream bigger again, to experiment with making work in response to a new place and build a larger portfolio of this kind of project – encouraging other institutions to invest in me in the future.
Both Darlington and Liverpool, have a strong sense of identity and an impenetrable community spirit. In a world that feels increasingly disconnected, certain towns and cities still feel like families and remain committed to not only surviving challenge but finding ways to thrive together. It’s so often the arts communities that show a most impressive, unbreakable resilience, surviving great storms and entertaining us as we all move through them. As mentioned above, I would like to create ‘sister murals’ for Darlington and Liverpool that honour, celebrate this rare spirit and highlight the arts organisations and communities that inhabit them. Names, images, stories and histories of both will be featured in the artworks. The profiles of each place will be raised by viewing one mural, you are encouraged and interested in seeing the other, they promote one another. I have good connections to Liverpool City Council, several local news outlets, various arts organisations and CICs. I would approach them for a quality location for the displays, promotion and coverage. I believe the nature of the pieces being ‘sisters’, connected, would pique some media interest as the narrative of bringing people and communities together is received well and needed in these times.
My practice is analogue collage and assemblage sculpture that seeks to tell stories and examine what it means to be human. The images and text I use are mostly from reclaimed/ reused magazines and books, generally meant for landfill. I like to give them a second life by weaving them into artworks and sketchbooks, it reminds me that there is a beauty and a potential in everything, a welcome reminder on the hard days. I spend a lot of time speaking with people and communities about their experiences and find great inspiration in their stories. I find I am much more able to make art in response to being moved, challenged or surprised, this is why I consider my cut and paste style to be a form of image-based storytelling. I often include multiple figures, interactions, moments, symbols and secret languages in the layers of my work encouraging the viewer to move closer and traverse the piece several times, in multiple directions. Connection is important to me, and this is demonstrated in the curiosity my pieces can often evoke. In recent years I have exhibited and/or curated work for Vayo Gallery NY, Hamilton Vault Studios UK, Penny Lane Church UK, Liverpool City Centre, and Liverpool John Moores University. I am also currently working on a proposal for another city-based commission I have been shortlisted for. I strive to raise the profile and display the diversity of my medium, collage. I enjoy introducing people to the wide variety of applications it can have both 2-D and in 3-D. In several of my recent exhibitions I have also experimented with videography and soundscapes in several assemblage installations for people to interact with my work in new immersive ways.
I have a BA(Hons) in Technical Arts and Special Effects from Wimbledon College of Art [University of the Arts London] where I obtained a 2:1. This course taught me a variety of skills-based making through introductions to woodwork, fabrication, figurative sculpting, metalwork and welding. It culminated in a final major project where I built a 12ft installation room filled with collage and assemblage pieces the audience could walk through and explore, like an immersive cabinet of curiosities. Additionally, I have an MA in Art Psychotherapy from Goldsmiths University [University of London] where I obtained a Merit. This postgraduate course trained me in psychodynamic theory, group work, experiential art making and how to work compassionately and safely with all types of people and communities using creativity.
I placed 1st at an international arts competition in 2023 with Be Still Media [https://www.bestillmedia.org/showcase/2023]. My piece was titled ‘blue [because love understands everyone]’. The piece was based on exploring the themes of serving and community, based on my experience of attending and being a part of Penny Lane Church over the past few years. It is a 3-D assemblage sculpture within an old cabinet my grandmother was throwing away. I cleaned it and decided to transform it into something new that honoured the community I am a part of that I value so highly. The piece is adorned with a collage story with an internal light illuminating the characters and their lives within the cabinet. The prize for 1st place was $6,000 with accompanying feedback where a panel of judges reflected upon the piece and its accompanying artist statement, a significant award indeed. I remain a part of the Be Still Media network and have met many wonderful people through the process of connecting and sharing my art with them.
I designed, sought funding, facilitated and evaluated an arts-based prison program called Art Inside from 2020- 2024. After having worked in creative/ wellbeing roles in prison for several years I was concerned for the most vulnerable populations as the severity of the pandemic revealed itself. In response I designed the program – combining high quality materials, guides and personalised notes that could be delivered to participants. The activity packs were created to provide relief from boredom and offer meaningful activity to those struggling with significant mental health challenges exacerbated by the isolation of covid-19. The pilot project was based on a wing of a London men’s prison and lasted for 6 weeks. Multiple men stated that they had felt reduced anxiety as a result of having something interesting to do and in response to having someone think about them enough to create something that could help them specifically. The project was then funded for a further 4 years in multiple prison sites with solid attendance and improved wellbeing according to evaluation measures and participant feedback. I am very proud of this work and all the people it was able to help during a very hard season.
I was commissioned by Liverpool City Council in collaboration with MAKE CIC to create a large-scale mural artwork as part of the ‘Taylor Town Trail’ – a collection of artworks displayed throughout Liverpool to celebrate Taylor Swift’s first concert in our city. Each artwork represented one of her albums in a unique, engaging and impactful way. The trail of artworks caught the eye of national and international press, I was called to interviews with the Liverpool Echo, Liverpool World, BBC Radio 4 and Radio Merseyside amongst other online platforms and several social media sites. The mural I created was originally hand cut analogue collage which was then scanned and printed on huge dibond sheets for outdoor public display. The piece was printed at exceptionally high quality meaning the large scale [4880mm x2440mm] of the piece was quite a sight to behold. I have included an image of me with the artwork as part of this application for your reference.
As part of the Taylor Town Trail that I mentioned above, I was named in various newspaper articles as a participating artist, here is an example: [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6pp9dypp2eo] and was very proud to represent my city and elevate my medium of collage to new heights. More in depth interviews I did were with BBD Radio 4, Liverpool Echo, Liverpool World, BBC Radio Merseyside, these were all available online. I have also been interviewed by online publications – ‘Canvas Rebel’: https://canvasrebel.com/meet-cath-rogers/ , Practice Plus Group: https://practiceplusgroup.com/knowledge-hub/supporting-prisoner-wellbeing-with-art/ , and Contemporary Collage Magazine.
I am not represented by a gallery.
I have taken part in the Creative Pathways artist residency funded by Arts Council England through a collaboration between Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and TATE Liverpool. I was invited to be a facilitating artist on the wards of the children’s hospital over two series of 10-20 sessions, to make art at the bedside of children and young people receiving healthcare. I worked with some children for 1 – 2 sessions if they were short term admittance, and longer term with two young people receiving dialysis. I brought a selection of collage and assemblage-based techniques to the bedside and worked collaboratively with the children and young people to help bring their creative ideas to life. This work was incredibly fulfilling and strengthened my relationship with both the TATE Liverpool Programs department and Arts for Health team within Alder Hey.
Email: info@catherine-rogers.com
Address: 51 Alverstone Road, Liverpool, Merseyside, L18 1HB, GB
Local Authority: Liverpool City Council
![blue [because love understands everyone]](https://thedoverprize.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/blue-because-love-understands-everyone-2023-scaled.jpg)
![Pieces of Poetry [+me for scale]](https://thedoverprize.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Pieces-of-Poetry-2024-me-for-scale-scaled.jpeg)
