Kimberley Burrows

Four abstract circular canvases of earthy tones. One is much larger and three are smaller in black frames.

Kimberley Burrows, (b. 1988) is an interdisciplinary artist, disability advocate and model living and working in London. She is a recipient of the Tony Snowdon Scholarship awarded by the Snowdon Trust (2022-23.) Kimberley first graduated from Leeds Arts University (2021) before completing her MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art (2023). During her time at University, she received the Student of The Year Award at the Specialist Institution Awards and won the Guide Dogs Life-changing Partnership Award alongside her beloved Guide Dog, Tami.

Kimberley's practice is informed by her sight loss. Shifting from illustration to painting, she developed accessible systems of creating to make outcomes which are both engaging and profound. Abstract painting, printmaking and poetry allow Kimberley to understand the world around her whilst, simultaneously, challenge her ongoing intimate relationship with grief and loss. Muscle Memory, spatial awareness and touch interplay to create dimensional surfaces.

With a passion for fundraising and volunteering spanning over a decade, Kimberley has previously facilitated art classes to visually impaired service users at Henshaws Society for Blind People in Manchester and to school children with East African Playgrounds in Kasambira, Uganda. Working closely with the RNIB (Royal National Institute for Blind People), she has campaigned locally, nationally and internationally, visiting both UK and European Parliament for stronger accessibility legislation. Kimberley developed and Co-Chaired a successful campaigning network of visually impaired and blind young people. Most recently, she contributed to RNIB's press release celebrating British Vogue's first Braille edition of their May 2023 Disability issue.

Kimberley has featured on BBC News and BBC Radio numerous times regarding her artistic practice and advocacy endeavours, as well as in various publications. Kimberley released a successful clothing collection with Warehouse UK, incorporating her abstract designs, has painted for the Wellcome Collection, RNIB, UK Scouts, and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, among others.

She is signed with Zebedee Talent, a revolutionary modelling agency representing people with disabilities.

Kimberley will be the Student President of the Student Union at the Royal College of Art, starting August 2023.

Selected Exhibitions and Events

RCA2023 MA Exhibition, Royal College of Art, 30th June - 3rd July (2023)
Inside Out - celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week, Core Arts Hackney, 15th May (2023)
Meet the Artist, 166 Cafe Bar Battersea, 29th March (2023)
Art N' Soul - Live Painting Performance, The Nest in Treehouse, 28th March (2023)

Kimberley stands in front of a large, round abstract canvas. It is brown and grey. Kimberley is a white woman with blonde hair.

As an artist navigating the world through the veil of blindness, my practice takes me on a journey of the human experience with a vulnerable sincerity.

Developing a practice of abstract painting, printmaking, writing, thinking and questioning, I interrogate what it means to grieve, to sit with our grief and to allow ourselves to be transformed by grief.

Capitalising on all the senses beyond sight allows the act of painting to become a powerful, immersive and cognitive experience. My body acts as a vessel, channeling raw emotion in a visceral performance, creating evocative visual language.

Blindness has equipped me with a unique perspective: one that is rooted in heightened sensory perception and a deep connection to the world around me. Painting bridges the gap between the seen and unseen - what is visible and what is felt. I aim to challenge conventional notions of perception. I invite the viewer to consider what exists beneath the canvas surface and beyond the confines of traditional visual perception by transcending the limitations of sight and embracing a holistic sensory experience. Physicality taps into the universality of our human emotion.

Grief occupies a central place in my practice. By building the texture and surface qualities of my canvases, I seek to capture the multifaceted tapestry of grief - its rough edges, delicate nuances and its transformative power. Each added and eroded layer becomes a metaphor for grief's non-linear stages and an invitation to engage in our experience of loss.

As a disability advocate, access to information is part of my core values. I carefully curate and facilitate an environment which is accessible, inclusive and immersive to a diverse range of visitors.