1. Visual Artists Ireland GET TOGETHER
Working with what you've got
Neva Elliott
Like diving from a cliff the first time, working as an artist can be quite daunting. In VAI we
often hear members complain that they live in isolation. This session will look at key tips
and suggestions on how to develop on your skills and how to survive in the local context.
Neva Elliott will discuss what we, as artists, need to self-sustain our practice including
support systems, visibility, networks, collective activity, artist’s initiatives and a DIY
attitude.!

2. What is it you want?
What is it about your current situation that you find lacking?
What else do you need to feel that you have a sustainable, ’successful’, enjoyable practice?
Break it down and try to find out what area you need to develop
- Motivation
- Production
- Support
- Access to audiences

3. MEETING
MENTORING
SPACE
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
INFORMATION
FUNDING
RESPECT
In 2009 I spent some time in Sligo asking artists local to the area what they needed to sustain their practices. I spoke
to 22 artists in person, 12 digitally. Above is their requirements in order of importance. You may be surprised at how
low funding comes down the scale. The most important was to meet each other.

4. What’s geography got to do with it?
Artists working outside major urban centres or in rural areas often don’t have access to the same networks, facilities
or events that their urban peers do. However, no matter where we are geographically located we (artists) have similar
goals / requirements/ aspirations in our practice.
For example, Graduates may find that on leaving college they loose their support system and peer group and find
themselves in the isolation wherever they live. Those living in a major centre ( e.g. London) may actually be daunted
level of activity and find it hard to make contacts and ‘break through’.
Essentially no matter where we work need to negotiate our working environment.
Wherever we live we can be part of a local, national and international scene.

5. Taking control of your practice is about independent action; making
opportunities happen for yourself rather than waiting for them to happen to / for
you.
If there aren’t many opportunities for artists in your area, try and create
them yourself.
If you create energy and activity other opportunities will come from it.

6. Why cant I just stay in my studio (if I have one) and make work? Yes
you can , but…
Its about being proactive.
Self initiated working, artist led and collaborative practice has become more relevant to sustaining our practices.
There has been a shift among artists towards a more self-sufficient practitioner who has taken control of their own
artistic career, is less reliant on institutions, is actively involved in their artistic community.
We know that artists are taking on roles and responsibilities that may have previously been undertaken by others for
them; running gallery spaces, studio’s, exhibitions, making projects happen for themselves without invitation.
We have moved to non hierarchical modes of working (non reliance on curators, government funding etc) to self
reliance, relationships with each other, creating an active supportive community for ourselves. That community may be
one of geographic closeness or may be of a more virtual kind.
We are taking control over our practice and our productivity

7. Collaborative working
Practical advantages for collaborative working / group activity:
• Skill and resource sharing
• Exposure to new networks/ audiences
• Spread workload/ increate capacity/ work more effectively
• Potential easier access to funding
• Creation of a critically supportive environment
• Open up exchange of ideas, tactics and opportunities
• Company!
To generalise artist’s motives for working together
1. To develop a support network.
2. To secure space.
3. To organise exhibitions or events.
4. To co-create a specific artwork/ project
To feel less isolated or remote by being united within a geographical area or
connected beyond your immediate environment.

8. Meeting
Why important?
- Peer to peer mentoring / getting advice
- To inspire and motivate
- Progress our own work through conversation
- Provide opportunities for critical discussion
- Open opportunities for collaboration (instigate initiatives)
- Creates symbiotic support system
- Foster growth and activity in the artistic community / invigorates a ‘local’ scene.
Meeting can open up options for activity that we may not have considered or thought not
possible on our own.
Access what already exists:
1. Local Arts Centre - go to openings, workshops, talks.
2. Make yourself known to the director/ curator of your local art-space and your local arts
officer.
3. Is there an arts group in your area? Don’t know -your arts officer.
4. Join a communal studio, etc
5. Volunteer to help with an existing art project
Set up your own:
1. Informal networking or social group.
2. Working group - activity/ project based
3. Critical discussion group - art writing, art theory or art-relevant topics

9. There is a good reason that Meeting came top of the wish list for artists I met as it opens possibilities to so much else
on their list
The core practice for the majority of artists is essentially solitary. Having access to meeting your peers obviously
prevents a sense of isolation (which can be felt not only by those who are based in non urban areas).
Opportunities for meeting and interacting with your peers can range from the formal (meeting through doing for
example today’s event or organised ‘networking events”, long-term (sharing a studio) to the informal (different type
of social networking), casual (meeting at an exhibition opening) or one-off arrangements.
How?
Ask the artists you know/ advertise locally. Find a space. Make it a date.
Have an agenda? Find out who else is interested, arrange to meet, discuss how you
can make it happen.

10. Dig Where you Stand
www.digwhereyoustand.com
Dig where you stand was collaboratively conceived between the curators Eilís Lavelle, Rosie Lynch and the artist
Sarah Lincoln. It developed out of a curatorial residency initiated by South Tipperary Arts Office and is based in
Southern Tipperary throughout 2012.
Dig where you stand is driven by the optimistic premise that the visual arts can speak in strong and original ways
to the local, and strengthen a sense that inspiration does not have to reside elsewhere, but can exist in latent form
under one’s feet.
Initial stages of the project have hinged around the formation of reading groups. Through these groups
we are testing ways in which to expand upon the potential of the reading group form. To date, we have tested this
intent by gathering to read in spaces with particular histories and have programmed screenings and
installations, which resonate with the chosen texts.
Third reading event Excel Arts Centre, Tipperary Town Wednesday 9th May 2012
• Fredric Jameson’s text, Archaeologies of the Future (excerpt) • lan Weisman’s text, Earth Without People
(excerpt) • Uriel Orlow’s film, Remnants of the Future (2010)
Miss B’s Salons
http://www.ruthbeale.net/salons.htm
Regular discussion events, chaired by 'Miss B', that bring together invited groups of artists, curators and interested
parties to present and discuss their work and selected topics. They are frequently private and by invitation only, but
are also held at public galleries. The first six Salons were supported by the Artquest Forum programme (UK).
The salons provide social and critical space for artists to critique practice and discuss issues arising.
Past salons: Monumentalism and Performativity /Media, Autonomy and Participation/ Copyright – who cares.
What do we mean when we talk about ‘space’?
Where I use examples within this talk are not necessarily from non-urban areas as they are just that - examples of
structures and ideas that are transferable.
Look at the methods of more established artists or initatives or at what other sectors are doing for inspiration

11. Visability
Visability is not just about geographical closeness.
Good promotion gets work seen, develops reputations and is key to establishing and advancing the
practice of all artists. What you are trying to do is be seen to be part of the art -sector and put yourself
in their eye line of curators (they can decide if it is attractive to them).
Access what already exists:
1. Include your profile in artists listings (local, NIVAL, artreview, saatchi online, re-title.com)
2. Apply for open submission exhibitions
3. Take part in arts related events (seminars, workshops and conferences)
Do it yourself
1. Set up a social media account (Twitter, face-book, linkedin).
2. Set up a website.
3. Create a mailing list
4. Send invitations/ updates.
5. Send out press releases/ develop relationships with journalists and critics.
6. Put on your own exhibition
How? Creative Choices Article: 7 ways to promote yourself by Neva Elliott

12. Dear all,Apologies for the mass email!I hope to see some of you at g39 in Cardiff
at the end of the week. Also if any of you are around Barcelona, Leeds or
Birmingham I have work there over the summer.!
Best, Rebecca.!
Rebecca Gould!
www.rebeccagould.co.uk!
The Autobiography of a Super-Trampg39, Cardiff, UK!
6th June - 25th August 2012 Preview Friday 1st June 6 - 9pm!
Featuring S Mark Gubb, Matthews Allen, Peter Finnemore, Paul Emmanuel, Paul R
Jones,Rebecca Gould, Owen Martell Simon Proffitt, Bedwyr Williams and Cerith
Wyn Evans!
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////Boeing
Way to Gas Street!
Departure Foundation, 2nd Floor, 22 Gas Street, Birmingham, UK!
27th April - 29th July 2012 Friday - Sunday 12 - 4pm!
Featuring Louise Ashcroft, Georgina Barney, Amelia Beavis-Harrison, Alex
Brenchley,Ralph Dorey,Danielle Drainey, Susan Forsyth, Rebecca Glover, Rebecca
Gould, Anne Guest, SteveHines, Fritha Jenkins,Iwan Lewis, Eugene Nyee Macki, Greg
Thomas, Rebecca Turner, Sara Twomey and Rich White!
Microcosm!
Departure Foundation, Ellington Building, Leeds Valley Park, West Yorkshire,
UKPreview Friday 3rd August 201214th June - 31st August 2012Saturdays 2 - 6pm or
by appointment!
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////Screen from
Barcelona Espacio de Proyectos Sant Pere, Barcelona, Spain!
17th May - 2nd June 2012!
Example of a simple update email I recently received from an artist I went to college with.

13. Mentoring
As artists most of us are looking successfuls to continued learning, knowledge and stimulation.
The most successful forms of mentoring are developed through personality, joint interest and a certain
altruism. This can organically happen through setting up opportunities for informal mentoring to take
place.
Mentoring is not hanging out with Yoda - it can be just hanging out with each other.
Mentoring can incorporate:Discussion, skill sharing as well as giving advice through
1. Formal institution set up which shows support for artists professional development
2. Informal varied peer to peer mentoring by artists themselves
Access what already exists:
1. Your are doing it already - VAI.
2. Online resources: a-n, art-quest, creative choice..
Do it yourself:
1. Ask - Is their a local business what could give you relevant advice?
2. Ask -A person you already have a connection to (not necessarily local)
3. Set up an critique, support or discussion group. Doesn’t necessarily have to be about
your own work could be about sustaining your careers.
How?
1. Tools for international communication: Skype, Dropbox, Viber, Google docs

14. Space =Activity
Rather than waiting around for invitations from others to take part in projects, I was able to do the
inviting myself in the knowledge that such relationships could facilitate further moments of exchange in
the future. Paul ONeill
Running your own space can offer rewards of expanding your their career, make new networks, or
simply to provide the facility you require.
Temporary
But… Running an artist-led space is much more than putting on the odd show of your work...
There is also the work of Administration, Marketing , Financial management and fundraising
Promotion, Facilities management (and negotiating with landlords…)
So maybe you don’t need to commit to a long term responsibility. Perhaps a one-off exhibition or short
term project would work for you.
What could that space be? Where could it be?
Gallery/ exhibition / event space An empty retail / work space ( negotiated rent)
Studios Desk in library/ arts space
Project space Domestic space
Meeting space A shelf, a wallet a cupboard!
Workshops
Resource space
Information point
Drop in “hub”
Social space

15. Space
Access what already exists
1. Get involved with can existing group, offer to help, volunteer hrs or your particular skills
2. Take a studio within an artist led space
3. Does you local arts centre offer space for local artists usage?
4. Could you use a community space?
Set up your own
1. Set up own space - negotiating cheap rents for derelict retail spaces
2. Dublin City Council empty spaces scheme
3. Negotiate area within institution (library, art centre, pub other) for local artists -
designated for artists use.
How?
VAI article: Self-Organisation as a Way of Being by Paul O’Neill
VAI article: Organising and Managing Projects by Kerry McCall
VAI article: A practical guide to setting up a studio space by Jacinta Lynch

16. Pallas www.pallasprojects.org
Founded 1996 by 2 artists (studio and project space in a former factory) It established a reputation as a leading
exponent of an alternative art methodology and D.I.Y. work ethic resulting in imaginative and challenging
projects. Provided invited and studio artists with an outlet for their work in curated exhibitions in Dublin, Belfast
London, Bangkok and Rotterdam, in venues ranging from the studios themselves, self-initiated outdoor projects,
taking over commercial spaces (a shop in Brick Lane, London), and as invited temporary occupiers of regenerated
spaces.
Pallas Heights, an exhibition space that used semi-derelict flats awaiting demolition by DCC. 4 years 19 , 30
young and emergent Irish and international artists.
Invited exhibitions: The Hugh Lane Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Model gallery, Sligo.
Currently funded by:
Associates www.associatesgallery.co.uk
Non-profit gallery on Hoxton Street, London. Ryan Gander and Rebecca May Marston.Ffixed one-year programme
comprising twelve solo exhibitions of emerging artists. Once complete, Gander and Marston may have to build a
new infrastructure, reputation and/or identity from scratch for their next projects.
The Wallet Gallery http://theresabruno.squarespace.com/curation/
Initative of 2 artists. The Wallet Gallery has been created as a networking opportunity, with the aim of achieving
an artist community across london
Apartment www.apartmentmanchester.blogspot.ie
Artist led project and exhibition space in a one-bedroom council flat in a sixties tower block in central Manchester.
Artists showed work alongside the everyday objects in the flat and made work in response to issues surrounding
the location of the space. The space ran from 2004-2009

17. Project funding
Access what is already existing
1. Government bodies: Arts Council, Culture Ireland. Private/ Independent pr Corporate
trusts. Funded arts projects and awards (residences etc)
2. Local Authority - County Council funding
Do it yourself
1. In Kind (Materials / services: free, reduced cost, borrowed)
2. Sponsorship
3. Philanthropic giving
How?
VAI article: Awards Bursaries and grants by Neva Elliott
Build relationships within your local community, it will make it easier to find in-kind or
phiantropic funding or to look from funding from with your local arts office
Personal funding
2008/09 StatisticsVisual Artists Ireland: The Social, Economic Fiscal Status of the Visual
Artist in Ireland: Visual artists continue to need second and third jobs to make ends meet
Work can provide beneficial experience, inspiration and free you from financial
constraint. That experience can be extremely beneficial to your practice - financial management,
organisational , project management or within the content of the work itself.

18. The Good Hatchery http://thegoodhatchery.wordpress.com/about/
Good Hatchery is a residential studio and workshop spaces which operates a curatorial programme of residencies,
on site projects and exhibitions. The Good Hatchery is based in the rural bog lands of east Offaly in the Irish
Midlands. Currently run by visual artists Carl Giffney and Ruth E Lyons.
Founded in 2007 by a group of 5 graduates from Irelands National College of Art and Design (NCAD) as a response to the economic
and other obstacles facing emerging artists during the boom years of the Celtic tiger.
The building that houses the Good Hatchery was found in 2006 via Free-Cycle, through an advert that read ‘Wanted: derelict house
or ruin for artists”. All materials for the work were obtained for free through recycling and salvaging systems.
“It has been said that under two percent of fine art graduates proceed to make an art related career for themselves
in Ireland. Even less become practicing artists. … we believe that many of its central causes are financial in origin.
…. What seems to have become overlooked to some degree, is that the bulk of these financial pressures exist mainly in Dublin.
We believe that it has become a myth that an emerging artist needs to stay in a city to become an established artist.
The majority of the connection that our contemporaries maintain with the art world and its opportunities is
conducted via the internet. Mobile broadband internet has, only in the last year, become widespread and affordable
enough to keep this connection intact in rural areas. It is in these rural areas that artists can find large buildings
free of rent and enjoy a cheaper cost of living.
We intend the Good Hatchery to be an experiment in solving some of the problems associated with emerging as a young
contemporary artist while simultaneously attempting to spread provocative art tactics and their outcomes out of the capital where it
seems to maintain a stronghold.
We believe that rural contexts can offer diverse and unique social contexts that, due to the geographical make up of Ireland, for
example, effect the majority of people living on the Island. This context can easily be overlooked by contemporary art practice. We
would hope to highlight some of the rich resources and opportunities that are actually available to the emerging artist in rural
Ireland by exhibiting and working with local and national bodies.
Carl Giffney, 2007

19. Artist led projects / Self initiated working
‘Artist-led’ (artist-run, artist-initiated, artist-centred) is such a general term and can encompass
the various working models, that we have been talking about but is not just about setting up a
space or an exhibition.
It also means a self-reliance and determination to independently drive your practice forward.

20. Lynn Harris (artist with a Self initiated practice)
1. How would you describe the way you work?
I'm really interested in the conditions that determine an artwork, vs having a fetishistic relationship with the final object of art. So I look
to create projects where the processes of negotiation that go into making artwork are evident or in some cases are the artwork. I also like
to collaborate as working in the world with other people for me is a reflection of the condition of being in society, a reflection of society,
where Modernist, antiquated notions of the genius creative individual is no longer a credible/ interesting position. We now openly admit
that creative genius is a response of everything that came before, which is a more social perspective on how knowledge and insight is
generated. I develop platforms that frame a perspective or idea and that are developed through discourse, production, events, publishing. I
consider myself to have a discursive practice. Liam Gillick writes eloquently about what a discursive practice is…
2. Why do you work like this rather than relying on opportunities already available to you?
Self preservation, and a personal education. I didn't like feeling hemmed in by a profession ( the art world) that is based on exclusivity,
power plays and arbitrarily awards few individuals. It's not sustainable for most artists, it's precarious. I don't value this market based
system, DIY at least gives you a homegrown community where you can try to live out your own values and gives the happy illusion of
having a bit of control…
3. What were your aims in doing so? /Have you achieved those aims?
I think I partially answered above, but what starts to happen is people starting gravitating towards you, which is nice for discourse,
opportunities, expansion of ideas. I would say it's always still very precarious, but as long as you have your own trajectory and framework
whether mental, institutional, practical, whatever, you can continue to make work. I have achieved building up my own practice, which
you could consider my own language, which is not easy to maintain, but it's always on the edge of dwindling out…
4. What’s been the hardest part?
Making a kind of coherent, consistency. And making money.
5. How do you finance your projects?
Various ways. Used to self fund from day job in design industries. For several years now have funded from several sources, teaching,
talks, workshops, commissions, funding, and consulting/ freelance work. Invitations from institutions have been very generous and create
great contact with students, which is brilliant. So a constant mixture. This year, been thinking about a more long term form of funding for
AND Public. I was recently awarded SEED funding from Central Saint Martins Innovations Department to develop AND Public as
a social enterprise. It's early days and if i have the energy, i hope it can provide service to artists who want to self publish, but hard to
balance the project as both conceptual and practical, but I think is precisely where it has value for artists. I'm also in discussions, with the
support of CSM, with an international printer who I am trying to gain financial support from…
6. Have you gotten anything out working this way beyond what you expected to?
Loads. New ideas, new connections, tons of opportunities. But it's also a lot of work, a lot of negotiation. I think you have to like to talk
about ideas, to project manage, to deal with lots if different people to do this... It's tiring
7. Would you recommend self- initiated practice to others?
Totally, create your own audience…

21. If autonomy means self-determination rather than apartness it must spread its wings… How else
are the forces that determine art to be wrested from external agencies and ulterior motives.
Dave Beech
Don’t start with limits.
It doesn’t have to be about geography.
Take control.