I know you must be tired

Book, Megan Chapman © 2019 

 
Where are artists supposed to make art? The art that is slow and takes time and tending to like a wild garden? The art that is messy and fucks up the floor and walls? The art that is political and angry? Where are the artists supposed to go for understanding and sanctuary when they don't fit into the touted creative economy of the commercially viable and sanitised? 

Where are artists supposed to show, when every opportunity is a speculative exercise in exploitation? 

Where do the artists get a foothold when accessibility is not considered and they don't follow the usual stilted art speak? Who is place making for them on the liminal plane?

Exhibition news and a bit of backstory

Time spent as someone else

Mixed media on canvas

40x50cm

Megan Chapman

£645

On Thursday night, I was "making the scene" at the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the Out of the Blue Drill Hall in Leith. It was a large event celebrating the history and just some of the talent that has been a part of making the Drill Hall a storied arts venue.

There were loads of people and lovely food and drinks provided by the incredible cafe staff. The event focused on a stage offering up a rousing performance by All or Nothing aerial dance company set to a remixed cover of Lesley Gore's You Don't Own Me, there was a scene from "Made to Connect" a play written by Duncan Kidd and performed by Active Inquiry. There was ethereal music provided by a talented member of the Clarsach Society. And of course, there was a DJ. New celebratory banners hung high above, created by the Out of the Blueprint, and buckets hung from the ceiling in a bright display. There was also an art exhibition by several resident studio artists. 

The participating artists included:

Felicity Inkpen @felicityinkpen

Solen Collet @solencollet

Cluster Studio 

Elaine Wilson  @elainewilsonvisualart

Daniel Murray @danmurrayartist

Megan Chapman @megan.chapman.artist

Mairi MacSween @mairimacsweendesigns

Catherine Giselle @catherinegiselleart

Precious Metals Workshop: featuring work by Amanda McGrattan, Cameron Murdoch, Eve Smith, and others. 

It was good to see my peers and have some laughs. The residents' exhibition was installed this past Tuesday & Wednesday and it comes down on Saturday, June 1st at 5pm. Blink and you will miss it - so don't blink! 

My blog is being posted a bit late, so if you are reading this on Saturday, June 1st and you are near Edinburgh, you have from 10am - 5pm today to enjoy the show. Pop in, have a coffee, and see some art in a bright, airy, and historic place. 

Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 8RG

Now that we have the particulars squared away, I am going to tell you a little about the work I decided to share in the exhibition from my series All The Ways.

Stolen moments

Mixed media on canvas

40x50cm

Megan Chapman

£645

I wrote this about the work at the time.

"Colour has always been extremely important to me. Even though the bulk of this series seems to be covered over with a neutral grey, there are ochres, greens, blues, pinks, Payne's grey and charcoals dancing or wrestling together. The colours are flickering, sputtering, jumping, and clawing their way up out of the grey. There is a faded beauty, something beneath the surface dripping and aching yet energetic, always making its way through the grey. Sometimes the grey is well-known and comforting in its nothingness. This is a series about resilience." 

This series was created in 2017 during the first year of Donald Trump's presidency in the United States. 

The pink was unusual within my more standard palette and its use was a form of rebellion. Trump was in the white house and wreaking havoc. As the world seemed to be getting darker by the minute, I grabbed the pink.

At the time, I didn't talk about this series being a direct reaction to what was happening in American politics - couching it in terms of resilience was easier and seemed more palatable. I think I told a few close friends and trusted patrons, and then I kept it to myself. 

Back to the present - I arrived home from the event and checked the news. There was another reason to celebrate. Donald Trump was found guilty in a court of law. 

It seems more than fitting that these are the selections on display. 

The art never lies.

To hide the best parts

Mixed media on canvas

40x40cm

Megan Chapman

£550

Action and Art

I am posting this two weeks later than the actual date, filling in gaps where I have been silent. I am doing this mostly so I can remember what was being created at this time. This blog often serves as a record for me in the future.

For the past two weeks, I have been quiet and listening, outraged and sad, and holding space in solidarity with black people around the world. It didn't feel like the right time to record a chirpy Tuesday Studio Video Visit, nor did it feel right to write another blog on Friday as if it was business as usual in the world. I haven't painted much since the last portrait (FUCK - that I shared on this blog last week and below) but I have been looking at a lot of art, reading, researching, donating, and being as politically active as possible and protesting from a safe distance and attending online rallies and discussions on racism offered through a black-led organisations.

Here are the organisations I have been able to aid in some small way so far thanks to my art patrons.

Showing up for Racial Justice
https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/
Organization for Black Struggle
https://www.obs-stl.org/
Family of George Floyd
https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd
National Lawyers Guild Mass Defense Fund
https://www.nlg.org/massdefenseprogram/
The Bail Project
https://bailproject.org/
Stand up to Racism UK
http://www.standuptoracism.org.uk/

Action for Breonna Taylor:

1) Email Mayor Greg Fischer to demand that the LMPD fire and revoke pensions of the officers who murdered Breonna; and arrest, charge, and convict them for this crime. Email: Greg.Fischer@louisvilleky.gov

2) Demand that special prosecutor Daniel Cameron comport with full transparency and accountability. Email: attorney.general@ag.ky.gov

Please join us in this fight by making your voice heard now. Further information is at FightforBreonna.org

Defund the Police: 

https://action.aclu.org/petition/divest-police-invest-black-and-brown-communities

UK Actions:

Action for UK Government Stop Arming US State Violence with Exports:

U.K. friends please email your MP. https://www.caat.org.uk/…/lob…/stop-arming-us-state-violence

Justice for Sheku Bayoh:

https://www.change.org/p/police-scotland-investigate-the-death-of-sheku-bayoh-in-police-custody

10 petitions to sign today that support Black Lives Matter in the UK:

https://www.you.co.uk/black-lives-matter-petitions-uk/?fbclid=IwAR2aJ7if_Z7ZZtRp9enWz9OTZ0IK2-dnvD_aU5tqZeKGWFfiyMhR95zni80

On Wednesday, June, 3rd at 6pm there was a UK wide call to action to protest wherever you were, doorstep, street, garden, or a socially distanced group protest to take the knee and or stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. I took the knee and stood outside on the road with my hand-painted sign. 

We must show up where we are, it might feel performative at first, scary, or odd. I had to examine that within myself. I had to look back at my white life and privilege, acknowledge my mistakes and missteps, talk about racism and bias, and ask questions of my friends and family. Why is my Instagram feed so white, why are the cities I live in so white? Why is the art I see so white? What can I do about it? What do I need to learn? What do I need to change? This is on us as white people. I might get it wrong and when I do (not if) I will take responsibility and listen. I'd rather get it wrong and be corrected and learn than stand back in silence. We have to keep talking and taking action not just this week or the next, but for the rest of our lives.

Now to the art, I made around this time and the last studio video visit I recorded. 

Accidental portrait #15, mixed media
20x16" on heavyweight 250gsm paper.
It has a fine-grain linen-textured surface that has been double-primed and is acid-free.
£270

Accidental portrait #16
mixed media 20x16" on heavyweight 250gsm paper.
It has a fine-grain linen-textured surface that has been double-primed and is acid-free.
Sold

Accidental portrait #17
mixed media 20x16" on heavyweight 250gsm paper.
It has a fine-grain linen-textured surface that has been double-primed and is acid-free.
Sold

Until next week, I hope you are staying safe and well. Thank you. Keep fighting!

Last Open Studio of the Year!

What time is it? OPEN STUDIOS TIME! JOIN US this Saturday, December 14th from 11-5pm for the last OPEN STUDIO of the year as part of the final Out of the Blue Christmas Arts Markets at The Out of the Blue Drill Hall 36 Dalmeny Street in Leith, Edinburgh. Participating Open Studio Artists and Makers are @ethermaven, @mairibstitching, @pollythelwall, @rosalyj, @celticseajewels, @mandmcgrattan and more! (Yes, those are their Instagram handles- go follow them!) Don’t miss it! We love what we do and we want to share it with you. Support your local artists and makers.

There are a few other things going on behind the scenes but like many in the UK, I am feeling a bit wordless right now. Until next week, keep fighting! The world needs you and the gifts you bring!

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