We’re proud of what a-n Magazine has achieved over its thirty-two years. On the occasion of the last print edition we invited many of our collaborators and contributors to help us celebrate and mark this moment by giving us a ‘few words’ – a short testimonial of what a-n means to them. Here, they reflect on our significant role for artists and on the value of a-n Magazine, publications or initiatives.
A-n Magazine May 1998: Increasingly, interdisciplinary or collaborative working processes are being used by artists, both as a means of extending their knowledge and personal experience and to create partnerships in which artists move beyond the close confines of the art world and can more readily address social, political and environmental concerns, we asked six artists, for whom collaborative working is a driving force, to describe their approaches and concerns and to provide some analysis of the issues an questions which have arisen.
Reyahn King explores the role of galleries within professional development for visual artists. In the current climate, how can professional development for visual artists be continued and improved? This paper suggests that one answer lies in the relationship between publicly-funded regional galleries and visual artists becoming wider, deeper, and more strongly valued.
A good proposal is like a conversation. To begin a really good relationship, you’ve got to find out as much as you can about who you’re talking to and what they’re interested in. This is the basis of making a successful pitch.
Artist, horticulturist and a-n Communications and partnerships team member Maggie Tran sowed the seeds of her practice through volunteering and event programming. As working life flourishes she takes us to the tip of her roots to tell the tale.
Zanne Andrea completed her Fine Art degree at University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol, in the summer of 2011. We catch up with her en route to a collaborative empty-shops project and off the back of a mini-residency, six months on from graduating.
‘Ladders for development’ argues that the visual arts sector should pull together and support small visual arts organisations cut by Arts Council England because they “punch above their weight” and provide vital development of future artists. Six months on, Dany Louise interviews these arts organisations again, to find out how they’ve fared and what their futures hold.
Over the past five years, the words Turning Point have been read, heard, written and spoken with increasing frequency by people in the visual arts in England, but for many individual arts practitioners, in particular, the origins and activities of Turning Point remain a bit opaque. This briefing paper is for them and for anyone interested in understanding more about what Turning Point is and does.
The key finding of this study reveals that shockingly few individual artists apply for funding in their own right, and even fewer are successful. What this means is that there is little direct funding being given to artists to pursue and develop their own projects, under their own control – under 20% of available funding for the visual arts in England, 14% for Northern Ireland and around 18% for Scotland and Wales in 2009-2010.
Artists and arts organisations had the opportunity to debate current and future professional development needs and aspirations in June as part of strategic planning by Turning Point West Midlands.
A-n’s Collaborative relationships series exposes the working relationships between artists and the wide range of professionals they collaborate with. Running in its current format since 2008 we now have a rich archive of over thirty articles covering hugely varied projects. Here, some select quotes offer highlights and insights into the nature of collaboration.
In December 2010 the Arts Council of Wales announced its new portfolio of revenue clients. From 116 existing clients more than thirty were lost. Five months on we asked the sector what the impact has been and how the visual arts in Wales has reacted, and what England might anticipate following last month’s ACE announcements.
Curator Lauren A Wright discusses her ‘journey’ to Margate.
Speaking at the Culture Change conference in January, Arts Minister Ed Vaizey called on arts organisations to embrace new technology as a resource to engage and develop audiences.
Midwest was an artist’s development programme that ran from 2003 to 2008 in the West Midlands. Here we share pdf reports on Midwest’s activity that provide valuable insights into possibilities within artist-led culture.
Subtitled ‘Women mapping Birmingham’, Craftspace’s ‘Routes to Revolution’ exhibition explores responses of refugees and newly arrived women to Birmingham and its industrial and craft-based heritage.
Director of Situations Claire Doherty and artist Stephen Hodge (of Wrights & Sites) give their account of how they developed a contemporary public artwork to reanimate visitors’ experiences of Weston-super-Mare.
A-n The Artists Information Company and Artquest have recently announced a new partnership programme that will provide increased professional development opportunities for artists throughout the UK.
Selected round-up of forthcoming events, training courses and professional development opportunities from the world of new media arts and imaging.
12 Visual art representatives address the damage that will be inflicted by proposed spending cuts, in a letter to the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport.
Launched in 2006,Turning Point is a national ten-year strategy for the visual arts. A network of regional Turning Point groups has since been emerging, each charged with “strengthening the visual arts infrastructure”.
At the beginning of March this year, the Arts Council of Wales hosted ‘Arts in Health and Well-being’, a conference about prevention, intervention and creative action in healthcare.
Artist Christine Wilcox-Baker recounts her residency at Tatton Park with Gardens Manager Sam Youd.
Sadly, a-n’s Director of Development, Louise Wirz, is leaving to explore new territories.
Curator Matt Roberts talks to Jane Watt about how and why he set up the London-based organisation Matt Roberts Arts and the importance of providing support and a platform for emerging and mid-career artists, curators and arts professionals.
