Outside In: Vawdrey Archive Project Guide

T H E V A W D R E Y A R C H I V E

JENNIFER MILARSKISTERMSEK

T H E V A W D R E Y A R C H I V E

The Vawdrey Archive, now cared for by West Sussex Record Office, comprises approximately 194 works produced by patients in art therapy sessions run by Dr Brian Vawdrey between 1951 and 1971.

Taking place between 2018 and 2019, the Vawdrey Archive Project brought together seven Outside In artists with this unique collection to explore issues like copyright, consent, interpretation and cataloguing that surround such collections.

The project aimed to return some of the authority to those who were compelled to live in these settings and highlights the voices and perspectives of those that have their own lived experience of mental health issues.

As well as consulting on issues such as copyright and consent, the Outside In artists who participated in the Vawdrey Archive Project were invited to creatively respond to the collection.

This guide showcases these responses, highlighting the journeys travelled by each participating artist and the impact the collection had on them and their creative practice.

Due to copyright restrictions, we are unable to share any works from the Vawdrey Archive in this guide.

For more information on the Archive, contact West Sussex Record Office: www.wsro.org.uk

Artwork from the collection, and the responses from the Outside In artists who took part

NATASHA HARRISON

A B O U T

O U T S I D E I N

Outside In is an award-winning national arts charity working towards creating a fairer and more inclusive art world.

The charity supports artists who encounter significant barriers to the art world due to health, disability, social circumstance, or isolation.

Outside In provides a digital platform for artists to show their work, and three programmes of activity: artist development, exhibitions, and training.

The aim is to change the art world by supporting artists, creating opportunities, and influencing arts organisations.

Outside In exhibition ‘Under A Blue Sky’ ambassador room, Phoenix Gallery, 2022, photo: Phoebe Wingrove

For more information, visit: outsidein.org.uk

A R T I S T R E S P O N S E S

GAIL HOWARD

NATASHA HARRISON

“To show my appreciation for the patient artists and their work, I stitched my own responses. I wanted their art works to be viewed as valuable alongside their own individual lives and I took the stance that these people were members of society who just were finding things hard at a point in their lives so they needed supporting.”

PETER BAKER

EMMA LOUVELLE

“Revelations, friendships, self-discovery, learning, the many winding and widening conversations we had, the sense of responsibility and importance of the artists Vawdrey engaged with and with the work he undertook and more. As a result, the reasons for my interest for participating prior to the project constantly grew as the project unfurled. In fact, the project has not ended for me I am aware of its presence and influence in much that I now undertake. It is, and was, a fertile gift that just keeps giving. I am forever grateful and respectful of this constantly producing harvest.”

SAMUEL McGANN

price of nude pants, Alan s bird jumper to biscuits.

AMMAY TYE

“My artworks centred around themes of identity. This was inspired by initial conversations in the project about the possibility of artwork being seen as a medical record in terms of its classification within archival practice. This got me thinking about my own place in this discussion and I made my artwork a literal embodiment of both of these descriptions; medical record and artwork together.”

EMMA LOUVELLE

P R O J E C T D I A R I E S

Throughout the Vawdrey Archive project, a series of project diaries were produced.

The diaries reflected on the sessions at West Sussex Record Office (WSRO) and Wellcome Trust, as well as visits from art therapist Tim Hockin and editor of Disability Arts Online Colin Hambrook. Read the project diaries on the Outside In website:

outsidein.org.uk/vawdrey-archive-project

Natasha Harrison and Rachel Johnston at The Art of Research event, Wellcome Collection

Sharing event to mark the end of the Vawdrey Archive Project

F U R T H E R

R E A D I N G

WEST SUSSEX

RECORD OFFICE

Summary of activity

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WELLCOME TRUST

Research Resources Awards in Humanities and Social Science

Read

OUTSIDE IN New Dialogues; British Art Network Research Group; Wellcome Collection; Graylingwell Heritage Project

Read

SAMUEL McGANN

Cover artwork: Peter Baker

Unless stated otherwise, the photographs of these artworks are credited to Andy Hood.

We respectfully ask you not to replicate any part of this publication without written permission.

Please direct any requests of this nature, in the first instance, to: info@outsidein.org.uk