UWTSD Fine Art Lecturer Holly Slingsby Co-Curates Swansea Performance Weekend at Glynn Vivian Art Gallery
University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) Fine Art lecturer Holly Slingsby and Swansea-based artist Vivian Ross-Smith are set to co-curate Swansea Performance Weekend, a four-day celebration of live performance and moving image at the city’s Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, running from 20 to 23 November 2025.
Developed in response to Linder: Danger Came Smiling, a major touring exhibition from London’s Hayward Gallery, this dynamic weekend programme will feature live works by SGÔR, John Walter, Vivian Ross-Smith + Esyllt Angharad Lewis, and Holly Slingsby herself.
A curated selection of performative moving image works will also be screened throughout the weekend, including contributions from invited artists and open-call participants such as Adele Vye, Aled Simons, Alex Hetherington, Bhebhe & Davies, Jenny Baines, Jessa Mockridge, Rebecca Moss, Sophie Lindsey, Quilla Constance, and Zia Torta.
Swansea Performance Weekend extends the themes explored in Linder’s exhibition, consumption, domesticity, gender performativity, mass media, bodies, archetypal figures, and pleasure and invites audiences to experience them through new, experimental performance practices.
A critical text reflecting on the programme will be written by curator and writer Kit Edwards, further expanding the project’s reach.
Artist-curator Holly Slingsby, also a lecturer in Fine Art at Swansea College of Art, UWTSD, said: “This programme platforms both local and national artists working with live-ness. With invaluable support from Arts Council Wales, we’ve commissioned new works that invest in artists and enable them to respond creatively to Linder’s influential oeuvre.”
Artist-curator Vivian Ross-Smith said: “We are inspired by the rich history and legacy of performance art in Swansea and want to build on this to make high-quality art accessible to audiences here. This will enrich the city’s cultural offering, highlight Swansea as a destination for ambitious and experimental performance art, and bring the themes of the Linder exhibition to life.”
Katy Freer, from Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, commented: “Swansea Performance Weekend is a celebration of bold, boundary-pushing live art and performance to camera that resonates deeply with Linder’s expanded practice. It’s also fantastic to be working with Holly Slingsby and Vivian Ross-Smith, who have curated such an exciting and ambitious programme.”
This event is supported by Arts Council Wales Create funding.
Live Performances
Thursday 20 November 2025
5.30 - 8pm, John Walter
5.30 - 8pm, SGÔR
Saturday 22 November 2025
1 - 4pm, Holly Slingsby
2 - 3pm, Vivian Ross-Smith + Esyllt Angharad Lewis
Video Showreel
Thursday 20 November 2025, 5.30 - 8pm
Friday 21 - Sunday 23 November, 10.00am - 4.30pm
Video Artists: Adele Vye, Aled Simons, Alex Hetherington, Bhebhe & Davies, Jenny Baines, Jessa Mockridge, Rebecca Moss, Sophie Lindsey, Quilla Constance and Zia Torta.
Instagram: @swanseaperformance
Further Information
Rebecca Davies
Executive Press and Media Relations Officer
Corporate Communications and PR
Email: rebecca.davies@uwtsd.ac.uk
Phone: 07384 467071