Acclaimed poet, Maggie Sawkins, will become Poet in Residence at Art-House-Life for a year-long residency running from February 2026 to 2027.
The residency will see Maggie work on collaborative projects with Isle of Wight artist and co-founder of Art-House-Life, Joanna Kori, as well as four other artists at their studio in Osborne Stable Block, East Cowes.
The historic building originally served as a library for Sea Cadets during its time as a Naval College.
New works and interactive exhibitions planned
Maggie will write new works for publication during her residency. She will also run workshops and contribute to an interactive art show in May called ‘Scissor Talk’, which runs from 8th to 25th May 2026.
The poet will also participate in IW Open Studios and other Art-House-Life studio events throughout the year.
Extensive track record of collaborative arts projects
Maggie brings substantial experience of working with visual artists to the residency. She previously collaborated on ‘City Scape’ with documentary photographer Janey Devine, which resulted in an innovative exhibition combining images and words.
Her ‘Dark Side Port Side’ poetry film project took place in Portsmouth.
Live literature and broadcasting work
The poet has created live literature productions ‘Diving into the Wreck’ and ‘Flyweight’ with artist and film maker Matt Parsons.
She also worked with Abigail Norris on ‘Zones of Avoidance’ poetry films, which viewers can watch on the website.
Maggie has produced and hosted an episode of the BBC Radio 4 programme Tongue & Talk, exploring Portsmouth dialect through poetry.
Island-based projects and community engagement
Since moving to the Isle of Wight, Maggie has worked on a zine project for teenagers with Boojum & Snark. She has curated spoken word events with artist Steve Rushton for Ventnor Fringe.
Most recently, she contributed to a collaborative art and poetry project celebrating 200 years of British Rail on behalf of the Community Rail Partnership.
Award-winning collections and current tour
Maggie’s poetry collections include The Zig Zag Woman, Charcot’s Pet, The House Where Courage Lives and Zones of Avoidance.
Zones of Avoidance won a Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry.
She currently tours with her latest live literature production ‘Flyweight’, which explores the world of boxing and female boxing in particular.
Find out more
More information about Maggie Sawkins can be found on her Facebook or Instagram accounts.
Details about Art-House-Life are available on their website.
Our thanks to Art House Life for sponsoring this feature. They and other businesses and organisations taking paid promotion enables you to continue reading OnTheWight for free.
