Sarah Filmer

Sarah is an interdisciplinary artist, and a lecturer in Fine Art. Her research interests focus on the relationship between human and non-human animals; feminist practice within pedagogy, and across species and gender boundaries; and models of care and empowerment in socially-engaged art practice.

This research feeds directly into her teaching with students, as she believes an understanding of current socio-political issues are key for students looking to work within the creative industries.

Sarah graduated from the University of Bristol in 1992, with a degree in Veterinary Science, and has practised as a vet ever since. In 2010, she obtained a first-class honours degree in Fine Art from Southampton Solent University. Since then, Sarah has continued to work in both fields, with each practice informing the other.

She has taught at Southampton Solent University on the Fine Art course since 2012, taking on pastoral support, level leadership, writing and leading modules. She takes the lead in the course on professional development, supporting students as they prepare for careers in the creative industries.

She has also taught experimental film and sound to medical students on their ‘medical humanities’ module at the University of Southampton.

Sarah was awarded a DYCP grant by Arts council England in July 2025 to develop her drawing skills, and extend her professional network of curators and artists. She will do this in aframework of the 'drawing newkin' project with her trans daughter, Roxie, as they both explore seeing and being seen as a trans woman and mother of a trans woman in 2025. 

conference presentations

may 2024 – presented ‘doto’ project at Green Social Prescribing event

may 2023 – ‘in the loop’ conference: ‘reimagining knitted artefact collection’ thru 3D modelling

july 2018 – ‘in the loop’ knitting conference, winchester school of art

june 2018 – ‘social making’ conference, take-a-part, plymouth

may 2016, may 2017 – ssu r and i conference: presenting ‘ght a reincarnation’

may 2014 – ssu, research conference: the ethics of public engagement, using the blue jumper as a case study

As both a Lecturer and creative practitioner I consider my teaching to be as important as my practice-based research in this academic role.

Teaching on the Fine art course for many years, alongside developing my own practice as a freelance artist, running my own business and promoting/merchandising/selling my own work and skills, I have developed knowledge and understanding of the many hats you have to wear as creative practitioner.

I see my role in teaching ‘professional practice’ to Fine Art undergraduates is to offer them ways of seeing and approaching all the other skills they may need to develop alongside their creative studio practice, to bring their creative ideas out into the world, and to reach their fullest potential.

Part of my role is to work closely with local creative organisations, in helping to prepare undergraduates for life in the creative industries. I feel passionately that students should be equipped as a creative professional to promote themselves effectively in the world, and to feel confident on graduation on how to do this.

In addition, i teach on theory and practice modules across all 3 years of the undergraduate degree. I introduce first year students to core themes and concerns of contemporary art practice in the 21^st century. We approach contemporaneity through the lens of the more-than-human world, and support theoretical learning with a series of practical and engaging making workshops.

I support final year students to write the artist statement that accompanies their degree show work, taking an expanded view on ‘writing’, empowering the students to present their statement in the format of their choice: this has yielded recipes, spoken word, poetry, and interview formats, among others. within this module, i offer the third year cohort the opportunity to take full agency of their learning, and we co-write the module program together, drawing on ‘teaching to transgress’ by bell hooks, to underpin the notion that all people in a classroom need to take responsibility for the learning that takes place there. 

socially-engaged projects:

‘drawing on the outside’ (‘doto’) sept 2022 – july 2024: drawing workshops and exhibition series for men experiencing social isolation

‘knit the walls’ – mar 2016 – nov 2022: monthly co-production knitting project, short-listed for the jerwood maker’s prize 2018, final exhibition GHT southampton

‘700 women’ – oct 2016 participatory event, god’s house tower, ‘a space’ arts

‘blue jumper’ – 2012 – 2019 co-production knitting project (over 1200 knitters!), exhibited in the bargate monument gallery, at sluice art fair, and at ‘unravel’

community projects

holyrood hub 2023, 24, 25 – artist in residence on holyrood estate with zoielogic dance theatre

springwell art week 2023 – school for children with additional educational needs

jhoom! may – july 2011 – film-maker school bollywood dance project (pw: portswood)

artist-led group projects

parasitic art school – a free art school, provided through parasitism of host institutions 2020-21

ght – a reincarnation - multi-artist group residency, devised, fund-raised and delivered by sarah filmer 2016-2017            

lux critical forum 2013-14

lux critical forum south-west 2023-24

peer mentor program with artist, alys scott-hawkins - 2014 - 2020

group exhibitions:

may 2021 – ‘past-oral’ lower hewood farm

sept 2017 – ‘we are open’ ght, southampton

oct 2016 – ‘i am looking’ bas8 fringe, ght  and off-site, southampton

oct 2015 – ‘nowheresville’ john hansard gallery offsite, southampton

nov 2014 – ‘how does the group function?’ with lux13criticalforum, enclave, london

oct 2013 – sluice art fair, london 

nov-dec 2012 – zap open exhibition, london

aug 2012 - babel fiche, castlefield gallery, manchester

oct 2011 – mestopolojenie – site-specific group installation, bargate monument gallery

sept 2011 – salisbury animation festival, salisbury arts centre

sept 2010 – group exhibition, firestation arts centre, windsor

screenings:

online, national & international including: short shorts - leeds; babel fiche – manchester,

neunow online; festival de cine internacional de barcelona; millennium films, new york

artist residencies:

mar 2019 – jan 2021: artist in residence at lower hewood farm, dorset – ‘conversations with a pig i am going to eat’

mar 2016 – nov 2019: a-i-r at god’s house tower

public art interventions:

2015-2018 ‘riverside geese’ – guerrilla installation, riverside park, southampton

2014 ‘do you want art here, or what?’

2011/2/3 ‘the pink hoarding’ ‘the blue hoarding’ ‘ribbon people’ – participatory

commissions:

2023 – public art commission – selected by lubaina himid for ‘found cities, lost objects’ exhibition

2019 – public art commission ‘portal’ for ‘a space’ arts

2019 – ‘i am the walls’ permanent installation god’s house tower

2018 – gallery takeover for international women’s day, solent showcase gallery

nov 2014 & nov 2016 – mottisfont outdoor installations, national trust

2011 - 12 – film-maker: art to dance, southampton city art gallery; pal lab : movement & meaning

'Green Social Prescribing Toolkit' - collaborative project with University of Southampton Public Engagement with Research unit and Southampton Voluntary Services to evaluate the impact of green social prescribing: 'a zine to show how and why you might use a zine as an evaluation tool'

written work included in ‘Bodies’ Dark Mountain issue 27 ISBN 978-1-0683853-0-8

DOTO project included in the ‘Green Social Prescribing Toolkit’ with University of Southampton

work included in ‘Requiem’ Dark Mountain issue 19 ISBN 978-1-83841-600-3

‘what we learnt’ – jan 2018

700 women – sept 2017 isbn: 978-1-78808-918-0

‘how does the group function’ – may 2014, camberwell press isbn: 978-1-908971-94-4