Prior to signing up with Creative ENRG Chrissy was ‘a
practicing painter, and I was just getting on with the business of painting,
and doing what I wanted to do and just sort of following my interests!’.
Chrissy had been increasingly focusing on a theme of work surrounding Tenfoots
in and around Hull, depicting them in small oil paintings. She began working
with CENRG to explore potentials for showing the work & consider next
steps, gradually developing an action plan that would enable her to introduce
her work to new audiences.
As part of this Chrissy was offered an exhibition slot at
Queens House Showcase, CENRG’s city centre hub, allowing her ‘Art from the
Tenfoot’ series to finally be shown to the public. Reflecting on her activities
before the exhibition she said ‘I wasn’t being very aspirational at the
time, & had no intention of exhibiting the work in that way, so CENRG
created the focus for me, then supported me to go out and find other galleries
that wanted my work,’.
CENRG also supported Chrissy develop a proposal to Arts
Council England’s Grants for the Arts programme which she says ‘I wouldn’t
have done without Gill Hobson or CENRG’s support’. This led to a 2 year
project which has opened numerous doors for her. She commented ‘I’ve got 5
exhibitions as part of that funding as well. I’ve now just finished in
Liverpool as part of the Liverpool Bienniel, I would’ve never done that before!’.
Chrissy found the bid writing process very hard to tackle
and recalled 3 months of writing the proposal, tearing it up and writing it
again. Calling it a ‘huge process’ she reflected, ‘It stretched me,
and gave me the confidence to go forward with other funding opportunities, and
I would do that in the future as well.’ She also received mentoring support
as part of her G4A funding, approaching Northern Arts Prize winner Narbi Price
to help her develop her artmaking in parallel with CENRG’s enterprise support.
Chrissy used exhibiting at Queens House Showcase to launch a
new approach to producing work and developing a sustainable arts practice,
bringing visibility to her work and expanding her contacts & networks.
Commenting on her experience with CENRG, she said, ‘It
challenged me in a way that was very positive, and gave me opportunities I
wouldn’t have otherwise had. It opened up a whole other world that I thought
was then finished for me, but now it’s not… So, it’s a new beginning!’
Artist Website: CHRISSYCOLLINSONART.COM
For more information about Creative ENRG visit our website
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