WRITING ABOUT ART
MA[stars]
n
g
M A [ ST A RS ]
Each year we commission prominent artists, curators
and writers to visit the best of the MA shows, single
out an artist and tell us why. It makes for a rich and
often surprising anthology.
i
t
i
about
MA shows have a special place in the
British art school calendar as a place for
curatorial research and talent-spotting.
W
r
Keep an eye out for our MAstars 2014 yearbook
coming soon...
This year’s selectors & institutions:
Stacy Boldrick
≥ dinburgh College of Art
E
2.
5.
Don’t suffocate or over-analyse the work.
Let the air in. Rein in the lists of influences
and materials.
Winner of the MA[stars]
film prize 2014 is:
≥ Evelyn Broderick
Liverpool John
Moores University
6.
Communicate your intentions. But remember
it’s for others to judge the meaning and
impact of your work.
7. Be revealing. But don’t unburden yourself.
8. Third person statements can sound strange it’s your work after all. However, if someone
else does write about your work, make sure
we know who they are and why they matter.
10.
Don’t write from a defensive place. Never feel
you have to defend or justify your work.
A
9. Watch out for spelling and typos, and doublecheck your punctuation and grammar.
Kirsty Ogg
≥ Slade School of Fine Art
Artist and co-director of
BIT Studios, Cardiff
4. We want to read about you, not other people.
Make sure you focus on your work.
Senior lecturer in curatorial
practice (contemporary art),
Glasgow School of Art
Bob Gelsthorpe
≥ niversity of Wales Trinity
U
Saint David
3. It doesn’t have to be perfect first time round.
“Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
(Samuel Beckett)
Mónica Núñez Laiseca
≥ orwich University
N
of the Arts
Assistant director, Matt’s
Gallery, London
Keep your statements fairly short - there’s
no need for a thesis.
Artist and curator at
20-21 Visual Arts Centre,
Scunthorpe
Judith Carlton
≥ oldsmiths, University
G
of London
1. Explain straight away what the work consists
of and don’t be afraid to state the obvious.
Dominic Mason
≥ University of Lincoln
Curator of research and
interpretation, Fruitmarket
Gallery, Edinburgh
Louisa’s ten
top tips:
Director, Bloomberg New
Contemporaries
Grant Gibson
≥ Royal College of Art
Matt Packer
≥ University of Ulster
Design, craft and
architecture writer and
editor of Crafts
Director, Centre for
Contemporary Art
Derry~Londonderry and
co-curator of LIAF 2015
(Lofoten International Art
Festival), in the Lofoten
Islands, Norway
David Gilbert
≥ Sheffield Hallam University
Freelance contemporary art
curator, arts consultant,
project manager and arts
educator
Matthew Hearn
≥ Newcastle University
Collector Development
Manager North East,
Contemporary Art Society
RT
Kate Jesson
≥ Manchester School of Art
Curator: Exhibitions,
Manchester Art Gallery
Sue Jones
≥ niversity for the Creative
U
Arts, Canterbury
Director of Whitstable
Biennale
Writing is a difficult business at the best of times,
but especially if you’re writing about your own work.
Two of our most popular sessions ‘on the road’ in 2014 revolved around
how to write a good artist’s statement. Our speakers, Tom Morton and
Louisa Buck, gave some forthright advice.
PG 16
Fliss Quick
≥ Birmingham City University
Artist
Shamita Sharmacharja
≥ Wimbledon College of Arts
Curator of temporary
exhibitions, Wellcome
Collection
Emily Speed
≥ iverpool John Moores
L
University
Artist
Paul Wearing
≥ ardiff School of Art
C
and Design
Artist
Andrea Kusel
≥ Glasgow School of Art
Joseph Young
≥ University of Brighton
Curator of art, Paisley
Museum and Art Galleries
Artist and curator
Paul Luckraft
≥ Chelsea College of Arts
Curator, Zabludowicz
Collection, London
PG 17