Marysa Dowling is a London-based artist of Irish descent whose practice centres on human behaviour, relationships, social interaction and co-creation. Working with photography and other media, Marysa develops inter-community and cross-cultural conversations and collaborations. Her practice has been described as thoughtful and playful.

Marysa has cultivated creative initiatives across Cuba, India, Ireland, Lebanon, London, Los Angeles and Mexico. Her recent projects include knowledge-exchange collaborations with researchers from Oxford University’s neuroscience department (2023-24) and researchers from University College London as part of their collaborative art commissioning programme Trellis 3 (2021-22). Other commissions include People Powered, National Portrait Gallery (2022) and Paper Gift, GOSH Arts (2022). As an arts educator, she has been in residence at ITESCO University Mexico (2022) and has led workshops and courses at The Courtauld (2015-present) and The Photographers Gallery (2015-20), among others. Marysa is a recipient of an Arts Council England artist grant (2023) and was a winner of British Journal of Photography’s Portrait of Britain (2022). Her work has been exhibited at Belfast Exposed, El Museo De Arte Contemporaneo de Monterrey (Mexico), Korea International Photo Festival, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Modern, The Photographers Gallery and is in the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery.

Selected Exhibitions

2024: Elstree: Behind the Scenes of the British Hollywood, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK

2023: Magical Unknowns, DongGang International Photo Festival, Yeongwol, Korea

2023: Portrait of Britain, British Journal of Photography, digital public art exhibition, public transportation sites in major cities, UK

2022: Trellis 3: Patterns of Connection, Art Pavilion, Mile End, London, UK

2022: People Powered, Elstree, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK

2021: Physically Distanced, Creatively Connected, GOSH Arts, Great Ormond Street, London, UK

2019: Representation on the Line (Un)Framing Identity, RPS Hundred Heroines, London, UK

2018-19: 209 Women, Portcullis House, Westminster/Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, UK

2017: Shared Experiences, Galeria Jardin, ITESO Mexico (solo)

2016: Video Provocations with BP Art Exchange, Tate Modern, London, UK

2015: Reach Out / The Movement of an Object, MARCO Museum, Monterrey, Mexico (solo)

2015: How We Learn/Reach Out, BP Art Exchange, Tate Modern, Belfast Exposed, UK (travelling)

2012: The Movement of an Object, Turbine Generation, Tate Modern, London, UK

2012: The World in London, The Photographers’ Gallery, London, UK

2011: Look Again, Stories of the World, Courtauld Gallery, London, UK

2008: Journeys | Recorridos, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (LACMA), USA

2007: Seeing is Believing: Poverty in the UK, Barnardos Charity, Bargehouse Gallery, London, UK

2007: The Movement of an Object, The Photographers’ Gallery, London, UK

Selected Publications

2023: Portrait of Britain, Vol 5, British Journal of Photography/Hoxton Mini Press, pp. 20-21.

2021: Dowling, Marysa, Cecilia Knapp and Sarah Blanc. Hope Exists Among the Chaos Publication and exhibition, All Change and Inspire! Young Parents project.

2020: Dowling, Marysa and Caroline Molloy. “Blue Bag”, Journal of International Photography,

2020: Dowling, Marysa and Mimi Mollica Blue Bag (interview), www.PhotoMeet.org.

2018: Butler, Sarah. Who Makes Finsbury Park?, All Change (online).

2017: Dowling, Marysa. “The Movement of an Object”, Photomonitor (online).

2017: BP Art Exchange, Sowing Seeds, Generating Art, Ideas and A connected Global Community, Tate publication

2013: Power, Mark (ed) 9213 (celebrating 21 years of BA Photography), University of Brighton.

2009: Dowling, Marysa. “The Movement of an Object 2007-09”, Camera Austria, Issue 105.

2008: Journeys / Recorridos Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, LACMA.

2008: Dowling, Marysa and Elizabeth Gerber. “Art and Education”, Part I, LACMA UnFramed (interview, online).

2007: The Movement of an Object / Selected Projects, The Photographers’ Gallery, Foldedsheet PROfile, Issue 001

2006: James, Helen. “Marysa Dowling: Collapsing Boundaries”, Arts Professional (online).

Awards, Grants and Nominations

2022: Developing Your Creative Practice, Arts Council England, Grantee

2023: Portrait of Britain Volume 5, British Journal of Photography, Awardee

2022: AIS Open: Women Behind the Lens, Finalist

2018: RPS Hundred Heroines, UK, Nominee

1998: John Kobal Photographic Portraiture, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK, Awardee

Residencies

2017-19: Resident Artist, GOSH ARTS, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK

2015: How We Learn, Belfast Exposed, Ireland

2008-09: San Alejandro School of Art, Havana, Cuba

2008: Journeys | Recorridos, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (LACMA), USA

Artist Commissions

2024: Living with Chronic Pain, Visual research project with Oxford University, UK

2021-22: Trellis 3, Public Arts and Research collaboration, UCL, London, UK

2020: Paper Gift, Thank You series, GOSH ARTS, London, UK

2019-21: Who Makes All Change, All Change, London, UK

2017: Who Makes Finsbury Park? All Change, London, UK

2016: Activating Art through Body Disguise & Performance Tate Exchange, London, UK

2009: The World in London, The Photographers’ Gallery, London, UK (to coincide with 2012 Olympic Games)

2007: The Movement of an Object, The Photographers’ Gallery, London, UK

Institutional Collaborations

2021-22 Elstree, Behind the Scenes of the British Hollywood, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK

2019-22: Foto Creativa, ITESO university, Guadalajara, Mexico

2019-21: Known in your bones, arts and heritage project, All Change, London, UK

2011: Look Again, Stories of the World, Courtauld Gallery, London, UK

2017-18: International Artists Program ITESO Uni, Guadalajara, Mexico

2012: Parallel Interventions, Tate Modern, London, UK & Inhotim Museum, Brazil

2012: Turbine Generation, Tate Modern, London, UK & El Museo De Arte Contemporaneo de Monterrey, Mexico

Arts Education work

2015-20: Artist educator, The Photographers’ Gallery, London, UK

2014-16: BP Art Exchange, Tate, El Museo De Arte Contemporaneo de Monterrey, Mexico and Kochi

Biennale, Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, India (educational programme and collaborative international exchange)

2010-: Artist educator, Courtauld Gallery Learning Team, London, UK

2008-: Artist educator, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK

2008 – 2015:Artist educator, Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK