Jo Lewis

Jo Lewis gained a BA in Fine Art in Coventry and an MA in Fine Art sculpture at Birmingham School of Art. She had a studio in London SPACE studios for a number of years where she worked and exhibited, alongside running a 100-seater vegetarian restaurant Heather’s with her partner.

In 2002 Jo moved from London to Co. Leitrim with her partner and young family to renovate an old stone cottage and to live the ‘good life’.

During this time, she gained PhD at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) for her research into Women Artists in Botswana. The thesis is now held in the British Library.

Jo has worked on the BLAST initiative (Bringing Live Art to Schools and Teachers) and has taught in schools all over Sligo. Recently, for these mini-residencies in schools, Jo has chosen to focus on bringing the pupils outside to make art and gain inspiration. Using a local landscape as a background to delve into the ecology of the place through art.

In 2023 Jo was awarded a bursary from the Arts Council Ireland to conduct some research into the interface between art and ecology in school education as a way of engaging children in their environment.