1
John Lyons was born and brought up in Trinidad and Tobago in 1933. He lives and works in Cambridgeshire.
2
He came to the UK to study art at the age of twenty-five, gaining a National Diploma in Design from Goldsmiths College, London (1959-64) and an Art Teacher’s Diploma from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne (1964-65).
3
In 1967 he moved to Manchester, where he worked as a secondary school art teacher for nine years, followed by 17 years as a Further Education art lecturer.
4
Lyons is an enthusiastic supporter of the arts scene who has selected for exhibitions, served on boards, judging panels, and as an external purchaser for the Arts Council Collection (1987-89).
5
He is also a prize-winning poet with eight published volumes.
6
From 1998-2004 he ran Hourglass Studio Gallery in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire with his partner Jean Rees, and from 2004-2012 he was a trustee of Hourglass Educational Arts Development Services.
7
In 2003 he received the Windrush Arts Achiever Award.
8
He has exhibited regularly in solo and group shows since 1979. Lyons was featured in Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 1950-Now at Tate Britain in 2021, and in Paint Like the Swallow Sings Calypso at Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge in 2022, alongside Paul Dash and Errol Lloyd.
9
His work is held in the Arts Council Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, Kirklees Museums and Galleries and Touchstones Rochdale.
10
As well as a painter and poet he’s also a brilliant cook!
John Lyons: Carnivalesque is on display at The Box until the end of Monday 5 May. Opening hours are 10am-5pm Tuesday-Sunday and selected bank holidays (except Easter Sunday). Admission is free.
Image credits
John Lyons in his studio, 2024 by Cameron Amiri.
John Lyons cooking, 2022 by Cameron Amiri.
