Concrete Playground

Let’s be honest. The predicaments and problems artists have to face compared to other professions are less important and largely uninteresting for the majority of people. And yet, if we were to remain with honesty for a moment, don’t artists also seem to be very capable of voicing their problems and predicaments like no other profession or category of human activity? It’s as though possessing an ability to reflect and whine about the challenges one encounters in the world of ‘making things’ is a perquisite for the job.

However, it is this special genetic trait found in the common, everyday-artist that can be discarded and used as fertilizer for something else that is far more rewarding and less annoying. The group of nine artists involved in DRAUGHT, for example, can be promoted for avoiding this kind of muddy self-reflection and artistic, flabby indulgence.

All artists exhibiting here have, at one time or another in the last five years, been a director at Firstdraft Gallery; an important institution that works hard to promote art that is engaged, considered and compelling. So, if you’re interested how the professional artist manages to remain a fixture in our society, DRAUGHT may provide you with some evidence. For this exhibition at Tin Sheds Gallery they have asked the following:

“How (and why) do I frame my practice so it makes sense to the viewer/audience/proposal reader/Australia Council? How do I find time for my practice within the daily task of surviving in a big city? What is the relationship between collaboration, curating, organising and practice?”