Artquest

Babyfied in Birmingham

I imagined life with a newborn as baby and me waltzing around Liverpool going to private views and exhibitions. Of course, the world was different when I found out I was pregnant in October 2019. I knew that it was important to be able to continue my… Continue Reading Babyfied in Birmingham

Conscious Isolation: Networking Together, Apart

Samuel Zealey and I set up Conscious Isolation right at the beginning of lockdown. We speak about and call upon what is important in these difficult times. Culture expands the mind and will bring us together. The aim is to facilitate cultural dialogu… Continue Reading Conscious Isolation: Networking Together, Apart

Moving Image Salon

In Spring 2019 we arrived in London after 6 years of living in Portugal. We had initially moved away from the UK when we had an opportunity to live rent free in a beach house in a small town south of Porto. At the time, this was exactly what we had b… Continue Reading Moving Image Salon

From Leaving London To Lockdown Collaboration

To deliberately misquote Groove Armada, “Goodbye Nightclub, Hello Country”. Back in my 30s, I thought London and I would be married for life. But then as the years progressed, our relationship became more strained, and suddenly we began talking about… Continue Reading From Leaving London To Lockdown Collaboration

Bogotá: The Sprawling Urban Jungle in the Clouds

When I arrived in Bogotá, I didn’t have many expectations. I packed in my job and studio in London on a whim and changed an existing flight I had to Brazil to come here instead. For what could have been a huge blunder and error of judgement it all wo… Continue Reading Bogotá: The Sprawling Urban Jungle in the Clouds

Bolton: Land of Opportunity

Two years ago, at a particularly challenging time in our lives my partner and I made big changes, I quit my teaching job and we moved to Bolton from London. Our aim was to prioritise being carers for our two children, we built a studio and I started… Continue Reading Bolton: Land of Opportunity

Bilbao Rocks

During my five months on an artist residency in the Northern Spanish City of Bilbao, I have noticed a lot of artists. Being based in an artist residency centre this is obviously a risk. Considering the size of the city, there seemed however to be mor… Continue Reading Bilbao Rocks

Mexico: Swimming in the belly button moonlake – a path to creative enrichment

In Mexico’s ancient language ‘Nahuatl’ – The word ‘Mexico’ means ‘Bellybutton of the Moon lake’. Mexico City is a megalopolis crawling up the side of a prehistoric lake bed, sludging over fault lines and shimmying with it’s ominous neighbour; an acti… Continue Reading Mexico: Swimming in the belly button moonlake – a path to creative enrichment

Berlin: Care and Creativity: Working as a Disabled Artist

I started my training as a dancer fourteen years ago, first at A-Level and then at the University of Brighton as part of their Performance and Visual Arts Bachelors Degree course. I have always been interested in the body and movement and I had dream… Continue Reading Berlin: Care and Creativity: Working as a Disabled Artist

Glasgow: how to find sanctuary in the dear green place

As artists many of us are introverted beasts who choose the right time to make the most of creativity. It’s about getting a balance that fits with a responsibility to good practice, your wellbeing and the desire for fruitful community involvement. Pe… Continue Reading Glasgow: how to find sanctuary in the dear green place

How to Proceed

It could be argued that the UK is experiencing a very gradual cultural shift. A decades-long and relatively definitive trajectory has been ebbed slowly by episodes of both economic and civic uncertainty and we, as often-nomadic beings, seem to be alo… Continue Reading How to Proceed

Bergen: Holding in the Gaps

EVA ROWSON (Bergen, Norway) is Curator of Landmark, Bergen Kunsthall – the live programme of music, clubnights, performance and more at Bergen’s largest gallery for contemporary art. Her work as an artist, producer and curator is organised around que… Continue Reading Bergen: Holding in the Gaps

São Paulo: Searching the edges

Holly Willats is the Director of Art Licks: a not-for-profit organisation based in London that provides support for grassroots activity and artists through its magazine, commissioning programme, and annual festival. Willats has recently spent time in… Continue Reading São Paulo: Searching the edges

Lisbon: salt air

Holly Willats is the Director of Art Licks: a not-for-profit organisation based in London that provides support for grassroots activity and artists through its magazine, commissioning programme, and annual festival. Willats has recently been carrying… Continue Reading Lisbon: salt air

Berlin: history, hedonism, and wildness

Over the past two months, I’ve been in touch with seven Berlin-based artists, asking them about their experiences as artists in the city and how they understand queerness in relation to their work. Common themes emerged: the importance of community,… Continue Reading Berlin: history, hedonism, and wildness

London: ‘A Year in Utopia’

Paradoxically, I think being a full-time parent, despite taking up most of my time, actually allows me some stability and gives focus to my down-time. Having the autonomy to operate more or less how I want, without interference, gives me the impetus… Continue Reading London: ‘A Year in Utopia’

Iceland: an interview with Hallgerður Hallgrímsdóttir

Hallgerður Hallgrímsdóttir is an Icelandic photographer, toying with the language of her medium, disrupting perceptions of established Icelandic photography and drawing attention to everyday non-events. We meet in her apartment, a few weeks before s… Continue Reading Iceland: an interview with Hallgerður Hallgrímsdóttir

Reykjavík: designing with tradition and modernity

Bobby caught our attention after we came across a number of his album artwork designs making reference to the Icelandic landscape; moody shots of lava fields, coastal scenes overlaid with weather symbols and mineral-splattered green hills. Lay Low, T… Continue Reading Reykjavík: designing with tradition and modernity

Iceland: recycle, rethink & redesign

Birta Rós Brynjólfsdóttir is a recent graduate of Iceland Academy of the Arts. Fresh-faced, with an enthusiasm for designing a more environmentally conscious world, she and her collaborators have been making moves to reduce Iceland’s waste, while sim… Continue Reading Iceland: recycle, rethink & redesign

Art Worlds Margate

It’s Monday morning and I’m walking along the seafront, waves crashing to my right and seagulls squealing overhead. I’m not on holiday; I’m on the way to my studio. Documentation from Dry Run event, courtesy Jay Rechsteiner and Chiara Williams Contem… Continue Reading Art Worlds Margate

Collectivity, collaboration and experimentation in Budapest

I was first drawn to Budapest as a tourist, a love kept me coming back, and then I met someone who spoke the same artistic language and we started our first project, a non-hierarchical performance research group. I perceived the city to be open, avai… Continue Reading Collectivity, collaboration and experimentation in Budapest

California: driving around LA with Orlagh Woods

Photograph by Roger W licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 I arrived in Los Angeles in the sunshine and heat of August, and was struck immediately by the sheer size of the city, which sprawls in every direction along its network of freeways. It was quite a cu… Continue Reading California: driving around LA with Orlagh Woods

California: an interview with Frankie Carino

Arizona born, Los Angeles-based Frankie Carino has been carving out a name for himself as an artist tearing at the traditions of photography, disobeying its materials and testing its presentation techniques. Lively, young and high spirited, Frankie i… Continue Reading California: an interview with Frankie Carino

California: an interview with Bunnie Reiss

A recent addition to the Los Angeles art community after a move down state from her old stomping ground of Oakland, Bunnie Reiss has set up studio and home in the district of Echo Park. We meet to talk about her recent transition and how she’s findin… Continue Reading California: an interview with Bunnie Reiss

California: an interview with Kelly-Lynn Jones

Photo by Claire Dickinson Photo by Claire Dickinson Photo by Claire Dickinson Photo by Claire Dickinson Kelly-Lynn Jones has been making a name for herself in San Francisco as the founder of internationally renowned creative platform and store… Continue Reading California: an interview with Kelly-Lynn Jones

Colombia: an interview with Juan Pablo Echeverri

Artist Juan Pablo Echeverri talks to Artquest about the art scene in Colombia and his own international practice. http://soundcloud.com/artquest/juan-pablo-echeverri-part-1 http://soundcloud.com/artquest/juan-pablo-echeverri-part-2 http://soundcloud.… Continue Reading Colombia: an interview with Juan Pablo Echeverri

Argentina: a tour around MALBA, the Museum of Latinamerican Art in Buenos Aires

Malba, Buenos Aires London-based artist Laura Malacart interviews artist/art historian Matilde Llambi Campbell at the Educational Department at Malba. Interviewed in 2012. Laura Malacart: Malba is an astounding museum dedicated to contemporary… Continue Reading Argentina: a tour around MALBA, the Museum of Latinamerican Art in Buenos Aires

Armenia: overview of the visual arts

The new reality proved difficult for many artists who had been until then supported by the Soviet state with free studio spaces, generous bursaries and subsidised art materials in return for political obedience (with many artists schizophrenically di… Continue Reading Armenia: overview of the visual arts

Borneo: Tong Tana – walking with the Penan by Layla Curtis

In May 2010 artist Layla Curtis travelled to the rainforests of Borneo. Filming a Penan hunter’s solo journey through dense jungle near BaJawi, one of Borneo’s last remaining pristine rainforest wildernesses for a project, she also wrote about her ex… Continue Reading Borneo: Tong Tana – walking with the Penan by Layla Curtis