About
Sophie Thomas Studio
Sophie Thomas is a walking artist working across drawing, installation, and collaborative performance. Based in Liverpool, UK, her interdisciplinary practice uses walking as a tool to engage with the environment and explore the relationships between body, movement, and place. Through repeated journeys and prolonged periods of time spent immersed in her chosen environments, she creates work that captures and translates movement into visual and participatory forms.
Thomas sees walking as more than a physical act, it is a way to journey through both real and imagined landscapes. Inspired by her experience of feeling trapped in her body as a teenager with a chronic health condition, she explores walking as a reflective and connective act, opening space for dialogue around personal and collective life events. As her practice progresses, she aims to work with participants who may have experienced similar health challenges, creating spaces where their stories and experiences can be shared and acknowledged.
Alongside her studio work, Thomas maintains a strong community-focused practice having set up Neston Art Club, which aims to encourage and enrich people's lives through creativity. She is currently undertaking a master’s degree in Contemporary Performance at Liverpool Hope University.
Education
Guest Lecture | Liverpool Hope University | February 2026
Asked to give a guest lecture for the first year Fine Art students at Liverpool Hope University. The lecture explored her artist practice from the start of her degree to now working on the MA.
Contemporary Performance (MA) | Liverpool Hope University | 2025- Present
Awarded a scholarship to study Contemporary Performance Masters, investigating Practice as Research (PaR) and Performance Ecologies.
Fine Art (BA HONS) | First Class | Liverpool Hope University | 2022-2025
Modules included Museum & Gallery Studies, Professional Practice, Art & Design History. Special Studies (5,000 word Dissertation)- Do art exhibitions become more accessible when placed in the community as opposed to in an established institution?
Exhibitions & Publications
Tate Liverpool Symposium | Liverpool Hope University | March 2026
Tate Liverpool Commission which was presented at the Tate Liverpool x Liverpool Hope 9th Symposium, Deep Listening: From Pauline Oliveros to Contemporary Practices.
Emergence: Voices From Hope | Zaria Gallery London | October 2025
Exhibition showcasing the work from artists based in the North West.
Crossroads Degree Show | Liverpool Hope University | June 2025
42 artists exhibiting their final year degree show work.
Championing Community and Connection | What's Going On Liverpool (online) | March 2025
Article exploring both Thomas's community practice & studio practice.
Movement & Kinetics | Haus A Rest (online) | November 2024
Video ‘Kinetic Lucidity’ was selected as part of the online zine Haus A Rest.
Together We Create | Neston Library | October 2024
Facilitated and curated an exhibition to celebrate the work produced in Neston Art Club.
FACE Forward Wellbeing Exhibition | Prescot Community Hub | July 2024
Two screen-prints were selected for a community exhibition.
Alternative Layers | Bridewell Gallery | March 2024
Group exhibition comprising of 7 artists. Work comprised of an installation, drawings and laser cuts.
Longest Line | Liverpool Hope University | April 2023
Facilitated and curated a large scale exhibition displaying over 300 drawings which were produced in the life drawing room over the academic year.
Community Outreach & Workshops
Exploring Sound through Drawing Workshop | Liverpool Independents Biennial | August 2025
Drawing workshop to explore the sound in Les Weston’s exhibition, using a range of materials participants explored the rhythms and beats as well as the feelings the sound evokes to create a visual representation of the flats which were demolished at Belle Vale.
Capturing Movement Workshop | Drawing (Paper) Show | July 2025
Live drawing workshop where participants could draw dancer Mohan Welstand Keryk while a large scale drawing was being created.
Crossroads Programme of Events | Liverpool Hope University | June 2025
Lead on developing a programme of events to run alongside the Crossroads Fine Art Degree Show, which included a Film Festival, Spoken Word Evening, Artist Talks, workshop for Neston Art Club, tour for St Francis Xavier's Church and tour Tate Liverpool Staff & Patrons.
Neston Art Club | Freelance | Neston Community & Youth Centre | 2023-Present
Successfully founded the community art group Neston Art Club, forging connections for older people through creativity.
Tate Liverpool Student Ambassador | Volunteer Position | 2023- 2025
Events assistant and social media content creator.
Late at Tate Artist Workshop | Tate Liverpool | October 2024
Assisting Colette Whittington in her flexi-triangle workshop as part of the first Late at Tate event at RIBA North x Tate Liverpool.
Zine making Workshop | Neston Library | October 2024
Creating Zines with children ages 1-13.
Painting Workshop | Ellesmere Port Social Hub | August 2024
Running a session replicating Vermeer's The Milkmaid with over 20 people.
Youth Worker | The Hive Youth Centre | Summer 2024
Engaging young people in art activities throughout the summer.
Awards
Best Performing Student in Fine Art | Liverpool Hope University | 2025
Awarded by The School of Creative & Performing Arts for having the highest mark of the cohort.
Graduate Arts Company | Liverpool Hope University | 2025
Awarded Masters scholarship and bursary to join Liverpool Hope Graduate Arts Company and enrol on the Contemporary Performance Masters.