Jacqueline Rolls

I am an artist living on the edge of The New Forest. I use folklore, folksong, old customs, games and rituals to explore contemporary issues particularly social and economic disparity. Country living can be a strange mix of bounty and hopelessness but when people have access to their own strong and sinuous roots, their own history and stories they have anchorage and hope. I seek the stories that connect us and as an artist I’m thinking of different ways of pinning them up on the metaphorical village hall notice board for all to see. Alongside my own practice I run drawing workshops as The Village Hall Draw and community workshops around the New Forest working with Culture in Common and Hampshire Cultural Heritage amongst others.

I am a Wiltshire-based visual artist and consultant working with people and places through commissions, projects, residencies, walks and workshops. I work with media of relevance to each place, its ecology and heritage, from ‘natural’ and recycled materials, to photographs, text, sound and video. Previous Hampshire residencies have included working with Spud (New Forest), John Hansard Museum (Southampton) and Andover Museum. My consultancy work includes writing for publication, mentoring for emerging artists/creatives, and advisory work/professional development for the arts/heritage and environmental sectors. Access and inclusion is key to all my work, with a particular focus on the value of queer and neurodivergent voices/experiences.

I am an actor and theatre-maker with over twenty years experience in the industry. After training at Shakespeare and Company and more than a decade acting on film, television, theatre (and many many Shakespeare roles) I obtained my MFA at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, graduating with Distinction. I am also the founder and Co-Artistic Director of Crowbait Club UK and US (an organisation dedicated to the development of new theatrical writing) and Co-Artistic Director of award-winning theatre company, Mary Rose Productions. MRP works with new and emerging to produce rep-style theatre and talent to foster pathways in arts careers with an emphasis on sustainability and education. www.maryroseproductions.co.uk www.crowbait.co.uk