The Art of Collaboration
It takes a village! Coming to the end of a DYCP and thinking about what's next...
It’s a very rainy morning in September, my Colitis is flaring up which means: rest day, so what better time to do my monthly Substack update?
Last month I came to the end of my DYCP grant period, and I’m getting back to applying to film screenings, open calls and residencies. Last month I released my new short film ‘a stone circle for the future’, (thanks for all the nice feedback!) and I’m continuing my research around the themes involved. Looking deeply into stone circles and nuclear semiotics has got me thinking a lot about collaboration and community, and so that’s what this update is gonna be focused on.
Coming to the end of DYCP
To say the last 9 months or so have been transformational would be an understatement! Receiving a DYCP grant as I entered my 40th year (I am no longer a ‘young artist’!) meant I was able to pay for my studio space whilst actually spending time in it. I was able to buy a decent projector, access to all Adobe programs and go on short courses to learn how to use them properly. I was able to spend precious time in my studio, reading, drawing, making sounds and focusing on new ways to use these skills to make new works and explore new ideas. Amazing. I truly hope ACE continue giving out even more of these important grants.
As part of DYCP is artist income, I was able to take time to rest- usually, any time taken to look after my health (which as a chronically ill person is integral) results in not being able to hustle for extra work and therefore losing money to pay rent & bills. The stress of which makes me sicker. I started doing regular Pilates classes, which I can feel improving my core strength already, which is great since finding out that hypermobility is the source of my mobility issues. I bought an electric convertor for my beloved bike, which means I can leave the house more than a few times a week without needing days to rest. This also means I am cycling more, now that I am able to, so my general fitness is better. (Brighton is full-on for hills, which I was finding increasingly hard to get up very often without spending money I don’t have on cabs).
The space to just make art and look after myself better has opened up my mind and my world to the possibilities of the work I can make and how I can make it. I can now edit films and build 3D works on my laptop in bed, which is a game-changer for my creative practice as someone frequently disabled by chronic illness.
But one of the most exciting parts for me, was being able to pay people in my creative circle for their expertise, mentorship and support. A bit more about them later on. But first, some thinkings about community.
What is Community, post-2020?
Following COVID-19 lockdowns and an increase in my own health issues, I’ve found it difficult to stay connected to the communities I had been part of since moving to the city. This has been further impacted by community dispersal following the increase in living costs in the city, with many creatives I know having to balance additional work, leave the arts completely or move away from the city. Getting older is a part of this too of course- things change over time. Whilst I still have connections and networks, I’ve felt increasingly disconnected and my recent research into stone circles and nuclear semiotics (both of these subjects involving enormous collaborations), has got me thinking about community and the collaborative nature of creativity itself. Why this image of the ‘lone artist’ persists, I don’t know.
I’m genuinely interested in discussions around this, especially with other Autistic people and those with health issues that create barriers to connection and physically being ‘present’. I’m open to emails about what you think community looks like, post-Covid.
(kateshieldsart@gmail.com if you prefer)
‘Duos’ + ‘Dorothy Hepworth & Patricia Preece: an untold story’ at Charleston in Lewes
On another rainy day a couple of weeks ago, I took myself out to the new Charleston space in Lewes, which happened to have two exhibitions focusing on collaboration- one contemporary group show featuring White Pube, Rottingdean Bazaar and more, and one Bloomsbury exhibition revealing the radical (and secret!) lifelong collaborative works of Dorothy Hepworth and Patricia Preece: creative duo and lovers from the day they met until the day they died.
Collaborative art…with my mum!
Since retiring a few years ago, my mum- who worked as a teaching assistant at my old school- has been getting back into making art for herself. I went to visit recently and we decided to do some outdoor collaborative experimental paintings before attending an all-day drawing session at Fabrica the next day, led by Jane Fordham. (Best experimental session around IMO!)
It was great to get creative with my mum, and make some colourful collaborative works.
organsongs at Hove Museum of Creativity
Last month organsongs was shown as an installation to the public for the first time, at ‘A Queer Night at the Museum’, on the Thursday night before Pride at Hove Museum of Creativity.
Recordings of the reactive digital organs, moving to sounds generated by the organs themselves, were projected onto the walls in the fine art gallery to create a soothing, hypnotic environment, where visitors could sit and contemplate. Thanks to Jamie and Moritz of VideoClub and to Hove Museum for all their help putting on this fun and varied night of queer art, film and performances!
The main piece of music from this installation, which I am particularly happy with, is available through my bandcamp to download for £1. It’s a soothing piece, which on headphones can really make your brain fizz in a pleasing way.
Do have a listen below and consider buying it if you can, to help support my work :)
My DYCP Collaborators 💗
I wanted to write about the mentors and support workers I’ve been working with for the past 9 months, who have had a huge impact on the work I’ve been developing and putting out into the world recently.
Jamie Wyld- Jamie is a force for good in the world of helping artists make art! As well as supporting me and many other artists with their DYCP applications (which is no small feat!), they are the Director of Dreamy Place festival (returning in Oct this year!) and VideoClub, amongst many other brilliant projects relating to film, digital art and artists from underrepresented backgrounds. Dreamy Place have just announced their 2024 events programme and it looks very exciting!
Christy Ku- Christy is an extremely talented and hardworking poet, actor, writer, workshop facilitator, community-builder and all round magical organised person who managed the admin side of my grant and budgeting, as well as helping me write applications and an access rider. Our weekly video calls were invaluable and I always loved hearing what she’s up to. Christy and I ‘met’ during the pandemic through Jay Jay Revlon’s brilliant online Vogue classes, and we’ve yet to meet in person! (Some day our physical paths with cross, I am sure of it!) Christy has a website here and also a substack which is well worth signing up to, especially if you are a creative looking for good advice on the professional side of being a creative.
Thomas Buckley- is an artist and creative technologist (an actual tech Wizard!) I’ve worked with him through a couple of tech residencies at The Old Market and his skills and knowledge around immersive and sensory tech made the mad ideas behind organsongs an actual reality. Tom is genuinely excited about working with artists and is also unbelievably kind and patient when working on complex and large-scale digital projects. When I asked him to mentor me as part of my DYCP he jumped at the chance, which was just lovely. You can see his website and the myriad of magical and beautiful projects he’s worked on here: thomas-buckley.com
Dr Kirsten Cooke- Kirsten is the curator of Steamworks at WIP Space in London, as well as a lecturer at Goldsmiths. I’ve always been impressed with exhibitions she has worked on and particularly by her approach to creative writing as a part of exhibitions. Creative writing is something I’ve not got a lot of confidence doing, so I spent two days with Kirsten cracking open my writing brain to describe my practice and works in more creative ways. Kirsten and I have also connected through shared experiences of chronic health issues, and it’s important for me to work with more people like her.
Lindsay Friend- Lindsay is the Director of IMT in London- a truly unique contemporary art space that foregrounds artists, which she has invested her entire being into for as long as I can remember. Lindsay and I are from the same small town on the outskirts of London and have connected through art since back then, and it was a goal of mine to work in a formal capacity with her as an artist mentor: which DYCP allowed me to finally do!
My original list of creative mentors changed quite significantly throughout my grant period- some of the artists became uncontactable due to being just, like, too famous and successful now (good for them!) so I made an executive decision to approach people with the expertise I needed that were already within my networks. I cleared this with the Arts Council and I’m actually much more pleased with how this worked out.
If you are an artist applying for DYCP or you’ve just been awarded it, I am always happy to discuss my experiences if it would help you.
Whats next?
Coming up in January 2025, I’ll be taking part in Fabrica’s Making Space residency. I’m aiming to use the space to invite other communities into my current research, and see what work might develop from this.
I’ve a long-term relationship with Fabrica, both as a volunteer, a life model as well as an artist, so I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to develop the next stage of my practice in this precious space. More news to come on that :)
Until next time!