Aesthetica Future Now Symposium and Art Prize Exhibition 2023
As part of being shortlisted for the Aesthetica Art Prize this year I was invited to the Future Now Symposium for two days in York. My best friend lives in York, so this had the added advantage of a place to stay and being able to catch up with him as well, although after three days of sleeping on an air mattress in his workshop I did wonder if maybe I’m getting a little old to be living the ‘poor artist’ stereotype quite so well!
Speaking as part of the ‘15 Mnutes with Aesthetica Art Prize Finalists’ Session, Thursday 23rd March 2023
I decided to face my fear of public speaking and put myself forward to speak in the ‘Meet the Artists’ sessions at the start of the symposium each day. Fortunately, I was put in the very first session which meant I could relax for the rest of the event, and I am incredibly grateful to Jacob Talbot, Bea Last and Gareth Phillips for being open about also being nervous and giggling like loons while we sat at the front of this very large lecture theatre waiting for everyone to come in beforehand! I also took advantage of the portfolio review on offer with Griselda Goldsbrough– my first in person one since leaving college – and that was a very positive experience.
‘Invisible Planets’ on display as part of the ‘Aesthetica Art Prize 2023 Exhibition at York Art Gallery, 23rd March 2023
As the work I submitted was digital, I was fortunate in that the curators took care of all the printing and installation of my images, which meant the first time I saw how they had decided to display my work was when I walked into the opening of the private view – and I was blown away by how amazing my Planets looked printed at that scale on lightboxes attached to the wall – something that I had always wanted to experiment with but to date had not had the budget or the space to do so. I am incredibly grateful to Cherie Federico and the team at Aesthetica for seeing the potential in my project and bringing it out so successfully for this exhibition. It was an absolute privilege to be displayed alongside so many talented artists producing such varied and thought provoking work. The private view and drinks reception afterwards were wonderful, and meeting the other short and long listed artists was fantastic – after several years of working alone in my studio due to my relocation to Scotland and the pandemic, it was a lot of fun to be surrounded by so many creative people again!
‘Collisions of Art History, Science and Technology’ session with Ori Gersht, Friday 24th March 2023
The Symposium was absolutely brilliant and inspiring, covering a wide range of topics and disciplines from sound to VR installation. The highlight for me was listening to Ori Gersht talking not only about how he produces his incredible images but also his interest in lens technology and philosophy of photography – “The photograph is no longer a representation of the world but has become the world”.
This whole experience from the very first email telling me I had been selected for the shortlist, through the professionalism of the team putting together the Future Now Anthology and Exhibition and the organizing of the Symposium itself, has been absolutely fantastic, and I’ve loved every second. After years of receiving more ‘Dear Artist, we regret to inform you…’ emails than I can count, to be selected to be part of this has done wonders for my confidence and given me the motivation to keep going and the inspiration to look at new ways of working moving forward. I want to say congratulations to everyone selected for the longlist, the finalists and the Art Prize winners and a huge thank you to everyone at Aesthetica and all of the people I met at the event, and wish you all the very best in your next projects moving forward.
The Aesthetica Art Prize 2023 Exhibition is on show at York Art Gallery until the 4th June 2023.
More images from the Private View can be seen on my Instagram here
The Future Now 2023 Anthology is available to purchase here