Grounding Practice: Structurally F–cked - Building an Art Workers' Inquiry with Artist Union England & Industria

Artists Union England & Industria examine the realities of working as an artist today. Through discussion and collective questioning, participants will build camaraderie and agency to counter the sector's structural conditions.

Artists across disciplines will encounter various systems they have to navigate. Responding to the isolated ways artists are often expected to work, Artists Union England and Industria host a Grounding Practice Salon that asks: what happens when we voice and examine these conditions collectively? These questions form a first step towards transforming the material realities of artistic lives.

Extending from their 2023 report Structurally F-cked and the survey of Artists' Union Members From "Hand to Mouth" to Bread and Roses (both of which functioned as Workers' Inquiries for artists), Industria and AUE organisers Maddy and Maxi will lead a session that considers the material, political and emotional conditions that shape creative practices.

Through sharing and discussion, we will build a collective toolkit for examining our experiences and organising towards another (art) world.

Participants will leave the session with a renewed sense of camaraderie and agency to counter the structural conditions of the sector, feeling empowered to organise collectively.

With thanks to the Garfield Weston Foundation and Paul Hamlyn Foundation