Publications

Published this month is the fourth in the a-n Research paper series – presenting and distributing across our wide constituency – Sonya Dyer’s Boxed in: how cultural diversity policies constrict black artists¹

In it Dyer aims to “question the presumptions about non-white artists, curators and administrators that shape the current diversity landscape, and to suggest alternative ways forward”. Originally written as a provocation essay for the Manifesto Club and launched in June it prompted a flurry of reaction including a detailed and somewhat defensive response from Arts Council England.

Dyer is critical of the pigeonholing of black artists: “we need a greater understanding that practitioners from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are as ‘diverse’ as any other sections of the population” and cites artist and strategy consultant aladin’s assertion that ‘a homogenous centralised approach [to diversity policy] can be too rigid’: “we are complex people. Complexity needs to be built into the system as well.”

The inability of the present funding system – fixated as it is with measurability and control – to accommodate (or even recognise) the complexity of artists is at the heart of much disillusionment with government policy. How can the heavy-handed politically-driven approach be appropriate in a climate where funds are increasingly limited?

Guy Claxton’s description of the multi-faceted nature of skills needed by artists strikes a chord:

“The ability that creators need, above all, is flexibility. They need the capacity to move fluidly and appropriately between different mental modes, as different phases and aspects of the creative process present themselves. They need to be able to attend both to detail and to the big picture, They need to be both spontaneous and methodical. They need to be sensitive both to the intuitive signals of 'rightness' and to the practicality of producing a successful product or performance. They need to be both receptive and proactive, they need to be able to think clearly and to dream, they need to be both patient and purposeful, they need to be able to see how things are and how they could be, they need to be able to play with material, letting it reveal its potentialities and to mould it to their own will. The creative person, it seems, needs to be capable of being in many minds, sometimes simultaneously, and sometimes moving sequentially between them. ”²

Meanwhile at a-n in response to the fast-changing world around us, we’re developing content and means of delivery to anticipate the changing needs of practising artists and make the most of internet technology. We’re exploring ways in which artists can interface with us, each other and the wider world – letting more people see what artists are about. Dipping into a-n’s projects unedited³ gives direct insights into the lives of artists and visibly demonstrates the layers of complexity inherent in practice.

Usage of our unedited sites – which are open access – has soared in recent months. We’ve a special Venice Biennale focus on Reviews unedited⁴ over the summer, tackling the need for more critique and debate around art work. We’ve a raft of web developments underway that acknowledge the vibrancy of the visual arts community and the wealth of intelligence within it. Look out for all the changes coming.

Gillian Nicol
a-n Editor

¹ www.a-n.co.uk/boxed_in
² Guy Claxton in Navigating the Unknown: The Creative Process in Contemporary Performing Arts, Middlesex University Press. Read the full quote in Editorial online.
³ www.a-n.co.uk/projects_unedited with 50 live blogs at time of going to print.
⁴ www.a-n.co.uk/reviews_unedited If you’ve visited the Venice Biennale this year be sure to post your review –we’ll be publishing the highlights in September.

a-n

First published: a-n Magazine July 2007