Outside In: The Magazine - Issue 4, Spring 2022

Outside In Magazine | Issue 4 - Spring 2022

Welcome Welcome to the fourth edition of the Outside In magazine. This issue focuses on our new outreach campaign ‘Change the art world for good’ and its two-sided message speaks to our intention as a charity to enable a permanent shift in attitudes, opportunity and thinking, in order to make vital and lasting change to the art world. It also speaks to the good that art and the art world can and should do for artists and the wider community. Being creative enables us to grow as individuals, it provides solace and a space for reflection which we all should be able to enjoy. I hope that through our campaign we can find and reach artists in need of our help, individuals far removed from the arts community and wider society, the art world will be the richer should we succeed.

Please do help support us and find out more Chair Charles Rolls and director Marc Steene about the campaign in the magazine and talking with artist Vicky Bowman. website.

- Marc Steene, Outside In’s founder and director.

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“I was told moments like this can be life-changing for artists, but it also has to be said how life-affirming this moment is for the whole Outside In team.”

- Charles Rolls, Outside In’s chair, speaking at the opening of Under A Blue Sky, the exhibition of Alan Payler who won first prize at the Outside In National and artists from the Community Art Project Darlington.

Artist Alan Payler at the opening event

Front cover image: by Beth Hopkins

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Contents 09

20

24

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Change the Art World Campaign

Keep Creative: Campaign art

Cathie Pilkington Artist Interview

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Explorers Project Opportunities

New North East Hub

Artist Stories

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43

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National Exhibition Theme Announced

New Dialogues Exhibition Plans

Artist Bursary Applications Open

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Keep Creative: Recycling

Meet Our Ambassadors

Contact the Team | 05

Change the Art World for Good Outside In has launched a crucial campaign, ‘change the art world for good’, to find hard to reach artists who need support. It forms a new, intentionally grassroots, arm to the charity’s outreach and ground-breaking work to change the art world for good and vitally aims to utilise its most important advocates – existing artists – along with gatekeeper organisations to reach out and find new artists.

The campaign is seeking to find artists who fall outside of the usual support networks and are increasingly physically and digitally isolated from society and the art world. For example, artists with experience of immigration, homelessness, the criminal justice system, substance misuse, financial problems, people from traveller communities, LGBTQ+ communities, carers, single parents, artists who are housebound.

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This magazine has also always aimed to be a way of connecting and celebrating artists, so it is a natural fit that this edition brings both together.

Beth Hopkins, who is behind the campaign’s brilliant posters and leaflets, also designed the covers for this copy - and the back is designed to be used to send or give in order to help spread the word. You can also have a go at making your own with her creative guide on p14.

What else we’ve been up to: April saw a dedicated campaign room run during the Under A Blue Sky exhibition at Phoenix Artspace, Brighton, where activities included making protest posters, placards and badges.

How you can get involved: Check out the dedicated campaign pages www.outsidein.org.uk Contact Beth Hopkins on ambassadors@ outsidein.org.uk or 07931 516038 for all the latest activities, training and information.

The Outside In team in the campaign room

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Ambassador Stuart Milburn with his badges

Headline artist Alan Payler adding to the fair art board Jackie Bennett lays out the letters spelling ‘Art is for everyone’ 08 |

Katya Solyanko and Tom Stimpson banner making All ages got involved

Ambassador coordinator and campaign lead Beth Hopkins | 09

Ambassador Outreach “The more doors you open, the better chance you have” - those are the words of Ambassador Mark Noble and explains why he is supporting the Outside In Change The Art World For Good campaign.

Why do you think this outreach is important?

I do believe the outreach is very important.

Especially at the moment, when we have the pandemic and also people’s mental health, art has a very important role. And also for artists, Outside In will give them a chance to explore different ideas, give them opportunities and it opens many doors.

How are you planning to support the campaign?

My approach is already ongoing. It includes making contact with charities like SANE and working locally with places like Shepton Mallet Art Bank, possibly Strode College Art Department and Bath Spa where I study, or Millfield School which has an art apartment and a world famous gallery The Atkinson.

I’m also planning to work with the Outside In team to approach local radio stations like Somerset sound and other media outlets.

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Reflective Clouds by Mark Noble

What are your hopes for the campaign?

To represent Outside In and create new openings and creative links with new projects and new artists from the UK and Europe and the rest of the world.

Why do you think new artists should join Outside In? It has a great range of artists with great experience, a range of talents and also diversity - plus it offers great opportunities, partnerships, knowledge and expertise.

Mark Noble and his wall mural

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Ambassador Outreach Ambassador Eva Marschan-Hayes shares her hopes for the Outside In Change The Art World For Good campaign and how it starts with helping people realise they are artists.

Why do you think this outreach is important?

Outside In has much to offer for marginalised artists.

But many who could benefit are not aware of them, or their opportunities. Not everyone has access to the internet or is part of an artist network. Indeed, many creatives do not identify as artists because they falsely believe that you have to fit certain criteria, such as having studied an art related topic and working as a professional. This campaign will hopefully reach and benefit those on the outskirts of society, bringing more artists from darkness into light. The grassroots approach has something empowering – ‘Power to the common people!’

- something in the ethos of Outside In and, on a practical level, I believe it will reach more isolated artists.

Eva has been helping spread the word by distributing the Outside In magazine 12 |

How are you planning to support the campaign?

Mainly I am doing similar things I have been doing since becoming an ambassador in 2019. I have been regularly encouraging individual artists from disadvantaged backgrounds to join Outside In. This includes artists in my local community and those I have met on the internet. More recently someone signed up from Lancaster whom I met through a photography organisation. I have been encouraging a homeless artist for a number of years to join.

Sometimes I also approach groups. Recently I have been talking about Outside In with an online carers and writers’ group.

Since the magazines have come out, I have distributed magazines in our local library and the wellbeing centre. I also been handing magazines to individuals who work in the prison system and psychiatric hospital to be further distributed by occupational therapists.

As part of helping the campaign I have also provided Outside In with a list of local organisations I have been involved with or familiar with.

Eva has been helping spread the word by distributing the Outside In magazine | 13

Keep Creative

Campaign art Hello! I’m Beth Hopkins, the Outside In Ambassador Coordinator and an Outside In artist.

I handmade the cover of this magazine, and the flyers and posters for our new grassroots campaign to change the art world for good.

It is all a simple process of cutting and sticking, taking inspiration from photocopied underground zines and punk posters.

What you will need:

• White paper • Colour paper • Scissors • Pritt Stick Optional: • Magazines • Access to a photocopier or a printer with a scanner 14 |

Examples of Beth’s work

Step 1 • •

•

What do you want your artwork to say? Is it a protest poster or an informative flyer?

Cut out the elements of your design - you could use photographs, drawings, words - anything that takes your fancy.

If you don't have access to a printer to print out your text, no need to worry, you can use your own handwriting or cuttings from magazines.

Step 2 •

Arrange everything on the paper and then glue it down. You can do this carefully, measuring and lining them up, or more freestyle. Wonky is a good thing!

Step 3 • • •

Your artwork might be finished here, in which case find somewhere to put it up!

If you’d like to make lots of copies, you can use a photocopier and print onto colour paper.

Another way to do it is scan it into your computer or take a photo and print it out onto colour paper. | 15

Artist interview – Cathie Pilkington Sculptor and installation artist Cathie Pilkington is the latest guest artist on our podcast, Inside Outside In. Cathie was one of the judges at our last National exhibition, ‘Environments’ in 2019. In this interview Cathie shares what she has been working on since and discusses her practice.

“At the start of lockdown, I had to move into a very small room with no window - it’s sort of like Kafka’s ‘The Burrow’ - and I haven’t been out of that room for two years, anything outside of that was on Zoom. I was making this work behind me and it’s huge – it’s 3 metres along and it’s a felt tip painting on velvet and it’s sort of built up in a very repetitive way which just reminded me of how Alan (Payler – winner of the National) made his picture. The theme of that show was Environments and I’m putting this work into the Summer Exhibition at The Academy, and the theme of the Summer show is ‘Climate’.

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Epic - Cathie Pilkington

Cathie Pilkington’s studio “The piece is called ‘Epic’ and it was part of a show I did this Spring that ended up being called ‘Estin Thalassa’ - and it’s taken from the Greek play by Aeschylus from the soliloquy where Clytemnestra is going to murder her husband. She says something like ‘Here is the sea and who can drain it dry?’ and it’s about this kind of urge she has - nobody can stop her from doing what she wants to do.

The whole show was really about the creative process and that urge to make things that we might not fully understand, but if we’re creative we have to make things. So, the whole show was about the sort of process I go through when I’m making – gathering things, assembling them, building them and then breaking them down and then that whole cycle starting again. | 17

“The way I usually make work is - it starts from an urge that I may or may not understand fully and I start to make something on, certainly historically, quite traditional material and using traditional methods. And then at a certain point that won’t do anymore and I have to do something else with it and that, quite often, is down to how I choose to show it in the space – or I might cut something up and reassemble it.

Because a lot of the time I work figuratively and the kind of things I look at might be classical configurations or something very low cultural like dolls or ornaments, and I like to kind of question all those different directions of configuration and combine them, so I can have a discussion about the problems that I find during the process and the problems of representation.”

Cathie portrait by Hayley Benoit

This is an excerpt of the podcast, which you can watch or listen to in full on the Outside In Grayson Perry, pictured here with artists Olly website, YouTube and other platforms now. and Nathan, joined Cathie as a judge at the 2019 Environments National.

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Outside In’s National Exhibition Outside In is excited to announce our National open art exhibition is set to return in 2023.

The theme will be Humanity, asking artists to explore, convey and question what that means to them.

Humanity will be the sixth Outside In National Exhibition, the first being in 2007 which attracted more than 120 applications – while the Environments national in 2019 attracted more than 900. While the scale may have changed the intention is still very much the same - to reach out, find and celebrate the overlooked and excluded creators in our community.

Director Marc Steene recalls having ‘a sense of trepidation’ at the first national as he waited for the deadline to arrive and with ‘no sense of what work would appear’. “The works started to come, initially in fits and starts, and building to over 120 in total, one a photograph of a tattoo an artist had designed to mark his recent brain

haemorrhage, another a series of drawings by a homeless artist brought into the gallery in a large roll under his arm. The exhibition was a huge success and the door started to swing open at the gallery and in the wider art world.

We have been working over the last 15 years to keep that door open and to keep pushing.”

For the first time, the 2023 national will be a touring exhibition visiting multiple venues around the UK. As usual, it is free to take part and the artwork will go in front of a panel of selectors, the exhibition also again has prizes to be won – with first prize being a solo exhibition.

Applications will open this June and can be made via the Outside In website or via post, there will also be a host of artist support days for artists seeking extra help with the process, please contact info@outsidein.org.uk or call 01903 898171 to register your interest. | 19

New Dialogues Four new exhibitions are planned in the coming months which will showcase collections relating to mental health - and the artistic responses they have inspired.

This is a taster of what visitors can expect and insight from the artists involved in this ambitious project.

Patient Artwork: New Dialogues has been a nationwide, two year-project, made possible thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which saw Outside In work with Glasgow Life Museums (Glasgow), Glenside Hospital Museum (Bristol), and the Mental Health Museum (Wakefield).

It is part of Outside In’s ongoing work around raising the profile of artwork created by patients of psychiatric hospitals which was developed in 2014 by Outside In and its involvement in a multi partner project focussing on the history of the former West Sussex County Asylum.

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Blown Away By The Light Natasha Harrison, who took part in the course working with Glenside Hospital Museum

Marc Steene, Outside In’s founder and director, says: “The premise has always been to enable artists with lived experiences to be seen as integral to any research or conversation associated with collections of artwork produced in hospital and health settings. I have been moved by the courage and bravery of all the artists that have been involved in this work, they are the experts in this field and their research and responses are equal to and often more meaningful than any academic or medical interpretation.”

Dates for your diary - 14 May - Glenside Hospital Museum exhibition opens - 14 June - Mental Health Museum, Wakefield, exhibition opens - 4 August - Kelvingrove Gallery, Glasgow, exhibition opens - 20 August - Project Ability, Glasgow, exhibition opens

Shut Up, Take These, Don’t Ask by Alicia Wallace

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Artist Alabamathirteen took part in the Exploring Collections course at the Mental Health Museum in Wakefield and has since been a participant in the curation course leading to the exhibitions.

“The amazing thing for me was right at that time, when we were doing that, it was like right in the middle of lockdown. And I got to meet this like, bunch of amazing artists, and I’m still in contact with quite a lot of them. And it was the first time I’d felt like part of a community.

And aside from that it has been incredibly interesting, in the Exploring Collections part it gave me that opportunity to delve into that research side of things that I really, really love.”

This research has seen Alabamathirteen further develop a passion for photographic processes, going from cyanotype to exploring anthotype to respond to the collection.

“Anthotype is basically using plant materials like vegetables. And, rather than the chemicals 22 |

that you paint on, you just create a sort of mulch with whatever it is you’re using,” Alabamathirteen explains. “You paint on the paper and then you put your objects on top of it – but I tend not to use objects, instead I tend to use negatives and positives of images - And then you stick it out in the sun… It took like six weeks for the process to work.

“I love this idea. It’s using nature and there’s no chemicals in them, and at the same time it’s making you think about the rhythms and cycles of nature. But yeah, so you know, beetroot makes amazing pink, as does raspberry, spinach is another great one that makes beautiful green images. The interesting thing about anthotypes, though, is that you can’t really fix the image. So the image will fade, particularly if it’s out in sunlight. I kind of like that as well, though.”

Alabamathirteen is Outside In’s artist of the month for May, you can listen or read the whole interview at www.outsidein.org.uk

The Emersion by Alabamathirteen

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Artist Bursary Outside In and The Arts Society South Downs are delighted to open the 2022 applications for the Dr Andrew Edney Bursary designed to support artists’ practice and development.

This bursary, of up to £500 a person, is designed to assist with everything from art materials to entering competitions and taking part in training. Applications can be made by Outside In artists, or those who fit the criteria of the charity, who live in Hampshire or Sussex.

To inspire, here is an update from the last three recipients of the bursary about the impact it had on them and their work:

“The opportunity to develop my video skills with funds from the bursary enabled me to collaborate successfully to develop a short 3 minute animation to accompany my exhibition” Yas Crawford Applications are made via a short form, found on the Outside In website by contacting info@ outsidein.org.uk or 01903 898171. The deadline is Friday 10 June 2022 at 5pm.

“I had time for reflection and evaluation of my practice. This has given me more confidence to continue my practice in a way that is meaningful to me” - Jackie Bennett.

With the help of the press, printing courses and supplies funded by the bursary, Frances has produced more prints than ever and has sketched out lots of ideas for new prints which she is excited to work on.

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Night Riders by Frances Halsey

Explorers Project Outside In is excited to be one of the partner organisations on the Explorers project.

The national creative programme, established by Project Art Works, aims to increase the visibility and representation of neurodiverse artists in contemporary visual art. As well as creating new platforms for neurodiverse artists, Explorers also aims to create pathways for cultural organisations to deepen their understanding and commit to inviting neurodiverse people and carers into their spaces and to work towards changing the discourse of how neurodivergent artists are positioned and described in culture.

Outside In will be establishing a series of residencies in the Midlands in 2023 for neurodiverse artists with major cultural institutions in the region including The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum and The New Art Gallery Walsall and are currently seeking artists to work with on these unique projects.

Illuminating the Wilderness, George Smith, 2018 © Project Art Works.

If this is of interest or to find out more, please get in touch with jose.sunshineokoro@outsidein.org.uk or call 07496 997333.

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North East Outside In is delighted to announce that Ellie Page has now joined the team as Regional Artist Development Officer for Manchester and the North East.

The role is the result of a three-way partnership between Outside In, Venture Arts and the Whitworth Museum and Art Gallery which will see the establishment of a new arts community supported to engage with the arts infrastructure of the region.

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Working with some amazing organisations across the North West, it will see far-reaching opportunities put in place for artists who have never accessed any professional art practice. These will include one-to-one artist development, residential stays, opportunities to work with other artists and dedicated studio and exhibition space.

Marc Steene, director and founder of Outside In, said: “I am delighted to see the establishment of a further Outside In outpost.

Each hub has its own identity and I feel that these partners and the association with the vibrant city of Manchester will add exciting new opportunities that will support artists and enable them to grow and develop as recognised practitioners.”

One focus of the opportunities will be the Musgrave Kinley Outside Art Collection at The Whitworth Art Gallery – something Ellie is particularly excited by calling it a ‘privilege and a joy’. “From Madge Gill to Pearl Alcock, the

collection boasts work from some of my favourite artists, and I can’t wait for artists to join me in this wonderful opportunity to explore the collection and work with it directly to see what we might discover!”

Ellie, an experienced mental health practitioner and youth worker, as well as a disabled writer, artist and activist, added: “This role is part of a truly magical partnership that works to develop and help to establish artists from across the region who otherwise face a multitude of barriers to engaging with the art world – both seen and unseen.”

All of our Artist Support sessions and Share Arts events will run in hybrid formats, with both in person and online options available.

Bookings can also be made for Artist Support sessions now, so if you’re interested in finding out more or getting some support to set up your own online gallery, please get in touch with Ellie at ellie@venturearts.org or call/text 07539371070.

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Artist stories Ambassador Kevin Preston has hit the headlines due to creating a 40ft mural of triple-amputee and former Royal Marine Mark Ormrod, here he explains more about the project.

I’ve been doing a mural for Mark Ormrod MBE and Pride of Britain winner. Mark was a triple amputee from the Afghanistan war and served in the Royal Marines. He has collected lots for charity, is an all-round great bloke and an inspirational hero. We wanted to give Mark the recognition he’s deserves.

We started with a crowd funder to pay for the scaffolding and materials. But the scaffolding company donated the scaffolding for free and the paint company also donated the paints and I’m doing this with my wife Jo for free.

So this is a completely funded mural by the generous and kind British public. This tribute was four months in the making and it was huge honour for me to be asked to do this.

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Kevin Preston

The artwork is on the side of a house in Pounds Park Road, Plymouth. As well as being a portrait of Mark Ormrod it features the Pride Of Britain Award logo, after he was awarded Fundraiser of the Year for his fundraising efforts, and the words “Through struggle, comes strength.

Courage comes in many forms, asking for help is one of them. You only fail when you stop trying”.

Mr Ormrod said he ‘spent a lot of time deliberating’ what to write as part of the mural and that he hoped ‘if people are having a tough day that it might help in some way’.

The project has raised money for REORG, a charity which helps people from the armed forces and emergency services suffering from physical and psychological trauma.

Kevin Preston | 29

Artist Stories Printmaker Jack Haslam has just won the Solo Show prize with Cass Arts at the Royal Watercolour Society OPEN 2022 at the Bankside Gallery. He reveals what his art, and this opportunity, means to him.

that I sometimes have problems relating to humans. In fact, I find them unfathomable at times. Animals help me manage my feelings of isolation and help me to build bridges with people.

When I was 17, I uploaded my first images to the Outside In online gallery. As a self-taught artist with ASD and OCD, I found it difficult to access mainstream art training. Instead I learned my printmaking skills at City Lit in Covent Garden in a very supportive environment. After a few lucky breaks with open submissions, and with the help and support from Creative Futures and Shape Arts, I have never looked back.

In general, my work is about friendship, loyalty and control. My love for animals has been a major influence in my life and a driving force for my work. What others might consider minor and unimportant details are the things that inspire my work. I am fascinated by the minutiae of different animals: the gorilla’s cheeks and the anteater’s claws. My cognitive difficulties mean Jack 30 |

Although I see myself as a printmaker, I also paint, make models and take photographs.

In my early work, I often used dolls, which became the vessels of my hopes and dreams.

My work enables me to act out concepts I find it hard to understand through other means. My need for control is a theme running through all subjects and media. For this reason, I tend to use repetition and recurring images.

Winning the prize is a great opportunity for me to exhibit work I have collected over the past ten years in the Cass Arts Islington Gallery, as I live locally I was able to invite friends and family and my past collectors.

Jack with his winning paintings | 31

Karen Little Artist and writer Karen Little (kazvina) lives in a small trailer on the south coast.

Her home inspires her work – which is a combination of creating small, but thinking big.

One of the ways I ‘get round’ the restrictions of space is to make small lino cuts, drawings or paintings, and then collage them onto a larger ‘canvas’. The main thing for me is that those smaller pieces are linked in some way: here the ‘canvas’ is filled with my ‘memories’. Mum dancing in the kitchen definitely happened. And some of them are things I believed happened, when I was a child: being able to hold my breath forever underwater in the bath, my blue twoheaded imaginary friends, the Dardies, my marbles who were ‘all the fishes’ when I played with them in front of or behind the sofa.

Karen’s home 32 |

Having very limited space and money for materials doesn’t have to prevent us from ‘branching out’ into bigger ideas. I recycle materials whenever possible. I’ve recently made two large heads - Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo - out of recycled cardboard and packaging material, and most recently Frida Kahlo with cropped hair, sat on her chair.

I have an oil filled ‘mobile radiator’ that is the source of heating in my trailer. I use that to speed up the drying process during layers of paper mache, because I am impatient to get on with it. I have a lot of (necessary) patience when it comes to making the sculptures. They look terrible for quite a while! But I have to keep the faith, keep tearing up the packaging and layering it on. It’s a brilliant mix of therapy and problem solving, which I recommend.

Van Gogh Head by Karen Little | 33

Keep Creative

Using recycled materials Inspired by Karen Little’s sculpture ‘Frida with Cropped Hair’, here is a step-by-step guide to transforming everyday materials into amazing artwork.

Top tip:

I save a lot of packaging! All the different thicknesses of packaging, from envelopes and padded envelopes through to thick cardboard, have a place in making my art out of recycled materials.

Frida’s chair day one

Step one – make a frame work: •

I started ‘Frida with Cropped Hair’ by making the chair from rolled up thin cardboard and layering it up with torn paper and PVA glue.

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Frida’s chair finished

Step two – make it secure: •

Initially, I used masking tape to hold the pieces together. The seat is thick cardboard wrapped with string that my vegetable boxes arrive in.

Step three – play with textures and thicknesses: •

Frida started off as a padded envelope, then I layered her up, starting with thicker packaging, and then thinner materials so she wasn’t too ‘clunky’. Her suit is a strange wrapping material that was protecting something sent to me in the post. Her hair is wool dipped in black acrylic paint. Masking tape, acrylic paint and PVA are the only things I can’t ‘get around’ from buying when making sculptures. The rest is recycled.

To see more of Karen’s work please visit her online gallery at www.outsidein.org.uk/ galleries/kazvina/ Frida with Cropped Hair | 35

Artist Stories Dan Gardiner reveals more about his current series of work which draws from the perspective of someone who has fibromyalgia (chronic fatigue).

It is a series of observations about my life and family, and what it’s like to not have the energy to always take part in daily life, from the windows of my house. It’s not fully finished yet, but I think it’s a long term project that may take place over years.

About the artworks: You used to be able to see the stars at night: observation about light pollution, but also about life has become smaller because tiredness means I rarely stay up late.

The demons keep shitting in my garden: looking through the window at my garden and observing the wildlife and the cats and foxes that use it as a toilet.

Innocence: Observing children at play and the innocence that comes with being a child. Plus, the background knowledge that I can’t always join in because of my tiredness.

Bicycle races 1: Watching the children race around on their bikes outside.

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You used to be able to see the stars at night

Innocence

The demons keep shitting in my garden

Bicycle races 1 | 37

Meet Our Ambassadors Stuart Milburn, lives in Bournemouth How long have you been an Outside In artist?

My initial introduction to Outside In was attending the Leading Workshops course at Poole, Dorset in 2019.

What sort of artwork do you create?

My work is “visionary contemporary abstract expressionism”. It consists of time, sequence, movement, and layering, with a technical approach.

I work using a variety of mediums and create with an open mind to explore and discover new techniques, methods, and applications.

Why did you decide to become an Outside In ambassador?

From my own personal experiences as an artist, I fully understand the challenges and barriers that artists face, when entering the art world. As a result of this, I have a passion to share my knowledge and experiences with other artists, and to provide a platform that can help fellow artists to overcome these often difficult barriers and challenges.

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What has been the best thing about being an Outside In ambassador?

Outside In has provided me with continued training, artist development, learning, and creative opportunities. This has raised my mental awareness, has built my confidence, and I have gained valuable industry and professional experience. Being an ambassador, has provided me with the tools, ongoing support and resources; that have enabled me to practice my passion to support other artists in fulfilling their artistic dreams and ambitions.

Fae Milburn Fae Kilburn, Midlands based artist How long have you been an Outside In artist?

Since 2019.

What sort of artwork do you create?

I specialise in printmaking; my work is inspired by my lived experience and often includes the narrative of other disabled individuals. This becomes a collaboration between their narrative and my art and shows people how varied our experiences are, the barriers we face, how resilient we are and the positives. My recent exhibition Perspectives incorporated the narrative of many Outside In artists and other individuals, it was at The Quarter Contemporary Arts Space, Wolverhampton.

Why did you decide to become an Outside In ambassador?

I had taken part in several Outside In events including exhibitions, Mentoring, been a featured artist and participated in several OutsideIn courses, and found I was encouraging others to participate in events. I’m also passionate about access and inclusion, so I

applied to be an Outside In ambassador.

What has been the best thing about being an Outside In ambassador?

The best thing has been the opportunities to assist others, advocate for an inclusive society and feel part of a team.

What would you say to someone who is interested in becoming an ambassador?

I would encourage them to sign up to the next ambassadors training course. The role is adaptable and no two ambassadors work in the same way. | 39

Artist Advisory Group Outside In artist and trustee Dannielle Hodson reflects on the vital role the Artist Advisory Group plays within the charity as the organisation thanks the outgoing members and welcomes the new.

What are your standout moments from the Artist Advisory Group so far?

The level of commitment to the charity from the group has really stood out for me. All the members really want the best for the charity.

Each member of the group has a specific and unique perspective on the topics that we discuss- from access requirements needed to enjoy exhibitions to the role language plays in how we define ourselves and others, and it’s brilliant that through the sharing of those points of view and experiences in the art world that we can come together when so often in life differences drive people apart- we are finding a way to navigate difference and help others.

Why is the group so important?

Because it is made up of practicing artists who 40 |

discuss what they need to make the artworld a fair place for them and therefore others like them.

How has it shaped the charity and its work?

It’s quite incredible how the AAG has managed to help shape the charity, there are many examples! One is that the group is making the artworld more accessible for artists who experience barriers to exhibitions.

We spent one of our sessions discussing our exhibition experiences. This was important because artists don’t just want to make art, they want to share it and see other artists work too, and to fully access and enjoy an art exhibition and all get the same experience we need different things.

For me, the biggest barrier to accessing exhibitions was early in my career when I had the fear of opening the gallery door because I was intimidated by the white cube of the space and the cold receptionists but for the other members the barriers were all different.

Because of our conversations some of the things we learned are that, an artist with severe learning difficulties will need easy read text, an artist who is deaf will need BSL interpretations, an artist on the

Autistic spectrum may require simpler, less busy formats and that wheelchair users need to access buildings easily. Outside In understands these requirements and exhibitions organised by the charity are now accessible in many ways.

What are your hopes for the future?

My hopes for the AAG are that we get new members who are equally as passionate and committed to helping other artists as our previous group so we can keep up the good work.

Image of the Artist Advisory Group working on the charity’s website changes | 41

Howden Group showcase Director Marc Steene reveals more about Outside In’s latest corporate sector partnership and how it is part of the charity’s ongoing work to prompt dialogue and challenge the definitions of art and artist.

We are delighted to have developed a partnership with Howden Group that is enabling an opportunity for Outside In to connect with the corporate sector. I very much hope that through the partnership we can share the work and stories of our artists and develop a dialogue that allows an understanding of what the charity is striving to achieve in broadening the definitions of what it means to be an artist and what is defined as art and creativity.

The partnership will include artist-led engagement events for employees and special showcase displays of art selected by Howden Group which includes pieces from the Outside

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In Collection. The collection has grown since the inception of the charity in 2007 to the present day and includes around 90 works. It charts the development of the charity, its artists and award winners and the various projects and commissions that it has been involved with. The breadth and quality of the work is astounding and celebrates the outstanding talent too long held peripheral to the art world. Every significant movement in the art world needs a collection as a legacy of what it has and is striving to achieve and the Outside In is no different. The collection is a unique and powerful representation of the charity and the artists it supports.

If you would like more information about the corporate sector partnerships, please contact development officer Beth Troakes on Beth.Troakes@outsidein.org.uk or call 01903 898171.

Sajida Asif, British Poppy Maze

Luke Austin Heywood, Aeon

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Contact the Team Marc Steene Director Marc founded Outside In to challenge concepts as to who is an artist and what art is, seeking to create a fairer art world. Marc.Steene @outsidein.org.uk 07814 831567

Clair Montier Operations Manager Clair is responsible for all logistics and ensuring everything is running smoothly. Clair.Montier @outsidein.org.uk 07903 028746 44 |

Cornelia Marland and Charlotte Hanlon - Exhibitions Programme Managers Cornelia and Charlotte love finding exciting opportunities for artists to showcase their artwork.

Cornelia.Marland @outsidein.org.uk Charlotte.Hanlon @outsidein.org.uk 01903 898171

Kate Davey Training Programme Manager Kate leads Outside In’s training and development programme ‘Step Up’. Kate.Davey@ outsidein.org.uk 07903 028391

Ellie Page Regional Artist Development Officer Ellie is working with Outside In, Venture Arts and the Whitworth to champion overlooked artists in the Northwest. Ellie.Page@ outsidein.org.uk 07539 371070

José Sunshine-Okoro - Hub Programme Manager José focuses on raising the profile and diversity of artists in the Midlands. Jose.SunshineOkoro@outsidein.org.uk 07496 99733

Beth Troakes Development Officer Beth makes the charity’s work possible by bringing in vital funding and securing grants. Beth.Troakes @outsidein.org.uk 01903 898171

Beth Hopkins Ambassador Coordinator Beth works to help to recruit, train and support the charity’s brilliant team of ambassadors.

Ambassadors@ outsidein.org.uk | 45

Laura Miles Communications Manager Laura oversees all content creation, from newsletters to this magazine, and digital development. Laura.

Miles@outsidein.org.uk 07496 637214 46 |

Aoife Dunphy Content Coordinator Aoife is passionate about spreading awareness of Outside In and its artists’ work.

Aoife.Dunphy@ outsidein.org.uk 01903 898171

PO Box 5571 Brighton BN50 8UR

Matt Forbes-Dale Press and Production Officer Matt brings commercial thinking to the comms team and heads the press outreach. Matthew.

Forbes-Dale@ outsidein.org.uk 07903 028452

Place Stamp Here

From: Outside In is a registered charity with Charity Number 1171128

www.outsidein.org.uk