Peer/Peer Collaborations with Art et Al. | Royal Society of Sculptors

Entry Type

Members-only

About the prize

Art et al. X Royal Society of Sculptors will run two Peer/Peer Collaborations, each pairing an artist from a supported studio with a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors.

The Peer/Peer Collaborations will run from May through July 2023.

The outcome of these collaborations is the Making Together exhibition at Dora House, the home of the Royal Society of Sculptors taking place in autumn 2023. Art et al. will also host the project outcome and documentation of the collaboration on their online accessible platform.

Click here to see the collaboration between Eleni Maragaki MRSS and Leslie Thompson: https://artetal.org/peer-to-peer/collab-12

The Peer/Peer Collaborations foster connections for new artwork to be created informed by new artistic relationships. Art et al. will support the coordination of regular communication and collaboration between each pair of artists over a 3 month period. Artists are encouraged to connect digitally, having regular conversations over Zoom or through shared video content, with the creative output taking any form, and in any medium or scale – made individually or collaboratively. If artists are able to connect in person, this is also encouraged, but artists will not be selected based on location.

About Art et Al.

Art et al. is an international inclusive curatorial platform of collaborations between artists from supported studios, peers, and arts professionals that highlights diverse voices and creative practices. These collaborations and partnerships result in commissioned writing, original multi-media content, and both digital and in-person exhibitions, expanding the scope, role, and definition of contemporary art.

Art et al. was founded in 2020 by Jennifer Lauren Gallery; Slominski Projects; and Sim Luttin and Arts Project Australia. These founding partners identified a need for more inclusive programming and access points into the contemporary arts sector for neurodivergent, intellectually, and learning disabled artists to be seen, heard, and participate.

In the UK, Art et al. and Valeria Napoleone has partnered with Cromwell Place, the Roberts Institute of Art, Cranford Collection, Valeria Napoleone. Their commissioned art writing initiative includes articles by Jennifer Higgie, Francesca Gavin and Katrina Schwarz; and previous Peer/Peer collaborators include Holly Stevenson, John Powell-Jones and Alasdair McLuckie.

Art et al. has been supported by the British Council, the Australian Government through the Australia Council of the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body, Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Aesop Foundation, Cromwell Place, Arts Project Australia, Slominski Projects, and Jennifer Lauren Gallery.

What is a supported studio

A supported studio is a creative environment for individuals with specific health or social needs that encourages and supports the different art practices of artists. Supported studios facilitate professional development and career-building opportunities for artists — individually, as a group or collective.

Supported studios provide technical artistic support, promote artists in the marketplace and within galleries, and develop networks and audiences outside of health and social care settings. Supported studios share a commitment to producing and presenting work of high artistic quality.

How to Apply

RSS members should apply to collaborate with one of the artists presented below based on their style, process and interests.

Art et al. hosted an online Q & A session for Society members interested and answered questions about the collaboration, the artists, and about working with supported studios on Wednesday 22 March at 6.30pm.

A recording of this talk is available on the Society's Vimeo Channel.

As an Art et Al. Collaborator please consider:

Spending time at the beginning of the collaboration talking about each other’s practice and art journey
Each artist may have different needs – be respectful of rest time and if extra explanations are needed
Sharing action plans after each session, so you both remember what was discussed and what you might do, as well as the time frame involved
Discuss with your collaborating artist how you want your project to be described
A member of the Art et al., and staff member from the supported studio can be present for all virtual meetings to ensure effective and positive communication
Completed artwork is owned by the artists

Peer/Peer 01: Thompson Hall, ActionSpace, London

Thompson Hall’s practice is comprised primarily of large-scale graphic paintings on textiles. He explores his everyday experiences and situations, using his observations to create flat and patterned compositions. His use of colour has been described as spontaneous, using his palette to express his feelings and emotions. Hall uses recognisable symbols to give visual references to his chosen subjects. His recent work is inspired by the inequalities of society and what is happening in the world around him, in regard to politics, social change, marginalisation and the ongoing impacts of Covid on our society. He says: “We live by rules and regulations that say you can’t do this and you can’t do that. In my paintings, I am trying to tell people how this makes me feel.” Thompson Hall is a resident artist at ActionSpace’s Cockpit Arts studio, is participating in Autograph Gallery’s Transforming Leadership Programme and was an artist in residence at Autograph Gallery in 2022.

ActionSpace is an exceptional visual arts development agency for learning disabled artists. They seek out and unlock talent, create opportunities and realise the potential and have big ambitions for all the artists they work with.

You can see more of Thompson’s work on the ActionSpace website and learn more about him through his profile on SHIFT.

Peer/Peer 02: Leslie Thompson, Venture Arts, Manchester

Leslie Thompson has a highly developed drawing style, drawing both from memory and through live observational drawings. Leslie depicts scenes from popular culture, mostly from the seventies and eighties, and his drawings are often punctuated with memories from film, music and TV. More recently animals have been a major inspiration to him, and these have featured in ceramic – a medium he is keen to work more in.

He has gained a reputation as a mural artist, creating bespoke murals in the head offices of LADbible and Sheila Bird Group in Manchester. He also specialises in capturing events through live drawing, working with DadaFest, Creative Minds North, and Hubbub Theatre. He has exhibited his work widely across the UK including a solo exhibition at Project Ability, Glasgow in 2017, and in 2021 Leslie’s intricate piece, ‘Animals from Memory’ was acquired by the Government Art Collection.

Leslie has been attending Venture Arts studios for over twenty years – an award-winning visual arts charity based in Hulme, Manchester. Their vision is a world in which learning disabled people are empowered, celebrated, included and valued in the arts, culture and society.

You can see more of Leslie’s work on the Venture Arts website and learn more about him through his profile on SHIFT.

Current Winners

Current Winner

Eleni Maragaki MRSS

Eleni Maragaki MRSS is a visual artist born in Athens, Greece. She studied Painting in the Athens School of Fine Arts (2013-2018) and MA Fine Art in Central Saint Martins, UAL (2020-2022), as a recipient of the Mona Hatoum Bursaries Award. She has taken part in numerous exhibitions including a screening in LUX Moving Image, a group show in the Art Station Dubulti in Latvia and the Shijiazhuang Youth Art Biennale in Hebei, China. In 2023, she was the winner of the TATE Christmas Card Competition and shortlisted for the First Plinth: Public Art Award. One of her latest projects was public commission for a light installation by Stavros Niarchos Foundation. She is currently a resident at the Muse Gallery.

Read about Eleni

I am keen to develop my work in collaboration with Leslie Thompson of Venture Arts, as I know that the oppositions and correlations between the ideas explored in our practices, as well as the differences in the use of mediums, will provide a productive space for conversation and mutual learning.

Eleni Maragaki MRSS

Current Winner

Simone Kennedy MRSS

Simone Kennedy MRSS is an inter-disciplinary artist working primarily in painting, soft-sculpture and a series of small literary works. She has a doctorate focused on the inter-subjective relationship between mother and infant, springing from a deep interest in inter-generational trauma, the psychology of attachment and the transformative power of symbolic association. She has received multiple awards, exhibited and undertaken residencies locally and internationally.

I feel proud and lucky to be a part of this unique and dynamic program and I look forward to an exciting, creative collaboration.

Simone Kennedy MRSS