There are as many advantages to collaborating with other artists as there are reasons to join forces, as Sarah Edmonds explains.
Collaboration: the action of working with someone to produce something
Collaboration within the art community is nothing new. Artists like to seek out fellow creatives, people to share studios with, grow from professionally, forming collectives with whom to exhibit. As the definition suggests, the outcome is as important as the social aspect of joining forces.
Dancing Autumn Light, acrylic on bcanvas board, (60x60cm) by Alison Vickery, see case study below
Some of the most renowned groups of artists found each other in turbulent times to explore and discover new ways of thinking. Strength in numbers worked in their favour, allowing for finances to be shared and movements to be launched.
Think of the Impressionists Monet, Pisarro, Degas, Renoir, Sisley and Moriso holed up in a backstreet Parisian bar curating their eponymous 1874 exhibition at Rue du Capucines. Or the post-war gatherings of the radical Omega workshops in Fitzroy Square, followed decades later by Bacon, Freud and Melly cooking up mayhem in the Colony Rooms. The private club also attracted the Young British Artists of the early 1990s, a group who began artist-led exhibitions in warehouses and factories around London, a novelty at the time.
Finding your tribe
Finding your tribe is a natural human urge, possibly more so for artists, who often work in isolation, fostering an even closer bond at key moments in their career and a true spirit of collaboration. In a digital age, there are ways to connect with and build an online community, which provides a much needed support network.
Our Case Study, floral and landscape artist Alison Vickery, has always been instinctively attracted to fellow artisans in her locality.
Far from being solely an exercise in profit and sales, it’s the social and co-operative benefits that invite this kind of arrangement.
Sharing ideas, venues, mailing lists, expanding contacts, even manning exhibitions and Christmas fairs makes for a much more symbiotic relationship. But choose your collaboration carefully, warns Alison: ‘Just because you are friends doesn’t mean you can work together, but the benefits of shared knowledge and energy are immense.’
Ultimately, collaboration is about a generosity – working with rather than against – with huge benefits attached. It helps us problem-solve, bringing people closer together, learning from each other, opening up channels of communication, boosting morale and fostering greater community awareness.
Case Study - Alison Vickery
Alison Vickery
Q. Can you share with us some of your recent collaborations?
A. I think most notably with Tom Knowles Jackson of The Clay Loft and Gallery 1673 and, by chance, a neighbour.
A number of years ago I invited Tom to join forces for our annual Open Studios and exhibit at my studio, only to find he was already set up at his.
We did however join forces for a preview at my studio, with two other local artists, and had the most brilliant and successful opening event. The weather was great, the wine flowed, there was a diverse and interesting range of work to see and a joining of four mailing lists. Everyone had a great time and sales were buoyant.
I have also had a good relationship with Cotswold Life magazine and their support and coverage has always been invaluable.
More collaborations have followed. When Tom opened Gallery 1673 I curated an exhibition for him and most recently we joined forces for the Select Trail Open studios in the weird circumstances of 2020. It was excellent, again joining mailing lists, I got us coverage in magazines and Tom sorted a film of the exhibition so if we went into lockdown, the exhibition could still go ahead virtually. Most importantly our work complements each other’s, with our interest in the process, the history of the piece and taking inspiration from the natural World. Gallery 1673 is also a great space to run some of my workshops.
From this beginning grew The Amberley Artisans, ten professional artists and artisans who exhibit together annually. This is developing and we hope to have some bigger events using and linking Gallery 1673 with the newly opened Three Storeys art space in Nailsworth.
I regularly run classes and workshops at Pegasus Art in Stroud; from running a workshop on their behalf in the walled garden at The Museum in the park, I have now secured an artist residency. I have other projects in the pipeline with them using funding I have been offered by The Rotary Club.
Pegasus Art has become a hub for professional artists to teach from, so people looking for such go there as a first point of call. Artists are listed on their large mailing list and a programme of classes are highlighted to visitors to the shop, so my presence there is good for everyone and a very worthwhile collaboration.
Another side to my art practice is selling the licence to reproduce my work. I have an agent, Pure Illustration, who recently sold a number of pieces for exclusive use by The National Trust for a range of gift stationery.
For many years I have also worked with Flamingo Paperie, a lovely direct-selling company, creating artwork mainly for their floral ranges of cards. In both cases, customers who bought cards have gone on to buy original artworks. It is just continually getting out there and getting your work seen.
Q. Have you always worked in this way as an artist or in a previous job?
A. I have always liked working with people and collaborating as it gives a social aspect to my work.
My experience in design and marketing for large companies showed me the potential benefits of sharing knowledge, ability and contacts.
I was a designer at Waitrose, whose ethos was to have a very close mutually beneficial relationship with suppliers. Later I was a packaging design manager, then national marketing manager for Tesco and part of my role was to manage large projects with numerous teams of people, working to get things in store or in the press or on television on time, in budget and of a high standard of design. It was great experience seeing how teamwork and good working relationships helped everyone.
I also spent time as a visiting tutor on art and design foundation and degree courses. I loved working with the students, setting them projects and working with them to come up with creative solutions.
Lone Tree and Poppies, acrylic on birchwood board, (30x30cm) by Alison
Q. What are the benefits of working collaboratively with other organisations?
A. For me the main thing I like about collaborating is the social contact, working as an artist can be a lonely business. However the benefits of shared knowledge, contacts, costs and energy are immense.
Q. What are your top tips for an artist considering collaboration?
A. Choose people to work with carefully is probably top tip one, two and three! Just because you are friends does not mean you can work together.
Make sure your work complements each other’s and is of a similar professional standard. Having said that I have collaborated with good friend and artist Galina Gardiner really successfully for Open Studio.
- Be clear what you have to offer the partnership.
- Know what you hope to gain from the partnership.
- Be clear from the start how the collaboration will work, sharing of jobs, bringing in people, costs, stewarding.
- Be organised with accounting.
- Keep a mailing list.
Q. Is there a charitable or mentoring aspect to collaboration?
A. Mentoring younger or emerging artists is immensely satisfying and it is lovely to work with people with a fresh new eye and loads of energy and enthusiasm. It helps to keep you and your events lively and interesting, plus they are usually very clued up on all things social media!
Some of the collaborations I am involved in have a charitable foundation. I have regularly been invited to artists’ postcard events and have exhibited at both The Goods Shed, Tetbury and Stratford Art Fair with a percentage of the commission going to various charities through The Goods Shed and Stratford Art Fair in Stroud.
It often comes full circle with organisations such as The Rotary Club funding a drawing project at The Museum in the Park for example.
Last year my paintings were used as artwork for Christmas cards for Stroud Women’s Refuge, an important cause, particularly during the pandemic. It is a privilege to be able to contribute, even in a small way.
I also used to be part of Gloucestershire Arts for Schools and went into schools to run all sorts of art workshops, usually in the schools’ art weeks. It was great fun, the children were so enthusiastic and the work they produced was amazing.
Sarah is the marketing manager for Pegasus Art and a freelancer supporting creatives and fine artists. Sarah studied a short course at the Slade School of Fine Art and has a degree from Chartered Institute of Marketing. www.sarahedmonds-marketing.com
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