Finding Balance: Marlene Smith and Ronan Mckenzie discuss Cultivating Spaces for our Narrative and the need for Financial Freedom.
In this deeply engaging dialogue between artists Marlene Smith who is currently showing works at Wolverhampton Art Gallery as part of ‘The More Things Change…’ exhibition, and Ronan Mckenzie, founder of HOME, we delve into the realities of curating, sustaining, and often, closing art spaces. Their reflections expose the multifaceted experiences of those who commit themselves to advancing Black art and narratives. Through the triumphs and tribulations, we see the unwavering passion, sacrifice, and resilience at the core of their pursuits. It's a testament to the indomitable spirit of those who choose to forge a path for others, despite the obstacles and setbacks.
This piece serves as a beacon of resilience, reaffirming the importance of preserving personal well-being in the face of collective responsibility. We hope it empowers you to appreciate the intricate balance between individual contributions and collective organising in the arts. May it also underscore the significance of fostering an equitable future for Black artists
Inside of HOME by Ronan Mckenzie, located at Hornsey in North London, 2020 - 2023
Black practitioners across the UK are harnessing the power of the collective to create ecosystems in which Black art can thrive. In ‘Black Artists in British Art’, Eddie Chambers points out that there is no real record of exactly when the first artist of African or Caribbean origin arrived in Britain, however we see a Black art scene starting to emerge from as early as 1920s, with the arrival in the UK of sculptor Ronald Moody. The continuous marginalisation and neglect of Black artists by the mainstream art world over the decades has consistently demanded that Black practitioners exercise their creativity to birth spaces where our stories can be heard, but also be told authentically. Movements and collectives like the Caribbean Arts Movement, The Blk Art Group, The Black Audio Film Collective and others have taken on the responsibility of moving Black art forward, each generation standing on the shoulders of the previous one.
BLK Art Group Archival Material on display at ‘The More Things Change…’ exhibition, 2023.
In 2023, we can recognise an improvement in the conditions for Black art and artists since the 1920s; in, for example, the long overdue acknowledgement of the presence of Caribbean art in the UK registered in the Tate’s exhibition Life Between Islands’(2021). Similarly, in April 2022, Sonia Boyce was awarded the Venice Biennale's top Golden Lion prize for her work Feeling Her Way (2022). Alongside these accomplishments, there’s a wealth of emerging talented Black-British artists, including Emma Prempeh, Joy Labinjo, Michaella Yearwood Dan, Sola Olulode and others, many of them making waves in the global art scene. Whilst these achievements are crucial for the progression of Black art, they do not eradicate the current challenges that disproportionately affect Black practitioners. Access to funding, resources and space place limitations on how accessible it is to embark on a career in the arts as a Black practitioner. There is still a need for movements and collective that can maintain this momentum.
These commonly-experienced hurdles are challenges that artist and curator Marlene Smith and multidisciplinary artist Ronan Mckenzie have both grappled with across their careers. In this conversation, they capture the ebbs and flows of being a Black practitioner, the balancing act of caring for the collective and caring for oneself, of re-engaging with their artistic practices, legacy and more. The conversation takes place on Zoom, with both parties bringing warmth and honesty into our virtual room. When I ask Marlene to tell me about herself, she describes herself as “an artist who curates”. This distinction is important, Marlene studied Art and Design at Bradford College and joined the Blk Art Group as an artist in 1982. The Blk Art Group, based in the West Midlands, was founded in 1979; its membership included Claudette Johnson, Keith Piper, Donald Rodney and Janet Vernon. The Group was established, not only as a direct response to the neglect of the mainstream art world, but as an act of resistance to the volatile socio-political landscape in which they were living. Marlene’s curatorial role, much like Ronan’s, was born out of necessity. The Blk Art Group presented work at galleries and interacted with curators; however, it was always left to the Group to manage the curatorial process and logistical duties. Lacking representation or support, the artists had to be their own spokespeople. During their fourth show, at Coventry’s Herbert Art Gallery, they were asked to take down Keith Piper’s piece Another Nigger Died Today (1983). The artists had to take a stand and stated that, if one piece was removed, everything had to go.
Infused in Marlene’s practice as an artist and curator is the desire to nurture and support younger generations. In 2011, alongside Claudette Johnson and Keith Piper, she set up The Blk Group Research Project, which exists ‘to promote debate, enquiry, scholarship and understanding of what has become known as the British 'Black Art Movement ’ of the 1980’s’. Throughout this conversation, Marlene touches on the importance of sharing access and creating a future where young people don’t have to start from scratch every time. Similarly underpinning Ronan's curatorial practice is deeply rooted in her desire to support and foster the growth of artists. Initially venturing into the field of photography, Ronan's repertoire extends beyond one domain; she is not just a writer, but also a curator, an interior designer, and the creative mind behind her own fashion brand, SELASI and has several other accomplishments under her belt. The unifying factor in all her diverse roles is ‘the love of observing love, connections and how we relate to one another and wanting to express that and present that and project a world that I want to live in’. In November 2020, she took a step further in her mission and launched HOME by Ronan Mckenzie, a multifunctional creative space for practitioners of colour. The space was inspired by an exhibition Ronan curated in 2018 called I’m Home featuring Joy Gregory, Liz Johnson Artur, Rhea Dillon and herself, the space was a response to a personal and communal need for art spaces that were both accessible and focused on artists of colour. When Mckenzie started HOME, there were many Black led artistic initiatives but very few of them had access to a permanent space. HOME hosted a number of exhibitions, featuring artists such as Phoebe Bosewell, Shaye Gregan, Adama Jalloh, Bernice Mulenga and Joy Yamusangie, while providing a rich programme of free events and workshops for the HOME community. ‘I just wanted to show our different perspectives, we have different lives, different stories, all of which are valuable’, as Ronan explains.
Cece Phillips, ‘I See In Colour’ installation view of her solo exhibition at Home by Ronan Mckenzie
At the end of 2022, HOME’s physical space - sadly - had to be closed due to a lack of financial resources to cover the core costs like rent, bills and staffing. To maintain its level of autonomy and freedom, Ronan had used the money she had been earning from her successful career in fashion photography to keep HOME afloat. As HOME grew this no longer became feasible, especially as directing her attention to the running of the gallery meant Ronan had less and less time to focus on her own creative practices. The impact of COVID and Brexit on travel and organisational budget cuts in the fashion industry, meant that even when she did have time to work there were limited opportunities to do so. In financially precarious situations like these, the question ‘Why don’t you apply for funding?’ tends to be thrown around. Since the Conservative Party came into power in 2010 they have since bulldozed the arts and cultural landscape through funding cuts and austerity measures; between 2010 and 2016 Arts Council England saw their budgets being slashed by 30%, also grants from central to local government have reduced by 49.1% over the period 2010- 2018. Although funding can be an option for Black led organisations, that doesn’t mean it’s a reliable one. Much of this is reflected during Margaret Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister, whose tenure began with cuts to the Art Council. Similarly to HOME, The Black Art Gallery, where Marlene served as a director, was shut down due to Islington Council pulling their funding support for the gallery.
Marlene describes the end of thriving arts initiatives like Blk Art Group, the Black Art Movement and so forth, feeling ‘a love affair that ended. She explains the comparison; ‘In the 90s that all came to a close and it didn't end beautifully. It wasn't the kind of love affair that ends where you both say to each other, ‘thank you so much it’s been a wonderful journey but now is the end of our journey’. It was that somebody had left somebody. Somebody had quit the relationship really abruptly without any explanation whatsoever.’ . We rarely have the chance to explore the complex emotions that arise when we are forced to part ways with projects that are inextricably linked to our personal experience. Whilst the community experiences a level of disappointment of losing these projects, for the individuals behind them there can be an additional emotional toll of exhaustion, heartache, grief, frustration and feelings of failure. Both Marlene and Ronan admit to having struggled to balance caring for the collective and caring for themselves; both artists find a commonality in an impulse to give their all to the collective. ‘I think to create what we were aiming to create, it needed everything’ explains Ronan. As the process of collapse comes to its inevitable conclusion, it can be difficult for one to see beyond the pain and recognise the footprint one has left. ‘I’m mature enough to be able to look back on each of those experiences and say each of them did the work they were supposed to do for the time that they were running’, Marlene ruminates, ‘When you want to change the world you have to be prepared to fail, and you just have to fail better the next time’.
Artist Marlene Smith with ‘The More Things Change…’ exhibition co-curator, Dr Sylvia Theuri
Despite the ‘transitioning’ of the Blk Art Group, The Black Art Gallery and HOME, their impact is not to be underestimated. Not only have these initiatives contributed to significantly shifting contemporary Black art at their respective times, they also created opportunities for up-and-coming Black artists to showcase their work and build community. Marlene reflects on The Black Art Gallery being a place for ‘breeding community and sharing knowledge’ . The show she curated in 1986, Some of Us are Brave All of Us are Strong, brought together Black women artists, including Brenda Agard, Sonia Boyce, Amanda Holliday, Lubaina Himid, Marlene and more. Similarly, Ronan curated The Self Portrait, featuring Black women photographers from different generations, including Denisha Anderson, Jeannie Baptiste, Christina Ebenezer, Christina Nwabugo, Amaal Said, Ronan and others; ‘I just wanted to see Black women photographers, it was important to me to showcase that Black women photographers exist and have been existing’.
Today artists find themselves reflecting on their careers. When asked about what motivated her recent return to artistic practice, Marlene cites a number of reasons; ‘I don’t know if there was any one thing that inspired the return. I think it was time, partly to do with being in lockdown and having the time to think about what I want to do with my twilight years. When you get to a certain age, you realise that you have lived longer than you are going to live, so there is an urgency about what you want to do with the final chapters of your book and your story.’ She touches on the idea of legacy; ‘Now that I'm pushing 60, I’m thinking about what I want my life to have been about, and I’m thinking about legacy differently from how I have thought about it. So I’m thinking about what I want my daughter to inherit from me, and I want it to be about my practice. I still have important things that I want to say about art. So I’m making sure I give myself space to say what I have to say.’ Marlene is currently showing work at Wolverhampton Art Gallery as part of The More Things Change… exhibition, which contains more than 30 works by members of The Blk Art Group.
Marlene Smith with her work ‘Good House Keeping,’ 2023 at “The More Things Change…’ exhibition in Wolverhampton Art Gallery.
Ronan is also currently showing work at Carl Freedman Gallery as part of the show To Be Held, which she curated. Although she is still recovering from the closure of her gallery, she is firmly oriented towards the future and excited about what it might hold; ‘The crash has been the most liberating thing, I have been able to centre myself. I love what I do, but being with my friends, cooking, reading - so many things that aren't definable by my practice. Allowing myself to take up space and ask for the type of roles I'm interested in will allow me the financial freedom to continue to exist. Being able to centre me again has allowed me to explore.’
Marlene echoes this sense of surfacing from an all-consuming project; ‘It’s really important to be able to levitate over what you are doing and just see it in the roundness because particularly if you are the leader of the group or isolated in the day to day running, it sometimes can be difficult to see the breadth of what you’re doing when you're struggling/battling to keep an organisation alive.’ Performing leadership roles in community-focussed initiatives is no easy feat; it requires you to go all-in, mentally, emotionally and physically. While organising is all about pushing a collective agenda forward, there’s a balance to be struck between individual and collective trajectories. When we find that equilibrium, it allows us to work better together, to have compassion for the people who are leading the work, and hopefully give us an opportunity to think about how we can support these individuals to move our collective agenda forward. This is not to indulge in cult-like or celebrity culture style hero- worship but to appreciate our colleagues' contributions and have each other’s back. Being able to see the individual as well, may allow us to be more thoughtful about how we share the very heavy load that comes with collective organising. Encouragingly, this support is abundant in contemporary culture, where initiatives like Black Blossoms, Black Curators Collective, which Jade Forster a former mentee of Marlene is the current director, there is Black Curatorial, Flat70 and others are working towards an equitable future for Black artists. Coming together now will hopefully allow us and future generations to ‘start with balance not sacrifice’, as Ronan so aptly puts it.
Inside of HOME by Ronan Mckenzie, located at Hornsey in North London, 2020 - 2023
This article has been published as part of the Black Blossoms partnership with 'The More Things Change...' exhibition, showcasing artworks by prominent BLK Art Group members. The exhibition will run at Wolverhampton Gallery from April 29th to July 9th, 2023. For more information about the exhibition, please visit the exhibition's website. To learn more about our partnership with Black Blossoms, please click here.
