Luminara Florescu United Kingdom
  Back to profiles

I am an artist, curator and creative director living in Somerset, UK. Within my practice, I consider themes of wellbeing and self care including how artists with disabilities and caring responsibilities can sustain a thriving and exciting art practice. Public engagement, collaboration and playfulness are integral to the activity of co-creation within my work.

My work as a disabled and neurodivergent artist is deeply rooted in my own lived experiences. I find inspiration in my journey and use it to motivate my artistic practice. One significant part of my artistic mission is to explore the concept of Resting, Slowing Down, and Doing Less as a powerful means to combat climate change. By questioning the societal norms of consumerism and hyper productivity, I aim to offer Rest as an antidote to these destructive practices. I also actively consider themes of wellbeing and self-care within my practice, specifically focusing on how artists with disabilities and caring responsibilities can maintain thriving and exciting art practices.

​In my work, public engagement, collaboration, and playfulness hold pivotal roles. I believe in the power of co-creation and incorporate diverse processes and mediums to create immersive and interactive artworks. Additionally, I am committed to using found and recycled materials, promoting sustainability through artistic expression.

​My practice delves into ideas of Inclusion, Access, and Rest, challenging the capitalist constructs of Grind Culture and Over Working. Through acts of gentle protest and creative activism, I seek to test and transcend the perceived boundaries of art. I find inspiration not only within the art world but also in non-art disciplines such as mindfulness and somatic experiences.

I am the co-founder and lead curator of the pioneering Art Behind Bars programme in partnership with Shepton Mallet Prison. This initiative not only redefines art's role outside of the white walls of the gallery environment, but also serves as a platform for emerging artists' voices to be heard through exhibitions such as B-Wing (2019), Artist Prison Residencies (2021), and Outside In (2022).

Grants and commissions I have been awarded include the Freedom Learning project (Somerset Art Works, Artist Micro Commission), And the Children Shall Lead- Giant Board Game (Somerset Art Works, Artist Project Development Bursary), B-Wing exhibition (Arts Council England Project Grant), Contract of Self Care (a-n Artist Information Company's Time, Space, Money artist bursary), Rest As Protest (Develop Your Creative Practice (DYCP) Grant.) and most recently the Somerset Film, Artist in Residence film commission for her film installation – Social Gardening (The Mind At Rest).

Artwork

And the Children Shall Lead, Installation, 2022

Details

The ‘pOrtal’ – Fourthland, Sound, 2020

Details

Open Circles, Social Practice, 2020/21

Details

Prison Residencies Programme , Installation, 2021

Details

B-Wing, Installation, 2019

Details

Contract of Self Care, Digital - Pdf Presentation, 2022

Details

Projects and exhibitions

  Details  

Prison Residencies

18/09/2021 — ongoing

A group of artists have been inspired by the historic records of Shepton Mallet Prison, including “crimes” such as being a Suffragette or the theft of butter. The artists will be spending time in the prison to create work inspired by the building and its history. The thirteen artists – all women – will be based in the cells of C-wing...

[Read more]
Shepton Mallet Prison, Shepton Mallet Details

'B-Wing'

21/09/2019 — 06/10/2019

B-Wing was an Arts Council England funded project. A multi-disciplinary arts events involving 6 artists and 2 writers making site-responsive works leading to an exhibition and performances in the unique spaces of B-Wing at Shepton Mallet Prison during Somerset Art Weeks Festival.

Artworks including sculpture installation, textiles, light,...

[Read more]
Shepton Mallet Prison, Shepton Mallet Details
Interested in
Art Walk/TrailArtist TalkCommissionExhibitionMentoringParticipatory projectResidencyWorkshop
Media
Artists’ booksCollageFilm / VideoInstallationLive artSocially Engaged PracticeSoundText
Other keywords
ExperimentalFeminismParticipatorySite-specific