Towards New Worlds : A care based practice
As part of the research for Towards New Worlds I was awarded an Arts Council England grant to research disabled artists practice, the wider field and some of the issues which they face. I say they, although I am also a disabled artist so include myself in this also. However in this context I was looking through the lens of a curator.
I visited studios, kitchens, exhibitions, galleries, websites, had telephone and zoom calls, researched online databases and I asked friends and colleagues for tips where to find disabled artists. There are numerous visible and invisible systemic barriers which impact on the arts ecology of disabled artists, not to mention economics, health and other intersectional factors which impact on the viability and sustainability of those who practice.
There was a long process involved from grant award to going to MIMA with a proposal and then distilling a long list of potential artists to the final selection. My methodology was a combination of whether the art spoke to me, was critically robust, was exploring some of things I am interested in and how it responds to contemporary times.
During the whole process of exhibition making, from the first contacts with the selected artists to the opening and now beyond, the embedding of care was paramount. Initially this was setting up systems whereby we can communicate effectively with all the artists, that we can return to conversations because the artists have agency and they were an active part of the exhibition rather than it ‘happening’ to them. Not every artist wants to communicate in the same way and even within shared methods there are preferences. This care continues now with the public programme. It was present at the opening with quiet covid safe opening and restricted numbers to the traditional opening with the usual food, drinks, dj, crowds.
Working with MIMA was a great fit for my practice. Having been the Future Curators Programme disabled curator in residence at MIMA I knew they are committed to continual systemic change and working in an authentic manner with disability, difference, and care. This approach does not necessarily cost a lot of extra money but it does require time, commitment and awareness.
