What impact has Art School Plus had on me, one year on?
Author Sohaila Baluch
My research-practice interrogates what it means to belong. As a question of diaspora, this is the perennial inquiry: where do I belong? This search for belonging resonates deeply within the diasporic experience but also to a degree in the artistic world, as the complexities of identity, histories, culture, and connection are navigated. As a member of the inaugural Art School Plus cohort in 2022, my continuous reflection on the influence it has had on both my practice and personal growth alongside the notion of belonging, has prompted me to think about this in relation to Art School Plus’s vision, revealing correlations between the two.
Not Just an Art School…
Art School Plus was founded to unite artists with thinkers and world-leading public realm professionals, offering ongoing care, support, guidance, opportunity and community. My engagement in the program has not only expanded my creative scope but also reflects Art School Plus’s commitment to nurturing a supportive environment for artistic growth. It has offered a distinct environment to examine my own identity and form relationships with like-minded individuals who value inclusivity and diverse perspectives. The efforts of Art School Plus have genuinely cultivated a strong sense of belonging among us and in the words of my cohort peer Lottie McCarthy provided us with 'a wonderful refuge [of] connection, conversation and inspiration.’ The school's core values, forged by the first cohort of artists and encompassing traits such as openness, support, active listening, generosity, commitment, playfulness, exchange, risk-taking, leadership, and integrity, continue to evolve dynamically, enriching our individual and shared creative experiences. As the initiative grows and more artists join, there is an exciting potential that this sense of fellowship will deepen and extend across a broader network. This underscores the transformative influence of immersive artistic communities, and the significance of developing support systems that enable artists to create meaningful work.
Reflections
As both an artist and a member of the diaspora, my artistic sensibilities and approach, informed by my material experiences, have shaped my interpretation and response to different settings. My training with Art School Plus has significantly enhanced this. Art School Plus's ethos actively positions artists to engage with public spaces, collections, and environments, facilitating direct and meaningful exchange with the world we inhabit. It has motivated me to move beyond the notion that public art or art for the public realm solely involves creating static objects or sculptures for these spaces. Instead, I have been inspired to seek out other ways to actively engage with and enliven these environments that are more dynamic and interactive. This includes considering the individuals who inhabit or use these spaces, as well as exploring issues of inclusion and exclusion, and questioning which bodies these spaces are intended for.
My current practice-led PhD project weaves together performance art and fibre arts within the context of contemporary diaspora experience to redefine notions of home and belonging. The Art School Plus program has equipped me with invaluable insights and tools into understanding how I can best utilise performance to interact with public spaces. Through my research practice I explore how my body responds to different materials and the repetitive, demanding actions inherent in my creative process. Engagement with Art School Plus has driven me to interrogate this in relation to diverse architectural sites, dissecting their histories to understand how it shapes their contemporary usage. This involves closely attending to my bodily, affective responses and devising methods to articulate these in the public sphere. My aim is to evoke a visceral response, emphasizing the significance of embodied and performative ways of knowing.
In my practice I foreground the brown female body, using intentional over-identification as a strategy to compel viewers to confront uncomfortable truths, particularly those intricately linked to the exploitation of racialized and gendered labour, and the ongoing marginalization of the brown female body within the British cultural landscape. The significance of creating works that prioritize brown and black bodies also prompts thinking on/with/through visibility and invisibility, as well as the complexities of subject positioning in a racially informed society. These deliberate choices signify a commitment to challenging prevailing norms, asserting agency, and reimagining counter-narratives that confront underrepresentation.
‘Being Seen Being Heard’
In February 2023, I had the privilege of embarking on a six-month research placement at Bishopsgate Institute, generously funded by the London Arts and Humanities Research Partnership. I used the opportunity to examine the archival materials and collections housed at Bishopsgate that focused on the lived experiences of British South Asian women. The exploration was driven by a desire to draw attention to their frequently unrecognized contributions to British cultural identity. I was aware that historically archives are shaped by those in positions of power. Yet, they continue to play an active role in perpetuating existing social and political hierarchies, thus impacting the visibility and representation of British South Asian women.
The culmination of my research was presented through a multi-faceted project and interactive event titled "Being Seen Being Heard," strategically crafted to amplify the presence of the brown female body and centre the stories of British South Asian women. This project encompassed various forms. It included the curation of a display cabinet accompanied by contextual text, a durational performance which I staged within the historic Bishopsgate Library alongside a pop-up reading room curated in collaboration with the Institute's historian, Dr Michelle Johansen. Additionally, a short film was produced as part of the project to further disseminate the findings and amplify the voices of British South Asian women. The performance event took place in August 2023. It provided a platform to unveil archival materials typically hidden from public access and reserved for individuals directly involved in research within this specific field. Attendees were encouraged to actively engage with the materials by physically handling them, probing their contents and being present with them. At the same time, I engaged in manual labour, writing on textiles to document personal and collective experiences of racism, which I subsequently erased with a hot iron.
These methods aimed to spotlight the complexities of contested textile legacies which encompass colonialism, labour exploitation, racism, and gendered dynamics within domestic work. By erasing what was being written, I sought to foreground the challenges British South Asian women face in sharing their stories. Despite their tireless efforts, their struggles often remain unseen, silenced, or overlooked, highlighting the difficulty in surfacing hidden and challenging histories.
This immersive experience was designed to unearth untold narratives and perspectives, enriching and diversifying historical archives. Attendees expressed a visceral shift in their perception of the space and a heightened awareness of their own roles in overlooking or neglecting the histories of Black and brown individuals and communities. Encouraged by this reaction, I have started to apply this methodology to other contexts. It has of course reaffirmed the positive influence of Art School Plus on my thinking. The philosophies and founding principles of Art School Plus, rooted in collaborative engagement with diverse groups, reinforces the transformative power of artistic involvement that is values led and people focused. It is a genuine commitment to working inclusively with all communities which strongly align with my approach, methods and practice. I am confident it will continue to resonate profoundly as my journey in art and research progress.