Now if you are a true fan, you will already know what the content of this post will entail. As I have an ENTIRE page on this website dedicated to the project that led to this very exciting publication.
But if you do not, its okay! I forgive you, and will proceed to enlighten you.
From October 2022 to August 2023 I spent some time in Australia - travelling, saving up for my upcoming MA, seeing relatives and more.
During this time, I decided that I really liked Australia and wanted to be able to come back in the future.
To do this, it would mean completing 88 days of regional work (I promise this relates to the publication, bear with me!).
After months of trying to find somebody to employ me in a regional postcode, I was offered a position as a Barista in Walgett, New South Wales. So within a week, I packed up my things and made the very long journey to 2832!
The thought of Walgett terrified me. I had lived in cities my entire life, a self-proclaimed 'city girl' and now I was moving to somewhere that had a population of 5,500.
I had already googled it extensively, and to summarise, the town consisted of one main street with one grocery store, one pub, a couple of service stations and a library!
This is of course a slight exaggeration, but honestly, not too far from the truth!
You will be glad to hear that, actually, my experience living and working in Walgett turned out to be one of the most formative periods of my life. This is for so many reasons, but I'll go with the one that relates to this publication and project the most!
Despite a mere population of 5,500, the creative community in Walgett was incredible.
Walgett had made me pick up a pencil and draw for the first time in 4 years since I completed my Fine Art A Level!
The amount of talented artists and exceptional artwork in Walgett, as well as an eagerness for more opportunities for artistic practice for both emerging and established practitioners as well as audiences was immense - I would be lying if I said that I wasn't pleasantly surprised.
Though, through numerous conversations, I began to hear a reoccurring dilemma.
Because Walgett didn't have an art gallery, combined with the town's very remote location, a lot of artists spoke of the struggle surrounding gaining visibility and exposure of their work.
If artists in Walgett wanted their work to be seen, bought or exhibited, they would have to travel for hours and hours.
With the bigger arts epicentres like Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane spanning over 7 hours minimum drive, it just wasn't feasible.
So many of the artist's practices were rooted in living in Walgett and the surrounding areas. It didn't seem fair to me that their only option to be 'successful' meant moving elsewhere, away from their community, and most likely to a major city.
This would come with the risk of losing the essence of what their work was, which was so authentic, rich and enlightening to a world that most of us will never encounter in our lifetimes.
This was felt by arts audiences in the town too! With the monopoly of arts galleries and museums being so far away, there just wasn't viable options to increase their own engagement.
Now I know what you're thinking.
Bryony, of course the majority of arts galleries and museums are going to be based in major cities, where there are bigger populations.
Of course there is going to be more money spent, more educational and career opportunities and more access to resources where there are more people.
But have you ever asked yourself why?
Why are there some cities in the world that we consider to be arts 'centres', like Sydney, Melbourne, London, Paris and New York?
Does that mean that other cities and towns are devoid of creative expression?
No.
So why do they receive little to no access to creative opportunities? Just because of their physical distance? Or smaller population?
That hardly seems fair. Or at least it doesn't to me.
So there was me. Going into my MA at one of the most prestigious arts institutions on the planet in the centre of London, with these very pressing and interrogating newfound insights and questions.
Why have I chosen to come to London to further my arts career?
Am I a product of a system that just doesn't sit right with me?
Just because I have the privilege to move from where I was living to an arts 'centre' with more resources and opportunity, what about all of the people who don't?
And that, my friends, was where The Woven Project was born.
I won't go into the specifics of this project, but it essentially interrogated this line of questioning further within the contextual setting of London. And honestly, the project will always feel so meaningful to me, despite it only lasting 6 months.
Buuuttttttt, that is why creating a publication and documenting a project is so great because then it technically can last forever!!
And here I announce: Everyone Needs a Place - The Woven Project.
Co-created by myself, my peer researchers Asja Skatchniski, Carmen Lan Liu, Soyeon Jung and Yenah Kim, we documented our curatorial initiative and produced a small loose-leaf publication.
We also commissioned three artists, Taey Iohe, Anna Housiada and Vandana Singh to write pieces that interrogated themes of cultural 'centres' and 'peripheries' from their own perspectives.
I'm reading your mind. You are SO thinking: well, how can I see this amazing publication?
Well, dear reader, you are in luck. Because the publication can be accessed online through this link!
You are so, very welcome. Don't say I never do anything for you!
All jokes aside, please feel free to traverse through Everyone Needs a Place. And if you have any thoughts on the content, I would absolutely LOVE to hear from you. What I have spoken about in this post is still very pressing on my heart and soul, and I would be overjoyed to talk to more people in length about it.
That's all for now!
Thank you for taking the time to read my written yap session and I hope to see you for the next one. Ciao!
