Publications

Ania Bas: In residence

By: Ania Bas, Helen Jones

Artist Ania Bas and Exhibitions Officer Helen Jones reflect on an innovative approach to being an artist-in-residence at The New Art Gallery Walsall.

I remember how surprised I was to be offered a studio for three months. Surprised, because Helen Jones, Exhibitions Curator at The New Art Gallery Walsall, knew that my work is not studio-based. I am one of these artists who does not produce objects so I never wanted to have a making space, and I am trying to work closer to everyday life and with everyday people, so having a studio did not feel like something that I needed either. I left Poland five years ago and since then I have been living quite a nomadic life - staying and working in various parts of the country. I like being on the move, I enjoy going places so maintaining a studio space in a fixed location also felt like a waste of money and resources. I am happy having my thinking/planning/doing time on a train or coach or on a sofa (quite often not my sofa). And the only thing that I call a studio is my red suitcase on wheels, that contains what I imagine others keep in their studio plus a small selection of clothes, a toothbrush and train timetables. So it was a real challenge: for three months being in residence in one place, where art so quickly makes you forget about the everyday. I wanted to use the studio for...

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