In a new a-n Resources profile to coincide with Bobby Baker’s 14–18 NOW commission ‘Great & Tiny War’ – the run for which has just been extended – Lydia Ashman talks to the artist about her experiences of the mental health system and the need to address ‘transgenerational trauma’.
I went to The Other in Mother seminar yesterday about perinatal mental health and saw Sarah Greaves installation of manipulated objects representing diverse experiences of maternal transition. “Artist Sarah Greaves has been working with women who are recovering from postnatal […]
It’s World Suicide Prevention Day on Monday 10th September and we’re going on local radio to talk about Dwell Time. Vanessa and I set up Dwell Time in memory of our friend who took his life last year. He had […]
When artist and writer Alistair Gentry first shared his experiences of depression earlier this year it resulted in a flood of private feedback and led a-n to commission a series on artists and mental health for our Resources section. Drawing on the conversations he’s had with artists and arts workers, he argues for more openness about mental illness and wellness in the arts.
It’s hard to bounce back from rejection and keep going. Life and art practice is inevitably crap at times and coping strategies for the lows are helpful. I’ve been reflecting about this and think this is one of the many […]
I set up a facebook event for the open call yesterday and when searching for it again later found a page for a film called Dwell Time. I watched the trailer and got in touch with the film director Anak […]
This week I’ve been compiling a list of local/UK mental health support services and charities that now feature on our blog and will form a directory in the newspaper. One of the risks of raising awareness about mental health and […]
Vanessa and I took the train to Sheffield and back on Saturday. Vanessa has a disabled persons railcard so it cost us £14 total with me travelling as her carer for the journey. We had a notebook, train wine and […]
I had hoped to update sooner but my hard drive died. I bought a new harddrive and and caddy and miraculously retrieved my data off the dead drive. I bookmarked a load of links I’ve been reading on my phone […]
Dwell time: The time a train spends at a scheduled stop without moving. Typically, this time is spent boarding or alighting passengers, but it may also be spent waiting for traffic ahead to clear, or idling time in order to get back on schedule.
I was questioning my ability before I was awarded this bursary on many levels. Humbled by my peers words of encouragement and advice and the technical knowledge freely imparted I realised early on that taking part in a single course […]
I wanted to give an insight of my honest insecurities and the process in applying for this grant. If it helps another artist then it’s worth it. Since graduating I have always struggled to call myself an Artist. I felt […]
Do the pressures of being an artist, with the precariousness of funding, the demands of unrealistic deadlines and the need to be seen to succeed and deliver consistently, make talking about depression and mental health tantamount to career suicide? Artist and writer Alistair Gentry, who has suffered with depression since a teenager, thinks the answer is ‘Yes’ – but that the issue is too important to keep quiet about.
As is traditional for me I had a fire to mark the turning of the year. 2017 slips quietly into 2018. The snow of the previous day had melted. A bright moon lit the clear sky.. As part of the […]
A systematic review of the subjective wellbeing outcomes of engaging with visual arts for adults (‘working-age’ 15-64 years) with diagnosed mental health conditions.
The weather is a great leveller. It doesn’t care how rich you are, your class, race, creed, gender or what ever people identify themselves as and by. True enough, a lot of people don’t really notice the weather or aren’t […]
It seems ages ago I received notification of being awarded an a-n Professional Development Bursary. Back in March life seemed so different. I was going through the “Famine of Freelance” – you know – that thing no one really talks […]
Researching the potential of digital technology to develop my practice.
Last Thursday I hoped to seek insights into sustaining a practice at the a-n Assembly event in Leeds. Artists were separated into small groups to participate in small discussions. I met with a curator from Tetley and a lady that works […]
Launching my project to bring the very best British and Croatian naive artists working today, in a range of media, to a gallery or museum near you, with an outreach programme to encourage art making in the community – including a Call for Partners.
…..And so it was on a Wednesday morning that I found myself full of trepidation, wondering what the hell I had done, driving into the Dukes Arts Centre. A very surreal experience for me as I lived in Lancaster for […]
