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


Mary
2025
Cotton, Silk, Glass Beads, & Wood Inspired by a press release that listed the names of some of the women working to weave the CRM modules during the Apollo missions. This module was woven using a binary beading technique and hold the woven memory of craftswomen Mary Julian.

‘Mary Julian crafts woven moon memories’

Images by René Lazový