He holds a BA in Sculpture and Architectural Stained- glass from the University of Western Sydney, Australia, and an Honours degree in Sculpture and Film from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. He also has a Graduate Diploma in Education from Auckland University. Phil is also a registered counsellor and is a qualified Art Therapist.

In the 1980s, Jopson was a founder and curator of Street Level Gallery, the first contemporary artist-run gallery in Sydney’s outer west. During this time, he curated two groundbreaking exhibitions: Outsider Art, for artists with mental illness and the multimedia event Signs of Survival, which celebrated local Aboriginal artists.

In the 1990s, he worked as a studio technician at Finglinna Studios in Sydney, overseeing the construction and installation of major architectural stained- glass commissions for designer Paddy Robinson. His own stained- glass work appears in private residences and commercial spaces across New Zealand and Australia.

In 2012, he initiated guerrilla art interventions in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes.

Jopson is also the founder of ARTRA, an art and design practice producing commercial projects including prints, stained- glass, and designer mirrors.

For more than 20 years, he also worked as a Steiner school art teacher and adult art educator.

Since moving to Victoria in 2013, Phil has developed a more spontaneous and intuitive approach to his art practice. He has created a series of sculptures and wearable works focused on sustainability, using repurposed household packaging materials.