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NEW DIALOGUES
New Dialogues was a two-year programme generously funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Art Fund and the John Ellerman Foundation and delivered by Outside In in partnership with Glasgow Museums, Glenside Hospital Museum (Bristol), and the Mental Health Museum (Wakefield).
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The programme focused on supporting over 30 artists to gain the skills needed to explore, research and interpret collections that relate to the history of mental health and mental health treatment in the UK. In doing so, projects delivered in three geographical locations have facilitated those who perhaps have their own lived experience of mental health issues and the mental health system to reinterpret the work. This has enabled the participants to bring their own unique understanding, expertise and new perspectives to the collections and raising the question of who has the authority to interpret and talk about these works.
The project consisted of six Step Up: Exploring Collections courses, where artists were supported to gain skills in research, interpretation and response, and three Step Up: Curating Exhibitions courses, where artists gained experience of the practical and conceptual considerations that go into organizing an exhibition. The courses make up part of Outside In’s training and professional development programme, designed to support artists to gain the skills needed to find employment, self-employment and voluntary opportunities in the arts.
The programme supports strong relationships between Outside In artists and arts partners across the UK, creating opportunities for artists to discover more about their local arts organisation and to take up positions of authority, helping to diversify exhibitions, collections and public programmes across the country.
Culminating in four physical exhibitions across the UK in 2022 and one virtual exhibition on Outside In’s website, the project highlighted the importance of recognising lived experience as a valid form of expertise, and in putting the artists’ voice at the heart of research and curation.
About Outside In
Outside In’s work covers three main areas: artist development, exhibitions, and training. These activities, supported by fundraising and communications, all aim to create a fairer art world by supporting artists, creating opportunities and influencing organisations.
Please visit the website: www.outsidein.org.uk
“It’s opened a lot of doors because now I look at events but feel confident enough to go out there and say hello, I’m an artist, I’d like to do some art please, whereas before that wouldn’t have crossed my mind and it’s lovely in itself regardless of any work that happens, just being able to give myself permission to be in that world is a huge step.”
New Dialogues participant
“It was a huge change for me to go from someone who did art sometimes and had very low confidence to someone who had an art practice and felt permission to exist in art spaces.”
New Dialogues participant
