Alex Vellis


Alex Vellis is a Greek–British poet, playwright, producer and installation artist based in Canterbury, Kent. Their work combines poetry, performance and installation art and often explores community participation. Vellis is the author of the poetry collection I Saw a Bird Once and has worked with arts organisations including Open School East and Canterbury Cathedral.

Early life and education

Vellis is from Canterbury, Kent, and holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Kent.

Career

Vellis has published poetry collections and chapbooks, including the 2021 collection I Saw a Bird Once.
Vellis's installation The Boards of Theseus was shown at Quip & Curiosity in 2024.
In 2025, Vellis co-created the installation Hear Us at Canterbury Cathedral in collaboration with curator Jacquiline Creswell.
The installation provoked comment from high-profile public figures. U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance posted on X: “It is weird to me that these people don't see the irony of honoring ‘marginalized communities’ by making a beautiful historical building really ugly.” Elon Musk replied to a post about the work with the single word “shameful.”
Cathedral officials and the installation’s organisers defended the project as a community-centred work that amplifies questions from marginalised groups and deliberately seeks to provoke reflection; the Dean of Canterbury described the pieces as “undoubtedly jarring” but asked people to judge the work in person.

Themes and style

Profiles and reviews describe Vellis’s writing as addressing working-class identity, grief, ritual and the body, and as strongly performance-oriented in rhythm and delivery.

Selected works

  • I Saw a Bird Once. Whisky & Beards Publishing, 2021.
  • The Boards of Theseus, Quip & Curiosity, 2024.
  • Hear Us, Canterbury Cathedral, 17 October 2025 – 18 January 2026.