ASK ANNA for all your arts and public realm agonies.

ASK ANNA offers advice and support for all your public realm questions and queries, ever wondered how to get that all elusive commission – or have a question about public art?  ASK ANNA will be consulting a team of professionals to get to the bottom of some of those difficult quandaries and concerns which arise from being an artist making work within the public realm.

The only silly question is the one you didn’t ask!

Concerned Artist Da Blade asks:

Dear Ask Anna;

Why is it that artists working in ‘regeneration’ contexts seem to get overloaded with other agenda’s and with tackling social issues and have to struggle to do what they were invited to do in the first place, engage with the people/place and make art?

A Concerned Artist

ASK ANNA REPLIES:

Dear Concerned Artist,

That is an excellent question. The phenomenon you are describing is a very pertinent issue for many artists working within public realm contexts. The value of art and artists in helping the regeneration of economies has begun to be recognised by councils and regeneration professionals. It has been recognised that artists are adept at building dialogues in difficult situations. This recognition, though positive, is leading to adverse side effects. Lazy councils, and social developers have in some situations ‘wheeled out the artists’ in a cynical attempt to draw attention away from the real problems – using the arts as a cheap, quick fix to social ills. This leads to a situation, where neither the artist, nor the public they have been commissioned to work with, benefit. Artists need to approach with extreme caution – and always check their moral compasses before subscribing to this sort of ill thought out scheme, even if it does mean turning down the commission.

The advice here is to look carefully at commissioners, their ethical codes, and what you are being asked to do, before accepting a brief. Often there is a misunderstanding about what artists do and do not do – be very clear about this from the and your worth from the start. Stick to your guns, even if this makes you unpopular with the developers; and be clear about who you are working for – the developer or the people.

Good luck!

*****

TALKING CITY is Anna Francis’ Longhouse Guest Editor project, for March 2010.

Click here to go to the project page.