About

Laura Ribbons’ work explores the ways in which we connect and coexist with plants in the context of the climate crisis and how they alter our experience of place. Her practice asks what we can learn from other species and considers how we exist in symbiosis across human and non-human communities. Ribbons celebrates the strength, resilience and mythology of plants, representing a desire to find solace and resolution in nature. Her practice constitutes a continued dialogue around ideas of survival, hope and well-being. As a curator and socially-engaged practitioner, Ribbons is inspired by the idea that art has the power to start difficult conversations, while simultaneously bringing people together and creating space for collaboration, play and creative problem solving. Laura Ribbons has worked with institutions including Towner Eastbourne, Pallant House Gallery and Watts Gallery-Artist Village. Her largest solo exhibition to date, Plants Make Places, at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery, for which she secured Arts Council lottery funding, explored how plants shape our sense of place, identity and belonging. The project encompassed collaborations with different sectors of the community, including sound artist Ben Chernett, local schools, the Education Futures Trust and the Refugee Buddy Project. The exhibition which opened in August 2025 has received overwhelming positive feedback. Ribbons' practice continues to expand and evolve and at various points comprises, painting, drawing, printmaking, textiles, installation and ceramics.

Laura Ribbons (b.1990) is an artist, curator, facilitator and environmentalist. She graduated from Wimbledon College of Art in 2012 with a BA honours degree in Fine Art (Painting), she also holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Anthropology from the University of Kent, 2016. She has exhibited across the UK and internationally, including in Spain, where she lived from 2018-2019. She has a number of works in private collections. 

As a curator and socially-engaged practitioner, Laura is inspired by the idea that art has the power to start difficult conversations, while simultaneously bringing people together and creating space for collaborative working and creative problem solving. Laura has worked with institutions including Towner Eastbourne, Pallant House Gallery and Watts Gallery-Artist Village. She recently undertook a solo-exhibition Ancestors at Trebah Botanic Gardens in Cornwall (October 2024). She is currently working on a community project Plants Make Places generously supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, culminating in an exhibition at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery (September 2025-February 2026). The project and exbibition works with a number of partner organisations and explores how we exist in community with plants, how they shape the places we live and our identities. 

Laura lives and works in Hastings with her partner children’s book author and illustrator, Jon Lander.