Cycling to the gym this morning for the year’s last workout I reflected on the year and surprised myself with how much I have achieved:
- sold three works; my first ever sales! Two pieces were purchased for local authority collections and one for the national public art agency.
- selected for a group show; it was great to show together with a fantastic group of artists, to work with a great curator, and the brilliant arts officer at the Möblen culture house in Tierp.
- wrote the third instalment of my Brexit trilogy for the Supermarket 2021 Art Fair magazine; thank you so much Roberto Ekholm, Michael Petry, and Derek Curtis for your generous interviews.
- co-wrote an article for a-n.co.uk on long-term long-form blogging with the lovely Elena Thomas and Kate Murdoch. It was good and inspiring fun to discuss blogging practices and habits with two other seasoned bloggers.
- co-hosted a discussion on blogging for Platform 7’s Discussion Festival. Thank you Elena for organising that.
- coordinated a successful Meetings programme for Supermarket 2021; it was my first proper year as Meetings Coordinator and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you to all of the Supermarket Team, the amazing volunteers, all of the moderators, and the artists/curators who took part.
- established a studio at the Hospital Studio Association in Uppsala; I am really pleased to be a part of this exciting and evolving artistic community.
- selected for an artists’ studio discussion programme; I am looking forward to getting started with this in the new year.
- invited to exhibit at the Enköping Town Gallery next year together with Klas Hällerstrand. It means a lot to me to be asked to show here as I know that the chair of the committee has very high standards.
- invited to run the late summer school at Uppsala Art Museum; it was delighted to be asked as I know that there are many really good artist/educators in Uppsala. It was fantastic to work in such a well resourced education studio!
- invited be maternity cover on a children’s art programme in Gottsunda (Uppsala); the programme is very well regarded and has an excellent reputation.
I also made what I consider to be a good application for an artist’s working grant. For the first time I asked for feedback on drafts from friends and colleagues. Even if I do not receive the award the process of writing this and the residency application have shifted my thinking about my practice and enabled me to identify a theme that has been running through my practice since my time on the foundation course at the Southend on Sea Technical College back in 1986/7.
Acknowledging these things and excited about getting going with the new sewing machine I am looking forward to the year ahead and wonder what opportunities it will offer!
Thank you 2021! Despite some shaky times, some frustrations and disappointments, you’ve been a year that has seen a considerable number of significant advancements. Here’s to more of that!
And a big thank you to everyone who has encouraged, supported, and shown confidence in me over the year. It truly means a lot to me – thank you!
