MEASURING THE EXPERIENCE #15
Projects Environment [now Littoral], the North West artist-led organisation, has played a major role in generating debates about the role of artist-led practice within arts and social planning. It organised the conference ‘Littoral: new zones for critical art practice” in 1994 and by doing so, placed the work of UK artist-led organisations in an international context. The event looked at “new kinds of artist-led organisations and initiatives which aim at more direct engagement with real life issues and processes through extended collaborations, interdisciplinary ways of working and the improvisation of new strategies for art practice in life world contexts”. The conference encompassed a range of work taking place in the UK and elsewhere, highlighting how artists are working across the fields of ecology, community development, education, urban regeneration to find ways of making a response to community experiences and to social and political situations.[6]
The particular and highly significant contribution of artist-led groups to the UK visual arts scene was highlighted in ‘Life/Live’, the exhibition held at Museé d’Art Modern, Paris in late 1996.[7] Resulting from visits to artist-run ventures across the UK, the exhibition set out to convey the exemplary and stimulating vitality of current artistic practices and artists’ initiatives in the UK, and to show that the “degree of development and influence attained by these artists’ collectives in the UK is unique”.
Recent comments from within the arts funding system point to a renewed interest in the work of artist-led organisations which, because they are driven by creative desire rather than organisational need, have the ability to invigorate and challenge the arts infrastructure. For example, in their recent annual report, London Arts Board noted that “Artists are closely in touch with the… new forms of collective identity that make sense for many Londoners. [They]… understand that dissonance, difference and fusion often produce creativity… they understand about tolerance and responsibility. The way they organise their work is often a model for decentralised democratic processes… they seek a deeper more lasting form of change. A major challenge is for London Arts Board to find ways for artists to help shape London’s future and to continue championing their cause at every opportunity”.[1]
Another major challenge for the arts funding system and others concerned with visual arts development is the steep growth in the numbers entering the visual arts profession. Analysis of the 1991 Census reveals that over a ten-year period, the visual arts profession has increased by seventy-one percent, with the number of people citing their profession as being an artist, commercial artist or graphic designer rising to over 93,000.[2] Amongst reasons given for this were the increased number of places available on full and part-time art and design courses, government policies and schemes to encourage self-employment, and the growing trend across all professions for ‘portfolio’ careers in which a range of skills are combined in order to offer services to a range of client. In addition, it is apparent that the up-coming generation of artists is taking a more pro-active approach to the development of their professional careers. This includes generating their own opportunities rather than waiting for others to offer them, being aware of the need to market and promote their work right from an early career stage, and recognising that collaboration maximises resources and the impact of their work on the public.
[1] London Arts Board annual report 1995/96
[2] Employment in the arts and cultural industries: an analysis of the 1991 Census, Jane O’Brien and Andy Feist, Arts Council of England, 1995
