Joanne Coates
Joanne Coates is a working class documentary storyteller who uses the medium of photography. Born and based in the North of England, Coates is interested in rurality, working life and class inequality.
Educated first in working class communities, then at The Sir John Cass School of Fine art (Fda Fine Art) and The London College of Communication (BA Hons Photography), upon graduation, Coates was named as a recipient of the Magenta Flash Forward 2016 emerging talent award.
In 2017, Coates was one of the artists working for Hull UK City of Culture 2017. In 2020/21, she was commissioned as Artist-in-Residence by Berwick Visual Art in partnership with the Centre for Rural Economy at Newcastle University and was a joint awardee of the Jerwood/Photoworks Awards. Her work has been exhibited both in the UK and internationally, including The Royal Albert Hall, Reveal-T Photography Festival, Cork Photo Festival and Somerset House.
Coates is the joint recipient of the Jerwood / Photoworks award 2021, and a recipient of the British Council’s Unlimited grant 2022.
‘Hannah Starkey’s work has always been a great inspiration. Having the artist’s work come to the North is brilliant. As a working class, low income artist, opportunities can be hard. You aren’t able to afford a masters, or to move to London and work …those things would be impossible. You’re often working as an artist, while working other jobs and struggling to get by. Where I’m based is pretty isolated in terms of the arts. When I heard about the programme’s engagement and bringing together artists I instantly knew I had to apply.’ Joanne Coates
To find out more about Coates’s work, explore her Website / Twitter / Instagram
