Artists Newsletter #2: The 1990s
Continuing our celebration of a-n’s 40th Anniversary with a series of online publications and features that explore the a-n archive whilst celebrating artists practices now.
For Artists Newsletter #2: The 1990s, Guest Editors Catherine Bertola and Rosie Morris give a platform to women artists and writers to highlight less visible, marginalised and precarious practices.
Taking an Artists Newsletter cover from 1992 by anonymous women-led pressure group Fanny Adams whose ‘information pieces’ sought to expose inequality and discrimination within the art world, and the Guerrilla Girls’ 1988 poster ‘The Advantages of being a Women Artist’ as their starting point, Catherine Bertola and Rosie Morris have commissioned a series of texts and artworks that seek to give voice to some of the barriers that women artists still face three decades on.
Artist and academic Dr Kate McMillan considers today’s landscape for female artists, and reflects on her own lived experience to consider what a flourishing cultural ecology could look like.
Artists Clémentine Bedos and Isabel Castro Jung in conversation discuss their vision of an ideal society, and the role generosity and trust can play in enabling artists to overcome obstacles in their careers.
A series of five essays reflect on some of the many issues affecting female artists today including: curator Lucy Day on her approach to developing projects that place issues of equality and equity at the centre; writer Orla Foster on why too many women in the arts are still stuck on mute; and Hettie Judah reflects on the artworld’s attitude to motherhood, sharing quotes from 12 artists.
And 2019 graduate Bethany Stead meets with artist Caroline Achaintre to talk about lockdown, craft, class, confidence and sustaining an art practice.
The magazine-style digital publication also includes a series of downloadable artworks by artists Jade Montserrat, Nicola Singh and Martina Mullaney who offer their contemporary responses to the Guerrilla Girls’ posters, plus 40 Years 40 Artists interviews with artists Lubaina Himid and Bobby Baker, in conversation with writer Louisa Buck.
Catherine Bertola is an artist who makes site specific installations, drawings and films that address the invisible histories of women, whose roles and contributions to society are overlooked and undervalued. The work gives voice to untold narratives, excavating the past to confront inequalities that women continue to face. She has exhibited nationally and internationally.
Rosie Morris is an artist living and working in Newcastle. Her practice looks to enhance viewers’ bodily perception of atmosphere within architectural space, working with perspectival painting, architectural installations, projected light, print-making, sound, film and text, in gallery and heritage locations in both UK and European contexts.
More a-n at 40 features and content including our 40 Years 40 Artists series of interviews at www.a-n.co.uk/an40
Artists Newsletter #2: The 1990s on Issuu (best viewed using Fullscreen button)
Artists Newsletter #2: The 1990s pdf (click image to view)
