MK Fifty

Pathfinding

A quick post, in case you've wondered what else I've been up to in 2017, the year that Milton Keynes turned fifty years old.

Soon after the MK Calling exhibition at MK Galley, I had a solo exhibition at Stantonbury Gallery, Milton Keynes.

This exhibition at Stantonbury Campus explored the unpredictable nature of the urban landscape and the winding path of the emerging artist. These paths were represented by a series of works created during and after my Fine Art degree. The images look at the contemporary art world and the contemporary urban world, asking you to enquire about the usefulness of endeavour in the face of the temporary nature of success and the variety of ways achievements are absorbed by and re-purposed by the environment they exist in. These vignettes of decisive moments in the paths creative artists tread, mark the progress across unclear boundaries between achievement and failure, death and renewal.

Works on show included photographic prints from my degree final project. As my sketchbooks had been a popular item at MK Calling, I brought a few of those along to share at the private view.

Whilst this was a small event, it at least afforded me a sense of closure about my degree work, as I was able to show more of my final work to the public. This made up for the lack of a final university degree exhibition, a rite of passage which most fine art degree students expect as a matter of course. My final work had been displayed at the University of Northampton for grading by my tutors but unfortunately the university didn't permit me to share this with my friends and the general public at the time.

You can find a couple of photos about the Pathfinder exhibition on Instagram.

A post shared by Suzanna Raymond (@srfirehorseart) on Jul 9, 2017 at 2:56pm PDT

Image: Untitled (Path), a triptych of photographic prints, mounted on board.  Approx. (h. 430cm x w. 230 cm) x 3.

A post shared by Suzanna Raymond (@srfirehorseart) on Jul 11, 2017 at 2:46pm PDT

Installation view of Pathfinder at Stantonbury Gallery. The empty plinths were used to display some of my sketchbooks on the day of the private view but could equally be taken to represent the ephemeral nature of some artworks and artists' careers.

Disma Life and The Emerging Artist

Sign for the closed Madcap arts venue, Wolverton, Milton Keynes.

Business Development Opportunities

Business Development Officers at art galleries and museums were probably on tenterhooks watching the public’s reaction to Banksy’s 5-week Dismaland in Weston-super- Mare. The event slash mass-installation has been a hit to the tune of an extra £20m of business to the seaside town. That may be enough to reassure the galleries that are banking on big names to draw in enough visitors to shore up their funding deficits.

In a Spiked article Brendan O’Neill (who also writes for the Spectator) says "Banksy is modern capitalism’s loss of faith in itself made flesh." Yet, however much Mr O’Neill and various critics might like to lambast this particular vein, they seem to miss some key points when they pause to mock. This successful graffiti artist with art world links is simply on the money about what the public want to see right now - Banksy has become the validated Jack Vettriano of street art-meets-fine-art. Key figures in the contemporary art establishment have embraced Banksy's work, as he bridges the gap between popular art and in-your-face 90's contemporary art bling. It makes sense that Damien Hirst, a past master of monetizing the art statement piece, was in the Dismaland show. Yet it’s not all about showmanship, as Banksy represents a socially-aware sentiment with Pop Art overtones that is acknowledged by noted artists like Sir Peter Blake. Emerging artists who are currently weeping into their student loan statements could do well to note where public sentiment and art world interests overlap. The verdict of the average man on the Clapham omnibus carries more weight in an art world returning to holding its cap out for private investment.

Cult Cottage Industry 

Jonathan Jones (The Guardian, 2006), arguing against Banky's media-savvy public profile, told us that “Art needs layers of meaning. It needs ambiguity and a bit of mystery.”  That statement makes sense for most artists, providing you’re looking for depth in fine art. If you think that it also still means that buyers still prefer landscapes, Pop Art and abstracts then you’re only partly right. My recent quick survey (I asked the sales assistant), at a local art gallery popular with wedding parties looking for gifts and art to take home, had the response that what most of their customers want to buy right now contains a large element of fantasy or something to make them smile. Thus it makes perfect sense that David Shrigley’s tongue-in-cheek work was also featured at Dismaland.

The current economic crisis has everyone running scared, such that edgy art sells well now if it’s also immediately funny, loaded with irony or comforting in some perverse way.  One of my non-art friends would rather buy prints of blue-sky beach huts and cute cottages than art reminding her of the gritty realities of daily life. Even wealthy art buyers want the reassurance that they’re cared about when they visit the arts or make an investment. It is with those nervous and affluent buyers in mind that two entrepreneurs have launched an exclusive arts club. The Cultivist offers a service to handhold “people who are affluent and realise they need to do something with art”. This service includes fast-track VIP access to everything arts-related, a bargain at just £1,900 a year with no waiting in line with those who have merely obtained middle-income wealth. It’s a marriage of convenience that many arts business development officers must wish they’d thought of it first.

Arts Emergency

At the other end of the spectrum there are artists banding together to create a community conscience and bring back political comment into art, such as Bob and Roberta Smith’s Art Party campaign. Or you could support access to education for young emerging artists via the Arts Emergency mentoring scheme. If you are an artist frustrated with the skewed economics of austerity Britain, then you could also join a public group like the Manchester-based ‘Artists Against Austerity’, a grass-roots artist led collective, who aim to “come together as a community of artists and creatives to stage a series of events/exhibitions … to engage, reconnect and empower communities to join forces and oppose austerity”.  The AAA certainly got their wish when the leading political parties decided to rally their forces in Manchester this October.

The role of protest and representation of the poor is one that some artists have always occupied, one that is easy to sympathise with given the tendency for artists to take on part-time low paid work to support themselves if they spurn more commercial themes in their output. A quick survey of modern art history suggests that artists who highlight the plight of the poor, like Vincent Van Gogh, Gustave Courbet and Käthe Kollwitz, can produce work that gives us beautiful and moving accounts of the human condition. Certainly it is easier to deliver an ugly message when it is presented in an attractive wrapping. Whether these works initiate social change is a separate matter, but they do tend to provoke controversy and that leads to probing conversations on issues, discussions that must be better than just more political whitewash on unwelcome changes in society. If the UK’s recent surge of support for a return to traditional Socialist politics is any indicator of a change of direction, the time of the socially-aware artist may have come round again.

On Being An Emerging Artist

Untitled (Triptych), 2012.

What New Artists Need But Their Art College Rarely Explains

Whatever kind of 'emerging'* artist you are at the moment, you probably went through some long moments wondering how on earth you were going to make a living and still practise your art. If you were lucky enough to jump straight from graduation into the spotlight of a showcase that supports your development, then well done. There are a few showcases that talent-spot and help show your work to galleries interested in new contemporary artists, you may even be spotted by a speculating collector or gallery owner keen to snap up a bargain an early exhibition of your work.

For most new artists, having studied studied Fine Art or painting and drawing at an art college, life after academia encompasses a period where they came out of it realising that, even though their contemporary art sensibilities had been polished to a shine, they were nevertheless ill-equipped for forging a career in the arts. They may not have realised there were showcases graduating students could apply for and they may have subsequently found out too late to meet those deadlines. The new artist may even be told after graduating that their last three (or four) years of degree work have little value and that post-grad work was where it started. Or they may hear from more experienced folk that an artist needs to get an MA to be taken seriously.

If that's what you experienced, this situation probably came as a bit of a shock for those of you that hadn't noted the lessons of art history or missed the confusingly vague slideshow on arts jobs offered by your university careers' advice service. If you made an appointment with a careers service advisor you probably were given the suggestion to get a job in graphic design or the like, or your tutors said you could create your work in the evenings and weekends like they did. They are probably studying for their PhD and you may wonder what that has to do with your art practice, given that it may be a requirement of their teaching position.

If you took your career seriously then you may have already invested in studio space, or started exhibiting your work at local venues. Some of you may have created your own websites, social media, business cards ready for enquiries but, unless you had a rush of visitors from some timely press coverage, you're probably still waiting for enough custom to pay your studio rent.

You should probably learn to pace yourself, as your glory days may take a while in arriving. If you're feeling frustrated by the slow rate of perceivable progress then take heart from Jeremy Deller's assessment of his own progress towards becoming a contemporary art star:

.. becoming an artist took some time. “I had no idea what I was doing basically,” he says about his twenties, when he took an MA in art history at Sussex University
  - Lunch with the FT: Jeremy Deller

What Are Your Options?

So what are the realities for most artists? Art history shows that a lot of well-known artists  have had to start by grafting in jobs that weren't art-related in order to pay the bills. Maybe they went back to live with their parents for a while - Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller hosted his first exhibition at his parents' house. Perhaps they ran workshops or got their post-grad teaching diploma and went back into academia.

Taking a look at the emerging artists I know locally, many have arts-based roles work as technicians or become support staff at galleries and other local arts organizations. They may practise 'portfolio working' (a useful phrase I spotted in my university's careers slideshow), which basically means having several part-time jobs in freelance or permanent roles. You'll find that flexible part-time jobs are in demand amongst artists who want an income whilst still having a bit of time to work on their practice.

Beware the comfort of becoming someone's employee, especially in a full-time role. That's not to say you shouldn't do take a secure job, rather a warning that it can become a trap of sorts once you become dependent on the benefits of your role. One artist warned me off taking up a (temporary) council arts officer role I was applying for, saying that it would distract me from my art work. I put my tender application in anyway, hopeful of a living wage and a way of networking but, even though I felt fairly well-qualified with my prior work experience, it seems that I didn't meet their criteria.

There are lots of unpaid roles about, some disguised as volunteer roles (you're only truly a volunteer if you don't have to work fixed regular hours or aren't a substitute for a paid employee), some roles are boldly advertised as unpaid internships, some work is on offer for artists that (once you've paid the admin fees and for your own travel, etc.) may cost you more than the token fee offered. Prepare yourself by reading Alistair Gentry's 'Career Suicide' blog for advice on how to avoid getting ripped off by fake opportunities, check out the AIR - Paying Artists campaign and the handy a-n Signposts publication.

The Business of Being an Artist

Still you may wonder where your career as an artist fits into these options and rightly so. At some point you have to concede that you, as an artist, are self-employed. Regardless of which shows you do, who supports you, which groups you join, and what else you study, you are the only one driving your practise forward now.

You are a small business and you now need to learn some small business skills.

There are plenty of resources on offer, once you accept the situation. Groups like a-n  and ArtQuest can advise you on best practise, business tips and cheap insurance, HMRC offers free small business courses and so on. You'll need to register yourself as self-employed once you're ready (I felt that I'd wait until I had my first freelance paid role).

I'll admit that I've been slow to take these up as I was initially fighting against being self-employed but knowing the help is out there is reassuring. Bear in mind though that, as a small business, your job as an artist will probably mean up to 70% of your time could be taken up with the machinery of running a business and so only part of your time  will be left for developing your practice.

In Conclusion

The general drift of what I've seen so far is that you do need to have a 'day job' to pay the bills. Ideally you'll also avoid jobs that offer you lots of 'experience' but so little money, unless you really are learning something useful. However it seems that you must be prepared to be self-employed, or at least flexibly employed, embrace a certain amount of risk and possibly give up the day job at some point in order to have the art career you hoped for.


Notes

* Of course there is the whole question of what is an 'emerging' artist anyway and when can it be determined that we have stopped emerging, but that topic probably warrants its own article.



-----

Some Famous Artists and The Jobs They Started In

On that note, here's a reminder that you're not on your own in your winding path for recognition:

• Andy Warhol was a very successful illustrator before he moved into fine art. 1
• Francis Bacon supplemented his early income with interior design.
• Jeremy Deller, who used one of his jobs to design slogan-covered t-shirts as conceptual art, "worked at jobs including postman, driver and shop assistant at Sign of the Times, a Covent Garden clothing shop for which he designed T-shirts featuring lyrics by Philip Larkin" 2
• Jeff Koons worked in sales and finally as a commodities trader in Wall Street before he hit his stride selling flashy art to wealthy patrons.
• Richard Serra's first job was working in the steel mills, to support his studies at Yale. 3
• At different points in his life, Duchamp was the following: professional chess player, self-publisher, painter, volunteer for military service, art dealer, gambler, inventor, librarian, secretary to a French war mission in the second world war. He also dabbled in cleaning and fabric-dying businesses, thought of becoming a professional cameraman and was eager to market self-designed chess sets, optical machines and scientific toys. 4

Many of these artists incorporated the skills they gained in their early jobs into their arts practice, which only seems to have aided them in developing their ideas.

Notes

1. Warhol:early work http://www.warhol.org/collection/art/earlywork/
2  Lunch with the FT: Jeremy Deller www.ft.com/cms/s/2/1e3fbcca-f9c4-11e2-b8ef-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3Gmus5iM1
3. Man of Steel http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/oct/05/serra.art
4 Marcel Duhamp: A riotous A-Z of his secret life http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/apr/07/marcel-duchamp-artist-a-z-dictionary

Art picks for June/July

Art picks and reviews for June/July 2014

Until the end of July is a great time to catch degree art shows and to discover emerging artists. If you're outside London, try go to an event near where you live to see work by new local artists before they are tempted to move away to the big smoke. Or look for exhibitions by emerging artists at local contemporary art venues over the summer.

A Stack of History, 2013.
Fine Art degree dissertation, art history books arranged vertically by size, paper slips.

Degree show guides and showcases.

a-n Degree Show Guide - Flick through this free magazine online or download it
Tips for art buyers  - A page of advice from a-n for buying work by emerging artists 
Free Range -  A guide to a season of FREE graduate Art + Design shows at the The Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, East London  (29th May - 14th July)

Exhibitions June/July 2014

Vikings: life and legend
It's got Vikings, as you'd expect, and I love the British Museum but this is a popular exhibition and so it'll be very busy. However, if you don't like slow-moving crowds (see review below) you may not be in a hurry to visit ...
Blurb: 'Discover the Viking world in this major exhibition – the first at the British Museum for over 30 years.'
Review: 'Vikings at the British Museum is hell. Terrible viewing conditions; like the slowest moving buffet queue in THE WORLD. Disappointed :( ' Emily Speed (@speedina) April 25, 2014
British Museum, London. Until 22 June.
https://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/vikings.aspx

Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs
One of the first pieces of modern art that I enjoyed as a child is The Snail (1953), which usually lives at Tate Britain. Look out for the mini-snail inching its way around one of the bold slabs of colour.
The blurb: 'Henri Matisse is a giant of modern art. This landmark show explores the final chapter in his career in which he began ‘carving into colour’ and his series of spectacular cut-outs was born.The exhibition represents a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see so many of the artist’s works in one place and discover Matisse’s final artistic triumph.'
Top tip: Sunday evenings will be set aside for a quieter exhibition viewing experience, with visitor numbers restricted from 20.00–22.30.
Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG.  (0)20 7887 8888 / Until 7 Sept.
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/henri-matisse-cut-outs

Marina Abramović: 512 Hours 
At the start of 2014, I'd said that the exhibition that most intrigued me was the prospect of seeing Abramović at the Serpentine Gallery and a possible takeover of Kensington Gardens. As the first performance approached we heard that Marina felt intimidated by her prospective British audience, saying "The British are sarcastic. They make fun of everything.", and that has been bourne out responses in various articles have ranged from the unexpectedly emotional through to rebellious irritation at being directed by the artist and her assistants. This hasn't scared off visitors though and the queue to take part apparently starts very early and stretches into Kensington Gardens, with some people bringing chairs for their wait.
Top tips: Entry is free of charge and on a strictly first-come, first-served basis. There is no advance booking. Due to the limited capacity, visitors may be expected to queue outside, so bring  water, sunscreen and an umbrella for the time you may be required to wait. Galleries open 10am - 6pm, Tuesday - Sunday, plus bank holidays
Serpentine Gallery,  London W2 /  44 (0)20 7402 6075 / Until 25th August.
http://www.serpentinegalleries.org / Look out for 'A.G.N.E.S' if you fancy an interactive experience on the website.

RA Summer Exhibition
A vast sprawling exhibition in the main galeries of the RA, the show annually shows a wide range of work, mostly for sale. The joys include seeing work by well-known contemporary artists, the lows include sore feet as you reach the end. Judging by the reviews on BBC Arts, this year's most interesting curated room will probably be that by Cornelia Parker, who has selected around a black and white theme.
Blurb:'The largest open submission exhibition in the world'; 'Held without interruption since 1769, the Summer Exhibition displays works in a variety of mediums and genres by emerging and established contemporary artists.'
Top tip: If you want to buy something to take home you might also like Not the Royal Academy (below)
RA Main Galleries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD / 020 7300 8000 / Until 17 Aug.
www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/15

Twixt Two Worlds
'This display maps the pivotal moment in cinema history when still photography evolved into moving images' A Whitechapel Gallery collaboration with the Contemporary Arts Society, using magic lanterns, slides withr pioneering cinema imagery and contemporary artists to revisit the history and techniques of early film.
Whitechapel Gallery, Gallery 7, London E1 7QX / +44 (0)20 7522 7888  / Until 31 August
http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/exhibitions/contemporary-art-society-twixt-two-worlds

Not the Royal Academy
A Salon des Refusés for some of the artists who didn't make it into the RA Summer Exhibition but nevertheless have commerically viable work. Worth a look if you want to see more traditional work suited to a domestic setting.
LLEWELLYN ALEXANDER GALLERY, 124-126 The Cut, Waterloo, London SE 1 8LN UK (Opposite the Old Vic Theatre) / Tel: 020 7620 1322/1324 / Until 16 Aug.
http://www.nottheroyalacademy.com/

BP Portrait Award
Another popular open submission prize and exhibition. Mostly representational art and I rarely agree with the first prize selection, tending to prefer the runners up, but I still love to go and see what is thrown up each year. The travel prize is also always interesting.
Top tips: Admission Free, open late Thursdays and Fridays.
National Portrait Gallery,  St Martin’s Place,  London,  WC2H 0HE / 020 7306 0055 / Until 21st Sept.
http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/bp-portrait-award-2014/the-exhibition.php

Outside London

Bristol - Jeremy Deller: English Magic
Jeremy Deller's English Magic tours to Bristol in April, for the second leg of its trip around England. This time the exhibition's local links will include include new installations and commissions made in direct response to the museum’s own collections; including paintings of the Bristol Riots of 1831 by William James Muller and a display of taxidermy, handpicked by Deller.
This was one exhibition I was very glad to visit at the William Morris Gallery, as I couldn't get to the Venice Biennale and I wanted to see English Magic in person. Jeremy Deller makes the kind of work I'd like to be making myself. I need to find my own way there, so I take work like his as an inspiration that the art world still supports artists making socially-inclusive artworks.
Top tip: See the events list.
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1RL. Until 21 September
http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/leisure-and-culture/jeremy-deller-english-magic-exhibition

Mondrian and Colour
Blurb: 'See over 50 works spanning Mondrian’s journey, many from the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, which holds the largest collection of Mondrian’s paintings, along with exhibits from museums and private collections in Europe and the USA.'
Turner Contemporary, Margate, Kent CT9 1HG / + 44 (0) 1843 233000 / Until 21 Sept.
http://www.turnercontemporary.org/exhibitions/mondrian-and-colour

Mondrian and his Studios
The partner exhibition to Mondrian at the Turner Contemporary (above)
Blurb: 'This brand new exhibition, which commemorates the 70th anniversary of the artist’s death, provides fresh insights into Mondrian’s practice and explores his relationship with architecture and urbanism.'
Tate Liverpool, Liverpool / Until 5 October.
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-liverpool/exhibition/mondrian-and-his-studios

More useful links

The Guardian - Art and Design
The Telegraph's art exhibitions and reviews.

Art picks for May/June

Art picks and reviews for May/June 2014

May - July is a great time to catch degree art shows and to discover emerging artists. If you're outside London, try go to an event near where you live to see work by new local artists before they are tempted to move away to the big smoke. Or look for exhibitions by emerging artists at local contemporary art venues over the summer.

Fine Art degree exhibition by Suzanna Raymond, 2013.

Degree show guides and showcases.

a-n Degree Show Guide - Flick through this free magazine online or download it
Tips for art buyers  - A page of advice from a-n for buying work by emerging artists 
Free Range -  A guide to a season of FREE graduate Art + Design shows at the The Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, East London  (29th May - 14th July)  

Exhibitions May/June 2014

Richard Hamilton at Tate Modern
Blockbuster retrospective of 'one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century'.
Blurb: 'Tate Modern presents the first retrospective to encompass the full scope of Hamilton’s work, from his early exhibition designs of the 1950s to his final paintings of 2011. This exhibition explores his relationship to design, painting, photography and television, as well as his engagement and collaborations with other artists.'
Review: I enjoyed trip to this show but I should have left a bit longer for the installations, which beg for some camera phone 'selfies' (unfortunately photos are not allowed in the exhibition). The work invites you to feel that you are participating in completing it, a quality that I love in contemporary art.
Top tip: Think of something witty to say or sing when you get to room 4 (This is Tomorrow)
Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG.  (0)20 7887 8888 Until 26 May.
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/richard-hamilton

Bailey's Stardust
More than 250 portraits from his entire career, from around the world, and views of East London from 1961-2.
Blurb: 'Featuring over 250 images, personally selected and printed by Bailey, the exhibition offers an unmissable opportunity to experience the work of one of the world’s greatest image-makers.'
National Portrait Gallery. (020 7312 2463) Until 1 June.

Women and The History of Art
A late addition on my part, as I've just seen this Guardian article. If you're fascinated by Amanda Vickery's BBC2 TV Series 'The Story of Women and Art' then you'll probably be interested in these contemporary portraits of female artists that have been airbrushed from conventional art history.
The Fine Art Society Contemporary, 148 New Bond Street, W1S 2JT. Until 6 June.
http://www.faslondon.com/fine_art_society_contemporary/exhibitions/current/annie_kevans.html

Vikings: life and legend
It's got Vikings - what more do we need to say and I love the British Museum but this is a popular exhibition and so it'll be very busy. However, if you don't like slow-moving crowds (see feedback from @speedina below) you may not be in a hurry to visit ...
Blurb: 'Discover the Viking world in this major exhibition – the first at the British Museum for over 30 years.'
Review: 'Vikings at the British Museum is hell. Terrible viewing conditions; like the slowest moving buffet queue in THE WORLD. Disappointed :( ' Emily Speed (@speedina) April 25, 2014
British Museum. Until 22 June 2014
https://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/vikings.aspx


Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs
One of the first pieces of modern art that I enjoyed as a child is The Snail (1953), which usually lives at Tate Britain. Look out for the mini-snail inching its way around one of the bold slabs of colour.
The blurb: 'Henri Matisse is a giant of modern art. This landmark show explores the final chapter in his career in which he began ‘carving into colour’ and his series of spectacular cut-outs was born.The exhibition represents a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see so many of the artist’s works in one place and discover Matisse’s final artistic triumph.'
Top tip: Sunday evenings will be set aside for a quieter exhibition viewing experience, with visitor numbers restricted from 20.00–22.30.
Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG.  (0)20 7887 8888, 17 April  – 7 Sept.
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/henri-matisse-cut-outs

RA Summer Exhibition
A vast sprawling exhibition in the main galeries of the RA, the show annually shows a wide range of work, mostly for sale. The joys include seeing work by well-known contemporary artists, the lows include sore feet as you reach the end. Judging by the clips on the BBC, this year's best curated room will probably be that by Cornelia Parker, who has selected around a black and white theme.
Blurb:'The largest open submission exhibition in the world'; 'Held without interruption since 1769, the Summer Exhibition displays works in a variety of mediums and genres by emerging and established contemporary artists.'
Top tip: If you want to buy something to take home you might also like Not the Royal Academy (below)
RA Main Galleries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD / 020 7300 8000 / 9 June — 17 Aug.
www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/15

Not the Royal Academy
A Salon des Refusés for some of the artists who didn't make it into the RA Summer Exhibition but nevertheless have commerically viable work. Worth a look if you want to see more traditional work suited to a domestic setting.
LLEWELLYN ALEXANDER GALLERY, 124-126 The Cut, Waterloo, London SE 1 8LN UK (Opposite the Old Vic Theatre) / Tel: 020 7620 1322/1324 / 10th June - 16th Aug.
http://www.nottheroyalacademy.com/

Outside London

Bristol - Jeremy Deller: English Magic
Jeremy Deller's English Magic tours to Bristol in April, for the second leg of its trip around England. This time the exhibition's local links will include include new installations and commissions made in direct response to the museum’s own collections; including paintings of the Bristol Riots of 1831 by William James Muller and a display of taxidermy, handpicked by Deller.
This was one exhibition I was very glad to visit at the William Morris Gallery, as I couldn't get to the Venice Biennale and I wanted to see English Magic in person. Jeremy Deller makes the kind of work I'd like to be making myself. I need to find my own way there, so I take work like his as an inspiration that the art world still supports artists making socially-inclusive artworks.
Top tip: See the events list.
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1RL. 12 April - 21 September
http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/leisure-and-culture/jeremy-deller-english-magic-exhibition

More useful links

The Guardian - Art and Design
The Telegraph's art exhibitions and reviews.

Time to think

In September I graduated with my BA in Fine Art from the University of Northampton. You didn't miss news about my degree show because I didn't have one but I'll discuss that another time.

Since then I've been taking my time to relax a bit and think about what I want to do next. My plan was to write some thoughts about degrees and 'art school', do some art fairs and then look for some paid work. Like all the best plans, this has been constantly modified as I've gone along.

If you've been listening to Grayson Perry's Reith lectures, available with their transcripts on iPlayer, you'll have realised that the art world is a many-layered and wonderful thing. I was interested to hear that Perry thinks that contemporary art has now been embraced by the mainstream:

"It’s no longer a kind of little backwater cult. It is now a part of mainstream cultural life."

Hopefully this makes my own artistic aspirations more accessible but that remains to be seen and in the meantime I have visited art fairs (more on that later), checked out the arts and heritage strategy for England and Milton Keynes and looked for arts jobs.

The latter topics also tie in with my final year project where I looked at the art world and the way it works within its own organizational structures, starting with the degree process and the way that is propagated into galleries and art fairs. In this I sympathise with Perry's aim to make the work in contemporary galleries more accessible, as there still seems to be wide gap to be bridged between the art that has been taught at school, where technical skill tends to be highly valued, and the principles of contemporary art taught at degree level which rejects the restrictions of artisanal accomplishments.

As Grayson Perry says:

"Well I hope to ask and try to answer those obvious questions that I think that a lot of people who aren’t you know members of the art world ask when they go into a gallery and they’re slightly bemused or maybe angered by the work, and I want to sort of maybe say you know help them, give them tools to understand and appreciate art."