“I am an offcomer. I love living here but I also really value my outward connections.”

Anne Waggot Knott is an emerging visual artist and printmaker, and is one of the four artists who have been selected for the ‘My Artful Way’ commission. Anne’s proposed work ‘Bibliotreks’ will involve journeying from Cumbria’s heartland out across the county borders to connect with neighbours outside the region – she is planning to undertake walks across the land borders with our five neighbouring counties.

Anne works in mixed media, and is dreaming up an exquisite, handprinted, handbound sculptural book to celebrate creative connection among neighbours. Her piece will include related elements such as prints or sculptural artefacts, which can spill out of the open book or stand alone. As she makes her artful walks, Anne will also be producing short videos as she documents her journeys.

A geographer by background, Anne spent her early career in the adventure tourism industry before moving to the university sector. Anne is influenced by our physical and metaphorical journeys, and human connections with the environment. The intrinsic attachment to place, space and identity are recurring points of reference and themes in her work. The peripheral, under-explored elements of rural spaces hold a special kind of appeal. Anne has recently taken on the role of Director of Florence Arts Centre, and is a member of the PLACE Collective.