2/ RESEARCH : MEETING THE ARTISTS
It is here that I start my search for an artist who might be willing to work with me, visiting the studio projects to meet the artists and introduce myself. Each artist tutor has built up a strong relationship with the group members, facilitating their working process, often over a number of years. They are instrumental in identifying opportunities outside the studio projects, supporting artists to further establish their professional practice.
The studio artists work is far ranging, both in it’s form and content, including large, abstract multi-layered canvases, intricate mixed media sculpture, finely drawn portraits and landscapes, public installations and ‘happenings’ as well as some thought provoking text based work. Some of the artists attend more than one studio project, creating very different work on each of the days, often inspired by the other artists in the group. While many artists could easily fill a studio of their own with all the work they produce, the inevitable limitations on space and materials are the only restrictive factors that influence the work produced.
Of course the term ‘learning disabled’ includes an incredibly diverse level of ability, with moderately learning disabled artists often able to discuss and analyse their work while more severely learning disabled artists may be more limited in terms of verbal communication, unable to develop an idea conceptually. This in no way defines the quality of the work itself but does raise additional issues when supporting artists to make decisions in terms of the development of their own practice.
It was clear that for many more severely learning disabled artists process was paramount, often loosing interest in the work once it had been completed. However, exhibiting opportunities had shown that this sense of connection could be strengthened if the artwork was experienced in a different context, allowing artists to re-engage with the work on a physical level.
During this research I had a number of really interesting conversations with the artist tutors supporting these studio projects, all of whom I respected greatly in the skills and understanding that they brought to each group of artists. While it was evident that there was some element of collaborative working within the studios, often with artists working alongside volunteers to support the development of their process led work, the balance of the relationships were always clearly defined. The artist tutors and volunteers were there to facilitate, providing creative guidance when required, both in terms of materials and processes. The artists were clearly the recipients in this relationship.
I was keen to see if a collaborative relationship could be formed on a more equal basis, with each artist leading the other in terms of process. I wanted to find an artist whose practice might benefit from the opportunity of working in a one to one partnership, whose work shared common themes with my own practice. Having discussed the feedback that I had received from the studio artist tutors with Sheryll, I proposed a collaborative trial session, based within a non Action Space studio. I believed that it would be important to be in a neutral space, new to both collaborative partners so that we could engage with each other as much as possible on equal terms. Following discussions with the artist tutors a potential partner was chosen. It was hoped that the trail session would enable this artist to make an informed choice of their own to determine whether there might be potential in establishing a collaborative partnership.
