Artist and AIR Council member Joseph Young attended the recent Europe-wide IAA conference in Pilsen, Czech Republic, where he was speaking about the Paying Artists campaign. He reports from the home of Pilsner lager on three days of discussion, debate and far too many procedural matters.
In a piece originally published by The Conversation, artist and 1997 Turner Prize nominee Christine Borland, professor of art at Northumbria University, argues that the prize needs to transcend its own ‘structures of power’ and instead find a way for the art itself to be centre stage.
This year’s Arts Council England and British Council-supported No Boundaries – billed as a symposium on the role of arts and culture – took place over two days at the end of September at Watershed in Bristol and HOME, Manchester. Featuring talks and discussion from an international cast of contributors, it once again had a live link between each venue and was also live streamed. Artist Julie McCalden reports from Bristol, while arts consultant Mark Robinson presents a view from the rainy city.
At a recent festival in Belgium about Europe-wide cultural solidarity, artist and AIR Council member Joseph Young talked about a-n/AIR’s Paying Artists campaign. He reports on a debate characterised by politically outspoken artists and networking over mojitos in the Che Guevara tent.
Set against the backdrop of its Newcastle city centre building being lost to redevelopment, a recent two-day event at the artist-led NewBridge Project in Newcastle asked whether it was time for artists to ‘grow up’ and accept the new agenda of cuts, philanthropy and big business sponsorship. Artist Lesley Guy joined in the conversation and came to a different conclusion.
As crowdfunding is increasingly adopted by large arts organisations as a fast-track alternative to dwindling public funding, Henrietta Norton – co-founder of the early crowdfunding site WeDidThis – argues that the spirit of risk taking and innovation that inspired early adopters needs to be embraced by these high-profile newcomers.
In a piece originally published by The Conversation, Jean Brown wonders what can be learnt by galleries and museums from the recent incident in Taiwan which saw a young boy damage a £1m painting after tripping up while on a gallery tour.
With a media storm of interest, Banksy’s Dismaland opened in Weston-super-Mare on Friday. After paying a visit to the self-styled ‘bemusement park’, Laura Harris suggests we look past the witty one-liners to explore this aesthetically overwhelming, politically astute art experience.
A recent event in Leeds organised by Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy asked whether artists were the key to making a step change in arts and culture giving. Amelia Crouch went along and found that the issue of low pay for artists was all-but ignored – but that the idea of artists as fundraisers may not be all bad.
In a piece originally published by The Conversation, Jade French – a writer for Disability Arts Online – argues that, with an exhibition from Unlimited and other initiatives, this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe is foregrounding great art rather than paying lip service to diversity.
Originally published on The Conversation, Russell Williams of University of London Institute in Paris explores France’s paradoxical relationship with controversial artworks, following the recent vandalism of Anish Kapoor’s installation at Versailles.
Manchester School of Art’s Visual Resource Centre, containing around 300,000 slides spanning 50 years, is at risk of being lost. As MA and PhD students launch the Adopt a Slide project to highlight the archive’s value, Chris Sharratt calls for the art school to recognise the uniqueness of this collection of analogue artefacts.
Vote Art has seen artists such as Jeremy Deller and Bob and Roberta Smith using art to encourage people to vote through a series of billboards across the country. On the eve of tomorrow’s general election, Laura Harris argues that the project demonstrates worrying tendencies in both contemporary art and parliamentary politics.
In The Interpretation Matters Handbook, a-n contributor Dany Louise brings together a variety of voices from the visual arts to discuss the thorny and important subject of gallery interpretation and ‘artspeak’. In an extract from the book, Simon Martin, director of Pallant House Gallery, Chichester explains the organisation’s approach to accessible and informative text.
The closure of the Independent Living Fund and cuts to the Access to Work scheme will lead to a massive reduction in the number of disabled people participating and working in the mainstream arts world, warns Helen Bayliss.
A new report commissioned by the Arts and Humanities Research Council argues that the UK’s cultural sector operates like an organism rather than a mechanism – it is an ecology of culture. John Holden, the report’s author and Visiting Professor at City University, London, explains.
In a piece originally published on The Conversation website, Ben Walmsley of the University of Leeds asks whether what the North of England really needs is more investment in artists rather than buildings.
As the debate rages about paying to enter open competitions and dwindling exhibition fees, Steve Messam argues that while the art should always come first, it’s time for artists to get more business-like and professional.
Written in response to the Alias annual gathering event, Moving Forward and Staying the Same: Artist Led Evolutions, AirSpace Gallery co-director Glen Stoker considers the continued importance of artist-led activity to the UK’s visual arts ecology.
In a piece originally published on The Conversation, Victoria Durrer of Queen’s University Belfast argues that damaging cuts to the arts in Northern Ireland are reshaping the sector.
Why is gender inequality still rife in the visual arts and why are so many women in the arts still ‘scared’ of feminism? As a new exhibition opens at the artist-led Airspace Gallery in Stoke, Dany Louise is looking for answers.
In a piece originally published by The Conversation, Kate Oakley, professor of Cultural Policy at University of Leeds, argues that without better pay and conditions and subsidised education, the arts and creative industries will increasingly become the preserve of the well-off and privately educated.
Producer and writer Carolyn Black has worked in the visual arts for over two decades. Having witnessed many ups and downs in the sector, she believes things have never been so bad for artists in the UK. It’s time, she says, for things to change…
While strategies to pay artists better are forging ahead in the UK, this vital issue is also on high on the agenda in some other countries. Susan Jones reports on Working Artists: aspects of art and labour, a recent conference in South Korea which she also spoke at.
Crafts Council’s recent Make:Shift conference in London addressed how new technologies are driving innovation in craft practice. Inspired by the two-day event, Mike Press of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design reflects on the challenges and possibilities that lie ahead.
Alternative insights into the visual arts, with fast-paced news, comment, debate.
Get in touch
[email protected]
a-n offers a range of memberships for individuals and groups – from £38 annually – find out more.
Supported by:
