Collection: Rowena McWilliams

Rowena McWilliams is a British artist with a rich background in art history, education, and curation. After earning an MA (Hons) in Art History from the University of Edinburgh (1974–78), Rowena worked with the Arts Council of Great Britain in the Art and Education Departments (1980–81). This early experience fostered a lifelong dedication to artistic practice and arts education.

From 1981 to 1992, Rowena taught art in Botswana, Zambia, and Malaysia, gaining international perspectives that continue to inform their work. Upon returning to the UK, Rowena taught adult education in Tenterden (1993–96) before completing a PGCE at Canterbury Christ Church University (1999). Her teaching career continued as Head of Art and an English teacher at Marlborough House School (1999–2014).

Beyond education, Rowena has played an active role in the regional arts community. McWilliams served as an area coordinator for South East Open Studios (SEOS) until 2022 and was part of the Pure Arts Club team until 2021. As the owner and curator of Smallhythe Studio (2014–2020), Rowena supported and exhibited numerous artists. Since 2021, Rowy have been a member of the Sevenoaks Visual Arts Forum.

Committed to ongoing professional development, Rowena McWilliams has undertaken intensive courses at The Bridge Art School with Sam Herbert (2022–24) and is currently participating in the Turps Off-Site mentoring program (2024–25).

Recent Exhibitions

2023
• Ashford Visual Artists, Rye Creative Centre
• Unbound, Kaleidoscope Gallery, Sevenoaks
• Celebrate Cuckmere Haven
• Tenterden Artists
• Life, Bannatyne, Hastings
• Samuel Palmer: Visionary Landscapes, Sevenoaks and Dartford

2024
• Kaleidoscope Gallery, Sevenoaks
• Only Connect, Kaleidoscope Gallery, Sevenoaks
• Do it See it Show it – interactive exhibition at Kaleidoscope exhibition

Rowena McWilliams's work reflects a deep engagement with artistic exploration, education, and community-driven projects, continually evolving through new experiences and collaborations.

One eye sees, the other feels (Paul Klee)
As an expressive painter, words, ideas and emotions are what inspire me. ‘Seeing words’ is a type of synaesthesia which offers an additional dimension to my experience of the world. Imagery is after all common to both art and literature.
Working in oils, acrylics and mixed media, collage forms an integral part of the process and the torn paper allows me to convey what I see and what I feel in the moment.
Starting points are often inspired by newspaper articles and headlines -what is going on in the world and I am fascinated by what the future holds. Recently, I have started weaving two thoughts or ideas together to create a starting point as in Mind of Winter, where I literally wove a portrait and snowy landscape together. This has led to a whole body of work.
Noticing in 2021 that my compositions contain a strong sense of movement, I used animation to enhance this effect to create a series of moving paintings. These are sold as unique stand-alone pieces on framed monitors. 
One ultimate aim is to use my work to move people both figuratively and literally, offering shared experiences and emotions as a form of therapy through art.
I have enjoyed working with Kaleidoscope Gallery for the last three years, where I created and curated a group show in December 2024/January 2025. I have also been inspired this year by the Turps Off-site mentoring course.
Art is what gets me out of bed in the morning and helps through difficult times.