Shannon Swinburn
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shannon.swinburn@gmail.com

@shanswinburn



 Shannon Swinburn (b. 1993, Portsmouth, UK) is a London-based textile artist whose practice explores the intersection between craft and computation. 

Utilising speculation, counterfactual histories, and material storytelling, Swinburn’s work foregrounds the historically overlooked contributions of women in emergent technology. Her practice uses archival research in order to draw connections between textile processes and early forms of computing – revealing how the skilled labour of women has often been foundational to technological progress, yet has frequently been overlooked. 

Working across weaving, metalwork, and physical computing, Swinburn creates speculative artefacts that reinterpret historical narratives embedded within the histories of computation, astronomy, and scientific labour. 

Translating archival data in material form, and reconstructing hidden histories, in order to reframe how technological knowledge is remembered. 


Awards and Residencies include:

The Weavers’ Award - Cockpit 
(2025-2026)
The Sarabande Foundation Studio Residency 
(2024-2025)
The Blackhorse Workshop Residency 
(2024) 
The Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation Prize
(2024)
The Textile Society Student Bursary Award
(2024) 
The Haberdashers’ Scholarship RCA 
(2023)

Selected Group Exhibitions:

Clutch City Craft
Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
(2026)
Sincerely 
Sarabande Foundation
(2025)
Pinpoint
Sarabande Foundation
(2025)

Education:

MA Textiles, Royal College of Art
BA Graphic Design, Central Saint Martins


Give Me Guidance
2023
Steel,Cotton, Wool, ‘Give Me Guidance’explores the contribution of skilled craftswomen during the formation of the Apollo Guidance Computer, through the hand weaving of Core Rope Computer Memory Modules (CRCMM), the project aims to platform untold stories of the role of women in the progression of emergent technology and the journey to reach the moon.By creating a new interactive & participatory loom, inspired by the original NASA CRCMM frame, that seeks to remember the craftswomen and highlight their contribution.

This first iteration of the loom is inspired by the frame originally used to craft the computer modules and was developed to include an interactive sound element.