Artists Registry

Christy Symington MRSS (b.1962) is a sculptor. She is a Member of the Royal Society of Sculptors since 2002 and was an elected Director/Trustee from 2003-07. Her sculpture is in the Permanent Collections of Parliament UK in 2019, Royal Museums Greenwich, London in 2018 and International Slavery Museum, Liverpool in 2017. A focus in her work on making sculptures of people hidden in our history brings their presence into our lives as well as highlighting historically significant legacies. With studies in Paris, New York and London, she graduated with an MA in Fine Art in 2002 from Byam Shaw School of Art (Central Saint Martins). From 1997-2001 she went to the New York Studio School with exchange to the Slade School of Art in 1999. In 1996-97 she studied traditional figure sculpture and drawing in Paris at Les Ateliers Beaux-Arts Glacière and Montparnasse and the École des Beaux-Arts. With a PGCE degree and Head of Sculpture role she has taught in a number of art schools. Solo exhibitions include The Stephen Lawrence Centre, St Paul’s School, Angel Orensanz Foundation NY and Marist College NY. Her sculpture was a highlight in Ink and Blood: stories of abolition International Slavery Museum’s 10th Anniversary exhibition in 2017 and was featured in the Black Georgians exhibition at Black Cultural Archives in 2016. Group exhibitions include Revelation of the Head at Messums Wiltshire in 2018, Salon d’Automne Paris in 2019/18, Chatham Historic Dockyards 2018, Society of Portrait Sculptors, Sculptors Drawings Pangolin London 2012, Society of Women Artists, Young Masters Prize Tour, inaugural Threadneedle Figurative Prize 2008, Royal British Society of Sculptors Centenary Celebration 2005 and With An Object in Mind University of Leicester 2006, 25th Anniversary Exhibition 2009 and Politics Pays Back! 2007 at DACS, Freedom to Create Prize V&A and Ana Tzarev Gallery NY 2009, Sculpture Triennial Royal West of England Academy 2003, El Taller Boricua NY 2001 and National Arts Club NY (Paul Manship Award) in 2001. Her sculptures are in the permanent collections of Parliament UK, Royal Museums Greenwich and International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, UK. Full CV at 2019 CHRISTY SYMINGTON MRSS Sculptor London www.christysymington.com UK 1962 2002 Royal Society of Sculptors - Member / 2003-07 Elected Director/Trustee 2002-18 The Art Academy London – Tutor / Head of Sculpture / Head of Sculpture Short Courses 2004-06 Postgraduate Degree in Education PGCE, Canterbury Christ Church University 2004 Bridge for Sculpture across river Thames at Blackfriars, London - Originator ART EDUCATION 2001-2002 Byam Shaw School of Art, Central St Martins, University of the Arts London - MA Fine Art 1997-2001 New York Studio School, New York – graduated Merit Award for Sculpture 1999 The Slade School of Art, UCL London - Selected USA/UK Student Exchange program 1997 New York Academy of Art, New York 1996-97 Les Ateliers-Beaux Arts Glaciere, Montparnasse, Paris Ecole des Arts Appliques Duperre, Paris Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris 1995-96 Kensington & Chelsea Art College, London 2003-now Private collections London / New York / Paris 2001 The Great American Women’s Sculpture Park Woodrock, New York 2001 Angel Orensanz Foundation Center for the Arts, NYC COMMISSIONS 2018 Mr Asquith Gibbes MBE Memorial Sculpture Commission Finalist Lewisham, London 2013 Zoological Society London Zoo, Tiger Territory, Regents Park, London 2005 Christopher Marlowe Memorial Sculpture Shortlist Deptford, London SCHOLARSHIPS / AWARDS / RESIDENCIES 2016 London Creative Network LCN, New technologies 6-month programme 2001 Vermont Studio Center Johnson, Vermont, USA - Residency Fellowship 2001 National Arts Club National Arts Club, Gramercy Park, New York - Paul Manship Award 2001 New York Studio School 8 W8th Street, New York, Merit Award for Sculpture at Graduation 2000 &1999 George Spaventa Memorial Scholarship for Sculpture 1999 The Slade School of Art, UCL London, Selected USA/UK Student Exchange program 1998 Seligman von Simson Scholarship for Sculpture SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2016 ‘SCULPTURE & SPOKEN WORD for Stephen Lawrence [13.9.74-22.4.93]’ with invited poets Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets and Caleb Femi Young People’s Laureate, Stephen Lawrence Centre Gallery, Deptford, London 2015 ‘OLAUDAH EQUIANO MAN AND BROTHER’ Stephen Lawrence Centre Gallery, London 2012 ‘AVRIL / SYMINGTON’ (with Pamela Avril), Marist College, Poughkeepsie, New York 2007 ‘YoumanNeeds’ Milton Gallery, St Paul’s School, London 2001 ‘Sculpture at MRP’ Mad River Post, Broadway, New York 1998 Liz Christy Garden ‘Sculpture Exhibition’, Bowery-Houston, New York 1999 ‘Sculptures & Drawings’ Angel Orensanz Foundation Center For The Arts, NYC SELECTED and INVITED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2020 Parndon Mill Gallery, ‘Portraits’, Harlow, Essex, University Women's Club Mayfair, London, Society of Women Artists 2019 Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London Royal Museums Greenwich, Queens House, London 2018 Historic Dockyard Chatham ‘Untold Stories – A Celebration of Black People in Kent’ Salon d’Automne Jury Selection, Champs Elysees, Paris APT Gallery ‘APT + ONE’ Deptford, London - Invited by Arnold Dobbs Royal Society of Sculptors inaugural Members ‘Summer Exhibition 2018’ Selected and Curated by Jo Baring, Director of the Ingram Collection 23 Members selected, London MESSUMS Wiltshire ‘Revelation of the Head’ Tisbury, Wiltshire Curated by Catherine Milner International Slavery Museum Talk & Workshop on International Slavery Day, Liverpool Uncooked Culture ‘One Bare Foot Square’ Space BRUT/The Living Museum, Seoul, S Korea Mr Asquith Gibbes MBE Memorial Sculpture Commission Final shortlist Lewisham London Society of Portrait Sculptors ‘FACE 2018’ Preselect 2017 International Slavery Museum ‘Ink and Blood: stories of abolition’ 10th Anniversary Exhibition, National Museums Liverpool, Albert Dock, Liverpool & Permanent Collection Young Masters Prize Tour 2017 with Cynthia Corbett, Royal Opera Arcade Gallery, London The Society of Women Artists (SWA) ‘156th Annual Exhibition’, Mall Galleries, London ArtSlant Sculpture Category Winner in 7th 2017 ArtSlant Prize Showcase The Columbia Threadneedle Prize Mall Galleries, London Preselect The Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture RSA Open, Edinburgh Preselect Celeste Prize 2017 9th edition curated by Fatos Ustek – Editor’s Choice Royal West of England Academy Bristol Preselect Uncooked Culture ‘One Bare Foot Square’, Chiangrai Rajabhat University, Thailand Walmer Castle ‘Spring Art Showcase’, Uncooked Culture, Notting Hill, London SPACE / LCN London Creative Network Showcase ‘#OlaudahEQUIANO in BLACK and WHITE #BlackHistoryMonth’ curated with words by Tontxi Vazquez, Hackney, London 2016 Black Cultural Archives ‘Black Georgians: The Shock of the Familiar’ Brixton, London Outsider Art Gallery Amsterdam in The Hermitage ‘One Bare Foot Square’ The Netherlands 2015 Black Cultural Archives ‘Black Georgians: The Shock of the Familiar’, Brixton, London Conway Hall ‘Slavery and the Shaping of British Culture’ talk by Prof James Walvin, London Deptford X Fringe 2015 1 of 20 projects selected by Janette Parris, London St Nicholas Church ‘Deptford Conversations’, London 2014 Uncooked Culture 'Circus Terminal’ – Matchbox Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand – NZ FRINGE Festival 2014 Touring exhibition to Thailand, Suriname, France and Slovenia 2013 Creekside Open 2013 APT Gallery, London. Selected by Paul Noble, Turner Prize Nominee Zoological Society London London Zoo, Regents Park – Public Sculpture commission Circus Terminal Worldwide Routemasters West Bank Gallery, London Uncooked Culture 'Circus Terminal’ – Studio B, Philadelphia & Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2012 Marist College ‘AVRIL / SYMINGTON’ Poughkeepsie, New York (with Pamela Avril) Uncooked Culture 'Circus Terminal’ – Touring: The Tabernacle, London / Impaktes Visuals, Barcelona, Spain / Chateau Corbin, Liverdun, France / Sangdee Gallery, Chiang Mai, Thailand Pangolin London 'SCULPTORS' DRAWINGS and Works on Paper', Kings Cross, London 2011 Tiger Gala Dinner Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Knightsbridge, London [Born Free, Wild Aid, eia] Uncooked Culture ‘Check Your Package’ Online 8-artists www.uncookedculture.com Chiang Mai University Art Center ‘What To Dip / วัตถุดิบ [Raw Material]’, Thailand. Assorted in Philadelphia 21st Street, Pennsylvania, USA – Curated by Natasha Mell-Taylor 2010 Gihon River Collective ‘COPY0909’ Notting Hill, London [Chief Curator & Exhibitor] 33 Intrnt’l Artists & Writers - Small Works Sales provided a residency to Vermont Studio Center Ana Tzarev Gallery 57th Street, New York, USA – Freedom to Create Prize 320 Gallery ‘Mindsoup 2010’, Bethnal Green London South London Gallery ‘Michael Landy: Art Bin’, London 2009 Victoria & Albert Museum Orient Global Freedom to Create Prize 2009, London Islington Arts Factory ‘IfyoudON’TLikeThewaYTHEShiPISruN…’ London Museum of London Docklands ‘Equiano’s Epigrams’, West India Quay, London London Wetlands Centre ‘Love London Recycled Sculpture Show 2009’, Barnes, London DACS [Design and Artists Copyright Society] London - ‘1984: 25th Anniversary Exhibition’ The Great American Women’s Sculpture Park ‘Red White & Blue…Gone Green’, Woodrock, New York – Permanent collection 2008 Threadneedle Figurative Prize inaugural exhibition, Mall Galleries, London Royal West of England Academy [RWA] ‘156 Autumn Exhibition 2008’, Bristol Auction Atrium, Kensington Church St, London - Exhibition and Online Auction Oct 2008 Deptford X ‘10th Anniversary’, Deptford, London Art London ‘10th Anniversary’, Royal Hospital Chelsea, London / Thirteen Langton St Gallery ZSL London Zoo ‘Love London Recycled Sculpture Show 2008’, Regents Park, London Thirteen Langton Street Gallery ‘Summer Exhibition’ Cricket Fine Art, Chelsea, London Menier Gallery ‘True Story – the faces and voices of a community’, London Somerset House, Safe Hands for Mothers ‘Art for Life Auction’, The Strand, London 2007 Christie’s London ‘Art for Survival Wildlife Auction IV’, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation The Society of Portrait Sculptors ‘Face 2007’, Cork St, London Chelsea Art Society, Chelsea Old Town Hall, London Royal British Society of Sculptors Centenary Exhibition ‘SPECTRUM’, Abbey House Gardens, Malmesbury, Wilts ‘To Do Justly, To Love Mercy: Life of Olaudah Equiano’ Morley College, London Brockley Public Art Commission London SE4, UK – Shorlist Finalist DACS [Design and Artists Copyright Soc] Kowalsky Gallery, ‘Politics Pays Back!’ Images of political life through the eyes of photographers, cartoonists, illustrators and sculptors’ London 2006 Royal British Society of Sculptors ‘With an Object in Mind: Sculpture in the Garden 2006’, 7 sculptors curated by Helaine Blumenfeld VPRBS, University of Leicester The Painting Center ‘Artists Choose Artists Choose Artists’ Soho, New York Chelsea Art Society Chelsea Old Town Hall, London The Inner Temple Garden 2006 ‘Sculpture Exhibition’, Victoria Embankment, London 2005 University of Leicester Harold Martin Botanic Gardens, ‘Sculpture in the Garden: a Celebration of the Royal British Society of Sculptors Centenary', Leics Christopher Marlowe Memorial Sculpture Shortlist, St Nicholas Church, Deptford, London New York Studio School ‘New York Studio School Alumni’, New York RKL Gallery ‘In Spiritus’, curated by Christina Chow, Brooklyn, New York 2004 Christie’s, London “Art for Survival Wildlife Auction III” w David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation The Society of Portrait Sculptors ‘Face 2004’, Cork St, London Chelsea Art Society Chelsea Old Town Hall, London (offered Membership) Artillery Architecture and Interior Design “Evolution – Art and Environmental Exhibition”, City of London with David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation Mill Dene Gardens ‘Sculpture’ Exhibition, Blockley, Gloucs The Trinity Arts Guild Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Street, London Royal West of England Academy [RWA] “152nd Autumn Exhibition 2004”, Bristol 2003 Royal West of England Academy [RWA] ‘Open Sculpture Triennial’ Exhibition, Bristol The Space ‘First Wave 4 Painters and a Sculptor’ Kingly Court, Soho, London The Art Academy Waterloo, London Chelsea Art Society ‘Annual Exhibition’ Chelsea Old Town Hall, London 2002 Christie’s London ‘Art for Survival Wildlife Auction II’ with David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation Central Space “Turn a Blind Eye” ACAVA, Hammersmith, London The Society of Portrait Sculptors Face 2002’ Cork St, London 2001 National Arts Club Gramercy Park, New York (Paul Manship Award) Bay One ‘Inaugural Exhibition’ Brooklyn Piers, Red Hook, New York Vermont Studio Center Johnson, Vermont, USA Taller Boricua Gallery ‘Las Tres Christinas’ Spanish Harlem, New York Mad River Post ‘Sculpture at MRP’ Broadway, New York The Great American Women’s Sculpture Park Woodrock, upstate New York 2000 First Street Gallery 560 Broadway, Soho, New York University of Bridgeport ‘Figuratively Speaking’ Connecticut BWAC ‘Bridging The Gap’, Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, Brooklyn, New York 1999 McKee Gallery ‘Absolut Secret’, 57th Street, New York 1998 New York Studio School 8 W8th Street, New York Cathedral of Erotic Miseries ‘One-Off Gaze’, East Village, NYC - Curated Muestra Fine Arts Liz Christy Garden ‘Sculpture Exhibition’, Bowery-Houston, East Village, New York 1997 Les Ateliers Beaux-Arts, Montparnasse and Glaciere, Paris 1996 Chelsea Art Society ‘Annual Exhibition’, Chelsea Old Town Hall, London Red Dot Gallery Wandsworth, London PUBLICATIONS ‘Approche Anthropologique des Rites Maconniques’ by Daniel Comino book cover image, Dervy Editions, Bibliotheque de la Franc-Maconnerie 2017 ‘Studios for Artists: Concepts and Concrete’ book by Dr Arantxa Echarte, Black Dog Publishing 2015 ‘Modelling and Sculpting the Figure’ book by Tania Russell, A&C Black Publishing Limited 2012 Institute of Knowledge Transfer KTP ‘Exchange’ Spring/Summer 2011 p12 (Acme/Central Saint Martins) ‘Who’s Who In Art 2008’ [33rd Edition] Sculptor Entry 2008 Film Festival Magazine ‘2D:3D Sculpture and Moving Image’ article by Christy Symington, April 2007 Living South Magazine ‘Portrait of the Artist’ article by Shannon Denny, April 2005 The New York Art World ‘In Spiritus’ Exhibition Review by Mary Hrbaceck, April 2005 New York Arts Magazine ‘Las Tres Christinas’ Review by Robert C Morgan author ‘End of the Art World’ INTERVIEWS / LIBRARY COLLECTIONS Salon d’Automne 2018 Paris – Artist Video Adelaide Damoah A/D Art Discussion ‘Christy Symington in Conversation with Adelaide Damoah’ 2017 Adelaide Damoah A/D Art Discussion ‘Christy Symington Gives Art Advice’ 2017 Black Cultural Archives Library London, Small object Collection 2016 Iniva Stuart Hall Library (Institute of International Visual Arts) London 2016 Iniva Stuart Hall Library ‘The Foreigner’s Jazz Babel’ MA in Fine Art Essay 2002 BBC World News TV Lebo Diseko ‘Black Georgians: The Shock of the Familiar’ Black Cultural Archives ‘15 BBC Radio Solent, Live radio interview with John Cuthill on 8 September 2007 JUDGE Royal British Society of Sculptors Bursary Prize, Jury Judge, 2004, 2005, 2007 Medical Art Society Annual Exhibition at Mall Galleries, London, Judge for 3D artwork Chelsea Art Society Annual Exhibition