Thomas Wells (he/they) is an artist and curator based in Belfast. Their work is based in socially engaged practice involving LGBTQ+ spaces of collective experience. Originally from Manchester, England they have been working in the north of Ireland since 2017. Thomas’ recent projects include Neverlandz, a performance work for Outburst Arts Festival 2023 exploring research interests of hospitality as a political space of engagement. As well as a community ‘take-over’ project in East Belfast exploring LGBTQ+ community storytelling with an investigation into historical and contemporary visibility and representation, commissioned by Household and Belfast City Council.

Thomas is founder of SAM’S EDEN a queer arts publication, initiated in 2020 this project includes three printed editions at Catalyst Arts (2020), Outburst Queer Arts festival (2021) and The MAC (2022) and ) as well as a group exhibition at CCA Derry/Londonderry (2023). The aim of the project is to support LGBTQ+ creative practice with a focus on history, heritage and activism.

Alongside their independent practice, Thomas is a member of Array Collective whose large-scale interventions challenge the political and social climate of Northern Ireland through a mix of mythological and pop-cultural imagery as a form of activism. In 2021 they were the recipients of the Turner Prize awarded at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry with the installation The Druthaib's Ball. In 2023 they have been invited to take part in Self-Determination: A Global Perspective with a series of interventions as well as a new installation An Dún in 2024.

Supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland

Logo design by Louise Lockhart @theprintedpeanut