Announcing Critical Friend Conversations

We are excited to announce Critical Friend Conversations! Each month we will invite our Professional Members to register their interest in having a friendly conversation with an arts professional or Axis team member.

Member registration will be announced each month in the Professional Hub of the Axis Community.

Who’s Talking in 2024

Axis Producer and Artist Dr Lucy Wright and Axis Executive Director Mark Smith will be joined by arts professionals each month to lead conversations with members.

January 2024 
Axis Trustee, Artist and Curator Diana Ali

Diana is happy to support with portfolio preparation or review, curating a solo or group exhibition, managing logistics and practicalities of artist-run exhibitions. 

Diana’s work involves experimental video work, a play on text and creating narratives from other stories. Her curatorial projects are an extension of her practice where she connects, collaborates and corresponds with others.

• Read more about Diana Ali’s practice: www.dianaali.com 

February 2024 
Axis Trustee, Writer and Founder of Scientia Scripta Edwin Colyer

Gain insight into cross disciplinary projects between arts and science; strategy and business development; strategic communications, promotion, storytelling, marketing.

Axis Trustee Edwin Colyer is founder and impact lead at Scientia Scripta, which supports institutions and businesses in research and innovation to deliver ambitious societal and environmental impact. He has decades of expertise in knowledge brokering, communications strategy, creative content production and fostering meaningful partnerships. 

• Read more about Scientia Scripta: https://www.scientiascripta.co.uk/

March 2024 
Axis Trustee, Artist and Curator Fiona Grady

Learn more about how to develop your social media profile, organise artist led projects and develop commissions. 

Fiona Grady is a multi-disciplinary artist. She is best known for her eye-catching installations in public spaces that utilise light, colour and geometry to connect with architecture and transform spaces. She has had solo exhibitions at University of Brighton; Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff; and The Eye Sees, Arles, France. She has been commissioned worldwide by organisations and institutions including: Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, Canary Wharf Group, ITV, Heals London, Grundy Art Gallery, Walthamstow Wetlands Visitor Centre, British Land, Watts Gallery Artists' Village, NHS Nightingale Projects, and Kensington and Chelsea Council. She was awarded the Mark Rothko Memorial Trust Bursary and has received grants from Arts Council England amongst other organisations. 

• Read more about Fiona’s practice: https://axisweb.org/artist/fionagrady 

April 2024 
Axis Trustee and Artist, Holly Slingsby

Do you have questions about developing performance and video works, site-specific works, and on setting up agreements for exhibitions, commissions and artwork loans? 

Axis Trustee Holly Slingsby is an artist based in Swansea, working with a number of media including performance, video and painting. Her work uses iconography to discuss topics including infertility, loss, and representations of women. Her work has been screened, performed and exhibited at Tate St Ives; Turner Contemporary, Margate; Spike Island, Bristol; Modern Art Oxford; the Freud Museum, London; FEM Festival, Girona, Spain; the ICA, London; and the Barbican, London. In 2023 she was joint winner of the Exeter Contemporary Open. 

• Read more about Holly’s practice: https://axisweb.org/artist/hollyslingsby 

May and June 2024
Axis Trustee and Artist, JC Candanedo

Interested in learning more about running a socially engaged practice, and project management for artists? 

JC Candanedo started out as an IT Project Manager in Telecommunications. After a career that spanned more than two decades, he became a visual artist at age 40. His work has been longlisted for the National Portrait Gallery’s Taylor Wessing Award, shortlisted for the Royal Photographic Society and recipient of a Silver Award at the AOP Photography Awards. His photos have also been featured on the BBC and The Guardian.

JC is a Queer, Catalan-Panamanian Visual Artist based in London. He uses photography to investigate issues of Identity, Mental Health and Ideology, particularly queer and national identities. He's passionate about using the visual arts to encourage Social Transformation. 

• Read more about JC’s practice here: https://www.jccandanedo.com/ 

Professional Members can see the latest opportunities in the Axis Community.