Elspeth (Billie) Penfold
Elspeth was born in La Paz Bolivia in 1953.She lived in La Paz and Cochabamba (Bolivia) Santiago, (Chile), Lima (Peru) and Montevideo (Uruguay) until the age of 19 when she came to England to attend University as an overseas student.
She met her husband Phil, at Essex University and they married in 1976. They have three sons three daughters-in-law and eight grandchildren. Elspeth has studios in London and Whitstable.
For more about me and my work please go to links page
Elspeth (Billie) Penfold
“ Elspeth Penfold is a Bolivian/Argentinian artist who has lived and worked in the UK since1970. Elspeth’s multi-disciplinary practice incorporates weaving, painting, drawing, walking and writing. Her spinning and knotting work draws on the Incan history and technique of ‘Quipu’ (knot work) and the Quechua language of the native Andean people. Elspeth develops walks as a performative social art practice, alongside her broader multimedia practice. Elspeth has a degree in Government and Sociology Latin American studies from Essex University, a degree in fine Art painting from Wimbledon College of Art UAL, a postgraduate degree in Modern Languages from King’s College London, and recently completed an MA in Creative Event Management at Falmouth University.
Elspeth’s commissions in 2022 include Reclaiming the Narrative, with POW Thanet at Turner Contemporary, Margate; Intertidal Calligraphy with Walk Create, East Kent Mencap, and The Museum of London Archeology in Whitstable; Port at Art Walk Porty, Edinburgh; and Walking with Ghosts, a live art commission with The Imperial War Museum.
You can check out links to Elspeth’s most recent commissions here:
- November 2022 Folkestone Walking with Ghosts 2022 commission , An immersive artwork Walking with Ghosts
- August 2022 SALT Edinburgh Port _Art Walk Porty commission PORT
- July 2022 Intertidal Calligraphy commission with Citizan and MOLA Intertidal Calligraphy
- March 2022 Reclaiming the Narrative Turner ContemporaryReclaiming the Narrative
- July 2021 ,A Refracted View commission A Refracted View
- August 2020 Digital, A Different LENS ,commission Margate Bookie and Margate NOW,A Different LENS
- September 2020, Briefly in Tranit “Sigh” installation commission, Stephens House and Gardens,curated by Rebbekah Dean,Briefly in Transit
- March 2019 A Gathering of Flowers, Well Projects , GOLD projects , POW Thanet commissioned walk and workshop . A Gathering of Flowers
- November 2019 The Listening Post commission The Margate Bookie , .The Listening Post
- November 2019 Connect Kent Cohesion Plus two commissioned walks.Connect Kent
- October 2019 Reflect , Sound Uk, Exeter University and LV21 commission two walking events iand a bench installation Reflect
- March 2019 An Act of Citizenship LV21 commission Citizen#Ship
- March 2019, The Gathering LV21 and Whitstable Biennale commission The Gathering
- September 2018, The Margate Bookie, “Walking Shrines” commission A Walk with Shrines
- June 2018 Emergency Exit Arts , creative practitioner, ‘People’s Parlour’ People’s Parlour
- October 2017 – June 2018- commission, creative practitioner A New Direction
My Creative School
Elspeth is delighted to have recently been accepted as an artist at art can .org U.K. https://www.artcan.org.uk/ .
She is also developing her art practice as part of MASS at Turps banana https://www.turpsbanana.com/mass
Elspeth is currently working towards a group show with members from The Royal Society of Sculptors to be held at Espacio Gallery Shoreditch in March 2023. “