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samfountaine · 4 years

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Intersectionality in Sense8

Intersectionality which is depicted in popular aspects of culture, like the Netflix series Sense8, is not only necessary but overtly appreciated from audience members. Intersectionality refers to those who obtain multiple marginalized identifications, such as being Black and being a woman. Representation of these variations of often misunderstood characteristics provides an outlet for audience members who can relate to the characters portrayed on the screen. Unfortunately, many people who obtain multiple stigmatized identifications are not represented on screen as often as white, straight characters, or those with one identity which does not align with characteristics normalized in society. Underrepresentation of these existing combinations of identifications is problematic when considering the prevalence of these characteristics off screen, and is instead making the assumption these combinations of characteristics do not exist by choosing to ignore their existence. Excluding combinations of marginalized identifications supports the inaccurate stereotypes by falsely guiding audience members into complete ignorance of the existence of someone with a variety of stigmatized characteristics, along with the unique experience of discrimination which follows. These people who identify as such are often persuaded to believe people who look like them, or obtain the same characteristics are either not as significant as the people usually on screen or believe they simply do not exist. However, Sense8 portrays a majority of the characters as obtaining a variety of marginalized identifications and utilizes such diverse storylines in a genuine and accurate way.

Netflix’s Sense8 portrays a variety of unique characters: including a Black man named Capheus who lives in Kenya; Lito, a gay, Spanish actor; a Korean woman named Sun; Will, a White Chicago police officer; Kala, a religious Indian pharmacist; Wolfgang, a German thief; Nomi, a trans-woman who lives in San Fransisco and is in an openly gay relationship with a Black woman named Amanita; and an Icelandic D.J. named Riley.

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Sense8 is a combination of genres in itself, including aspects of sci-fi and mystery, drama, romance, action, and melancholy. “Sense8 follows eight people from vastly different backgrounds all across the world whose lives begin to gradually intertwine when they discover that they can share a mental link with one another” (Seligson). The group of eight characters are able to share their thoughts, experiences, and skills with one another. Below is the official Netflix trailer of the third season, which was shortened into a movie after Netflix’s abrupt and controversial cancellation of the series;

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The condensed movie was released on June 8th, 2018, and is almost three hours long.

The characters depicted in Sense8 are unique from one another and vary from the usual main characters presented in series. The diverse characteristics between the characters allows for a diverse audience to relate to the specific characters they believe best represent them. The show not only provides physical representation of their unique characteristics, but also shares a personalized and genuine background of each of the characters. “I don’t want to reduce Sense8 to a single message, but I also want to applaud it for it’s progressivism. No other show on television comes close to the level of inclusion and representation it has, and it doesn’t get nearly enough credit for that” (Seligson). For instance, Nomi Marks is a political blogger who has a great amount of experience with online hacking. She is from San Francisco and is in an openly gay relationship with a woman named Amanita (Orley). “However, Nomi’s life is not as simple as we believe, but that she was born in the body of Michael” (Kevin). Nomi is a trans-woman and is played by Jamie Clayton, a trans-woman actor. The series provides the audience with the upsetting storyline of Nomi’s unaccepting mother who continues to call Nomi, Michael.

The next character, Lito, is a closeted gay Spanish actor in Mexico. He constantly pressures himself to appear straight to the public, although Lito is in love with a man Hernando who secretly lives with Lito. Lito is a determined actor who is continuously attempting to create a successful career. With support from Hernando and others, Lito decides to come out as gay to the audience (Orley).

Will Gorski is a Chicago police officer who obtains a major role in Sense8. Will and Riley meet in the beginning and discover they are falling in love with one another. The series shares a fight between Will and his dad who struggles with alcohol addiction and unfortunately dies after falling down a flight of stairs (Orley).

RIley is originally from Iceland but ran away when she was younger and D.J.s in England. She had a troubled past and as a result is involved in the drug trade. She is in a relationship with Will (Orley).

Wolfgang is from Germany and is a professional safe-cracker. He is constantly involved in world-class jewel heists with a close friend, as well as organized crime (Orley).

Kala lives in India and is praised for studying medicine and pharmacy. Sense8 shares Kala’s life as religious and structured. During the beginning of season one, Kala struggles with the reality she is about to marry someone she does not love due to Kala’s dad’s arrangement. Kala and Wolfgang begin seeing each other often and consider being in a romantic relationship (Orley).

Capheus is a bus driver and care-taker in Kenya. His mom is sick throughout the series, and Capheus is determined to receive the money needed to purchase medication. Capheus is a passionate, knowledgable character (Orley).

The last main character of the eight is Sun, who is a Financial Officer in South Korea. Sun enjoys kickboxing, and is often helping the other seven use the strength and talent she obtains to get out of dangerous situations when needed. Additionally, Sun’s younger brother is caught in a work-related crime and Sun is challenged with the choices of listening to her diseased mother’s advice of always protecting family, or choosing not to make the ultimate sacrifice and instead allow herself to succeed (Orley).

These diverse characters, “were born at the exact same moment on the exact same day, are physically connected, even as they live radically different lives” (Xiao). However, their unique experiences and intersecting, or not intersecting, identifications allow them to still exist as separate beings. As the audience is able to see throughout the series, these characters experience a variety of disadvantages or privileges solely because of their identifications. For instance, Nomi, the gay, trans-woman, is constantly verbally abused and maliciously misgendered by her own mother because Nomi is a trans-woman. Additionally, she is dating another woman, which Nomi’s mother disapproves of as well. The disadvantages of being both a trans-woman and identifying as gay are significantly different than another white woman identifying as gay, or solely being a trans-woman but being exclusively attracted to men. There are plenty of examples within Sense8 about intersectional experiences; including, Sun who is Korean and a woman who enjoys kickboxing. Sun lives in Korea, so she is not visibly discriminated against for being Korean, but she is often doubted for being a woman in a high-profile work setting in which the stereotypes are influenced by Korean culture. Additionally, Sun is strong and can arguably win in a majority of the kickboxing fights she participates in. When considering the expectations for women within Korea, being an outstanding kickboxer is definitely not considered “womanly.” Sun is often doubted while in the kickboxing range, and when she is at work she is seen as passive when considering Sun’s relationship with her younger brother.

The representation of diverse identifications within Sense8 only increases a range of audience members by allowing more people to relate to unique experiences which commonly occur within marginalized communities. Though the series may have cancelled due to diversity and specific experiences not everyone is able to relate to, the show resonated and continues to empower particular groups of people (Aguado-Peláez). “The series has found a firm niche among primarily queer audiences largely due to its highly visible and progressive representations of gay, lesbian, trans, and otherwise-queer bodies, sexualities, and subjectivities. This might be one of the its most redeeming, or perhaps the most redeeming, aspects...Sense8 resonates with queer folx and people of colour...The representation of queerness in Sense8 is normalized, it never seeks to be assimilationist or heteronormative. Instead, it presents the queerness of its cluster in opposition to hetero-patriarchal and corporate agendas” (Elrod). The representation of stigmatized characteristics is significant when considering viewers who are searching for authentic, accurate experiences to relate to, especially younger audience members who may be desperate for a role model.

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Though Sense8 is obviously inclusive, critics discuss the problematic approach of understanding stigmatized characteristics to be true by stereotyping the characters within the show, and then attempting to argue these same stereotypes do not exist. “This kind of anti-stereotype criticism, though still important to undertake, often derives from and reaffirms the prevailing paradigm” (HSU). Therefore, critiques suggest Sense8 creators essentially believe the stereotypes as true. Additionally, some audience members believe the screen time of racially stigmatized groups in the show did not equate to the screen time given to white characters like Will or RIley. “The notion that having more diversity runs afoul of some sort of narrative economics is predicated on the idea that all characters need equal screen time” (Menken). Any piece of media can be improved in order to achieve a more inclusive character base, but Sense8 is arguably one of the most inclusive series on Netflix.

Works Cited;

Aguado-Peláez, D. “Bodies as Mapping of Resistances: Intersectional Analysis of Sense8.” CAB Direct, 2016, https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/20173244288.

Elrod, James. ‘“I am also a we”’ The Interconnected, Intersectional Superheroes of Netflix’s Sense8.” Panic at the Discourse: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2019, https://www.panicdiscourse.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/47-57-I-am-also-a-we%E2%80%99-.pdf

HSU, Ruth. “Collective Individuation and Radical Identity in Netflix’s Orange is the New Black and Sense8.” Race and Cultural Practice in Popular Culture, 2019, https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=iPy9DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT24&dq=intersectionality+and+sense8+academic+source&ots=mrVmBOvnFq&sig=g67XPBY1R8wJOlezP4zi7bWv_As#v=onepage&q&f=false

Kevin. “The Importance of Sense8.” Kevin’s Thoughts, Ramblings and Everything In Between, 1 June 2017, https://abnerkd.wordpress.com/2017/06/01/sense8-2/

Menken, Sean. “Intersectionality and Sense8.” Another Gamer Guy, 29 July 2015, https://anothergamerguy.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/intersectionality-and-sense8/.

Orley, Emily. “Everything You Need To Know About The Eight Main Characters In ‘Sense8.’” BuzzFeed News, 28 May 2015, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emilyorley/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-eight-main-characters

Seligson, Jason. “SENSE8 Is The Show We Need Now More Than Ever.” Birth.Movies.Death, 27 Apr. 2017, https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2017/04/27/sense8-is-the-show-we-need-now-more-than-ever

Xiao, et al. “Celebrating Intersectionality in the Futuristic Netflix Series 'Sense8.’” Hyperallergic, 20 Feb. 2017, https://hyperallergic.com/349182/celebrating-intersectionality-in-the-futuristic-netflix-series-sense8/.

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sazandorable · 6 years

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so im gonna do that AAW meme thing! cw: tmi about aza’s thrilling life, some cringey or vaguely depressing/upsetting anecdotes, some happy things in a silly way, and fandom

1. Sunday, 21 October:

o Describe your experience of finding out about asexuality/the ace spectrum. What source(s) did you find it from? How did it feel to find out about asexuality? How did it change your life?

~Sherlock BBC fandom~! /o/ Yeaaaaah.

To be precise, the kink meme, on livejournal. just a random prompt asking for something exploring the arrangement between asexual sherlock and uhhh probably john but tbh i don’t remember that. maybe Irene. I’m almost sure this was right after the Scandal in Belgravia episode had aired, and that episode was why people were playing with the idea of Sherlock being uninterested in sex.

I don’t remember my exact feelings when I read that word, but I do remember that I was delighted at the concept (+ the discussion in the same episode about falling in love outside of your sexual orientation) and immediately convinced, that I jumped into researching asexuality, and that barely a few weeks later I was very deep in contemplating and musing about my own levels of attraction and sorting out all that stuff. I do think I just instantly realized this concept applied to me; I found the AVEN site and its definitions very fast, and grey-a felt good instantly. (I found demi later, and it took me a bit longer to claim it for myself, though I don’t remember much details about that.)

Like, years later I’m very much bitter about and Over™ Sherlock BBC, its writers, and that episode in particular and their stance on the sexualities and orientations of all their characters, but... it did bring me something very precious, that it would have taken me years to find out about otherwise.

It did change my life in that this is when I realized that I really, really, really didn’t have to date, have sex, marry or whatever “one day” if I never wanted to and I wasn’t “late” on anything. Took off a lot of pressure, and also made me stop trying to dub-con myself into accepting things I didn’t actively want just because I didn’t actively hate them.

2. Monday, 22 October:

o Talk about your coming out experience. Of course, one many never be finished coming out, but you could describe how you came out to friends, what reactions you have gotten, how you have felt by coming out, and more.

Mm, two:

not quite coming out, and I don’t remember how it came up, but I mentioned “ok but what about asexuality” at my mother, perhaps a year or two after finding out about it, and she just scoffed and said “that’s not a thing, it’s just being scared of sex,” and I just... froze. Blanked out. Zoned out. Possibly shook a little. This was my first first-hand experience of being just... disacknowledged, erased, denied out of existence, and I had absolutely not expected it, nor the violence of it, nor the casual quality of that violence. I couldn’t say anything in reply, and I don’t think my mother noticed anything at all.

on another hand, I once explained to a gay male friend of mine that, well, I don’t call myself a lesbian, I like girls but I don’t call my super-duper-precious-friend my girlfriend, we are extremely close but we don’t have sex or really date, I’m asexual; and his reaction was “?? THAT’S SO COOL. That fits you! I’m glad for you that you can just do whatever works for you without following conventions about relationships! Cool, great!” and that just made my day.

3. Tuesday, 23 October:

o Describe your experience of confronting stereotypes. There are many stereotypes or expectations of what being on the ace spectrum is like, but of course aspec people are just as diverse as any other group. How have you defied or corrected these stereotypes?

uuhhhhh

Mostly this happens when I talk about asexuality with people who are questioning themselves, explaining the many different flavors it can come in, that yeah you can be asexual at the same time as enjoying sex, masturbating, having fantasies, wanting to date, etc. Not so much smashing established stereotypes, more confirming that nop this thing that you think would “disqualify” you from being asexual doesn’t, actually, you still might be, you’re not “fake”.

4. Wednesday, 24 October:

o Talk about positive representation of aspec people in media which has benefited you or speaks to you strongly. Aspec people are not often represented in media, so it will be nice to see which representations have the strongest impacts.

*STANDS UP, VIBRATING*

TWENTYACETEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!

This year I got two cases of explicit, confirmed, canon, accurate and nuanced representation with central characters in two series that were already extremely close to my heart, and I’m so happy about it!!!!

Spoilers for both fandoms!

1) Shimanami Tasogare: a recently finished manga about LGBT community. In one of the last arcs, we learn that the very central yet mysterious character Anonymous (Dareka-san) is asexual. Like, the character says it, in full letters, and it’s discussed a lot.

Well, it’s more complicated than that, because it’s set in Japan and written in Japanese and Japan has different approaches, concepts and vocabulary around asexuality than English-language; what Anonymous initially describes might be closer to what English-language would call aromanticism. But they also later go “Am I interested in sex, or not? Who knows :)”, with their potential interest in sex represented with them reading porn magazines, and they’ve already expressed that they’re not interested in dating, so as it happens they’re probably both aro and ace (in English terms) anyway. (In the same sequence, they also explain that they might be male, or female, and generally aren’t overly concerned with how people think of them, anything works for them.)

This brings the other characters to think some more about their own desires for love, sex, relationships, human contact... There is a beautiful scene where the main character thinks that knowing this lets him finally understand Anonymous, that this must be why they are so mysterious and detached and fleeting — and Anonymous tells him point-blank that nah. They’re not just their asexuality. Don’t reduce them to that. They’re not “anonymous” because they’re asexual, and vice-versa — those are just two incidental parts of who they are. They are a full person, who just happens to be asexual, and also to enjoy being anonymous and unknown and find freedom in living their life this way.

It was just incredible to read entire chapters dedicated to a central character talking at length about their asexuality, and also how they relate, not only to straight people, but also to queer non-ace people. In the end the main character still doesn’t quite get Anonymous, and that’s how they like it.

2) The Magnus Archives: an ongoing horror podcast that’s casually LGBTQIA-friendly. (Like, a lot of horrible stuff does happen to queer people, but that’s because there’s a lot of them, and I do think that statistically more of them survive than straight people. Equal opportunity horror.) I had been toying with headcanoning the main character Jon as asexual for a variety of reasons for a while, and then in an episode that aired a few months ago a character casually mentioned that “apparently [he] just... doesn’t. At all.” Asked to elaborate, the writer confirmed on twitter that yup, he’s written as asexual (though who knows if Jon would use that word himself, he doesn’t really think about it).

I’m especially delighted because this came up, in context, because Jon has dated. At least once. We know his ex, and she is super chill with him. This reveal also comes up in the same breath as the reveal that a male character seems to have a crush on him, and IMO the show seems to hint that said character is aware that Jon doesn’t do sex, and doesn’t/wouldn’t mind this if they were to date.

Jon did start out as the usual cold, rational, unempathetic character archetype (in fact, he’s very reminiscent of BBC’s Sherlock in early episodes), but by the time this line comes up, the listener knows that he actually cares a lot and is full of emotions. He’s shown to be very, very protective of the people close to him — though also very bad at it. And at expressing it. But, still around the same time of the ace reveal, he is making deliberate efforts to communicate more and value everyone’s feelings. And of course, being the central character, he’s a veeeeery developed character with tons of evolution and nuances, and a huge fandom fave. The reveal that’s he’s asexual has changed exactly nothing in the show; but, like I said, it fits him, he read as asexual to the point that I was suspecting it despite zero real textual evidence until then.

When this episode came out and I heard that line (... I actually had missed it on first listen), I was at work, and I just started almost crying at my desk.

And then I got to go around yelling about it at my fandom friends.

... And at my non-fandom friends.

#asexuality awareness week #aaw #about aza #representation #shimanami tasogare #the magnus archives

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untiediknot · 5 years

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Tico Phillips - ID # 620091551

When it comes to gender representations and stereotypes in mainstream media, it’s difficult to contend with how it might benefit women and men - or even to reconcile with the various changes needed in the way gender is represented - without first recognizing the many nuances which exist within media itself and outside of it. Let me begin by saying that this is a really complicated, contentious issue. Entire books, lengthy ones at that, have been devoted to media and its impact. Nonetheless, I will try my best to unpack a few points. First of all, because “mainstream media” encompasses such a wide variety of platforms and products, it is difficult to address these kinds of issues directly without first breaking down this term more thoroughly. Broadly speaking there is print and broadcast, whether it be music, film, television, books, news and the internet to name a few. Any one of these would merit its own deep dive into the topic of representation of women and men.

In my opinion, mainstream media (at least in its current state) is by design and definition hegemonic. It both reflects and projects normative values - it may challenge those norms but ultimately cannot pose a fundamental threat to them. Representations of men and women in mainstream media may be progressive, even transgressive, but only to a certain point. The limits of mainstream media to “accurately” represent anyone or anything is a perennial argument for the importance of independent media. For instance, the other day, I recently watched the 2019 movie Hustlers, whose plot mainly consists of a group of female strippers who conspire to rob wealthy Wall Street men.

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While on the surface this narrative does sound transgressive (take for instance, the idea of the film itself being exclusively female led - by a diverse case of women of colour no less - or the premise of disenfranchised sex workers taking control of their lives and exercising autonomy using their wits - instead of their bodies - to get ahead), one cannot forget that the whole ‘point’ of the movie is heavily reliant upon its conformity to and position within outdated tropes of women primarily as sex objects and men primarily as financial providers. Even if it seeks to represent an experience that is for the most part ‘inspired by a true story’, its presentation is, for lack of a better term, tired.

Mind you, I thoroughly enjoyed the film - and I would recommend everyone go see it whenever they get the chance - but what with its thematic focus on sex, materialism, vanity and greed (especially through a gendered lens), it quite frankly doesn’t tell us the viewers anything we don’t already know (or haven’t already seen) time and time again about male/female power dynamics. In fact, the closing line of the film was particularly poignant. One of the main female leads, Ramona retorts, “The whole country is a strip club. You have people tossing the money and people doing the dance.” With that being said, men (particularly the ones behind the scenes ‘pulling the strings’ as it were) are almost always tossing the money in their funding of these projects and women (particularly the ones on the world stage) are almost always ‘doing the dance’, struggling to keep up - especially if job prospects and opportunities are limited.

Representation matters, no doubt. It’s just that I think that the politicalization of representation is an intentional capitalistic strategy by these powers that be (i.e. the bigwigs). Media is a consumable good, that goes without saying. It can also be used as a tool to distract. In fact, Brooks and Hebert argue that “much of what comes to pass as ‘important’ (or not important) is based often on the stories produced and disseminated by media institutions.” For instance, getting politically unaware people to dialogue about representation in media is a way to get them to interact with media, and at the same, preempt actual political work. People may know for instance the names of all of Kim Kardashian’s children, but ask them to name the elected members of parliament from the House of Representatives and they blank out. They may know precisely how many females/blacks/LGBT identified individuals are on their favorite TV shows but not on their city planning or school boards. Why is this? As discussed in section 1 of Whose Perspectives, the gatekeepers of the media are for the most part, responsible for “selecting, constructing and representing perceived realities - while obscuring others”, mostly for their own gain, financial or otherwise. After all, there’s nothing more dangerous than an educated public, so if they (the public) are kept ignorant (and pacified), they (the elite) can continue to push their agendas and continue to line their pockets, because they know that the public will ‘buy’ whatever they sell - literally and figuratively speaking.

Mind you, to say that media’s influence is purely negative would be negligent at best. I think that while there are definite drawbacks, there are also definite benefits. For instance, seeing people who look, act, or represent themselves the same as you can be comforting if you struggle with a sense of belonging or feeling alone or alienated from your peers. Consequently, as a society we're seeing a lot more diversity now, especially on television, and that's really exciting, especially since media tends to mimic and mirror society itself. Take for instance the critically acclaimed TV series ‘Pose’ on FX which explores how race, class, sexuality and gender intersect within the lives of the queer, trans and gender non-conforming participants of the underground ballroom scene in New York City. It should be noted that this is the first ever show in history with the largest cast of transgender actors (and characters).

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If someone had no prior concept of the struggles faced by these minority groups, just engaging with the show might influence how they treat and interact with the oppressed and disenfranchised in their own neighborhoods, inadvertently teaching them compassion and tolerance which may (hopefully) result in them advocating for equitable legislation that benefits everyone - inclusive of people from all walks of life. Thus, when it comes to gender representations and stereotypes in mainstream media, perhaps we should not contend with how it benefits (or does not benefit) men and women across all walks of life, but rather the various responsibilities that we have as individuals (and as a collective) to create content not with the intent to sell or make a profit (as the gatekeepers are prone to doing), but rather to advance civilization forward in meaningful ways.

References

Brooks, D. & Hébert, L. (2006). Gender, race, and media representation. In B. J. Dow & J. T. Wood The SAGE handbook of gender and communication (pp. 297-318). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi:10.4135/9781412976053.n16

Donald, P., et al. (2011). Gender and Media Content. Whose Perspective: A Guide to Gender-Aware Analysis of Media Content

Ryan Murphy Productions (2019). Pose (FX) Trailer HD - Evan Peters, Kate Mara series. [image] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t4YuPXdLZw [Accessed 16 Sep. 2019].

STXfilms (2019). Hustlers Trailer #1 (2019) | Movieclips Trailers. [image] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUG2U-IxPx0 [Accessed 17 Sep. 2019].

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hollyhawthorne · 5 years

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PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE HOMEWORK FOR JULIA - interview, alternative space.

Interview between myself (Holly Hawthorne) and journalist ( Lauren Searle).

Lauren: Good morning, Holly. Let’s start off with a little introduction into you, this particular space, and the role that you play within the space.

Holly: Sure. My name is Holly Hawthorne, and I am the head curator of HECK GALLERY in Woodstock, which is an alternative space for artists outside the world of commercial galleries.

Lauren: Curation? Care to elaborate on that process?

Holly: Well, typically within an alternative space such as HECK GALLERY, the word curator is interchangeable with the term “juror”. Artists send in portfolios of work which they’d like to be exhibited, and my job is to select pieces that fit within a particular theme and would function well as a group show. Alternatively, we also occasionally host solo shows. Another type of exhibition which we do, actually requires me to take a step back. This show is an “open exhibition”, where any artists are free to come and set up their work within the space, on a “first come first serve” basis. Those kinds of shows can be fun, but often get chaotic and are quite challenging, as you can imagine. We’ve had a few incidents with artists removing the work of others, artists hogging all of the space, arguments, you name it!

Lauren: That sounds stressful! Are there any other challenges that come with the role of head curator?

Holly: Hmmm. The biggest “challenge” that I face, is trying to find artists to exhibit that would normally fall through the cracks. As an alternative space, we feel that we have a social responsibility to practice equal representation. Women, queer or non-gender conforming people, as well as people from ethnic minorities are among the types of artists which we want to represent. Whilst there is an abundance of talented people within these groups, I say that it is challenging because finding them is difficult. These artists have often been discriminated against or rejected due to assumptions made by in putting themselves out there tremendously.

Lauren: So you’d say that HECK aims in creating a safe space for these previously overlooked artists?

Holly: exactly.

Lauren: What else makes HECK different from a commercial gallery?

Holly: I’d say that as an alternative space, we push the boundaries of established genres which are typically explored in commercial galleries. The genres and themes displayed here are more controversial, experimental, or difficult to market to the general public. We often explore social or political themes. This is not to knock commercial galleries at all, we just don’t have the pressure of “I have to appeal to everyone in the general public”, so we can perhaps be a little braver in what we present.

Lauren: Interesting. And through which media are these themes typically expressed?

Holly: There are no boundaries! We see everything here, from the exploration of new technologies, to performance, installation, etc. as well as traditional media like sculpture, painting and so on.

Lauren: How does one keep track of all of these different works that come into the space?

Holly: That’s a big task that often gets overlooked, as it happens behind the scenes! In a nutshell, that would be the job of a general administrator, who maintains the registry, which contains pictures and documentation of all of the works that come into the space. This registry is available to look at online, so that curators, artists, critics, gallerists or whoever, can see the work and perhaps even select it to be in another show. This is crucial In not only keeping the gallery organized, but also in keeping track of the artist’s’ careers.

Lauren: You mentioned administration as one of the roles within the space. What other job opportunities exist within alternative spaces such as HECK?

Holly: Of course, all alternative spaces are different. Some may have a large staff, others small. Some may have a few or all permanently employed staff members, whilst others have one paid gallerists whilst the others are unpaid volunteers or interns. HECK consists of one paid, permanent gallerist, myself ( permanent, paid ), and a small number of paid receptionists and admin team. We also bring in a lot of volunteers, who are often young students looking for experience within the industry.

Lauren: And how does this place receive funding or income to stay running?

Holly: As a nonprofit, we are funded exclusively by membership dues, donations, and fundraisers like auctions, parties and other events. Basically, we need to work hard to stay afloat, but it seems worth it to be able to not rely on the sales of art. This is because the art may not always be sellable, or appealing to the general public.

Lauren: You’ve mentioned a few times that the work is not necessarily reliant on the public. Who views the art then?

Holly: Yeah, we receive a lot of critical attention from a broad variety of audiences. Whilst the public will often attend our exhibitions, this is usually in small numbers. Our main support comes from artists, museum personnel, collectors, all of whom expect the wildly unexpected!

Lauren: As my last question, do you think that an alternative space in beneficial for a practicing artist?

Holly: Absolutely. I would describe a space such as HECK as a launching platform for artists that are yet to be accepted into the “big” art scene. This is where they lay the groundwork for their careers. Displaying work in somewhere like this space, gives one an edge and respect in the art world, so that if they wanted to move into a more commercial gallery, they’d have this on their resumé.

Lauren: Well, thank you for speaking to me today!

Holly: of course.

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