experience
Born
1977 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA
Education
2024 | Edinburgh College of Art | Painting BA (Hons) | First Class | Edinburgh | Scotland
2018 | Edinburgh College | UAL Level 3 Diploma in Foundation Studies | Distinction | Edinburgh | Scotland
2017 | Edinburgh College | National Progression Award in Digital Media | Edinburgh | Scotland
1998-2005 | Minneapolis Community and Technical College | Studied Filmmaking, Media Production, Fine Arts | Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA
1995-1996 | Minneapolis College of Art and Design | Post-Secondary Enrollment | Foundation Studies | Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA
1994–1996 | Perpich Center for Arts Education | Specialism in Media Arts | Golden Valley, Minnesota | USA
Ongoing Projects
Patchwork of Resistance | Founded 2026 | Ongoing
A collaborative archive built through testimony and textile, documenting community experiences of state violence and collective memory across Minnesota, USA and East Lothian, Scotland.
Awards and Recognitions
2025 | Winner of the RSA Patron’s Award | RSA New Contemporaries 2025 | Royal Scottish Academy| Edinburgh | Scotland
2024 | Winner of the &Gallery Mentoring Award | &Gallery | Society of Scottish Artists 126th Annual Members Exhibition | Edinburgh | Scotland
2024 | Winner of the STAR* Award for Fibre Based Art | STAR* Scottish Tapestry Artists Regrouped | Society of Scottish Artists 126th Annual Members Exhibition | Edinburgh | Scotland
2024 | New Graduate Award 2024 | Society of Scottish Artists | Edinburgh | Scotland
2024 | Selected Artist; RSA New Contemporaries 2025 | Royal Scottish Academy| Edinburgh | Scotland
2024 | Winner of the Astaire Prize | Edinburgh College of Art | Edinburgh | Scotland
2008 | Impact Film Festival | Official Photographer during RNC | St. Paul, Minnesota | USA
2006 | 3rd Prize; Embroidery | Dakota County Fair | Farmington, Minnesota | USA
2003 | Access Grant Awarded for ‘Nordeast: Arriving and Changing’ | Minnesota Media Arts Access Center | St. Paul, Minnesota | USA
1994 | Awarded Silver Key for Ben, Xeroxed | Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards | Minneapolis College of Art and Design | Minneapolis, Minnesota | US
Current Exhibitions
07 March – 14 March 2026 | Alicja Klawinowska and Jillian Lee Adamson: Memory | Scot-Art Gallery | Edinburgh | Scotland
Upcoming Exhibitions
01 July – 07 July 2027 | TBD | Scot-Art Gallery | Edinburgh | Scotland
Past Exhibitions
12 April – 02 May 2025 | Jo Walker and Jillian Lee Adamson | Upright Gallery | Edinburgh | Scotland
22 March – 16 April 2025 | RSA New Contemporaries | Royal Scottish Academy | Edinburgh | Scotland
17 January – 13 March 2025 | Metaphorical Cells: Between Memory and Matter | Solo Exhibition | Nomas Projects | Dundee | Scotland
23 November – 11 December 2024 | Society of Scottish Artists 126th Annual Members Exhibition | Royal Scottish Academy | Edinburgh | Scotland
May – June 2024 | 2024 Graduate Show | Edinburgh College of Art | Edinburgh | Scotland
April 2024 | Greenhouse | The Green House Collective | Edinburgh College of Art | Edinburgh | Scotland
April 2024 | Stifle Trifle Part 1 | Edinburgh College of Art | Edinburgh | Scotland
February 2024 | ain’t nobody got time for that: Year 4 Spring Exhibition | Edinburgh College of Art | Edinburgh | Scotland
October 2023 | The Fourth Wall: Year 4 Autumn Exhibition | Edinburgh College of Art | Edinburgh | Scotland
October 2022 | Year 4 Autumn Exhibition | Edinburgh College of Art | Edinburgh
April 2021 | Three’s a Crowd: Year 3 Spring Exhibition | Edinburgh College of Art | Edinburgh | Scotland
March 2021 | @soa.gallery takeover, 1-day pre-exhibition showcase of a series of 15-second films | Edinburgh College of Art | Edinburgh | Scotland
April 2020 | It’s still happening: Year 2 Exhibition | Edinburgh College of Art | Edinburgh | Scotland
June 2018 | UAL Student Exhibition | Memory Obscura | Edinburgh College | Edinburgh | Scotland
July 2009 | Installation; Interactive sculpture, Chill Room design and installation, Old Skoolin’: The Future is in Our Minds | Ecstatic Music | First Avenue Nightclub | Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA
August 2009 | Installation; Birdcages and Rat sculptures, Old Skoolin’ 2: Fly Free from the Rat Race | Ecstatic Music | First Avenue Nightclub | Minneapolis.
05-28 March 2009 | Creative Blood | Altered Esthetics Gallery | Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA
1997 | Honorable Mention for Queen Annie | Lyn/Lake Street Festival | Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA
1996 | Women in the Director’s Chair: Junior Home Girls | Walker Art Center | Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA
1996 | Screening of 8mm film, The Chase, in the Junior Home Girls showcase of the Second Annual Women in the Director’s Chair exhibition | Walker Art Center | Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA
1994 | Exhibition of Ben, Xeroxed | Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards | Minneapolis College of Art and Design | Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA
Publications
2017 | Photograph of Mikkel Beckman | Dog | Musical recording by Charlie Parr
2009 | This week in (uploaded) pictures | l’etoile magazine | Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA
2008 | Filmmakers overcome ‘Katrina fatigue’ | Rob Nelson | Featured photograph | Star Tribune | St. Paul, Minnesota | USA
Event Organisation
2015 | TEDx Portobello | Planning Committee | Edinburgh | Scotland
2013 | Devoxx UK | Events Manager | London Design Centre | London | England
2010 – 2011 | In-house event manager / marketing administrator | Code 42 Software | Minneapolis | USA
Notable Real-World Experience
2008 | Fry Cook | I was not a very good fry cook. | Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA
2006 | Person who passed leads out to men (because of course they were all men) who were swindling old people out of their money (until she realised what they were doing there, and she quit) | Very Hinky Gold Brokerage that thankfully no longer exists because the owner went to prison | Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA
2002 | GI Joe Butt Photographer | I eventually ran out of GI Joe Butts | My Dad | White Bear Lake, Minnesota | USA
2001 | Salesclerk at a kiosk that did tarot readings | Fired because the lady I worked for did a reading for me, and then said she had to let me go. She would not explain why. | Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA
1992 | Very large fast-food chain | Team Member | Fired when I cut work to go swimming with a boy I liked. I showed up the next day with a sunburn. Whoops! | Apple Valley, Minnesota | USA
1989–1990 | Apprentice Dog Groomer | The Grooming Station | My sister only paid me a miserly $2 per dog | Blaine, Minnesota | USA
Pre–1989 | Baseball Card Show Lackey/Road Trip Companion | My Dad | I read a lot and spent a good deal of time sitting at a table watching over baseball cards | Every boring town in the Midwest that you can imagine: Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois (Chicago was exciting though) | USA