Rowland Hill

CV

Artist based in Stockport, UK
b. 1989, Leicester


Education

• 2018 - MA Fine Art, the Slade School of Fine Art, London, Distinction
• 2012 - Foundation in Art and Design, Manchester School of Art, Distinction
• 2011 - BA Drama and English, University of Manchester, 1st Class

Solo and Duo Exhibitions and Events

• 2025 - Set You Free, commissioned by Culture Co-op, St Luke’s Church, Heywood, UK
• 2025 - Set You Free: A Eurodance Deep Listening Weekend, commissioned by Full of Noises, Barrow-in-Furness, UK
• 2024 - Logical Song, guest curated by Stella Sidelli, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, UK
• 2024 - Host, with Darren Nixon, commissioned by Proforma, Pase Platform, Venice Biennale Collateral Event, Italy
• 2023 - 100 Videos, with Darren Nixon, Longsight Art Space, Manchester, UK
• 2023 - 100 Videos, with Darren Nixon, curated by Lauren Velvick, Bath House Galleries, Huddersfield, UK
• 2021 - Do You Think You’re Better Off Alone?, VirtuallyReality Festival, Hamburg, Germany (online)
• 2021 - Do You Think You’re Better Off Alone?, commissioned by The Royal Standard, Liverpool, UK (online)
• 2021 - Recount into Being, with Rachel Krische, PINK, Manchester, UK
• 2019 - Interjectional Exercises, The Portico Library, Manchester, UK
• 2019 - Opera, with Jack Sheen, commissioned by Zoe Watson, Holden Gallery, Manchester
• 2019 - Interesting Times, curated by Dyveke Bredsdorff, ilyd.nu, Copenhagen, Denmark (online)
• 2018 - Visible Speech, with Manchester Deaf Centre, The Portico Library, Manchester, UK
• 2015 - Accumulations (Elsie and Hannah), with Hannah Buckley, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, UK

Group Exhibitions and Events 

2026

• (Upcoming, April) Curtain Up, The Lowry, Salford, UK
  

2025

• The Same Deep Water as You, PINK, Stockport, UK
• Set You Free, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, UK
  
• Book Launch: Jazmine Linklater and Fatema Abdoolcarim with Rowland Hill, curated by Monitor Books, Altogether Otherwise, Manchester, UK
• Wells Art Contemporary, selected by Charlotte Hodes, David Ferry and Habib Hajallie, Wells Cathedral, UK
• Comme Ca Arts X AWOL Open Exhibition, selected by Fiona Corridan, Jessica Bennett and Mike Chavez-Dawson, Manchester, UK
  
• Bound Art Book Fair, the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, UK
• Soft Proof, Rogue Studios, Manchester, UK
  

2024

• Desire Lines Pavilion, commissioned by Proforma, Pase Platform, Venice, Italy
  
• Page/Stage/Space, curated by Motor Dance Journal, San Mei Gallery, London, UK
  
• UNDERLINE III, curated by Jenny Baines, Beyond Beck Road, Open House Festival, London, UK
  
• Manchester Open, HOME, Manchester, UK
  
• 54 Programme, curated by Tibyan Sanoh, New Cross, Manchester, UK
  

2023

• UK New Artists, Phoenix Arts Centre, Leicester, UK
• Microneme X Holden Gallery, curated by Zoe Watson, Wuhan Institute of Design, Wuhan, China
• Basket, curated by Bryony Dawson, Soup, Manchester, UK
  
• Summer Camp, Eastside Projects, Birmingham, UK
  
• Set Film Festival, SET Space, London, UK
  

2022

• Salamagundy, curated by Mark Leckey, produced by the Turner Contemporary, Dreamland, Margate, UK
  
• Bankley Open, selected by Jessica Bennett, Xhi Ndubisi and Chris Alton, Bankley Gallery, Manchester, UK
  

2021

• The Winner Takes it All, Montez Press Radio, New York City, USA (online)
• Nobody’s Room, The Room Projects in collaboration with LUX, Paris, France
  
• Hold On, curated by Trans-, The Koppel Project, London, UK
  

2020

• Correspondance / Correspondence, curated by Sam Meech, Videographé, Montreal, Canada (online)
  
• Visions in the Nunnery, curated by Hetain Patel, Bow Arts, London, UK
  

2019

• Soundings, Raven Row, London, UK
  
• Time Crush, three-person exhibition w/Gray Wielebinski & Dyveke Bredsdorff, Organon, Odense, Denmark
• Archway Sound Symposium, curated by Hannah Dargavel-Leaf, Five Years Gallery, London, UK
  
• Fracto Film Encounter, ACUD, Berlin, Germany
  
• Printed Matter’s LA Book Fair, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA
  
• Neo: Art Prize, Bolton Museum, selected by Jordan Baseman, Sacha Craddock, William Lunn and Helen Wewiora, Bolton, UK
  
• In So Many Words, three-person exhibition curated by James Moss, the Portico Library, Manchester, UK
  
• Post Paradise, curated by Maya Verlaak, Centrala, Birmingham, UK
  
• Against the Run of Play, St Paul’s House, Deptford Market Yard, London, UK
  
• International Contemporary Artists’ Book Fair, The Tetley, Leeds, UK
  
• London Radical Book Fair, Goldsmiths University, London, UK
  

2018

• Three, Rua Dom Carlos, Lisbon, Portugal
  
• Body as Archive, Slade Research Centre, London, UK
  
• The Hand of the Artist, curated by Roaming Room, The Old Telephone Exchange, London, UK
  
• Visible Speech, The Portico Library, Manchester, UK
  
• An Assembly, curated by Jack Sheen, Anthony Burgess Foundation, Manchester, UK
  
• Slade School of Art Degree Show, London, UK
  

2017

• Authentic Tongues, curated by G. Lucas-Going, Bloomsbury Theatre, London, UK
  
• Cinema Flux, Flux Factory, New York City, USA
  
• Many Hares Running, Charlton Gallery, London, UK
  
• Progress/Regress, Crypt Gallery, London, UK
  
• Emergency Festival, with Jack Sheen, Z-Arts, Manchester, UK
  
• Interim Degree Show, Slade School of Fine Art, London, UK
• KGNM Fest, Cologne, Germany

2016

• Science in the City Festival, Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, UK
  
• Colombo Art Biennale, Barefoot Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  
• A Pixel or Digit?, curated by Turf Projects, Parfitt Gallery, London, UK
  
• Side Step, The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, UK
  
• DADA 100, event marking 100 years since the birth of Dadaism, curated by Jackie Haines, The Wonder Inn, Manchester, UK
  
• Abeerance, with Jack Sheen, Platform Southwark, London, UK
  
• Tracing Paper, Paper Gallery, Manchester, UK

2015

• London Short Film Festival, ICA, London, UK
  
• Tape Talk, Splendor, Amsterdam, Netherlands
  
• Fokus Video Fest, Copenhagen Contemporary Arts Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark
  
• Tape Talk, Mayhem, Copenhagen, Denmark
  
• Broadcast, curated by Sam Meech, Liverpool Small Cinema, Liverpool, UK
  
• Praxis, with Tomi Rose, The Advisory, London, UK
  
• Flatpack, curated by Amy Lawrence, Federation House, Manchester, UK
  
• Diving into the Wreckage, curated by Ralph Pritchard, The Old Police Station, London, UK
• Flight, Soup, Manchester, UK

2014

• Delia Derbyshire Day, five-part UK film screening including The Horse Hospital London, UK
  
• Video Jam x Jeremy Deller, event responding to All that is Solid Melts into Air - an exhibition by Jeremy Deller, Manchester Art Gallery, UK
• Parallel Vienna, Altes Zollamt, Vienna, Austria
  
• Quays Culture Northern Artists' Film, Salford, UK
  
• Sonic Fusion Film Festival, Salford University, UK, and The University of Chicago, USA
  
• Spaces in-between, curated by Ralph Pritchard, Doomed Gallery, London, UK
• Show & Thumb, curated by Michael Holland, Paramount Books, Manchester, UK

2013

• Cue: Art in Manchester, curated by James Moss, Piccadilly Place, Manchester, UK
• Fluxus, with Tomi Rose and Otto Wilberg, commissioned by Contact Theatre, Manchester, UK 
• Project RE: Rite, s creening celebrating 100 years since The Rite of Spring, commissioned by Art Vanguard, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, UK
• To an Independent Listenener, 40-minute film commissioned by the University of Manchester, UK
• The Projection Club, curated by Tess Denman-Cleaver, The Northern Charter, Newcastle, UK
   
  

Collections

• The Portico Library, Manchester, UK
  
• The Delia Derbyshire Day Archive, University of Manchester, UK
  
• Private collections

Director and Performer of Artists’ Work

• 2026 (Upcoming, Feb) - Karst Window by Jocelyn McGregor, Exploring Alternative Materials, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, UK
• 2025 - Karst Window by Jocelyn McGregor, It Requires Getting Lost, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, UK
• 2024 - Quad I & II by Samuel Beckett, co-director, Southbank Centre, produced by London Sinfonietta, London, UK
  
• 2021 - 
• 2019 - John Cage: Maybe Even Beyond the Delta, performer, The Lowry, Salford, UK
  
• 2019 - Wild Lands by Amy Lawrence, performer, The Portico Library, Manchester, UK
  
• 2019 - Poem for Chairs, Tables, Benches etc. by La Monte Young, performer, LCMF, London, UK
  
• 2019 - Work for Wounded Furniture by Alison Knowles, performer, LCMF, London, UK
  
• 2018 - We Shall Run by Yvonne Rainer, performer, London Contemporary Music Festival, London, UK
  
• 2018 - Book Concerto in One Act by Elizabeth S. Clark, performer, LCMF, London, UK
• 2018 - The Master’s Tools Will Not Dismantle the Master’s House by Rosa Johan Uddoh, performer, Tate Britain, UK
  
• 2018 - Tape Piece by Maya Verlaak and Andy Ingamells, performer, Slade Research Centre, UK
  
• 2018 - Why Are All My Tutors White, Baby by Rosa Johan Uddoh, performer, Widening the Gaze, the Slade, UK
  
• 2017 - Tape Piece by Maya Verlaak and Andy Ingamells, performer, LCMF, London, UK
  
• 2017 - EAR ACTION by Neo Hülcker and Stellan Veloce, performer, LCMF, London, UK
  
• 2015 - Fleck Flob Flop by Joe Snape, co-director and script advisor, nine-part UK/EU tour including Institute for X (Aarhus), Splendor (Amsterdam), Mayham (Copenhagen), Del Rex (Berlin), Vivid Projects (Birmingham) and Metal Culture (Liverpool).

Awards & Grants

• 2025 - Developing Your Creative Practice, Arts Council England
• 2025 - Comme Ca Art x AWOL Exhibition Winner, selected by Jessica Bennett, Fiona Corridan and Mike Chavez-Dawson
• 2024 - Castlefield Gallery Professional Development Award
  
• 2023 - Shortlisted for Jerwood & MAYK Award for Artists working in Radical Performance
  
• 2019 - Jerwood Bursary
• 2019 - a-n Artist Bursary
  
• 2018 - Manchester Culture Award, as founder of Video Jam
• 2018 - Nominated for the Acme Studio Award
  
• 2018 - Dean’s Fund, Slade School of Fine Art
  
• 2018 - Nominated for the Boise Travel Scholarship
• 2017 - The Clare Winsten Memorial Award, Slade School of Fine Art
• 2017 - Art Fund Jonathan Ruffer Curatorial Grant
  
• 2017 - Nominated for the ACS Studio Prize
• 2017 - UCL Changemakers Grant
  
• 2017 - Shortlisted for the Sekforde House Trust Scholarship
  
• 2015 - Creative Skillset Grant
  
• 2015 - Sky Arts Scholarship Finalist

Residencies, Groups and Schemes

• 2025 - Digilab development scheme with theatre company Imitating the Dog, Lightworks, Blackpool, UK
• 2024 - PASE Platform residency, with Darren Nixon, Venice, Italy
  
• 2024 - Hospitalfield residency, Arbroath, Scotland, UK
  
• 2023 - Abingdon Studios residency, with Darren Nixon, Blackpool, UK
  
• 2021 - They are all of them themselves and they repeat it and I hear it, a reading-aloud group run by Anna Barham & Irene Revell (online)
• 2021 - The Exchange peer networking project, Eastside Projects, Birmingham, UK
  
• 2017 - Flux Factory residency, Long Island, New York City, USA
  
• 2017 - Inventory residency, with Jack Sheen, BRGY, London, UK
  
• 2016 - Snape Maltings residency, with Sarah Saviet, Aldeburgh, UK
  
• 2016 - Brighter Sound development scheme with Anna Meredith, MOSI, Manchester, UK
  
• 2015 - React Residency, The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, UK
  
• 2015 - Paper Gallery residency, Manchester, UK
  
• 2014 - BFI and LUX Experimenta Forum, London, UK
• 2013 - CANVAS residency, supported by the Islington Mill, Ibiza, Spain
  
  

Talks, Teaching and Engagements 

• 2025 - Guest Theatre Judge, Loughborough High School, UK
• 2024 - In conversation with Tim Rutherford-Johnson and Jack Sheen, Southbank Centre, London, UK
  
• 2024 - Guest Mentor, BA Fine Art, University of Leeds, UK
• 2023 - Guest Mentor, Manchester Contemporary Youth Opera, Anthony Burgess Foundation, Manchester, UK
  
• 2023 - Artist talk, MA Filmmaking, Manchester School of Art, UK
  
• 2023 - Careers Fair Speaker, Loughborough High School, UK
• 2023 - Panel Speaker, Dialogues Project, The University of Westminster, UK
  
• 2021 - Panel Speaker, A Crisis of Culture to a Crisis of Learning Conference, The University of Westminster, UK 
  
• 2020 - Youth Workshop Leader, Contact Theatre, Manchester, UK
  
• 2019 - Guest Mentor for graduating students, BA Filmmaking, Manchester School of Art, UK
  
• 2019 - Judge and Guest Mentor, Move Film Festival, Manchester School of Art, UK
  
• 2019 - Talent Lab Masterclass Leader, BA Filmmaking, Manchester School of Art, UK
  
• 2019 - Performance workshop leader, Manchester Deaf Centre, UK
  
• 2019 - Panel Contributor, The Lived Female Body in Performance, Live Art Bistro, Leeds, UK
  
• 2018 - Judge and Guest Mentor, TENT Academy Awards Film Festival, Rotterdam, Netherlands 
  
• 2018 - Guest Theatre Judge, Loughborough High School, UK
  
• 2017 - Artist talk, Flux Factory, New York City, USA
• 2016 - Workshop Leader, Brighter Sound, Manchester, UK
• 2016 - Artist talk, HOME, Manchester, UK
  
• 2016 - Artist talk, A.M, London, UK
  
• 2016 - Workshop Leader, Blaze Festival, Burnley Library, UK
  
• 2016 - Workshop Leader, Blaze Festival, Accrington Library, UK
  
• 2016 - Artist talk, Northern Film + Media, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle, UK
  
• 2016 - Artist talk, Whitworth Young Contemporaries, Z-Arts, Manchester, UK
• 2014 - Guest Curator, Concourse Arts Festival, Falmouth University, UK
• 2014 - Artist talk, Kino Shorts, Manchester, UK
  
  

Curated Events

2025
The Same Deep Water as You, curated with Darren Nixon, PINK, Stockport, UK

• An invitation to 14 other artists to reenact, reimangine and invoke memories of their own past performances, staged as a large-scale immersive takeover of all three floors of PINK.
  
• Artists: Matthew Bamber, Berger & Wirz, Brendan Curtis-Burton, Nicola Dale, Charlie Ford, Gabriella Hirst, Rowland's Leaving, Hannah Leighton-Boyce, Anna Macdonald, For Now, Chris Owen, Lewis Prosser, Scout Stuart, Lydia Swift
  

2012 - 2022
Video Jam

• Founder, Co-Director and Film Curator. Curated 50+ artist film and live sound events including commissions for the Knockdown Centre, Brooklyn, New York City (2017); Manchester Museum with the Wellcome Collection (2017); FACT, Liverpool (2016); BBC Philharmonic, Salford (2016); Whitworth Art Gallery opening weekend (2015); Hyperlocal Festival, Argentina (2015); The Vaults, London (2014); Manchester Art Gallery (2014); and Abandon Normal Devices, Liverpool Cathedral (2013).
  

2021
The Winner Takes it All, curated with Gabriella Hirst, Montez Press Radio, New York City, USA (online)

• A programme of sound works exploring pop music as an emotionally manipulative medium with the potential for social and political subversion, produced in honour of the cancelled 2020 Eurovision Song Contest.
  
• Artists: Rosa Johan Uddoh, Larisa Crunțeanu, Gabriella Hirst X Majiker, Rowland Hill, Micha Otto
  

2020
Spaces In-between, commissioned by Video Jam and the British Council, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, UK

• The world premiere of five live scored short films reflecting on experiences of displacement, belonging and exile.

• Artists: Soadat Ismailova, Joe Namy, Razan Al-Salah, Nabihah Iqbal, Lafawndah with Alya Al-Sultani, Seaming To, Chaines, Christin Turner, Oleksiy Radynski, Kelly Jane Jones
  

2019
Soundings, curated with Dyveke Bredsdorff, Raven Row, London, UK

• An intimate listening event exploring the perception of sound as an embodied activity.

• Artists: Danielle Braithwaite Shirley, Reman Sadani, Jessa Mockridge, Jo Pester, Karolina Stellaki, Rowland Hill
  

2018
Video Jam x Basquiat, commissioned by Video Jam and the Barbican Centre, closing event for Basquiat: Boom for Real, Barbican Hall, London, UK

• The world premiere of seven lived scored short films inspired by the first UK retrospective of Basquiat's work.
• Artists: Topher Campbell, Ephraim Asili, Victoria Keddie, Haley Elizabeth Anderson, Gabrielle Ledet & Jack Wedge, Scout Stuart, Young Fathers, Ibibio Sound Machine, Seaming To, RootsRaddix 

Body as Archive, curated with Amy Steel and Taylor Doyle, Slade Research Centre, London, UK

• A five-hour programme of live performance and artist film addressing physical gesture as a communicative and performative act, staged in promenade across the Slade Research Centre (originally the Courtauld Institute of Art.)

• Artists: Sondra Perry, Jayne Parker and Anthony Howell, Meredith Monk, Jennifer Walshe, Onyeke Igwe, Anton Lukoszevieze, Andy Ingamells & Maya Verlaak, Martha Rosler, Gabriella Hirst, Amy Lawrence, Kimberley Beach, John Cage, Dori Deng, Eloise Lawson, Laura Hindmarsh, Dominic Dispirito, Jo Pester, Jules Davis-Dufayard, Ioana Marinesco, Amy Steel, Diana Tap-F, Taylor Doyle & June Lam, Christina Planas, Maddie Wheeler, Jessye Curtis, Jasmine Lee, Karolina Stellaki