Tell us about yourself and your work
I’m a multi-disciplinary artist and filmmaker based in Cardiff with a practice across film, photography, poetry and installation, among others. My work often explores the relationship between the individual and the natural environment and has a spiritual enquiry around climate change and biodiversity.
My own connection to nature seems to inform my practice across all the different mediums I use but I also work closely with communities of people. At heart, I think I’m interested in reframing the aesthetic of landscape – some of my recent projects use moonlight to examine plant and human life in an upland area and explore plant-human connection.
Why did you apply for the Creative Cardiff Art School Plus scholarship?
In the last couple of years, I’ve had new opportunities to make art in the public realm and enjoyed the challenge of presenting my work in different ways. These include a living plant installation of my video work Allowed in a city centre window with tactileBOSCH and a commissioned digital work Gwawr / Dawn for the opening of the Welsh Parliament, which showed online, on screens and as a physical exhibition.
After these experiences, I applied for the Creative Cardiff Art School Plus scholarship to further develop my knowledge of making public art, as the training focuses on public realm best practice and commissioning. I was particularly interested in applying as the week-long programme offered a chance to learn from world-leading artists, architects, environmental experts, developers and public realm leaders.
What did you enjoy the most about your experience on Art School Plus?
I particularly enjoyed being part of a warm group of talented and inspiring peers as well as learning about a wide selection of topics. Experienced professionals gave presentations on design, exhibition packaging and transport, applying for commissions, social engagement, circulatory curation, accessibility, working with councils and developers, and more. The space for discussion was open and nurturing, and I learnt a lot from the observations and insights of my fellow artists as well as the speakers.
There was an extended focus during Art School Plus on defining leadership, which was inspiring and relatively new for me. With Adele Patrick, Co-founder and Co-Director of Glasgow Women’s Library, we explored our individual and group core values and looked at examples of values-led leadership. I enjoyed the participatory exercises in these sessions, which also included communication skills and peer-to-peer coaching techniques.
What impact will the experience have on your practice?
A key part of the experience was being able to reflect on my own practice and evaluate what matters to me in my work and the way in which I work. There was important discussion about what it means to be an artist in the public realm and what types of support are needed for both artists and the organisations with which they collaborate.
These discussions have helped me feel more confident in understanding the parameters of making public art with regards to my own practice. I’ve learnt new ways to structure my approach to both the creation of my work and the audience who engages with it. Perhaps the greatest impact will be to be able to more effectively communicate with my future partners.
Tell us about your future ambitions for creating public realm work
Art School Plus has opened my eyes to the opportunities available in public realm work and my imagination is still working on possibilities for the future. I’m excited by the idea of working sustainably, working with empty public space and working outdoors at scale.
I’m thinking about how to use particularly film, as well as photography, in an integrated way that is embedded in space, as opposed to on temporary or shared screens. This is something we started to discuss as a group on Art School Plus and agreed was work in progress!
A big thank you to Art School Plus Director Ella Snell and all at Art School Plus and Creative Cardiff for this invaluable opportunity.
