"While feminist writers had been revealing the historical depth and breadth of women's art since the 1970s, it still wasn't being included in popular surveys. I have always been keen to redress this to show the extent of exceptional female practice throughout history in the British Isles. I also felt there was a need to rethink how we tell a national story away from a singular concept of 'Britain' and towards a collective."
"For example, while the YBAs were being used to promote Cool Britannia, Bogside artists were painting political murals on the sides of buildings in Derry and Irish women artists such as Dorothy Cross were achieving huge success. I wanted to rethink what we mean by "British" and "Irish" art. It should include all art made in the British Isles by resident artists, no matter where they were born."
"I was keen to rethink the idea of a "British School". This is not a phrase used in The Art Isles. I replace the idea with the acknowledgement that foreign artists who migrated brought with them exciting new styles and ideas, some of which were integrated into British and Irish art and helped propel it. The great strength of the British Isles through history has been our sea access."
The history of art in the British Isles spans 15,000 years, from Ice Age marks to contemporary practice, and requires recasting beyond narrow national labels. Feminist scholarship uncovered deep, long-standing contributions by women that were often omitted from mainstream surveys. Art made across the islands by resident artists should be included regardless of birthplace, allowing foreign-born makers and homegrown talent to sit together. Migrant artists transmitted styles and ideas that were integrated and propelled local practices, while sea access fostered connectivity. Parallel phenomena include YBAs amid Cool Britannia alongside Bogside political murals and successes by Irish women artists such as Dorothy Cross.
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]