Becky Hunter interviews Jane Boyer

I’m pleased to present another interview with a hardworking and talented woman in the arts. Jane Boyer is a practicing artist and a dedicated member of non-profit, artist-led space, Core Gallery, Deptford. Here, we chat about her work at Core, the gallery’s new educational programme, and the ways in which belonging to a space have expanded Jane’s role into speaking and curating.
 

What got you interested in Core Gallery?
I was first attracted to the activities at Core Gallery by reading Rosalind Davis’ blog, Becoming a Part of Something, on a-n. I was very taken by Rosalind’s energy and dynamism.

What’s your role at Core Gallery?
I’m an associate member, which means I am part of the group responsible for the function of Core Gallery. I work in all areas of Core activity, publicity, exhibitions, etc, but my role is becoming defined as the business/financial person. I have been self-employed and working as an entrepreneur for the majority of my working life so I bring this capability with me to Core.

In a nutshell, what are Core’s aims for the DIY Educate Programme?
In a nutshell, to empower artists. We want to share our own experiences as working artists/arts professionals with other artists who feel they need some professional guidance. We want to impart the skills needed by artists to survive today. We also want to facilitate artists to become connected. It is a very difficult thing to work in isolation and we want to help artists become less isolated.

Who will be doing the teaching and running the crits?
All of our workshops are run by professional artists, curators or other arts professionals. We are very excited to be working in cooperation with professionals like Andrew Bryant, artist/curator and editor for Artists Talking the blogging platform at a-n, Nick Kaplony, artist/curator, programme coordinator for Artquest and exhibitions/education officer at Pump House Gallery along with many other wonderful talented people.
Our crits come in two forms, peer group and one to one. Our own Elizabeth Murton and DIY Educate co-founder runs Engine ChatChat which offers peer discussion and critiques looking at issues around the content and context of work. Our one to one tutorials are headed by British artist Graham Crowley. He is joined by Andrew Bryant and Arnold Borgerth.
Graham was professor of painting at RCA from 1998 to 2006, he is considered to be one of the most distinguished living painters in Britain today. Andrew has taught art and photography at Tresham Institute and has been a visiting lecturer at RCA and other institutions. Arnold teaches at the "Image and Communication" MA degree Goldsmiths, is a self-taught photographer and also works as a commercial photographer.

What’s the theme of the first workshop?
The first workshop, 1st March, is a free event and open to everyone. The topic is "A Practical Guide to Being an Artist". It will be chaired by Core Gallery Manager, Rosalind Davis and she will be joined by Nick Kaplony and Jack Hutchinson. They will be discussing how to apply for competitions, getting exhibitions, approaching galleries, how to create a peer network and all of the necessary tools you need to do these things, such as developing an online presence and managing your portfolio.

What will you be speaking on later in the year?
I will be involved in two Nuts and Bolts workshops, including "How to Write and Talk about Your Work", April 26th. This runs concurrently with my debut as co-curator for Extra-Ordinary. I am co-curating this exhibition of last years Core Open winners with Rosalind Davis and we are both very excited by the project. Then on September 27th I will be part of the panel discussion of "How to Build Your Online Profile and Blogging Tips". This will be a panel discussion by several award winning Artists Talking bloggers along with Andrew Bryant, editor of Artists Talking.

How can we find out more about your artwork?
You can find out more about my work at my website and on the Core Gallery website  where you can also find out more about DIY Educate and how to become a member. And you can read my blog.