The Turner Prize

#Womanspreading

Fancy Footwork custom converse #womanspreading at Feren's Art Gallery in the Turner Prize exhibition.

Badges

I really wish Ferens Gallery staff were paid, instead of working for free as "volunteers". They were very friendly, and full of recommendations, advice etc, but I didn't feel compelled to go and see everything, and it's because I know they're not paid, and are part of the slave economy exploited by the creative industries.

Unpaid work.

My favourite to win the Turner Prize

Article 27 of the Human Rights Act

Lubaina Himid's work, formerly seen at Nottingham Contemporary

Absolutely no irony here - artists are now the slaves.

The audience is also a slave. 

"Comment is free" - although it isn't if you're an artist.

The slavery of looking at an image of Thatcher - this is costing me £322.39 in cuts.

BBC 6 Music #ArtIsEverywhere - except in Grantium applications of course, and Universal Credit.

This week, I won a ticket to attend BBC6music's #ArtIsEverywhere Breakfast Show recording with Mary Anne Hobbs live at Feren's Art Gallery in Hull.

So amid organising things for Birds Yard for the Christmas Market (see Illustration blog), I frantically booked a train ticket and a last minute hotel, and headed the long way round the Humber to go.

(Of course, if I were paid properly, I could afford to run a car, it would be an hour's drive across the Humber bridge).

Arriving in Hull, UK City Of Culture

It was an early start after a sleepless night, up before 7.00a.m. to arrive at Feren's Art Gallery, where this year's Turner Prize nominees are exhibiting work in anticipation of the award. I've never actually been to the Turner Prize exhibition before, it's a wonder if I catch it on TV, so it was a good excuse to go and visit.

Gold signs are all the rage, apparently.

This breakfast was not free, it was £1 for some #juice

I got the Juice! #Chromeo

My Turner Prize entry.

Maryanne Hobbs doing her live radio broadcast

Maryanne Hobbs with artist Sam

Maryanne Hobbs interviewing Dominic Wilcox

The Feren's Art Gallery team provided us with some materials - a piece of paper and some charcoal, although there was a shortage, so the audience were asked to break it in half to share around.

Banana Legs

My live drawing of Dominic Wilcox - he got up just as I was about to draw his legs, so he got banana legs instead, unfortunately. I'm sure he could invent a way of walking with them!

Maryanne Hobbs tweeting and interviewing Nick from Blast Theory

Here is Maryanne Hobbs interviewing Nick from Blast Theory, whose work I haven't had the luxury of seeing in Hull, as I've been busy doing non-art things, such as attending Carer's Rights Day and earning money in non-art jobs where I'm not allowed to take photos or anything creative.
I remember meeting Nick when Blast Theory had their Frequency Festival piece in Lincoln, before I realised that Frequency Festival is a total failure for artists here in Lincoln.

charcoal, not all that good for drawing faces!

Just did this to see what it looked like!

At the coal face, I should be on strike #JeremyDeller

When all the poor artists have been eradicated by austerity, most probably.

That's Nick from Blast Theory and Jason Bruges, both male digital artists.

Women digital artists are priced out of even contemplating doing any work nowadays, by funding organisations that reject proposals, and failure of things like Frequency Festival. Those that do, are often just doing it for free, or worse, paying to do it.

A discussion with David Bowie's photographer. Again, he said that he got to work with David because he was a bit cheeky and asked. Easy to do if you're a healthy white male with no caring responsibilities at all, and you get paid to do it. Not so easy if no one wants to pay you, and Universal Credit.

You can't see him, he is hiding behind Maryanne Hobbs!

There he is!

Philip Selway of Radiohead about to perform some live music

A girl drawing a unicorn

Nick Tandavanitj and Dominic Wilcox

Nick Tandavanitj from Blast Theory and Dominic Wilcox plotting world domination or something. I'm just behind them, but with no funding.

Perhaps they should get together and sort out the Grantium application so that I can get funding.

A live doodle of Philip Selway performing music for BBC 6 music breakfast #ArtIsEverywhere

Selfie with Maryanne Hobbs :-)

Radiohead's keyboard #TheFunkLady

How I left without stroking Radiohead's keyboard is a mystery - mainly that I hadn't really had any breakfast, and needed to go and get some food!

Grantium and Universal Credit

It's almost a year since my trip to Norway for Peace Painting. And people think it should be easy for me to continue to work on it. And it should be.
But it isn't. And I'm going to attempt to explain why.

People say "if there's anything you need, let me know", but that never seems to mean any money. 

Sometimes, non art friends post ads for things such as The Big Draw event at The Collection. "It's free!" they say, so "explore your creative side". Only for me, I'd expect to be paid to do that, and any time now, at a time not known to me, Universal Credit could be rolled out here, and that'll be the final nail in the coffin for my career as an artist.

I'm not terrified of it now. I was so stressed out for a while that I couldn't do anything. My nails were so bitten, and I was suffering sleepless nights and indigestion from the stress and worry. 
But since May, something changed.
I spend most of my time now fighting against it, signing petitions, tweeting links to evidence, the same as I have been, and taking care of us with little - no support. I was granted respite funding to go to Wales to visit family there.
I've done my best to prepare for the impact. 
But I'm no longer producing any art work, as I'm exhausted from this, and Grantium applications.

I have a non art job that stifles creativity. It offers some potential - I have a DBS and work with children teaching in schools, but it too is being affected by funding cuts, so whilst I earn money doing it, I have less time for my practice.

I am trying to think of ways to utilise the skills for some kind of art project, but haven't figured out what that might be.

Frequency Festival is still ludicrously claiming some kind of ownership of Lincoln, whilst failing to understand how artists living and working here can overcome the bizarre digital mindfuckery of Grantium. 
Of course, I'm in solidarity with the depressed and anxious, in not bothering to go to see any of it, because I'm not paid to do that.

This week, Stranger Things 2 was released on Netflix. I've come to realise that I am Joyce Byers. The Upside Down is where children with mental health issues disappear, and the Demogorgon is depression, and anxiety, and for others, other mental health symptoms of psychosis or bi polar, or whatever. 

And Oh God, Eleven's Mum.
You can see the role carers play - from Hopper taking care of Eleven and parents doing their best for kids that are going through Hell.
And even if Will's issues were just purely in his head, still he isn't getting the kind of help he really needs.
To manifest it as something real, something tangible that takes the form of the network of neutron-like tunnels that connect Hawkins to the shadow monster, the innerspace adventures of Hopper and the other kids as they try to help Will fight his demons.

As a carer, I now have to fight the fact that as well as artists not being paid, carers are not paid either. 

Peace Painting ACE grant

So it seems the Peace Painting grant application wasn't successful. However, feedback offered has identified the areas that need adjusting and looking into, with some additional information required before resubmitting a new application.
The second resubmission was also unsuccessful, but for different reasons.

Artists always reassure me that you can apply for funding for all sorts of things, for anything. But the Arts Council are dictating the criteria.

I wanted to include a budget for respite, for the time out I have to take for caring responsibilities, but apparently they think this should be included in the artists' fee.
The time I have to take out for that does not allow me to do any art work. I'm not working as an artist during that time. And I don't have another income. I don't receive Carer's Allowance. So I think I'm meant to be destitute.