The Dover Prize would enable me to take strategic risks in my practice, experimenting with new techniques while building on my established methods in digital embroidery, machine sewing, textile painting and printmaking. The focused time and funding would allow me to deepen my conceptual and symbolic foundations alongside developing the technical skills needed to upskill and sustain a long-term artistic practice.
I would allocate the £10,000 strategically across five key areas. Living costs (£3,000) would allow me to dedicate focused time for research and creation without financial pressure. Materials (£2,500) would cover specialised fabrics, threads, wood for block carving, inks, and dyes essential for production. Equipment access and workshops (£1,000) would enable laser cutting services with local fabricators and building a small loom to explore weaving techniques relevant to my textile practice. Through these resources, I aim to develop new technical skills in weaving traditionally and digitally, advanced block printing, and laser cutting to experiment with wood block carving/printing, creating connections between historical craft techniques and contemporary approaches.
Mentorship and professional development (£1,500) through organisations like Northern Print Studio would provide technical guidance in various print methods. Alongside mentoring from industry professionals supporting my career development as I establish myself within the northeast arts scene and beyond. Research trips (£1,000) would fund visits to exhibitions across the country and online courses to deepen my knowledge and inspire future works through firsthand exposure to innovative practices. A contingency (£500) would cover unforeseen cost fluctuations and exhibition preparation expenses.
This funding would enable me to merge different strands of my practice, using Darlington’s textile heritage and folklore as a starting point for a new body of work. The award reinforces my artistic direction and commitment to developing work that bridges historical traditions with contemporary textile practice. This strategic investment would move my practice from experimental to professional, establishing the conceptual depth and technical mastery needed for sustained artistic development and meaningful cultural engagement.
I often take inspiration from locations and objects and am interested in portals, thresholds, the land we live on and our spiritual connection. Given this opportunity, I would use Darlington as the beginning point for a new body of work that celebrates the town’s rich textile manufacturing history—particularly with linen, wool, weaving and handlooms—alongside its mysterious legends and folklore such as Devils Kettle, where bottomless pits are rumoured to have taken the lives of people and animals.
By drawing inspiration from the town itself, I aim to create work that resonates both locally and nationally, hopefully creating interest from locals in the area. The opportunity to exhibit new work publicly in the region at a local museum, heritage site, or cultural venue will bring a variety of people to area. I would share my work on social media (Instagram) and create a legacy for the body of work created on my website which will engage others who may not be able to visit in person.
We tell stories through words and capture them in drawings. Since the Stone Age, we have used images to record tales, histories and predictions for the future. Sacred symbols and objects guide and connect us with those who have been, are here and will be. We expand and shrink back through cycles of birth, life and death, tethered together as part of a larger cosmos. I am a multidisciplinary Artist, based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Exploring the inner spirit by drawing on my own personal totemic symbols. Influenced by my upbringing in a household filled with superstition, prayer and religious ceremony. Textile, fabric dying and printmaking is rooted in my family history within the caste system. Focusing on objects, routines and rituals distilled both from the everyday and mythology.Through layering and editing images together she collages narratives and weaves dreamscapes. My career reached a significant milestone with my first major institutional solo exhibition Ax•is Mun•di at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art 2024, following a seven-month residency. This represented a substantial evolution in my practice. Notable achievements include being commissioned to create a site-specific wallpaper for Harewood House Biennial: Create/Elevate 2024, exhibiting in Hinterlands group exhibition at Baltic 2022 and being an Arts Foundation Futures Award Visual Artist Awardee 2025. Recent exhibitions and screenings include Ax•is Mun•di, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (2024-25), 2025 OPEN New Art Exchange (2025), Nottingham Harewood House Biennial: Create/Elevate (2024), Sudden Beams 2: Extraction, Platform Asia (2023) ‘Swimmers Limb’ Somerset House – Gallery 31 (2022), ‘Hinterlands’ Baltic (2022-23), ‘Jubilee’ Vane Gallery (2022) Womxn of Colour Art Award, Altitude, 198 Contemporary and Learning (2019). I have given talks, mentored students and conducted workshops allowing me to connect with new organisations, reinforce bonds within the creative sector and strengthen my practice.
I have a B.A honours in fine art from Northumbria University graduating in 2014.
I have previously received professional grants and awards through being nominated or applying for opportunities/ open calls. Below are some of the grants and awards i have received:
2025 The Arts Foundation Future Awards Shortlisted Visual Artist
2024 North East Artist Fund
2023 Brass Tacks, Artist development bursary and mentoring, Newcastle Arts Centre, North of the Tyne combined authority & Newcastle City Council
2022 A-N Artists Bursary
2020 The Elephants Trust – Passage (Animation)
2021 DYCP: Arts Council England and National Lottery Funding
2020 Womxn of colour art award, Shortlisted Awardee by 198 Contemporary Arts & Learning, London
2018 RIFT and Semblance, Supported using public funding by Arts Council England
I have been commissioned as an artist by public institutions, At Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art i produce my first solo exhibition for their 2nd floor gallery space. I have created a textile appliqué banner for Story of the changing in York. A site specific bespoke traditionally block printed wallpaper for Harewood House. For Somerset House a Digital wallpaper. Large scale appliqué banners were created for Masala Festival and Digitally embroided artworks for 198 Contemporary Arts. Towards a summoning was a short 3 minute film and the Tyneside Cinema commission was a moving image projection and sculptural screens installation for their gallery space.
Below are some of the organisations and when i was commissioned:
2024-2025: Ax·is Mun·di Baltic Centre For Contemporary Art,
2025: Spring Equinox Banner, Story of the Changing, York
2024: Harewood House Biennale, site specific commission, Leeds,
2022: Swimmers Limb, Somerset House Gallery 31, London
2022: ‘Lore’ part of GemArts Masala Festival, Gateshead Library
2021 : Altitude, 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning, London
2017: Towards a summoning, First Act – Random Acts,commissioned by Tyneside Cinema, True North, HOME. Funded by Arts Council England
2016 : The Moon and Six Pence, Graduate Artist in residence with Hope Stebbing, Tyneside Cinema Gallery
I have been featured in journals, magazines , newspapers and online platforms, some have been reviews of exhibitions, others Q&A’s and some promotion for upcoming exhibitions and events. These vary across the country from local newspapers to online platforms reaching varied audiences from the general public to a more specific art clientele. Below are some of the places i have been featured/ reviewed :
Corridor 8 – Ax·is Mun·di by Rachel Boyd
Spellbinding Ax·is Mun·di – Northern Soul – Desmond Bullen
Narc Magazine Interview – Mack Sproates
Northumbria graduate solo exhibition -Luxe – Magazine
Cultured North East
Best in Show Museums Journal – Layered Legacies
Financial Times Harewood Biennial
Artist Network North East Dialogue article
Counterweight Review Liv Collins
Counterweight Review Joe Zadeh
Hinterlands by Veronica Simpson, Studio International
Altitude 198 Contemporary
A-N Blog Q&A
Vane Artist story – Mani Kambo
A variety of residencies across the country some durational residencies with the outcome of a final exhibition. Others for research and development opportunities with access to facilities and some assisting with progressing my practice and reaching new audiences I otherwise wouldn’t connect with. Below are a few residencies i have been on:
2024 In Residence at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art
2023 Brass Tacks, Artist development bursary and mentoring, Newcastle Arts Centre, North of the Tyne combined authority & Newcastle City Council
2023 Polarity, Micro residency and exhibition, Gallery North
2023 Priestman Gallery Residency at Sunderland University
2022 AA2A – Sunderland University
2022 Gallery 31 Residency at Somerset House Studios, London,
2021 The Exchange with Newbridge Projects, Eastside Projects,CAMP, G39, Spike Island, Turf Projects
2020 Zabludowicz Collection: 2020 Masterclass, London
2018 Beyond Open door residency, Allenheads Contemporary Arts
2016 Tyneside Cinema Graduate Artist in Residence with Hope Stebbing, in partnership with Northumbria University
Email: mani.k.kambo@gmail.com
Address: 18 Elder Grove, Blakelaw, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, Tyne and Wear, NE5 3QX, GB
Local Authority: Newcastle
