The project works around the idea of creating small groups of 4-6 people that support each other creatively and intellectually, through either practical, academic or emotional support. Over two days, I take each group through the processes I’ve developed that enable an in-depth discourse into your strengths, weaknesses, passions and values. One of the things I’ve noticed over the years is that when an artist grinds to a halt creatively, it’s almost always because one of those things has not been nurtured and instead has grown stale. If you don’t nurture your interests, then what do you make work about? What is core to whatever you make? What are those things? When you ask people these things, they look a bit confused and they realise they don’t really know, so we try and work to develop a strong sense of this. Often your weaknesses give you the most creative play. You’re inventive when you’re stuck, not when you know what you are doing. You must understand how to use your strengths to support and play with your weaknesses.’ It feels as though your new initiative, Artist Support Pledge, has taken the concept of Artist Support Project to a much larger scale. Would you say this is the case? ‘‘Yes, Artist Support Pledge was based on the same culture as the Artist Support Project; a culture that I am always propagating through the network. Both are based on the idea that if you have a culture of trust and generosity, it’s a much more profitable environment to discuss, share and support one another. This contrasts with the environment of competitiveness, oneup-men-ship, exclusivity, power and wealth that tends to dominate the art market we currently know. If you’re in hyper competition, then honest debate goes out the window. On March 16th, I had to cancel 2 forthcoming workshops, as well as a solo show, due to Covid19. It seemed that every message I received was regarding exhibitions closing, galleries closing, work ending. I felt a wave of desperation, acknowledging that this was going to be really bad for artists. I wanted to support friends and colleagues that are part of Artist Support Project. I thought: I’ve got this culture of trust and generosity and this network, I can use the people in that to support one another. It had to be an economy, a means to financially support each other. It was just a matter of coming up with an economic formula that worked – a low price entry and an act of generosity through paying back into the system. From there, I wrote a list of what I thought a generous culture should be. Whenever someone asked me a question, I would look at the list and think: right, what’s the generous answer? Lots
of people asking can I submit work to the Artist Support Pledge– my answer always YES. And that’s how it started. I had modest expectations when I launched it but, within 24 hours, it was clear it was going to be something huge.’ You now have some quite well-known artists participating in the Artist Support Pledge. How do you intend to regulate the system and keep it inclusive of everybody? ‘That has been a challenge from day one. I can’t police it and its not supposed to be policed. The Pledge is based on cultural values and a code of conduct. It is a very simple formula and if everyone buys in then it is very effective. I took principles from hunter-gatherer societies, including the idea that all assets are shared across the community, and I wanted to create an economy that replicated this. We rely on trust and generosity of community to self-police, and most people do honour the code of conduct; they are excited by it. Excited not only about earning money but supporting friends and colleagues. The Artist Support Pledge is great as it allows artists to be successful on reflection of their own art. A key failing of the current art market is that an artist’s success is dependent on a gatekeeper, somewhere, deciding if you are hot or not. Artist support Pledge accepts everyone, promoting equal access and equal opportunity.’ So how can emerging artists be successful within the Artist Support Pledge? ‘It’s not like the art market, it’s a different economic model and culture. You cannot just post your work; you are dealing with a dynamic economy and the algorithms are always shifting. You have to follow the “how to” guides and top tips on the website. Read the guidelines. When you follow them, it works.’ Do you feel that there are any limitations for the Artist Support Pledge? ‘Well yes, there are two: human behaviour and technology. I feel that these are very much interlinked. The human behaviour part concerns maintaining the cultural values and the community that buys into the Pledge; these are what have made the Pledge so successful. A generous culture is not only economically effective but having a culture, a community and an economic model that works makes the Pledge accessible. Second is the limits of technology. Instagram has developed algorithms that favour sociability (which is why it is so important to follow the Pledge guidelines). The more you dynamically