For the past 25 years Jo has developed a practice as artist, producer, mentor, evaluator and photographer, developing an approach to social engagement with a particular emphasis on working with people to explore landscape, place and our relationship to it; exploring ideas of place, belonging and identity - asking what do we inherit from the past, how can we intervene in the present and how do we shape the future?
Her specialist focus is working collaboratively with young people and more marginalised groups, supporting people’s agency through co-produced creative projects. Jo has worked with key agencies to inform national policy including the National Youth Agency, Arts Award and Arts Council England. From 2004 -7 Jo worked for Engage, the National Association of Gallery Education, supporting venues and a national campaign to develop youth-friendly policy, practice and spaces. Learning was shared through Envision - A Handbook : Supporting Young People’s Participation in Galleries and the Arts, 2008 which she produced and co-wrote.
Jo was Head of Youth and Community programming at Nottingham Contemporary (2008-2010), before pursuing a freelance career, which has included work as an Arts Council England Arts and Quality Assessor (2016-2020) and an artist and producer on several Arts Council England (ACE) Creative People and Places programmes and Heritage Lottery Landscape Partnership programmes. She is Co-director of Youth Landscapers Collective in The National Forest (since 2016). She is an active studio member at Primary, Nottingham and a commissioned artist on their Making Place Programme. Jo is in the process of relocating from Nottingham to Argyll.