Diana Terry
Diana Terry is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice is deeply informed by her experience of being profoundly deaf. Navigating the hearing world has heightened her reliance on touch, making sensory engagement – particularly the physical handling of materials – central to her process. Whether moulding clay directly onto rock surfaces or responding to the landscape through drawing and mixed media, she works intuitively through bodily connection.
Terry trained in Three-Dimensional Design at Manchester Metropolitan University and holds two master’s degrees, from the University of Liverpool School of Architecture and the University of Manchester, Arts and Humanities. Her design background underpins her fine art practice, shaping her love of materials, structure, and process, and driving an inquisitive, experimental approach to making.
She is a member of The Sculpture Lounge, a community of artists on the edge of the Peak District National Park. Her work was recently selected for the New Light Art Prize Exhibition, touring five galleries across the UK in 2023–24
“A focus of my artwork is expressing my lived experience of becoming profoundly deaf to the point where I am now completely dependent on implants to communicate. I have developed a process in which I reflect on my experiences and feelings related to Tinnitus and hearing loss expressing these feelings through drawing. I have been learning British Sign Language and connecting with the D/deaf world. To me, communication. Is the most important part of being human.
I am developing connections with other artists and researchers who collaborate across art and science as well as presenting to students, teachers and health professionals. This has been made possible by a DYCP grant from Arts Council England. This has enabled a collaboration with sound artist, Sophie Cooper. This builds on the acceptance of my sketchbooks by the Wellcome Collection as an example of the experiences of a deafened person.”
NOTABLE EXHIBITIONS & PAPERS
I have exhibited extensively including at Merzbarn, Scotland, Kolaj Fest, New Orleans, and The Mall Gallery, London, as well as being selected for the New Light Prize Exhibition. Exhibitions are planned for Manchester, Dublin and Guernsey in 2026.
• 2026 Split Collective The City Assembly House, Dublin
• 2026 January,Society of Scottish Artists, 30×30 Adjusting Frequencies, Edinburgh
• 2025 November, Tinnitus Day, symposium at University.of Manchester
• 2025 October Split Collective Both Gallery, London
• 2025 September, Royal Association for Deaf People, London
• 2025 February-June Deaf Vision at John Hansard Gallery, Southampton
• 2025 Split exhibition at Hypha Wrexham and Cross Street Gallery, Wigan. Art by group of Turps Banana correspondence 2024/25
• 2024 October- November Inside Outside painting exhibition by Turps Artists at Bollington Arts Centre.
• 2024 Hear Me collaborative exhibition at University of Manchester
• 2023-24 Touring exhibition with New Light Prize Show visiting five venues in the North of England.
• 2023 11-15 June, exhibition in New Orleans, USA, Kolaj Fest
• 2023 June Unstuck collage exhibition at Altrincham and Penzance work from NW and SW England.
• 2023 April, Residency at Merzbarn, Sanquhar, Scotland.
• 2022-23 October-May Land Marks solo exhibition at Dean Clough, Halifax
• 2022 November group show at Air Gallery, Altrincham.
• 2022 October Residency Owlpen Manor with the CoLab
• 2022 July-September LANDMARKS Solo exhibition, Gallery Oldham.
• 2022 May-June LANDMARKS solo exhibition at Barnsley Civic
• 2020/22 February HOME Gallery, Manchester.
• 2021 October LAND MARKS Solo exhibition of works at Globe Arts Centre, Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire.
• 2019 June-September Studio Vault, Settle, North Yorkshire
• 2017 July ongoing, Saul Hay Gallery, Castlefield, Manchester.
• 2018 Paper Gallery, Manchester. Residency.
• 2016/7/8 July-August, PS Mirabel Gallery, Manchester.
• 2018 March, The Mall Gallery, London. Royal Society of British Artists
• 2018 October-January The Atkinson, Southport.
• 2017 /18/19 October/November,The Williamson, Birkenhead.
• 2016 Bargehouse, Oxo Tower, South Bank, London.
• 2015 September On the Edge, solo exhibition, Gallery Oldham.