About

Photo credit: Dom Moore, courtesy of Visual Arts Plymouth / Plymouth Art Weekender

Rachel Dobbs is an artist & educator based in Plymouth (UK) – in the South West of England, on the border between Devon & Cornwall.

Rachel Dobbs is ½ of LOW PROFILE & is a serial freelancer – working on creative education, community, participatory & development projects. She has 20+ years experience in initiating, developing and delivering artist-led projects – which happen locally, nationally and internationally.

She has previously worked for/with a range of organisations, groups & individuals including nationally recognised art galleries, HE & FE institutions, and local, regional & national visual art sector support agencies.

As an artist, Rachel’s interests are centered on people, relationships, communication and an examination of the role of community, individuals and the collective. She also specialises in creative education, supporting neurodiverse artists & crowdfunding for creative and community projects.

Rachel also occasionally moonlights as an art director & graphic designer for independent board games – including the 2015 UK Games Expo Best Family Game Winner!

At moment I work with & for:

LOW PROFILE

I have been working as an artist since 2003, as one half of the collaborative duo LOW PROFILE (with Hannah Rose).

Our work is informed by, and often made in response to, specific contexts, situations and invitations; shifting in scale and medium as needed.

Go to LOW PROFILE’s website


The Village Hub

The Village Hub is a community organisation based in the Stoke neighbourhood of Plymouth.

Since 2021, I have been working with The Village Hub as a Creative Community Builder, where I bring my skills in arts & creative practice to support the development and delivery of new hyper-local community-focussed projects.

I am the co-creator and Project Lead for the Blockhouse Folk: Past, Present & Future project.

Go to The Village Hub’s website


JarSquad

JarSquad makes jams, pickles and preserves using surplus ingredients, collective know-how, and shared effort.

We gather at monthly Assemblies which are open to the public. Working as a SQUAD we turn surplus food into tasty JARS (and more!) which we share in our solidarity economy.

I am a co-Founder & co-Director of JarSquad.

Go to JarSquad’s website


Previously, I have worked with & for:

Take A Part

Take A Part are experts in socially engaged audience development for contemporary art. I have worked with Take A Part in different Plymouth communities to setup new projects that encourage people to engage in the arts & creative practice.

I have formerly sat on Take A Part’s board and do freelance consultancy work for them.

Go to Take A Part’s website

North Star Study Group

North Star Study Group was a creative learning project for adults based in Plymouth (UK), investigating the historical and present-day contexts and impacts of colonialism & colonial activity.

I was North Star Study Group‘s founder & was convener of our regular meetups.

Go to North Star Study Group’s website

a-n The Artist Information Company

a-n is the largest artists’ membership organisation in the UK with over 25,000 members. I was a member of a-n’s national Artists Council – an advisory group to the Board and Executive of a-n The Artists Information Company, and co-lead on the Artists Make Change project (with Glen Stoker).

Go to a-n’s website

CAMP

CAMP (originally Contemporary Art Membership Plymouth) is a new member-led network for the creative and visual arts community in Devon and Cornwall, including artists, producers, curators and arts writers.

I was one of CAMP’s Founding Directors & worked with CAMP to develop new projects that support our members.

Go to CAMP’s website


Buy Rachel a coffee!!

If you like the sound of the things I work on, would like to contribute to my future projects, say thank you or just do something nice for a fellow creative practitioner, give me a tweet on @RachelDobbs1 & feel free to donate by clicking the button below…