Hester gained a BA in Fine Art at Northumbria University, which included a formative year of study at the Art Institute of Chicago. Upon graduating she lived and worked abroad in a variety of artistic contexts most notably in former Czechoslovakia where she volunteered with environmental NGOs under the auspices of the Institute of Cultural Affairs eventually setting up an independent oral history project.

Upon her return to the UK, Hester set up innovative teaching sessions and artistic projects at HMP Lancaster Castle before entering the academy. She is co-founder of the Emily Davison Lodge, an associate of Prison Dialogue and a member of Performance Philosophy international research network and currently Reader in Fine Art at Sheffield Hallam University. Recent public works were staged at Tanzquartier, Vienna (as part of Philosophy on Stage 4), Tate Britain (working under the umbrella of the Emily Davison Lodge) and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. At the latter she presented Ymedaca, a two-year project in which she worked with Plato’s banishment of the artist. 

Find out more about Hester and her recent work.