Steve Lawes is a visual artist, writer and historian from Southend. His work tends to be imbued with medieval and psychedelic themes, taking influence from global religious and spiritual traditions. He has exhibited widely throughout London and the South East, and has sold internationally.
In 2017 he was the Runner-Up in the national Koreo Prize. In 2019 he was one of Southend Festival’s Artists in Residence, and in 2021 he was one of Metal’s commissioned “Emerging Writers” for the EWA Festival, broadcasted in Australia. That year he was also awarded an Arts Council England DYCP grant to explore medieval bookbinding, calligraphy and illumination. In 2022 he was awarded a Creative Estuary Open Lab grant to explore place names and migration in the Southend area.
Since 2017, he has led hundreds of workshops and classes in a variety of creative themes with people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. Most recently he has led sessions with Focal Point Gallery, Southend Museum, and Green Shoes Arts.
