Her work moves beyond language and fixed meaning, instead activating something more distinctive and bodily.
Anna Rose Barr, Fucking Young Magazine
Her transgressive work…seamlessly transitions between live performances, club settings, underground music, and gallery installations.
Ivica Mamedy, Paris Project
We were drawn by her bold, textured approach…and the ways in which she conveys sound through a tactile medium.
Manchester Collective
(Her work) is truly profound
Archie Faber, Ransom Note
We believe that for many long-time AUDRA fans familiar with her work, Ella Skinner is already a recognisable name who always shines through her performance work
AUDRA Festival
LIVE SHOW & PERFORMANCE
2026//
Director & Set designer, ŠMC/CAC, Vilnius, Lithuania- Martyred
Director & Set Designer, Elastica, Vilnius, Lithuania - Meet me Halfway with Sasha Roma and Metaraph
2025//
Set Designer & Performance/Art Director, Kaunas Performance Festival, Kaunas, Lithuania – Cannibalisms with Ana Lipps & Irina Komissarova
Set Designer & Performance/Art Director, Yaga Gathering, Lithuania – Death of the Box
Set Designer & Performance/ Art Director, Lithuanian Photographers’ Union, Vilnius, Lithuania– Bitch Goddess
2024//
Creative Director & Set Designer, AUDRA Festival, Kaunas, Lithuania – Ecdysis with Iceboy Violet (live show)
2019//
Creative Director & Script writer, Manchester Art Gallery,Manchester, UK –The Politics of Looking, with Black Haine, All Choreographers Are Bastards, SCUM & SNITCH Publishes
MUSIC, FASHION AND FILM PROJECTS
2026//
Production Designer, Radar – Flohio, Wendy Vision, London, UK, music video
Production Designer, RIP Ishkrypele – Dilema, Luksuz Produkcija, Vilnius, Lithuania
Spatial & Experiential Designer, 23rdLuksuz Produkcija Film Festival, Krško, Slovenia
Art Director, Es.Tar, Vilnius, Lithuania
2023//
Director, Set Designer & Editor, Untitled #13 – Glwzbll, Vilnius, Lithuania, music video
2022//
Director, Set Designer & Editor, Black on Black – Algernon Cornelius, Manchester, UK, music video
2021//
Creative Director & LP Designer, The Centre is Everywhere –Philip Glass & Manchester Collective via Bedroom Community, Iceland & Manchester, UK
Set Designer, LP Designer & Creative Director, Imbibe- Atwtr via Monolithic Studios, Los Angeles, USA.
2018
EP Cover Designer, In Your Belly, Femur via Jarred Up, Sheffield, UK.
EXHIBITIONS
2024//
ROLO at Útkall Festival, Flateyri, Iceland
2023//
Dismantling Dreams; Disrupted Seams, Rupert Residency at Lelija,Vilnius, Lithuania
The Sound of Glass, Resonant Bodies at Rag Gallery, Manchester, UK
2022//
Divinity, Studio SCUM at Islington Mill, Manchester, UK (Featured artist, Curator & Exhibition Designer)
The Flesh of Himation, SIIILK Gallery, Athens, Greece (Solo Show)
Eat Manchester Artists, The British Art Show at Islington Mill
2021//
Manchester School of Art Masters Degree Show, Holden Gallery, Manchester, UK
CREATIVE DIRECTION
2019-2022//
Creative Director and Founder- Studio SCUM LTD
Multidisciplinary agency and publishing platform merging live performance, visual art, and experimental music. Directed and produced exhibitions, publications, and live events representing independent artists from the UK, USA and Europe.
Projects:
Divinity (exhibition & performance showcase, Islington Mill, Manchester, UK)
FILTH (publication & livestream series)
SCUM BEFORE U CUM (live event series in aid of charity Sexpression MCR, offering free sexual health services to audience members after NHS funding cuts, FUEL & The Old Abbey Taphouse, Manchester, UK)
SCUM VOLUME II (publication & VR exhibition)
Democracy & Social Media (publication)
SCUM VOLUME I (publication & live music event)
RESIDENCIES
2024//
SODAS 2123, Vilnius, Lithuania
2024//
Rupert (AEP), Vilnius, Lithuania
2023//
SIIILK Gallery, Athens, Greece
2021//
Islington Mill, Manchester, UK (until 2023)
2020//
Arts Catalyst & Resolve Collective, London, UK (digital)
EDUCATION
2024//
Certificate in Art Direction and Architectural Draughting for Film and Television, Film Design International, Pinewood Studios, London, UK (Distinction)
2020-2021//
MFA Fine Art, Manchester School of Art, Manchester, UK (First Class/ Distinction)
2016-2019//
BA Hons English Literature with History of Art, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK (First Class)
Ella Skinner is a Welsh art director, set designer and visual artist based in London, working across film, live performance and spatial design. Her unique and theatrical vision, often described as “brutalist grotesque”, has led her to be sought out by music labels, fashion brands and festivals to create unforgettable visual experiences which leave audiences awestruck.
Her work has since been commissioned internationally by institutions including ŠMC/CAC, Reimagine Europe, AUDRA Festival, Rupert, Vilnius Performance Triennale, Yaga Gathering and Kaunas Artists House, along with artists such as Philip Glass, Black Haine and Iceboy Violet.
PRESS
Fucking Young Magazine, Issue 28