Sam Winston

Sam Winston’s practice is concerned with language, not only as a carrier of messages but also as a visual form in and of itself. Primarily known for his typographic artworks and books he employs a variety of different approaches including drawing, performance and poetry.

Operating at the intersection of visual culture and literature he has exhibited and created projects in museums around the world. Tate Britain, the British Library, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C and the J. Paul Getty Museum, among others, hold his artist’s books and works in their permanent collections. Projects involving drawings and installations have taken place at institutes such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Barbican Centre, and the Whitechapel Gallery.

Social engagement with community groups, creatives and institutions is key to many of Winston's projects. With a focus on expanding the ways in which we engage with language, his projects are often community-minded and foreground marginalised voices. Alongside the poet Chris McCabe he created the UK's first festival for endangered languages. He has collaborated with leading poets and writers including Raymond Antrobus, Bernardine Evaristo and Max Porter. His first mass-market book was in collaboration with Oliver Jeffers won the Bologna Ragazzi Award for fiction, debuted at no.5 on the New York Times Bestseller List and has been translated into 24 languages.

The Codex Foundation and especially Ron King of Circle Press were seminal in helping establish his art practice, for which he is deeply grateful.