Supporting artists and curators of colour working with photography
An exhibition at the New Art Gallery Walsall is the culmination of a year-long development programme supported by a Reimagine grant from Art Fund.
A version of this article first appeared in the autumn 2024 issue of Art Quarterly, the membership magazine of Art Fund.
West Midlands-based arts organisation GRAIN Projects runs many different artist-development programmes as part of its remit to commission, facilitate and deliver ambitious, engaging and high-quality photography projects, but it noticed that it wasn’t getting many applications from artists of colour. ‘We wanted to address that lack of representation and create opportunities to build confidence and networks,’ says project producer Stephen Burke. With support from an Art Fund Reimagine grant, supported by the Headley Trust, GRAIN Projects and the New Art Gallery Walsall developed REFLECTOR, a 10-month professional-development programme for 20 early-career curators, artists and photographers from diverse backgrounds, offering critical reviews, mentoring and bespoke masterclasses led by invited artists of colour. The programme culminates with an exhibition of the same name at the New Art Gallery Walsall this autumn.
The mentoring and the masterclasses have been led by artists including Vanley Burke, Sebah Chaudhry and Arpita Shah, and have taken place both online and in person, with the aim of providing inspiration and practical information, including demystifying creative career paths. ‘There is still a long way to go in terms of equality and providing opportunities for artists from underrepresented backgrounds,’ says Chaudhry, ‘but this is a great initiative to help bridge the gap.’ Global-majority mentors matched to participants have also offered support across subjects relating to the programme and their wider artistic practices.
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Crucially, Art Fund support has enabled both the generous duration of the programme, which began in October 2023, and its scale, with each participant receiving a bursary to support travel and the production of work, helping to minimise financial barriers to access. Having almost a year to develop and create the final exhibition has meant that challenges and needs have been responded to as they have arisen. ‘We had an interim evaluation a couple of months into the programme and took on board a lot of feedback given to us,’ says Anu Gamanagari, project manager at GRAIN Projects. As the team learned more about each participant’s practice, it was able to invite relevant speakers, and, once it became clear that they were keen to have more one-to-one time and time with mentors, this was implemented.
Another key development has been the shift in role for Hong Kong-born Jodi Kwok, one of the original 20 participants selected for the programme, who is now co-curating the exhibition, a significant career milestone for her and an opportunity she is relishing. ‘I originally applied for the programme for the networking aspect,’ says Kwok. ‘I work as an assistant curator at Quad, Derby’s FORMAT photography festival, but I don’t get to select artists every time. It’s been a nice opportunity to connect with others of similar backgrounds or with similar concerns in the industry and to have mentoring for my freelance curatorial projects.’
While online sessions have been valuable and accessible for participants, who were recruited nationally via open call, it has become clear that in-person sessions, and all-important downtime between them, have allowed for unanticipated development. Participants have been assisting each other and reviewing each other’s work, extending conversations outside the parameters initially envisioned for the project. ‘A motivation behind REFLECTOR has always been fostering a sense of community among participants, and the in-person sessions have meant that the 20 have connected with each other more,’ says Stephen Burke. ‘We do get a real sense that this will remain an informal network once this project finishes. People are driving each other forward. The ambition is there, but it’s not competitive.’
Art Fund support has also been put towards the speaker fees, Gamanagari’s role and the exhibition budget. When it opens in October, ‘REFLECTOR’ will showcase work by the participants, including Timon Benson, Jade Carr-Daley and Shashank Verma, representing a wide range of practices across different career stages and interests in photography, sculpture and artist books. It has been a learning process for many of the artists, and while the layout and content of the exhibition is still in progress at the time of writing, it is taking shape thanks to close continuing consultation between the organising team and the participants.
Indeed, Burke hopes that GRAIN Projects can work with the participants again in different ways, developing relationships with curators and other organisations: ‘What happens over the next five, 10, 15 years and how we can support them through ongoing work, that is the real project.’
‘REFLECTOR’, The New Art Gallery Walsall, 26 October to 9 March 2025. Free to all, 10% off in shop with National Art Pass.
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