HIGHS, LOWS AND THE WORK BETWEEN

AN ONLINE CONVERSATION WITH Andy Holden, Anya Paintsil, Athena Papadopoulos, Heather Phillipson, Rana Begum

Chaired by Lindsey Mendick and Guy Oliver

How do you sustain an art practice when your mental health, energy, confidence and circumstances are constantly changing?

Presented as part of Quench’s Where Is My Mind? season, this online conversation brings together artists to speak honestly about the peaks and troughs of creative life. It will explore the particular pressures artists face: precarious income, rejection, comparison, isolation, overwork, sudden opportunities and the expectation to remain endlessly productive and available.

The speakers will discuss how they have navigated periods of instability, adapted their practices during difficult times and learned to recognise when their capacity is changing. The conversation will also consider how artists can communicate their needs to galleries, commissioners and collaborators without feeling they must disclose everything—or fear being seen as unreliable or difficult.

This is not a conversation about suffering making someone a better artist. It is about the practical, imperfect ways people continue making work alongside vulnerability, uncertainty and changing mental health.

The event will take place online and is intended particularly for those unable to visit the exhibition in person. A recording and accompanying resources will be made available afterwards.

TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE!