Listen back to Julie Lomax, CEO of a-n The Artists Information Company, and Emily Speed, Artist and Chair of a-n Artists Council, in conversation with artists Kevin Hunt, Fauziya Johnson, Joseph Cotgrave and Sufea Mohamad Noor on the ongoing debate about precarious work in the field of contemporary art. This event took place at FACT on Tuesday 30 July.
Julie Lomax
CEO of a-n The Artists Information Company
Twitter
Kevin Hunt
Artist
Kevin Hunt is an artist, independent curator and lecturer (at Manchester School of Art) currently living in Liverpool. With an interest in the linguistic potential of everyday objects and forms (the kinds of things we regularly use or see on a day-to-day basis), sculpture, printed works and ‘social installations’ investigate the mutability of language within our everyday scenario and the possibilities such mutability allows; especially when we take things literally or run with misunderstandings. Misreading things to their logical or illogical conclusions.
He was a director of The Royal Standard, an artist-led gallery, studios and social workspace in Liverpool (2007-11) and has since co-founded many artist-led projects in the city including CAVE, an artist-led art fair (2012); MODEL, an experimental research-based exhibition platform (2014) and www.fsliverpool.org, a self-organised, evolving and nomadic ‘free school’ open for all Liverpool-based artists to access and take part in free of charge (2017 - 2018). He published the ARTIST-LED HOT 100 (volume i & ii), a long list of some of the most exciting emerging artist groups, curatorial initiatives, content publishers and independent exhibiting spaces operating the UK today in 2013 and 2017 respectively.
Fauziya Johnson
Artist and Co-Founder of ROOT-ed Zine
Twitter / Instagram / ROOT-ed Zine Twitter / ROOT-ed Zine Instagram
Fauziya Johnson's work challenges the continual issues of systemic racist practice of Orientalism, exoticism, and fetishism, relating this to the discourse of people’s cultural opinions within the Afro-Caribbean community in the UK today. This primary focus has several tributaries, which include: cultural appropriation, modern feminism and anthropology. During her last year at Liverpool Hope University studying Fine Art, Johnson co-founded ROOT-ed Zine, which specialises in promoting and positively representing creative people of colour within the North West of England.
Joseph Cotgrave
Artist
Joseph Cotgrave’s practice explores personal narratives, as a young gay man living with HIV. He engages with audiences to create meaningful conversation surrounding issues relating to the virus. His practice aims to highlight and subsequently reduce the stigma that exists for people living with HIV, particularly amongst at-risk groups.
Photo by Roger Sinek
Sufea Mohamad Noor
Artist
Sufea Mohamad Noor (b.1993) is an artist and curator based in Liverpool. Her primary interests are useful art and postcolonial discourse. Sufea is currently exploring typography and embodiment through the practice of making artist books, hosting communal meals and creating textiles sculptures. Sufea recently published an article about representation, peers, mentors and balancing practice with work for Museum ID. Previous commissions include The Good Society Sunday Lunch at The Bluecoat, Liverpool (2017), PAGES New Voices Project at The Tetley, Leeds (2019). She was also awarded the UKYA and Porthmeor Studio Residency in St Ives (2018), UKYA Cultural Leadership Coaching (2018) and Helen’s Gossip Professional Development Bursary from Heart of Glass (2018).
Sufea is currently an Artistic Director at The Royal Standard and a Board Member of Corridor8 alongside working as the Development Assistant at Tate Liverpool.
Header image: Courtesy of Kevin Hunt. Photo by Andy Ford and Beth Emily Richards.
