CEE Artist-in-Residence – Rebecca Sharp
Rebecca Sharp is a writer and interdisciplinary artist whose work encompasses poetry, plays and performance; spoken-word, installation, and print; collaborative and participatory projects – stemming from a core belief in the transformative power of creative practice. In 2020 she received a Literature Matters Award from the Royal Society of Literature to write her poetry pamphlet collection Rough Currency (Tapsalteerie), exploring various entanglements with fossil fuels and the oil economy.
Rebecca has been involved with the research centre since its launch in 2021. Her powerful poetry on oil, climate and imaginative life received second prize in the CEE’s inaugural Art of Energy exhibition, featured centrally in a poetry event held at the Byre Theatre in the lead-up to COP26, and inspired a public workshop on how poetry can empower positive change.
In September 2022, Rebecca began her residency with the Centre for Energy Ethics.
Contact Rebecca by email: [email protected]
Featured Artwork
Hera’s tears
Poem, one of a series by Rebecca Sharp called The Sprigs.
Created to accompany paintings by Kirsty Lorenz
for her exhibition Recipe for a Miracle, which took place at Gracefield Arts in Dumfries, 2022.
The poems draw from medieval herbal recipes (here, the Recipe for Everlasting Life): plant names, uses and lore.
More from Our Artist
Writing Transformation: Part Two
This is part two of a two-part reflection on Rebecca’s Writing Transformation workshop. You can find part one here. If this inspires you, Rebecca will be running the workshop again – with a new part added – for St Andrews students, on Friday 10th November, 5-8pm at St...
Writing Transformation: Part One
‘A Map of Consciousness’ – Ram Dass LSR Foundation “You and I are the force for transformation in the world. We are the consciousness that will define the nature of the reality we are moving into.” - Ram Dass This two-part post reflects on Rebecca’s Writing...
Spring buds, unfinished poems
It’s Spring. Where I live in Fife, I’ve loved seeing the snowdrops appear – every year, a welcome portent of things to come. So tiny and bright, the first signs of life returning. Usually, when they first appear in late January or early February, there’s more weather...
Poetry Workshop with Rebecca Sharp
Join our Artist-in-Residence for a 2-hour poetry workshop at the Byre Theatre. Places are limited so book now!
Beginnings + Endings
I was asked to write something for the University’s online annual Burns Night on 25 January, responding to Burns’ views on environmental issues. You can watch my filmed reading again here, with my notes below – on how I approached the invitation, and of course, the poem that came out of it.
Solar poems for winter
I’ve been developing a new sequence that I’m calling ‘solar panel’ poems. They are / will be semi-concrete (visual) in style, each taking the same square-ish (solar panel) form. The sequence may end up being called Attractors.
National Poetry Day: Rules of the Moon
A lot of my thinking continues to be around our relationships to change, safety, un/certainty and risk in the face of climate emergency; and where these terms become highly subjective. Also around memory, imagination and time, as we sit on a hinge looking both forward...
Hello, and how to be (not a) jellyfish
I’m Rebecca Sharp, a writer and interdisciplinary artist, and the CEE’s inaugural Artist in Residence. I hail from Glasgow; lived over ten years in Liverpool before moving into north Fife in 2014. My core practice is as a writer – plays since 2001, and poetry, some...
Poet brings new energy to research centre
Award-winning poet and writer Rebecca Sharp will be taking up the position of Artist-in-Residence at the University of St Andrews’ Centre for Energy Ethics (CEE). The 18-month post will begin in September 2022.
We Need Your Support
The Centre for Energy Ethics invites donations to the University’s Hardship Appeal for St Andrews students and staff affected by the war in Ukraine. Assisting with accommodation, living expenses and other incidentals faced in the months ahead, the Fund aims to provide peace of mind that St Andrews will remain a safe and supportive haven for anyone directly affected by the war.