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Sam Pooley-Stride Artist

@sampooleystride

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Founder | Curator @swanhillstudios @pswecreate
London | Shrewsbury • UK

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Hi, I’m Sam Pooley Stride an artist, curator, and founder of @swanhillstudios, a not-for-profit gallery and studio in Shrewsbury.

Before art, I spent over a decade in London’s advertising world helping young creatives find their way. I co-founded Cream, a graduate exhibition that launched many creative careers, and the Saatchi & Saatchi Book Club, connecting art directors and copywriters. Later, I led the careers department at NABS, the advertising industry’s charity, supporting people on their creative journeys.

After moving to Shrewsbury, I studied Fine Art at Birmingham School of Art, graduating in 2013, and founded Compost Kids Art School, which ran for six years nurturing children’s creativity.

Now my world revolves around Swan Hill Studios — curating exhibitions, running The Circle, our artist community, and painting whenever I can. My work is intuitive: experiments in texture, colour and depth that explore the space between expression and escape.

This year I’ve shown in Forage, All Roads Lead to Mother (a collaboration with my daughter, Daisy Pooley Tolkien Williams) and my upcoming solo show Tell Me What To Do opens this Saturday at @insidejigsaw.

When I’m not in the studio, I lead marketing and events for Brompton Cross, London. I live in Shrewsbury with my husband, have four kids and two beautiful grandchildren.

📸 by @nanamazharova
Jumper by @insidejigsaw by @sampooleystride

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a year ago

Seas of the Moon at @soultonhall was a show I’m immensely proud of, but it also broke me creatively. It taught me huge lessons, and I’m grateful for them.

The journey of an artist isn’t about rushing the work, it’s about taking time, developing the practice, and toiling. I was rushing. Reinvention is part of that: taking new paths, learning from others, and allowing yourself to change. Reading, listening, watching, looking, these are as vital to my practice as making. Learning from contemporaries and from the creatives who came before us is just as important as producing work.

It’s meant I haven’t made as much as I once did, but I’ve realised this learning is the work. Running Swan Hill Studios isn’t a distraction from my practice, it’s an integral part of it.

We’re lucky to have agency over our own destinies. In a time of smoke and mirrors, we have to look deeper into who we are and what we want to become. Every part of my life feeds the final work. I used to think I had to separate everything - motherhood, marketing, curating, even sorting the Chelsea waste out or liaising with met police (my day job is diverse!) that it should be away from my art, as if my practice lived in a sealed-off lane of its own.

Now I see it differently. It’s all information. It’s all fodder.

The most important lesson I’ve learned as an artist is to edit, constantly. To take the fragments of life and channel them into the practice. It’s not a race. It’s a choice: to work hard, to stay open, and to absorb everything. by @sampooleystride

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8 months ago

As I am immersing myself in a new body of work and ‘The Empty Nest’ evolves I find it really helpful to go back to the old, these are mainly from The Seas Of The Moon and The Therapy Session. These marks and aesthetics feel strongly linked to the new ideas forming. Especially this first image, I am in Mousehole for a few days, heading out on a coastal walk to shake off the anxiety and overwhelm and find my way back to creating in the open air. Therapy indeed. by @sampooleystride

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6 days ago

Still pinching myself that I just got to spend a day playing with Clay under the incredible instruction of @marthafreud Thank you for sharing your experience and beautiful studio, and thank you to Esme for all the encouragement. A day I will never forget. 🖤🐾🐈‍⬛ by @sampooleystride

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a month ago

It’s Complicated
Oil on canvas 2025 by @sampooleystride

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2 months ago

From studio to gallery in a few brief frames. The years of walking, reading, collecting, drawing, photographing and of course painting, all come together to produce the final pieces. We’ve extended the exhibition dates for RITE•RITUAL•STANDING STILL @swanhillstudios until the 16th July. So there’s still plenty of opportunity to pop by and spend some time with the work. We’d love to see you there. @swanhillstudios @pswecreate @sampooleystride @karen_suskin by @sampooleystride

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3 months ago

Joining me this week, Sam Pooley-Stride @sampooleystride

Sam is an artist, curator, and founder of @swanhillstudios , a not-for-profit gallery and studio in Shrewsbury.

Before art, Sam spent over a decade in London’s advertising world helping young creatives find their way. she co-founded Cream, a graduate exhibition that launched many creative careers, and the Saatchi & Saatchi Book Club, connecting art directors and copywriters. Later, she led the careers department at NABS, the advertising industry’s charity, supporting people on their creative journeys.

After moving to Shrewsbury, she studied Fine Art at Birmingham School of Art, graduating in 2013, and founded Compost Kids Art School, which ran for six years nurturing children’s creativity.

Now her world revolves around Swan Hill Studios — curating exhibitions, running The Circle, an artist community, and painting whenever she can. Her work is intuitive: experiments in texture, colour and depth that explore the space between expression and escape.
#art #artist #bettyblue #film taken in Shrewsbury, Shropshire by @sampooleystride

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7 months ago

We can hardly believe what’s ahead as we look forward to our 2026 exhibition programme. From fine art painting, sculpture and ceramics to illustration, graphic novels, performance and photography, this is a truly exciting and diverse year of work — and one we’re certain will inspire.

Our upcoming programme of solo and joint exhibitions is as follows:

January: Julia Rogers (on now)
February: Lee Lewis
March: Witold Rieder
April: Dan Berry
May: Clea Eastgate & Sam PooleyStride
May: Vanessa Fairfax-Woods
June: Mike Perkins
July: Karen Suskin & Teresa Clark
August: Residencies (TBC)
September: Sally Whelan
October: Kat Preston
November & December: Conclave — a two-part group exhibition with a phenomenal female cast. by @sampooleystride

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9 months ago

Happy 2026 to you all! Looking forward to a wonderful year ahead in the studio, for painting days and artist connection, excited for two collaborative shows on the horizon and stepping out of my comfort zone with some submissions heading out. Commissions are OPEN. DM for details. Here’s to shedding our skins and becoming bountiful 🐎🐍
📷 @nana.mazharova by @sampooleystride

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9 months ago

Marks being made on a large painting. Balance with too much, too many colours, just enough etc etc trying to pull back is soooo hard! by @sampooleystride

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10 months ago

I had the best time with @karen_suskin on the second part of her course: A Path Towards Living Attentively. Such a special day opening our minds and connecting. Thank you for holding our space so beautifully Karen. Thank you to the circle members especially @teresamcannclarkartist for coming from so far ⚪️ by @sampooleystride

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a year ago

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a year ago