How do you become a...Multimedia Artist with Sofia Barton

HOW DO YOU BECOME A...

Multimedia Artist Over the next 6 months, Pink-collar will interview 6 working class creatives from the North East of England. Starting with the incredible multitalented creative, Sofia Barton.

Sofia Barton, a distinguished British South Asian artist, kindles a vibrant tapestry of creativity through her unique fusion of Indian matchbox art, brightly coloured graphics, and Punjabi-inspired masterpieces.

With

a

passion

for

storytelling

through visuals, Sofia's work transcends boundaries, weaving together tradition and contemporary flair.

Each artwork invites us to explore the rich heritage of the region while embracing the contemporary evolution of its visual language.

H O W

D I D

Y O U

M U L T I M E D I A

B E C O M E

A …

A R T I S T ?

My earliest introduction to the arts was my dad letting me use his camera. He’d saved up his money from working at the Newcastle Quayside Market. I was instantly hooked on trying to take photos, drawing what the photos could look like. There wasn’t a TV so the camera was like a magical toy.

We were actually really poor and lived in a groundE V E R Y

M O N T H

O N L Y

P A T R E O N

P I N K

G A L L E R Y

M E M B E R S . . .

O N

C O L L A R

floor cockroach-infested flat in the middle of Benwell. My mum struggled to buy me crayola felt tip pens! For me, my art was my survival, especially

working-class

for my mental health. So when I got to college and

creatives and how they got into the arts. These

did my art diploma, it was like being at a pick-n-

interviews will give other creatives an insight into

mix. That's how I see my profession, it's a mixture of

the art world, the positives and negatives. Giving

the art forms I love. I was always interested in more

you a chance to ask curators, directors, artists,

than just one, and multidisciplinary art involves the

musicians and anyone else who wants to talk

integration of several distinct disciplines- each of

about how they got into working in the arts and

which is treated as a separate entity.

will

be

doing

interviews

with

why they do it.

0 1

W H A T

H A S

B I G G E S T C R E A T I V E

B E E N

Y O U R

H U R D L E

I N

Y O U R

C A R E E R ?

It’s been really hard trying to be recognised as an artist from the North East even though I was born in the North East. There’s a lot of barriers still on who can and can’t create certain artwork. Coming from a conservative South Asian family - I was always told that art wouldn’t amount to anything and that I should become a doctor. The hardest hurdle has really been having zero family and peer support when I was growing up and getting ‘Imposter Syndrome’.

Y O U R

P R A C T I C E

H E R I T A G E Y O U O N

A N D

A L W A Y S

F O C U S E S

O N

I D E N T I T Y ,

D I D

W A N T

T O

F O C U S

T H E S E

I D E A S W I T H

O R

H A V E

T H E Y

D E V E L O P I N G

C O M E

Y O U R

Metro Commission - Blazing Trails by Sofia Barton. Sofia’s work explores the hidden histories and trail-blazing personalities which have helped make North East England a vibrant and inclusive place to live. The digital montage draws on influences including Sofia’s own Punjabi heritage and her upbringing in Newcastle’s west end.

C A R E E R ?

The ideas of heritage and identity have always echoed within me having had parents who were born in the Partition. I grew up with the stories of how most of my mother’s family died (either murdered or died from Typhoid) and how my culture was essential being from the Asian diaspora. I am technically half Indian, half Pakistani which is confusing to people who don’t know about the British Empire. I think it’s because of this that I have an inherent need to uncover hidden histories and have a fascination with fusions of shared heritage. I was glad to have gone to Edinburgh Napier University and graduated with a BA Hons in Photography and Film. It allowed me time to learn and explore one of the world's oldest

Public artwork in Middlesbrough.

cities as well as starting my love of studying in old libraries and archives.

0 2

The matchbox series started from my childhood. My grandfather had a collection of them from immigrating from the Punjab. Images of wild tigers, snakes and magical worlds ignited my creative universe. Inspired by this, I’ve created matchboxes to capture the essence of places I’ve lived and visited.

Y O U

H A V E

Y O U R

L O T

C A R E E R ,

C O U L D A

A

B E

O F

O N E

S E L L I N G

M A R K E T ,

T H E N

F A C E T S D A Y

Y O U ' R E

C H A L L E N G I N G

V I E W E R

W I T H

W O R K .

B A L A N C E

T H E

A S P E C T S

O F

M O R E

T H E

O T H E R ?

A T

N E X T

H O W

T H E

D O

A M A Z I N G D U R H A M

H A D

T O P

M I G H T I S

T H A N

A N D

M E T R O S .

T I P

S O M E

C O M M I S S I O N S U N I

H O W

A N D

F O R

B E

F R O M

T Y N E

A N D

D O

Y O U

C O M M I S S I O N

P R O P O S A L S Y O U

C A R E E R

I M P O R T A N T

H A V E

A P P R O A C H

D I F F E R E N T

Y O U R

Y O U

W E A R

S O C I A L L Y

E N G A G E D

O N E

Y O U

P R I N T S

T H E

I N

W H A T ’ S

C R E A T I V E S

T O O

S C A R E D

Y O U R W H O

T O

A P P L Y ?

I’ve found LOTS of people are too afraid to take the first step when it comes to

As a working-class artist, I have found it

commissions. There’s a saying in the North

crucial to be flexible. This has meant finding

East ‘Shy Bairns Get Nowt’. It’s important

different streams of income. I found creating

to remember that you’re not losing anything by

work for myself or galleries were brilliant, but I

applying. Shut down those doubts

thought selling these as prints could also help

and give yourself permission to just go for it

me pay the rent! So I bought a printer after

and click that submit button.

some research and started selling them.

W H A T

My socially engaged work stems from my childhood and watching my parents receive community help - which if they didn’t I’m not

B A R R I E R S

B E H A V I O U R S T O A R T

S E E

O R

W O U L D

S C R A P P E D

Y O U

F R O M

L I K E T H E

W O R L D ?

sure I’d be alive today! So when I do socially

Class, ethnicity and disability are still major

engaged work, I like to connect and help

barriers to people gaining entry to the creative

others. It's my way of paying the universe back

industries. Just 16% of people in the creative

for the kindness I was shown when growing up.

industries

For me personally, the socially engaged work is

background, less so from an ethnic minority or

very community-led - and allows me to learn,

artists with disabilities.

develop and grow to make more work - it's like a cycle.

are

from

a

working-class

0 3

Y O U

H A V E

A

V E R Y

E N G A G I N G

W E B S I T E

W H I C H

H A S

A N

O N L I N E

S T O R E .

H O W

D I D

G E T

S T A R T E D

A N D

W H A T

F O R

P E O P L E

S T A R T

S E L L I N G

A R E

T H E

O N L I N E

B E S T

W H O

M I G H T

O W N

S T O R E ?

T H E I R

Y O U

T I P S

when I first started out and they gave me a mentor called Lee Gilbert. He gave me some brilliant business advice which was to never sell myself short. Loads of artists start off and sell their work for really cheap - I don’t know if this is due to bad self-esteem - but when you’re thinking of it as a business you need to consider costs of materials, your time and everything else. Take lots of photos and show off the worth of your work - you have to believe in your work for others to buy it.

Y O U

G I V E

D E V E L O P I N G S A Y

I T

A N D

Y O U

I D E A S D O

I S

T I G H T S O

Y O U R M A K E

O N E

P O S I T I V E

O N E

N E G A T I V E

O F

W O R K I N G - C L A S S T H E

E A S T .

for ethnic minority working-class women than in London. I see a lot of the major ‘North East’ artists who are Caucasian. As most of the funding and creative industries are based in London too, this is quite problematic trying to build a sustainable long-term career.

A positive of being in the North East is the supportive creative network. By this I mean the amazing

hard-working

humans

of

passion

or

such

warm

P R E S E N T

Y O U R S E L F

A T

Y O U R

meet

friendships

Edinburgh, and love the North East for it.

O N

H O W

C O H E S I V E

T O

I

in

cultural organizations. I never got this amount

M A N Y

D E C I S I O N

A

I N

N O R T H

D E A D L I N E

H E A D , A

A N D

B E I N G

A R T I S T

C O M M I S S I O N ,

H A V E

I N

Y O U

A

G U I D A N C E

A

M E

There are way more barriers in the North East

I started selling through the Prince’s Trust

C A N

G I V E

B E S T

This ones a hard one ! If I have a really tight deadline and I need to develop a pitch or commission idea I tend to write it down. I like spider diagrams, and sometimes seeing the idea on paper helps me think better.

I also if it's a particularly difficult decision, if I'm unsure of an idea, I go for a walk and take a short break. My best ideas are more focused if I go for a walk and take a break in nature.

When I get back to it I feel a lot more focused and have more energy to throw at it.

Still from one of Sofias workshop

in

W H A T

A D V I C E

H A V E

L I K E D

W H E N

Y O U

T H A T

W O U L D

H A V E

B E E N

W O U L D

T O

Y O U

R E C E I V E

W E R E

S T A R T I N G

H E L P F U L

T O

Y O U R

C A R E E R .

I would have loved to have had advice or have known about the different avenues of art. In school, there wasn’t really much information on how to be an illustrator, how to be a visual artist, how to be a graphic designer other than a

generalized

paragraph

from

a

careers

advisor who had no clue. Industry advice would have been excellent with transparency about networking, galleries and funding.

C H E C K

O U T

A L L

O F

S O F I A ' S

W O R K

H T T P S : / / W W W . S O F I A B A R T O N . C O . U K /

F O L L O W

O N

I N S T A G R A M

@ S O F I A B A R T O N I L L U S T R A T I O N

A T