Introducing… Jeff

This is the second of an occasional post that will introduce some of the dedicated people who through their efforts keep Arts Together going.

Jeff has worked with Arts Together since the original pilot project in 2000. He was manager for a few years as well as leading sessions with the groups. Since Karolyne took over the day to day running in 2004, he has taken on the role of accounts and communications manager as well as continuing to deliver art activities.

Jeff originally trained as a graphic designer turning self-employed in 1980 and sharing the running of a successful design business in South London. On moving to Wiltshire in 1985 with Karen he continued working as a freelance designer for a broad range of clients including local authorities, tv companies, advertising agencies and charities. In 1995 he graduated with an HND in Community Arts and since then he has been lead artist and manager of ArtSpark – a group of artists who collaborate on socially engaged and participatory art projects. Jeff also has a BA (hons) in Fine Art with Drawing from Oxford Brookes University and a Foundation in Art Therapy from City of Bath College.

”Working as a professional artist and as a participatory facilitator – for Arts Together and on other projects – has reciprocal benefits for both roles. I have been doing this for 20 years now and cannot imagine ever stopping. These are some of the positive aspects and cross-over advantages:

• I have never managed to make even a small living solely from making and selling my art despite continual exhibiting and engagement in collaborative projects. This is because a significant amount of the work I make is not commercial or sits in a vacuum between the “art world” and popular cultural consumption. For this reason, art related teaching and facilitation that earns money is essential for being able to live but also to be able to make more work. In this respect Arts Together has been a consistent and rewarding employer for nearly 15 years.
• But money is only a small part of the overall benefits. Working on my own projects can be draining and also isolating, and sometimes the purpose for making art can become too self-regarding and inward looking. So working with others outside of the studio refreshes my motivation. Arts Together is for older people, many of whom have given up on doing something new in their lives or who have lost all confidence in their abilities and are socially isolated and alone. Being able to bring creative opportunities to such a group is personally invigorating and hugely rewarding. To see the delight and amazement at achieving challenging creative projects is fantastic and hopefully brings a little positive uplift to lives that society has turned away from.
  
• The challenge for me as an artist is to make the projects difficult enough to be challenging but accessible enough so that everyone can take part and find their own level of success. Having to plan and prepare with great care means I have to examine the process of creativity which consequently positively benefits my own practice as well as reminding me of methods and materials I had forgotten. Working with vulnerable adults also reminds me of what I tend to take for granted – often assuming that everyone is artistic but then having to confront the most fundamental barriers to creativity. Many times I have heard: “I was told at school I was rubbish at art, so I never wanted to try again”. 70 years on those negative admonishments are still potent for many people and prevent them from even making a mark. In the same way many adults have forgotten how to play and have fun. They are frightened of the seeming purposeless of art in a very logical/left brain world. But; play, risk, experiment, chance, trial and error lead to surprises, delight and a sense of fulfilment and enrichment that changes not only someone’s mood, but their view of the world and their place in it.
  
• A lot of the work I make has a social/political element and some of the inspiration for this comes from working with the Arts Together participants. They are approaching the end of their lives and are variously suffering the loss of; partners, family, friends, pets, possessions, homes, physical abilities, mental faculties, senses and their very identity through dementia. Older people can also suffer the stigma of being marginalised by society or categorised into a group that no longer serves a role or has any purpose, especially if they are struggling on small pensions or savings and cannot buy their way out of isolation. I am angry that we do not value older people and encourage and enable them to participate in their communities and wider society. Sometimes we offer them reminiscence, sing-songs and bingo as if that is the reward for growing old. By stark contrast Arts Together offers creativity, stimulation, socialising, new and interesting activities and the possibility of challenging the stereotypes and assumptions of getting older. The experience of working with older people is a constant reality check and feeds back into my studio work.

My own practice is diverse and spans many different media and styles. I enjoy the solitude and introspection of the studio where I paint and make sculpture but also the excitement of working collaboratively with other artists on projects and commissions.

I have exhibited in many group shows and open competitions. I was specially commended in the NationalSculpture Prize at Broomhill in 2014 and in the 100 long-list for the Aesthetica Art Prize 2013. I participated in Sketch 2013 at Rabley Drawing Centre as well as Void Open in Hoxton, Black Swan Open, Frome, and was one of four artists selected for the Althea Wynne Bursary Award. www.jeffartist.co.uk

With fellow artist Julia Warin (Arts Together trustee) I exhibited in; Contemporary South West, Duet Open at the Quay Arts Centre, IoW and won the Open Prize at Fringe Arts Bath 2014 with the “DIY Fracking Kit”. Our joint installation “Kiosk” has been shown many times and has received wide acclaim and praise. www.artspark.net

Also in 2014 Julia and I successfully created Erosion Zone, an interactive display exploring coastal erosion for the Jurassic Coast Trust funded by the Arts Council which was exhibited at Bridport Arts Centre, Durlston Castle and B-side Festival, Portland. We are currently working on a commission for Dorset Council examining climate change and the effects of flooding on people in Dorchester.

For 2015 I will be continuing to work with Arts Together alongside being selected for a residency retreat in Southern Ireland and a studio swap with a fellow sculptor in St Just, Cornwall.”