It's Not You, It's Me - a-n The Artists Information Company

Venue: Leeds Art Gallery
Date: Saturday, April 27, 2024
12:00 AM
Address: Leeds Art Gallery, The Headrow, LS1 3AA
Location: Yorkshire
Organiser: Aire Place Studios

It’s Not You, It’s Me

Leeds Art Gallery (10:30am – 12:00pm)

Book Your Free Spot Here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/its-not-you-its-me-tickets-890103983977?aff=oddtdtcreator

We need to collectively work on making the art world more personable, not more personal. We take so many things to heart. Every no, every rejection, every moment as it is personal- as it IS to us. So many people just give up making as the no’s just pile up so high, we cannot take the weight any longer. I am one of these people – I gave up making art for 9 years as I was all noped out. When did being creative become so much about other people? When did we as creative give others so much power over what and who we are?

How can we start unpicking why we feel so much hurt, so much imposter syndrome? Every single person I meet feels it. We need to start reclaiming the creative world as ours, we need to work more collectively to uplift, celebrate and just say no to this imposter syndrome which does not belong to any of us. As I am me, this is me – and no one can tell me any differently.

It’s not you, it’s me will be talking with curators who select work for open calls, who send out their no’s, but also feel and see it all as the artist themself. I know emailing you with ‘Sorry but this time your application was not successful’ is gonna hurt, I feel you – I have felt it.

This conversation will involve personal experiences on how selections are made, common mistakes which are made and a chance to hear just how selections are made. Often your ‘no’ has no value or reflection on how good the work is.

Afterwards we’ll break into small groups and share ideas, thoughts and get this conversation going to start working towards the changes that are well overdue!

About the Project

‘Let Us See You’ will be an 12 month project of curatorial artist support and development, and exhibition opportunities for Leeds based artists culminating in a series of exhibitions across the city at key partner venues. We want to open up the process of curation and selection for an art show by investing in artists from the very beginning of the process and offering support right through to the end; kicking off by hosting a series of accessible surgeries that demystify the application and selection process, that focus on what the artists’ needs are rather than a predetermined curatorial focus. ‘Let Us See You’ builds on the inclusive work of Aire Place Studios and continues to support the work of communities that experience barriers to participation.

Supported with funding from Leeds Inspired, part of Leeds City Council.

Sarah Francis

Artist Curator Sarah Francis is a Leeds based Artist Curator who focuses on bringing under-recognised artists and narratives to the public, using empathy and warmth to build self-confidence in creatives left behind by the mainstream system. Fascinated by complex possibilities lying dormant in ‘familiar’ environments, setting a challenging dialogue between cultural identity and the inner worlds which we as artists manifest within our work. This conceptual framework draws parallels between artists from differing socio-cultural worlds, whose work follows similar lines in metaphysical realms. Francis' interpretation of the curator is that of a caretaker of other worlds, working in collaboration as the tour guide and storyteller, bringing these converging manifestations to our physical spaces. Francis’ artwork centres around her neurodiverse and queer identity, building her own language and worlds to explore and understand ‘how I made me’; a reference to an early body of work that investigated her inner trauma and re-articulation of her current self. Her work has been shortlisted for the Saatchi Gallery’s Art of Giving Prize, selected by Richard Billingham for Curator’s Choice Noise Young Talent 2009, and recognised in Aesthetica’s 100 Best Contemporary Artists in Europe. In addition to her work, Sarah Francis is the Founder and Director of Aire Place Studios, Leeds. @sarahfrancis.art & @aireplacestudios

Aire Place Studios CIC

Aire Place Studios is a creative studio which holds spaces of equality and solidarity. We host comfortable studios spaces, hold safer spaces for workshops and a bold gallery space centred around innovation and inclusivity. Aire Place Studios also features a collective of associated artists who exist to radically uplift under-represented creatives with empathy and warmth to realise the potential of those often overlooked by traditional art institutions. This dynamic collaboration builds trust and collective accountability to serve our communities.