posted on Feb, 21 2013 @ 05:43 AM
reply to post by ANOK
Hi Anok,
ya'know I used to kind of agree with a lot of your sentiments here. I went to art school too, got my degree and then ventured out into the big world
of art and artists.
Its very difficult and unlikely for a young artist to gain recognition from the established artistic elite, its kind of a closed shop. Many of the
larger galleries have a roster of artists that they churn throughout the year, so there just isn't available wall space or time to fit in anyone
new.
After a few years of hitting my head against the wall I dropped art altogether and became bitter and resentful of art and artists. But if you have
that creative urge it is impossible to ignore, so I kept creating for my own sole pleasure until one day when I was introduced to an artistic
collective working in the field of community arts. I joined as a volunteer, then was employed, then co-managed the organisation then eventually I
moved away and started my own company. All our work is outside galleries, mainly in the public space but also in partnership with libraries, community
centres and local government buildings.
We make art with people from every walk of life and introduce them to concept that everyone possesses the skills to create something meaningful that
they can be proud of, its just a matter of finding the spark within. The majority of people we work with have never picked up a brush of pencil in
their lives, they too fell for this 'you're not an artist and you never will be' bs. But once you light that fire - it can never be extinguished
and pretty much all of the people benefit in some way or another, you can literally see their minds open up and ideas start to flow.
In community arts you have to be thick-skinned as we're continually ignored and sidelined by the establishment, its an uphill struggle to gain
exposure and recognition from the artistic elite who deem it as 'not art' and 'unimportant' especially when it comes to funding - but thats
another story altogether.
Here's a selection of some of our work...