In today’s episode I'm talking with Joshua Brew, an Australian artist working on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja country in Perth. Joshua explores contemporary masculinity in his graphite drawings. His practice looks at identity & vulnerability, often turning the focus inward and using his own body as his subject, examining what it means to see and be seen.

Joshua and I talk about his experience of being an emerging artist while balancing a full-time teaching job, a relationship, a mortgage and everything else that comes with life after art school. We talk about how he finds time to make work, using deadlines and awards to create structure, and making his practice more manageable by working at a smaller scale.

Joshua discusses his ongoing exploration of masculinity and his interest in making different representations of male bodies visible. We also talk about life drawing, community, experimentation and giving yourself permission to play. Joshua shares some of the artists, books, shows and other things that have influenced or interested him, and talks about the challenge of believing that what you have to say is worth saying while also seeing the opportunities that come with being at an emerging stage of an art practice.

You can find Joshua here on instagram and here on his website

Mentioned in this episode:

• Book- How to Art by Kate Bryant
• TV Shows: The Great Pottery Throw Down & Adults
• Andrew Sleeman on The Creative Kind

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I'm joined by two returning guests, Sarah Birtles and Rachael Parsons, who answered questions that have come in from listeners over the past year. Sarah is an art dealer and director of Sarah Birtles Gallery, who recently opened a new space in Springwood in the Blue Mountains. Rachael is the director of the New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM), marking 10 years in the role this year.

We get into a lot of ground: what question emerging artists should actually be asking themselves, whether you need formal art training to be taken seriously, what happens when work doesn't sell at a gallery, and the sometimes-blurry line between decorative and fine art. We also talk about how much artists should share of their personal lives online, how to navigate working across different subjects or genres without losing collectors, and a discussion on AI, where it's a useful tool and where it isn't. We finish with practical advice on how to approach a gallerist or curator for feedback.

This season is going to be made up of interviews plus a few Question and Answer episodes from different artists and arts professionals, and like Sarah and Rachael, they will all bring really different vantage points.

I loved hearing both Rachael and Sarah’s answers today, what they agreed on, how they built on what each other said and their different perspectives from both the commercial and public gallery sectors

If you have a question for the podcast, you can ask it here (or send me an email or dm)

You can find Sarah Birtles here on Instagram and here on her website

You can find Rachael Parsons here on Instagram and here at NERAM

• Rachael Parsons: Copy That: Rachael Parsons on copying in Art, copyright & AI
• Sarah Birtles: Art Fairs with Sarah Birtles

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.