Esteemed local artist Wendy Sullivan barred entry to CoolTan Arts’ 25th Year Birthday Party!
On July 26th Save CoolTan activists gathered outside CoolTan Arts to express dismay over exclusion of Michelle Baharier during the official event, despite Michelle's bedrock role in the charity's formation. Protesters rightly named this exclusion "rewriting history" and letmelook.tv was on the scene to document the event:
Further upsetting was that esteemed local artist Wendy Sullivan was denied entry, despite invitation, to the very same Birthday Party! Wendy is a well-known and award-winning (Brixton Open) artist as well as a veteran of numerous exhibitions at CoolTan itself and elsewhere! Her reaction was filmed by Save CoolTan Arts' video unit:
Wendy Sullivan also finds the time to champion local causes such as the recent Carnegie Library campaign. Her empathy must come from having been a carer for her incapacitated partner for so many years until his demise. Caring for others is hard work anytime - but caring for the infirm, disabled or elderly is even harder. This makes it doubly difficult to understand how CoolTan could have barred her.
Below: indefatigable Wendy campaigns for the Carnegie in the rain and gets praise from Cllr Rachel Heywood!
Below: Wendy’s painting ‘South London from Loughborough Junction'
Reinforcing her commitment to social awareness and the very important role carers play in our community Wendy was part of 'Feeling The Journey' in 2013, an exhibition of works by area artists who are or have been carers and have also been changed by their experience. She showed work using tempera (egg) and oil, sand, marble dust, and quartz. Tempera became a necessity when she became allergic to turps, nickel, and cobalt!
Below: Wendy’s ‘Memories of a Beach’ which showed at 'Feeling The Journey'
Now in her late 70s, Wendy started painting abstracts in 1973, eventually studying at Goldsmiths and Sir John Cass colleges. She has been an Artist-in-Residence at ASC Studios, Stockwell Road.