Kimberley Burrows
Artist, model and advocate
Visual Arts, Fashion and Design
Kimberley Burrows is an award-winning artist, model and activist who is blind. She is the Student President of the Royal College of Art where she graduated with a Masters in Painting this year. She is a recipient of the Tony Snowdon Scholarship, awarded by The Snowdon Trust to exceptional disabled scholars.
In her role as Student President, Kimberley aims to make a significant impact across the college for all students with disabilities. She has influenced the way that all seminars and online learning is delivered across the schools by utilising descriptive language. Accessible signage will be introduced across all campuses under her direction.
As an exhibited artist, Kimberley’s painting practice explores themes of blindness, grief and loss. Her installations deliver an inclusive experience to a diverse audience. The first of its kind at the RCA, Kimberley’s degree show exhibition featured Braille labels, soft lighting and an audio guide which she scripted and narrated.
In 2022, Kimberley collaborated with Warehouse UK to release a successful range of occasion-wear featuring her distinctive paintings.
Kimberley works closely with the RNIB and has visited both UK and European Parliament to engage with MPs and MEPs for stronger accessibility laws.
During her Undergrad studies in Leeds, she received the Student of the Year Award at the Specialist Institution Awards and won the Life-changing Partnership Award with her beloved Guide Dog, Tami.
Kimberley won the Gillian Lawrence Award for her volunteering and fundraising work with Henshaws Society for Blind People and is a past recipient of RNIB’s Young Illustrator of the Year Award. She has painted and illustrated for the Wellcome Collection, Guide Dogs, the RNIB, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, the UK Scouts and the FCA.
She is a model with Zebedee Talent, changing the way that disability is represented in beauty, fashion and media.
“Art is vital is to our existence. We create to make sense of what it is to be human. Creativity has no boundaries. It embraces our desire for communication, connection and expression. By sharing my paintings, I am sharing my story: of losing my sight, finding my inner-strength and ultimately transforming. It is a deeply powerful act. I will continue to work for a future where our galleries are filled with a tapestry of diverse, enriching narratives.”
Disability Power 100 2023 profile information has been self-submitted by the profile subject. Shaw Trust understands and respects that disability and impairment descriptors and language use varies from person to person. Shaw Trust assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or discrepancies in the content of this, or any other, profile page.
Image credits: Simon Ward at the Royal College of Art; Warehouse UK
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