Studio Me & You

About

OUTPUT is delighted to welcome Studio Me for the latest in our series of postal exhibitions. In Studio Me & You, nine emerging Liverpool-based artists have created limited-edition prints of images which draw upon themes central to their developing creative practice.

Recipients of this postal exhibition receive not only one of these prints (selected randomly), but also a full set of postcards which introduce the work of all nine artists - Rob Ellis, Tess Gilmartin, Andrew Mellor, Tom Rooney, Ottman Said, John Steele, Jane Walsh, Veronica Watson & Jean Smith.

All of the artists featured in the exhibition create work at the Bluecoat in Liverpool. Studio Me is a new development of the Bluecoat’s inclusive arts project Blue Room, supporting learning disabled and neurodivergent artists to develop their creative practice and share work with audiences. Each artist has time, space, tailored creative support and mentoring sessions with other artists who share a kinship with their practice.

The limited edition prints in this postal exhibition were handmade by the artists at the Bluecoat’s screen print studio. Each print is hand pulled, a process that creates unique variations; numbered, and signed by the artists.

The choice of a postal exhibition is significant, echoing the renewed importance of  remote connection during the pandemic. During lockdown, when unable to safely meet in the studio, the postal service was a valuable way of sharing materials and resources and exchanging work and ideas within the Blue Room community. The artists showed remarkable resilience in maintaining their creative practice at home and have since returned to in-person studio sessions with a renewed sense of their identity as practicing artists. We encourage the audience of Studio Me & You to send the postcard collection far and wide.

Studio Me aims to explore and negotiate the barriers many learning disabled and neurodivergent artists face to progression including lack of access to inclusive arts education, professional networks, paid work and opportunities to exhibit. In addition to nurturing artists, the project aims to connect with and support curators and arts organisations who may be interested in exhibiting and commissioning the work of under-represented artists  but are unsure how best to sensitively approach and platform artists with access needs.

SIGN UP FOR A FREE PRINT & POSTCARD SET HERE

To learn more about this project and this fantastic community of artists, please visit the exhibition page on our website - http://outputgallery.com/exhibitions/studiomeandyou/