About sally barton
Sally Barton is currently in her final year at Chelsea College of Arts (UAL), studying BA Fine Art. Growing up in Sheffield she studied art and design at school, followed by a foundation year at Chesterfield college, before starting at Chelsea, where she has created work around class and identity.
Her practice aims to reimagine the aesthetics of post-industrialised landscapes and communities through textiles, collage and performance. Her work explores class in the North of England and the importance of intergenerational relationships and storytelling within her own working- class family. Primarily focusing on the unique cultures and aesthetics of social class in Britain, Sally uses her family’s history to drive the narratives behind her work, aiming to redefine her culture through alternative aesthetics and repurposed imagery. Her work explores the performance of class and attempts to reclaim negative stereotypes of the North, such as the ‘football fan’. Running through her work is the theme of femininity, childhood and the re-imagined, using bright colours and found imagery to create a sense of belonging and hope in the stories she was told as a child.
While at Chelsea she has joined a collective of artists under the name of TwoOneEight, the collective focus on making performance and participatory art and were invited to perform at the Freud Museum in early 2020. She has just completed a residency with UAL, where she was awarded a grant to research the designs of Trade Union banners and she is currently working on a publication for the design studio Patterns of Play, who have commissioned a zine of her work.
As well as developing her artistic practice Sally has spent her time at Chelsea working with UAL’s outreach department to help school students from underrepresented backgrounds find their voice within the art sector and coach them through their applications to universities and art schools. She hopes to continue her work promoting inclusion in arts education after she graduates.
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