🩸 Your Silence Speaks Privilege 🩸
As another year of Brightons artist open houses comes to an end, I can’t help but reflect on what the city has to offer.
My second year following the trails, I set out as I did the year before - full of hope & excitement that my creativity was set to be truly nourished. As I flowed through the streets of Brighton however, I found quite dishearteningly that the trails, once marched with emphasis - are ready worn, with yet another year of what is ultimately - the exact same artists exhibiting.
As I wander through fancy house after fancy house, all presumably self-owned & holding host to modern appendages that younger generations could only reach with a flicker of fantasy - I feel the overwhelming sense of generational abundance permeate my psyche. The art here is priced with privilege & resting on the laurels of decades of political protection. It is constructed by those who are privy to a sense of peace that enables them to present to the world their creative pursuits from the creature comfort of their own homes. Artistic endeavours enunciated through curated backdrops of breathtaking seascapes, clouds & floral compositions. These artists are blessed with the opportunity to enjoy a world that is created for them, from the heart of safety in their fortune flourishing flats.
Brighton has long been on the path of increased gentrification. Ever since the banning of squats lead to the mass evacuation of trust-fundafarian kids in their k-holes fleeing to Bristol back in the mid 2000’s. We’ve seen it in the commercialisation of pride, the rise in rents & the imposition of yet another fucking Gails on our doorstep. But what are we left with when the art & creativity of a once revolutionary city has been simmered down to nothing more than an apathetic artscape?
It was truly astounding to me that the only thought provoking pieces came from those presenting their GCSE art cases at the Brighton School for Girls. Putting to one side personal stances around the inequality of private schooling. Since I saw no evidence of public school exhibits not only is it impossible to compare a representative showcase, but I also must presume that the lack of representation is down to a lack of funding & that privilege is therefore inherently built into what has been available. What can definitely be said is that access to wealth is not the only reason for political apathy.
The students at BSG grappled with issues such as misogyny, climate change & a lack of female representation in otherwise male dominated spheres. Showing that it is perfectly possible to come from wealth & yet use your art & creative spirit to invoke political change. It’s incredibly inspiring to see young artists making their sentiments known & making an effort to bring forward issues that speak to & challenge their generation.
Alongside these truly provocative pieces, there is an overwhelming sadness that rests alongside the displays. This next generation does not have the privilege to sit back & make art about flowers & clouds. They have their own global nemesis to take on, one curated by those sitting at home with the privilege to create a selection of pieces about seagulls & old radios. The art at Brighton School for Girls is moving, maddening & heartbreaking all at the same time.
As art has taken to instagram in the last decade we’ve seen the internet become a medium for making the world a better place, for activism, for anarchy, for human rights discourse, environmental justice & feminist fatales. As much as social media can be seen to have a bad impact on mental health, it has done a great deal for social health, giving grassroots issues a place to find its focal point. It increases community, connection & the ability to instigate social change. Which is exactly what any artefact of culture should allow.
We’ve seen art take expression through the challenges of the patriarchy, r4pe culture, race & identity.
That’s not to say that truly provocative art hasn’t come from the generations ahead of mine. We’ve seen Alex Bamford take on beach litter & the evils of microplastics, feminist window dressers lives putting mannequins in lingerie sat on washing machines in the storefronts of John Lewis in the 80s & Yayoi Kusama tackling the beauty & disorientation that comes alongside mental health issues. Notable as well is Bousham at Home which was one of the first ever open houses & pays tribute to the POC art of emerging generations. Needless to say, it’s not so much about age as it is to do with apathy.
But when an entire city opens it’s doors to ‘the best it’s culture has to offer’ & the most it can display is ‘pretty pictures’, you have to ask yourself if beauty is enough to make art, art? & at what price does it come? The starkness between generations is harrowing. In a Western world that has become increasingly politically polarised, the art that is displayed becomes a documented expression of the odds of our existence.
Undoubtedly there are concerns for a world where we are lead by those who have their culture embedded in creature comforts whilst the rest of society burns. Art should be provocative, it should be exhilarating, it should be inspiring & it should challenge us to question our views & become better people curating a better world. The art in this city lays flat. If you’re an artist that isn’t putting forwards a point of view, you aren’t engaging with the discourse & ultimately have no dialogue. When we were kids we were often told that ‘if you can’t say anything nice then don’t say anything at all’. In a world that’s on fire like the one that we collectively face today, I would argue the opposite - if you’re not speaking up, your silence speaks privilege.
