I often dream of myself mining; like mining any truly creative journey involves an act of faith – and a moment of madness – compelling us to reach beyond that which is known.

Cathryn Jiggens, artist and writer,

Born 1971; lives and works in London.

After graduating from an MFA at Newcastle University in 2002, I lived and worked in the NE of England undertaking freelance arts projects, residencies, commissions and exhibitions; in 2007 following a 6 month residency in Berlin, I relocated to London. My work often develops from a particular location or community, using installation, photography, video, performance, drawings or text. See the projects pages for a full CV, descriptions of selected individual works and an artist’s statement.

I also am interested in the development of support structures for creative practitioners, particularly emerging and early career artists. I have therefore established and continue to experiment with resources for the sustenance of creative activity, guided by my own evolving experience. These include the arts networking groups newcastleGRAFT (Newcastle) and ESAB (Berlin), now with a combined membership of over 200 people.

My life prior to commencing my art studies (aged 26) has included extensive work supporting people with special needs, mental health illness, and life limiting conditions. I have undertaken voluntary work for several charities including The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (FT for 1 year), MENCAP, Quaker International Projects and Sadhana Village in India.

I travelled independently for several years in Europe, Eastern Europe and China during the early 90′s.

To contact me:

cathryn.jiggens [place the at sign here] gmail.com