If awarded the Dover Prize, I would use funding to develop a participatory project rooted in collective reflection, catharsis and creative resistance. I will seek to work with individuals and communities across Darlington who are affected by systemic disempowerment and division – this could include LGBTQ+ people, those from migrant and refugee backgrounds, white working-class residents whose lives have been shaped by misinformation, scapegoating or protest criminalisation.
Through creative workshops, I will invite participants to explore and externalise what burdens them – emotionally, politically, socially. Together we will develop drawings, material tests and shared forms that express these weights. We will explore how we carry pain – and how we might transform it. I aim to research and test ways audiences could be invited to break down and reshape the sculptures in public space, collectively imagining new forms and ways of being. I want people to feel they have the power to change not just the artwork but their reality, together. I want to learn about immersive technologies. This is an opportunity to research potential elements of performance or immersive technology – such as responsive sound, ambient projection or movement-based interaction – during public reshaping events. These elements will be developed in response to community input and serve to deepen the emotional and collective experience of transformation.
To realise the making of these sculptures, I would use a small portion of the funding to make improvements in my Blackpool workshop, including electrification and anti-fatigue flooring. As a disabled artist with arthritis, this work is not general infrastructure but an enabling step in sustaining the physically demanding labour of sculpture. The space will directly support fabrication, reflection and exchange throughout the project.
The Dover Prize would allow me to develop this work through risk, dialogue and deep engagement. I intend to exhibit the resulting work in both Darlington – potentially at Crown Street Art Gallery or Friends Community Hub – and Abingdon Studios in Blackpool. Showing the work in both places honours the shared struggles and creative resilience of northern towns like these and opens up regional conversations about collective care and change.
This project offers a space for people in Darlington to explore what weighs them down – and what they might carry differently, together. Through a process of sculptural co-creation, I hope to create moments of catharsis, connection and imaginative renewal.
I will work with people whose lives have been affected by division, misinformation or political scapegoating. While these groups are often portrayed as being in conflict, I want to listen across difference and uncover shared experiences of grief, exclusion and disempowerment. Through making together – and through my own sculptural translation of these conversations – I hope to create public work that invites new kinds of solidarity.
Alongside public outcomes, I will contribute to the local arts ecology through open studio events, informal skill-sharing and dialogue. This work is rooted in northern soil – connecting Darlington and Blackpool in a shared conversation about resilience, truth and care.
I see strong potential for partnerships with groups like Arcus LGBT+, Family Help, Darlington Climate Action and Darlington Assistance for Refugees. These relationships will shape both the content and delivery of the work. This project positions Darlington as a place where art is made with people, in real time, through emotional and political risk.
I’m a multi-skills creative practitioner, cultural producer and teacher specializing in community-centred projects that explore sustainability, intersectionality and social connection. I work collaboratively, in community and solo. Skilled in design, making and inclusive education, with a track record of engaging diverse communities through collaborative arts practices.
My materials are metal, wood, salvaged plastics, fabric, images, film and music. My practice bridges community-based projects and personal artistic exploration, with a focus on identity, self and society. As an African, Caribbean, European, norm-divergent human, my work is shaped by multiple perspectives and a belief in art as a tool to address emotional, psychological and practical needs.
I engage in creating sculptural works of varying scales and exploring movement through multifunctional forms. Combining traditional craftsmanship with emerging technologies, I create sustainable, playful and ethically thoughtful pieces. Many of my works take on human-like qualities, inviting multi-sensory interaction and celebrating both our commonalities and differences.
At the core of my practice is the idea of connection: through materials, technology and human engagement, I aim to foster joy, create meaning and challenge disposable culture. My work transforms the artistic experience into one of shared understanding and lasting impact, offering a counterpoint to the transient nature of modern life. Current Projects ● Factory International Fellow 2025: Artist Development programme alongside Manchester International Festival
● UNION 24 Fellowship: Developing community-centred artistic work through bespoke training and peer collaboration.
● LeftCoast Commission: Co-designing multifunctional structures for community wellbeing. Recent Exhibitions ● Pride of Place, Hive Arts Blackpool (2025)
● Spike Island Exhibition (2021), Boomtown Fair Sculpture (2022), WeOutHere Festival (2023)
● British Council-funded project connecting 3D Ghanaian artists (2022-ongoing) Cultural Leadership ● Co-founder of Kiki Bristol and DiaspoRainbow – National network of 9 QTIPoC organizations.
● Artist in Residence at Kids Company Bristol: Set up and managed therapeutic 2D/3D studio.
Do you have a degree in visual or applied arts at undergraduate and/or post-graduate level? Please provide details. (200 words)
I studied Design at BA level in 2001, choosing a practical route as I was by now running a design and make practice in London. Before returning to study again in 2018, I worked extensively with young people, particularly those from challenging backgrounds and was active in voluntary work with LGBTQ, QTIPOC and women’s groups. This experience grounded my practice in community, care and collaboration.
From 2018 to 2020, I completed an MA in Design at the University of the West of England. This marked a turning point, giving me the opportunity to reconnect with my creative practice and explore a more artistic, research-led direction. I was able to experiment across a wide range of materials, processes and technologies – including 3D printing, laser cutting and traditional craft – deepening my interest in combining digital and hand-based making.
The MA also gave me space to reflect on how my lived experience and community engagement could shape the content and context of my work. It laid the foundation for my current multidisciplinary practice, which brings together sculpture, interactivity and social engagement and aims to centre underrepresented voices, foster emotional connection and challenge dominant narratives around value, waste and human connection.
Have you previously received professional grants or awards? Please give details. (200 words)
Yes. I have received several professional grants and awards, namely: – SHAPE LONDON, now UnLtd. Arts (£2,500): To partner with an artist working in different media in Ghana to explore potential ways of working together thematically across continents and media. British Council (£5,000): To research contemporary 3D arts practice in Ghana and lay the foundations for an international network of Ghanaian artists working to elevate sculpture beyond the tourist market. – Union Arts Fellowship: To support artist development with a focus on socially engaged, community-rooted practice. – Unlimited Micro Award (£1,000): Funding to support my cause as a disabled artist, with support for access, training, creative production and leadership. – Factory International Fellowship and Bursary (£3,000): A year-long programme supporting underrepresented artists through mentoring, skill-building and professional development. – FREELANDS / A-N Bursary (£1,500): To develop new skills and professional networks that would support the next stage of my practice. – Blackpool Net Zero Business Academy ECO Grant (£1,000) – toward building an eco-sustainable workshop/studio
These awards have enabled a mix of skills development, research, experimentation and practice and community-building. They reflect my commitment to inclusive and collaborative practice, rooted in both local engagement and international dialogue.
I studied Design at BA level in 2001, choosing a practical route as I was by now running a design and make practice in London. Before returning to study again in 2018, I worked extensively with young people, particularly those from challenging backgrounds and was active in voluntary work with LGBTQ, QTIPOC and women’s groups. This experience grounded my practice in community, care and collaboration.
From 2018 to 2020, I completed an MA in Design at the University of the West of England. This marked a turning point, giving me the opportunity to reconnect with my creative practice and explore a more artistic, research-led direction. I was able to experiment across a wide range of materials, processes and technologies – including 3D printing, laser cutting and traditional craft – deepening my interest in combining digital and hand-based making.
The MA also gave me space to reflect on how my lived experience and community engagement could shape the content and context of my work. It laid the foundation for my current multidisciplinary practice, which brings together sculpture, interactivity and social engagement and aims to centre underrepresented voices, foster emotional connection and challenge dominant narratives around value, waste and human connection.
Yes. I have received several professional grants and awards, namely:
– SHAPE LONDON, now UnLtd. Arts (£2,500): To partner with an artist working in different media in Ghana to explore potential ways of working together thematically across continents and media.
British Council (£5,000): To research contemporary 3D arts practice in Ghana and lay the foundations for an international network of Ghanaian artists working to elevate sculpture beyond the tourist market.
– Union Arts Fellowship: To support artist development with a focus on socially engaged, community-rooted practice.
– Unlimited Micro Award (£1,000): Funding to support my cause as a disabled artist, with support for access, training, creative production and leadership.
– Factory International Fellowship and Bursary (£3,000): A year-long programme supporting underrepresented artists through mentoring, skill-building and professional development.
– FREELANDS / A-N Bursary (£1,500): To develop new skills and professional networks that would support the next stage of my practice.
– Blackpool Net Zero Business Academy ECO Grant (£1,000) – toward building an eco-sustainable workshop/studio
These awards have enabled a mix of skills development, research, experimentation and practice and community-building. They reflect my commitment to inclusive and collaborative practice, rooted in both local engagement and international dialogue.
Yes indeed. After years of running a business then teaching art and design in the South whilst raising my family and supporting my mother, I made a major life change and relocated from Bristol to Blackpool with my partner, a musician, to create a dedicated live/work space for our practices. I am now deep in the process of setting up my own workshop and studio, which includes machinery for timber work and welding. This space is the centre of my making practice – supporting commissions, exhibition work and fabrication for other artists.
This is more than a personal studio – I’m developing it as a small-scale, artist-led space that offers practical resources to others. Once operational, I plan to run sessions for small groups, sharing specialist skills with local makers and those who often face barriers to creative access. I also aim to offer affordable workspace to fellow artists who need access to tools and a supportive environment to make ambitious work.
This is about building sustainable, peer-driven infrastructure in the North – creating a space that supports not just my own practice, but others working in socially engaged, hands-on ways. It’s an extension of my values: collaborative, generous and grounded in real-world making.
Yes. I have received a few commissions from public and cultural organisations. Most recently (2024–present), I was commissioned by LeftCoast, a socially engaged arts organisation in Blackpool, to design and build a multifunctional outdoor structure for residents of the Hawes Side estate. The area lacked outdoor play equipment and communal seating. Working with local residents, I developed designs for sculptural planters that also serve as seating and climbing structures. The piece transforms a neglected patch of land into a space for gathering, growing and play.
Alongside the build, I ran community engagement activities including hands-on making, decorating and planting sessions. Residents helped plant bulbs, fruit trees and herbs, contributing directly to the transformation of the space and its ongoing care.
Another of note is being commissioned by the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) to co-create a cultural event alongside the exhibition Africa: A State of Mind, curated by Ekow Eshun. The event centred Black and Brown LGBTQ+ voices and included performances, artist talks and creative interventions. It created a joyful, critical and welcoming space for underrepresented communities to gather and respond to the themes of the exhibition.
I am one of 6 Factory International Fellows for 2025 but I am uncertain of this is included in this section.
Email: linda.devo@gmail.com
Address: 584 Lytham Road,, South Shore, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY4 1RB, GB
Local Authority: Blackpool
