Navigating The World Of Art: Being Young, Female And Black

"I never realised
that you could
get so much
by just
asking."

In Part 2 of this three-part interview, we explore the realities of being a young, female and black artist, as well as the general challenges that exist with being an artist. We also learn about Antonietta's commitment to promoting the arts amongst young people, and her dreams of starting a business to achieve this aim.

And so the conversation continues …

Yaaya:

Is it important to you to reflect your heritage in your work?

Antonietta T:

I try to illustrate a lot of my heritage in my work, especially being the kind of person I am. Growing up, my mum was a socialist. I’ve been going to demonstrations and things like that with my mum since I was 6 years old, so I’ve always been quite conscious. I know where I come from, so it’s really important.

Yaaya:

What is your background?

Antonietta T:

My mum is Jamaican and my dad is Italian.

Yaaya:

In your pre-interview form, you state that you want to promote the arts among younger people. Why is this important to you?

Antonietta T:

It’s important because a lot of young people are losing faith in different things. I went to a Secondary School in Newham, and I’m not criticising the school but I wasn’t supported. I knew that I had learning difficulties, and any time I tried to get help for it, no one wanted to help me. They would say I’m disruptive instead of helping me.

Nowadays, I think it's even worse because there are cuts in funding to youth centres and other provisions for young people. So it’s easy for young people to say that “I’m just going to do an apprenticeship”. I’m not saying that apprenticeships are bad, but they should believe that they have different options. Further and Higher Education shouldn’t just be for rich people. Young people need to be educated in a lot of different things. Young people are pushed towards subjects like business or the sciences, and that’s fine, but it would be nice for them to value the arts. That’s why I want to promote the Arts among younger people. They should have options, a lot of options that I didn’t have. I now have the opportunity to do this for young people.

Yaaya:

That’s really inspirational. Have you done any workshops with young people?

Antonietta T:

I’ve done children’s art workshops, but I want to do workshops where I combine practical activities with talks. I would like to talk about a particular subject, or the children can bring up a subject, and we can talk through it, and then move onto a practical activity. I want to combine the two to get young people thinking a bit more.

Yaaya:

Yaaya is interested in hearing about the experiences of black women in certain industries, and issues to do with social invisibility. What is it like to be a young, female black artist?

Antonietta T:

It’s hard. I’m not going to lie. It’s really hard. Luckily I have the support of my mum who supports me so much. I doubt myself a lot, and I now believe in myself a lot more because of her. Some people are not lucky enough to have that support. I’m really lucky.

Going back to the question, it can be difficult sometimes because when people see my work at an exhibition, I sometimes step back to see what they think about it. I listen to them, and then go and speak to them, and they just look at me like “who are you?” They don’t believe that it’s my work!

Yaaya:

Why do you think that they feel it is not your work?

Antonietta T:

I don’t know. Maybe they don’t think I’m capable producing the work I do. It is disheartening at times. Sometimes you just have to show them, and that’s what I’m doing. I want to change the situation for young black female artists. We do get opportunities but not as much as men. Art is a very male dominated sector. Sometimes it seems that if you want to get some attention, you have to do random and controversial stuff like Tracey Emin with the beds. Have you seen it?

Yaaya:

No. Can you explain what this Tracey Emin did?

Antonietta T:

She did an installation of her bed, which had clothes thrown over her bed, along with used condoms, dirty knickers and pads (sanitary towels). Next to the bed, there was a list of all the people she slept with in her life. It’s tempting to think that this is the sort of thing women have to do to get noticed in this industry. It’s just ridiculous, because obviously I’m not going to do something like that. It’s just not who I am. Fair enough that is who she is, as her other work is quite mad as well.

It’s just difficult for artists not to do crazy things. It’s hard for women because they don’t get recognised as much as men. I don’t see it changing right now to be honest. If you think about it, there are not many female artists you can think of, off at the top of your head. When you think of artists, you think of people like Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci. I think there may have been women in those times who were doing art, but are not mentioned. It’s really sad. I think in the future it will change. That’s one of the reasons why I want to expose art to young people, so they begin to develop an awareness of art at an early age, and when they get to my age they would want to help someone else.

Yaaya:

You spoke of your mum being a great support to you. Do you have a mentor at all?

Antonietta T:

I don’t have a mentor at the moment. I do have people who I get advice from, but not necessarily a mentor. Once I start on the Prince’s Trust course they will place me with a mentor in my sector which I’m really looking forward to.

Yaaya:

Are there any artists or textiles designers you look up to?

Antonietta T:

The artists I look up to the most are a duo. They are a married couple called Eley Kishimoto. They are really amazing. The woman is Japanese and the man I think is either British or American. You should check them out. They just don’t do textiles, but they also make clothes, and work with other companies. They have worked with a company that produces motorbike helmets, and they did the design for them. That’s the type of stuff that I want to do. You know just random stuff, and collaborating with different people, and making different products. I’m thinking too far ahead, but it’s good to be ambitious.

Yaaya:

We’re aware that you would like to start your own business where you sell your framed art and interior furnishings with art prints on them. What challenges and opportunities exist in the art world for artists, and those that sell art?

Antonietta T:

Marketing is a big challenge for artists. It’s the main challenge. I’ve seen how a lot of talented people struggle to sell their work as they don’t know how to market it, or they are not marketing their work to the right people. They are marketing their work to people who like it, but can’t afford it, or like it, but just don’t buy it. That’s the struggle for artists a lot of the time, and there isn’t enough time in the day to market your work. Unless you know someone who is a computer whizz, it can be difficult. Even me, I’m very good with computers, I know how to put my work on websites and blogs but its still hard.

Doing it on your own is difficult, because you’re focusing on the creative side, which is your work, and you have to worry about the promotional side, and whether people will turn up to your exhibition. That’s the other thing, I spend seven hours on the computer everyday working on marketing my work, and I feel that takes away from what I need to do creatively.

Yaaya:

And what about opportunities? What opportunities exist for artists in the art world?

Antonietta T:

There are opportunities in the art world, but you have to just ask! I never realised that you could get so much by just asking.

Talking to people is one way to get a lot of opportunities, because you never know who you may meet. For example, I was talking to one lady on the train recently, and she asked me to pass her a newspaper and we ended up just speaking to one another. I found out that she owns a really big gallery in west london, and she was asking me to send her some of my work. I wasn’t even going to speak to her but I thought let me just be nice and talk to her. You can’t tell by just looking at someone what they have, or who they know or anything like that.

On the 17th November 2013, Yaaya will post the final part of our conversation with Antonietta. We will find out more about the impact Antonietta hopes her work will achieve, her love for Africa and Newham, and future projects she will be working on.

Image Source | These images do not belong to Yaaya. Images courtesy of Antonietta Torsiello.