A graduate of Chelsea School of Art, Sharon pursued her
passion for art as a freelance practitioner before hanging up her brushes for
what she terms ‘a proper job’, following a rich and diverse career as an arts
facilitator. After spending almost 10 years running an arts programme at
Goodwin Development Trust developing the Estate of the Nation Project (described
by Arts Council England as ‘Exemplary’) Sharon felt she needed to get back to
her own work, commenting, ‘I’m 52, I’ve got 17 good summers left in me so
I’m gonna finish off as I started, and that’s as an artist!’
During her time developing initiatives and mentoring artists
at Estate of the Nation, she realized: ‘I was the only one not doing any art.’
Having been steeped in arts management, she recognized that becoming an
independent artist was a totally different approach and began working with
Creative ENRG to get an idea of how to go about launching her own artistic
career. She commented ‘When I first joined Creative ENRG I’d done nothing
with my own work for years: the demands of supporting others left no time or
energy to develop my own practice … but in the last few months, I’ve developed
a body of work, I’ve started to build a website, I’m now up on Instagram, I’ve
got followers, I’m regularly producing work, I’ve got 3 pieces in the Ferens
Open and I’ve got my own studio space. I’m actually getting paid to be an
artist now rather than getting paid to be an arts facilitator, so actually,
quite a lot’s changed in a really short period of time,’.
Sharon says that the Creative ENRG team helped her focus and
gave her ‘a kick up the bum!’. Her practice now centers on a range of
approaches from being a facilitator and lead artist in socially engaged and
community settings, to producing her own artworks that she markets
independently via developing networks & social media. CENRG brought a fresh
dimension to her practice where she was supported to critically consider what
she’d like to achieve. ‘It’s about having other people to help you so you’re
not isolated, spinning around trying to work out what you need to do - knowing
what you need to do is one thing, but it’s good to have someone to support you
in that ‘doing’. They’ve helped me turn back into an artist!’
Sharon is currently developing several community projects
and producing a body of work to show in Leeds, while scoping opportunities to
translate her vibrant and colourful artworks into different forms. Exciting
times are ahead!
Check out her latest work: www.instagram.com/shaz.darley
For more information about Creative ENRG visit our website
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