IONA KEWNEY
Iona is a Scottish artist born in 1973.
She trained in Fine art Printmaking at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee Scotland receiving a 1st Class Honours Degree (A Band 1).
Iona then continued to School for New Dance Development SNDO in Netherlands, instead of doing a Masters Degree at Slade college of Art London.
The next 25 years have been predominantly spent performing, touring all over Europe and beyond living based in Brussels, Gent, Stockholm, Amsterdam and Helsinki.
Iona currently lives between Brussels and Glasgow. She performs and teaches internationally.
Her works have been shown in 21 countries and hundreds of theatres and International festivals of Contemporary Dance, Circus, Performance Art and Theatre.
Iona is trained in competition gymnastics and tennis and has won many medals and awards.
From 2003 - 2005 she studied at Cirkuspiloterna, renamed DOCH Dans och Cirkushogskolan - University of Stockholm.
Iona is currently a dancer with WIM VANDEKEYBUS / ULTIMA VEZ 'Infamous Offspring' on tour.
She previously worked with WIM VANDEKEYBUS / ULTIMA VEZ in 'Scratching the Inner Fields' and with
ALAIN PLATEL / LES BALLETS C DE LA B in 'VSPRS' Belgium.
She continues to have close ties with these companies and fellow dancers.
WIM VANDEKEYBUS/Ultima Vez (Belgium)
CURRENT 2023-2024-2025. 'Infamous Offspring'
ALAIN PLATEL / LES BALLETS C DE LA B (Belgium)
2005-2006-2007. “VSPRS”. www.lesballetscdela.be
WIM VANDEKEYBUS/Ultima Vez (Belgium)
2000-2001-2002. “Scratching the Inner Fields”. www.ultimavez.com
KNIGHTS OF THE INVISIBLE (Scotland)
2009 - Present
PETER VERHELST (B) Nov and 9-30th Dec 2010. “De Aankomst van Walvissen".
MARTIN BUTLER (NL).1997. “Tued” and “Haughty Cultural implications of the 2nd Circle”.
MARK BRUCE (UK) 1996. “Horse”.
AUGUSTIN REBETEZ (CH) 2015. 2016.2017. 2022.
EDUCATION
1991-1995. DUNCAN OF JORDANSTONE COLLEGE OF ART, DUNDEE.1stCLASS BA Hons FINE ART.
1996-1998. SCHOOL FOR NEW DANCE DEVELOPMENT, AMSTERDAM.
2003-2005. CIRKUSPILOTERNA, SWEDEN. Circus school (DOCH)
Over the years she has collaborated and performed with film makers, musicians, bands, visual artists to make works aside her own creations;
Add N to (X). Trio AAb. Peter Verhelst. Chris Watson Sound. Augustin Rebetez. Racehorse Company. Ela Orleans. Gina Czarnecki. Yves de Mey - Knobsounds. Wim Vandekeybus film. Alain Platel lectures. Conrad Shawcross. Martin Butler. Mark Bruce. Louis Jucker. Oskar Wrango. Manuel Vason.
In the last ten years she has been teaching at various Dance and Circus universities around Europe; regularly at DOCH STOCKHOLM the Masters and Bachelor courses . Others include HAMU- Academy of Performing Arts PRAGUE. Baltic Nordic Network TALLINN. DUBLIN Circus school. DUBLIN Dance Ireland. EDINBURGH Dance Base.
HAMAR Teatro Innlandett Norway. RIGA Lativian Cultural Institute /Ballet and contemporary dance. TALLINN CPPM Masters Contemporary Physical Performance Making at Estonian Music Institute.
KNIGHTS OF THE INVISIBLE. 2009-PRESENT.
Established by Iona Kewney in 2009 with musician Joseph Quimby.
Together they have performed for over 10 years from San Francisco to Lapland to Mexico City to Prague and much of Europe in between.
Their works together are;
'Electric Woods'. 'Fauxpas'. 'Self-Interrupted Exhibition'. 'Knights of the Invisible'. 'Mary Queen of Scots got her head chopped off'. 'Black Regent'. 'Waiting for the Sea Eagle'.
ONGOING/ CURRENT SOLOS click here.
AWARDS/RESIDENCIES.
2022. Aberdeen Artists Society Summer Exhibition Selection at Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum.
2022. Dynamo Workspace for Performing Arts and Circus Artist in Residence award.
2020. Creative Scotland Open fund Visual Art sustaining creative development.
2020. Royal Institute of Arts. 'Interactions of Colour' Exhibition. Dec 5th -Jan 29th 2021.
2020. Denmark Dynamo - A circus Career in constant Flow award residency.
2018. Aberdeen Artists Society & National Trust for Scotland. Visual art Residency award at Haddo House -National Trust for Scotland.
2014/15. CREATIVE SCOTLAND QUALITY PRODUCTIONS AWARD.
2012/13. CIRCUS NEXT LAUREATE AWARD/Jeunes Talents du Cirque.
2012. CHOREOGRAPHIC FUTURES AWARD. SCOTLAND.
2011. Whitespace Gallery, Edinburgh. Group Exhibition of International Drawing.
2010. BDE British Dance Edition Research Award.
Scottish Arts Council Creative Development Award.
2005. ‘SPIRIT of The FRINGE AWARD’.Edinburgh Festival.
Scottish Arts Council Artist development fund for training.
2000. Nikki Milican’s Choreographic Core. International New Moves member.
RE-ANIMATED magazine, on work as a dancer and artist.
1998. S.A.C. Dance development award.
1995. ‘Stuart Prize’ Royal Scottish Academy. ‘National ‘UNIPART’ competition. “LIMBSKIN”. Winner.Exhibition at London and Oxford Train stations.
SPORT.
Scottish gymnastic squad/ Ayrshire gymnastic team.
South of Scotland Tennis Squad. (ladies and U18’s) Winner of Volkswagen ratings tournaments and
National Singles competitions. 6 times holder of Ayrshire cup.
Winner of more than 50 tennis awards/cups in Scotland.
ARTIST VISION SUPPORTED BY:
Circus Next Laureate /Jeune Talents du Cirque (EUROPE). Choreographic Futures Award (UK). Les Ballets C de La B studios (BE). Ultima Vez studios (BE). Circus Centrum (BE). La Breche National Pole des Arts du cirque, Cherbourg (FR). Subtopia Studio 3 Stockholm (SE). Dynamo Workspace for Performing Arts (DK). Les Subsistences, Co-Production (FR). Creative Scotland Quality Productions (UK). London National Theatre Studios (UK). Dance Base National Centre for Dance Edinburgh (UK). Les Migrateurs, Pole National des arts du Cirque, Strasbourg (FR). NRLA - National Review of Live Arts (UK). British Dance Edition Research Award (UK). Ay-Roop National Pole des arts du cirque, Rennes (FR). Budascoop Kortijk (BE). Torino Mirabilia Residency (IT). London International Mime Festival (UK). Zodiak Centre for New dance Helsinki and HIAP (FI). Mexico International Contemporary Dance Festival (MX).