Call for ‘Socially Engaged Artists in Development’
The NewBridge Project has appointed Lady Kitt as lead artist for a project (Jan–Mar 2019) exploring ways of taking a socially engaged approach to creative practice. We are seeking expressions of interest from artists to work alongside Kitt on the project: this is a professional development opportunity where you will also be able to support the lead artist in a hands-on manner.
This opportunity is suitable for artists at any stage of their career who want to gain experience in social practice. Prior experience working in this way is not necessary, but an interest in doing so is!
I found this through the website ‘ArtRabbit’ a fabulous site where not only I can update curatorial projects and create platforms of interest and networks for future collaborations, but also search for competitions and opportunities.
My application did not get selected, but I found that writing up my expression of interest helped me collate a few ideas I have been mulling over recently, in particular as I read and intersect ideas of critical and speculative design with reflections on the ‘milenial burnout’ and participatory curation practices.
I would like to share it below, as a sort of milestone totem that I can look back at and help me outline the path that I am currently unwinding before me, one idea and project at a time.
I am a BA student in London, currently undergoing my third year. I do illustration, design and curation. Recently I had the opportunity to curate and produce an exhibition which invited individuals of a multicultural low-SES community in central London to form an active part of the show. By engaging with the available material and through making a series of objects during workshops, we established a dialogical and critical enquiry. They fulfilled our purpose of informing them but most importantly they provided us with valuable insight and feedback into the perceptions different demographics had on the topic. Even though there is no measurable learning outcome, the significance of the project lies in the dialogue facilitated between the artists and the audience, from which not only they profit by learning about their own culture and how it intersects with others. This experience has highlighted new priorities for my practice and deepened my desire to reach people with my work. Improving communication and more specifically to be able to work with broader audiences creates a mutually beneficial ecosystem of art practice and critical thinking.
A study by Create London and The Barbican outlines how out of touch and insular content creators have become, severely distancing the demographics they aim to attract. Developing participatory practices as a standard not only brings closer the audience and art but allows spaces to be used for dialogue and mutually beneficial learning. I believe that my most valuable work is not the one that makes me more ‘employable’ or ‘commercially successful’ but rather the one that makes me feel like I contribute to a collective dream for a better society. I always considered myself a dreamer, but even so, I see how myself and my peers have exchanged dreams for hopes in a world where ‘This is the way things work’. We have become a very pragmatic and stoic generation where we rather forecast the probable, even if it means resigning to it than to speculate and imagine possible futures where we can effect drastic changes to the way we think, make and are.
I believe the mainstream acceptance of design has played a part in this, as it has commercialised the idea that all design and therefore, art must be employed to solve a problem or to make naturally occurring systems more efficient just because we can. The way that design has seamlessly integrated into all levels of our lives showcases the way in which we have interiorised this idiosyncrasy of constant achievement. Taking a step back from result-achieving algorithm based methods is necessary, we should rather foment and support practices that promote creativity and critical thinking and seek to free individuals from established boundaries of performance and worth.
During my research for my thesis, I have found great solace in the teachings of Deleuze and Guattari - a philosopher and psychologist who aimed to decolonise and decentralize the vertical structures of hierarchy inherent in systems of our society. In particular, they looked at education and mental health, two areas where it is of essence that the individuals treated or taught feel like part of the process as the practitioners. The plurality of interactions that contribute to the building of knowledge is more akin to the model of a rhizome, like an interconnected system of roots and therefore a perfect model to dismantle the binary thought that conditions us. I am just starting my path as a socially engaged artist, but it is my fervent wish to work with inspiring people and enterprises that want a better and more engaged art community. This is why I am thrilled with the possibility to work alongside Lady Kitt. My current availability is flexible as I’m doing a two day per week traineeship while also writing my thesis. Mid-March I will move abroad to complete a design and curation internship.
