Sophie Herxheimer

Sophie Herxheimer is an artist and poet. She has held many residencies including for London International Festival of Theatre, The National Maritime Museum, The Museum of Liverpool and Transport for London. Her work has been shown at her local allotments, Tate Modern and on a giant mural along the sea front at Margate. She made a 300 metre tablecloth for the Thames Festival, a life size concrete poem in the shape of Mrs Beeton to stand next to her grave, and a pie on the lawn of an old people’s home big enough for seven drama students to jump out of, singing. She has illustrated five collections of fairy tales and made several artists’ books. Her collection Velkom to Inklandt (Short Books, 2017) was a Poetry Book of the Month in the Observer and a Sunday Times Book of the Year. Her latest book 60 Lovers to Make and Do, (Henningham Family Press, 2019) was a TLS Book of the Year. She has an ongoing project in which she collects stories live through drawing, working collaboratively with members of the public and community groups. Sophie teaches for The Royal Drawing School and The Poetry School. Her next collection is INDEX, 78 collage poems, being published as a pack of prophetic cards by experimental press, zimZalla.

Seminar One Provocation: Listening and Drawing with Strangers  

Abstract: I will talk about, and show, how I collect stories by listening and drawing with strangers.  Since 2004, I have been building up a massive collection of ink drawings made one by one and one to one, in collaboration with members of community groups and the general public, on different themes. How this began, what it does and where it has led me will be the subject of my video provocation.