Salon 001
22nd October 2023
Rob Ryan and Martin Grover
I think that the Salon of Doubt came about as a physical manifestation of my own personal case of ‘imposters syndrome’, that nagging inner voice that’s always reminding you that you’re not good / clever / deserving enough to ever be properly accepted.
When I became a Brother of the Art Workers’ Guild eleven years ago I still felt that here was little old me mingling amongst the great and good, these tall, confident people that felt certain of their practices, their opinions and just about everything they said and did seemed to carry a weight and authority that I could never dream of mustering.
When I became a Brother of the Art Workers’ Guild eleven years ago I still felt that here was little old me mingling amongst the great and good, these tall, confident people that felt certain of their practices, their opinions and just about everything they said and did seemed to carry a weight and authority that I could never dream of mustering.
“I had little sense of self assurance and felt as if I was just making it up as I went along, seeing how things spanned out and then taking it from there, but perhaps it wasn’t just me ? Maybe other Brothers had similar feelings.“
I began to imagine an event at Queens Square where Brothers could stand up and talk about their work openly and honestly. I wanted to hear about their enthusiasms but also their fears. Somehow the word ‘Doubt’ seemed to be the right one to hang this feeling on. I recalled that years ago I went to a wonderful and diverse evening of music in a loft apartment in downtown Philadelphia on a Sunday evening, it felt like the perfect end to a week, it was relaxing but still stimulating, it was simply called ‘Salon’ and was always on a Sunday.
As a member of the AWG Outreach Committee I proposed to them an idea for a future project, an event that would be for both Brothers and nonmembers of the Guild to take part in and attend, I suggested that that it could be interesting if invited participants didn’t necessarily have to be designers and artists like us but if poets or musicians, filmmakers and performers stood up and talked candidly about their practices it might lead to an open conversation that would be interesting and beneficial to all. The Outreach Committee responded positively and I reserved Sunday 22nd October 2023 for the first ‘event’.
As a member of the AWG Outreach Committee I proposed to them an idea for a future project, an event that would be for both Brothers and nonmembers of the Guild to take part in and attend, I suggested that that it could be interesting if invited participants didn’t necessarily have to be designers and artists like us but if poets or musicians, filmmakers and performers stood up and talked candidly about their practices it might lead to an open conversation that would be interesting and beneficial to all. The Outreach Committee responded positively and I reserved Sunday 22nd October 2023 for the first ‘event’.
William Hardie from Studio Hardie
The Art Workers’ Guild hall in Queens Square
‘Is this the direction that I really want to be heading in ?’
‘Am I doing just the same old thing over and over again ?’
‘Am I really representing how I truly feel and who I actually am ?’
What if people end up hating it, and then end up hating me ?’
Perhaps these ruminations might resonate with other Brothers of the Guild ? The poster also proposed the following possible antidote.
’The Salon of Doubt will be a place where we can talk about and listen to each others thoughts on our current work and projects. An evening when we can share our excitements and fears, our uncertainties and misgivings. But also reveal the passion we have for our work and the love we hold for its creativity’
But would their be any takers ? Thankfully yes. People began to approach me from within and from outside the Guild and after a few weeks a programme of 12 contributors was drawn up, each speaker had 10 minutes allotted to them, I believed that by keeping the addresses short and sweet people speaking would make an effort to be succinct and hopefully cut short any yawns from the audience, there was little curating of content and I was happy to let people say whatever they wished
Simon Hurst speaks
Charlotte Cory SpeaksOn the evening itself I tried to make the hall look as cosy a space as possible, at an early meeting with Leigh to discuss the event I asked if it would be possible to balance some candles on the frames of the portraits of past masters in order to create a softer more flickering tone of light, after reacting with appropriate horror (apparently in a mostly wooded hall naked flames are deemed a fire risk !) the ever resourceful Leigh suggested that battery powered tea light were available ! 200 of such were promptly procured and did indeed create a warm and intimate atmosphere. The seating in the hall rather than the very lateral ‘all eyes to the front of the class’ was arranged in more of a ‘forum’ shape encircling a small stage upon which speakers were invited to join me in conversation not unlike a TV chat show.
Rebecca Hollweg and Andy Hamill
Four Brothers from within the Guild spoke candidly and clearly. Brother Roger Kneebone spoke about the similarities but also the differences between doubt and uncertainty. Brother Simon Hurst shared with us radical but brave changes in direction he was taking with his work. Brother Charlotte Cory spoke on the very personal importance of doubt. Brother William Hardie via extensive diagrams and workings out revealed to us his own personal way for analysing misgivings.
From outside of the AWG Martin grover, a painter and printmaker told us of how doubt lay behind all of his work but also how he yielded that as a strength. The poet Claire Collison read us some examples of her work that related to personal aspects of her life and how they both overlapped and interlinked. Julia Ellen Lancaster firstly made us listen to just the soundtrack of a film she had made of her working in her ceramic studio, we then watched the film itself and the meanings of the mysterious sounds were then wonderfully revealed. Holy Burn and actress and comedian told us how much she needed live audience feedback to her work and how during the pandemic struggled to create within its vacuum. The ceramicist and studio owner Nathalie Edwards spoke openly on how doubt and fear of the unknown created a physical reaction in her body that powerfully projected her into action. Not Weintraub read a treatise to the audience on the role doubt plays in creating her delicate ceramic pieces. Katy Bentall, an illustrator shared with us some of her drawings and talked about how an intuitive force helped her make them. The Singer and songwriter Rebecca Hollweg (accompanied by Andy Hammill on double bass) performed 2 songs for us, one of which at the time of writing she considered ‘outside of her comfort zone’ but subsequently led her into a fruitful direction.
Julia Ellen Lancaster speaks
The evening, on the whole, seemed to be appreciated and enjoyed by those attending. I feel that as artists and creators we do live in quite small worlds of our own and that so much of the thought process involved behind our work stays locked in our brains, too precious and too personal to share - the Salon of Doubt, I believe, proved that this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. We can all learn so much from each other, not just from being able and confident but also from being uncertain and fragile, isn’t this what the Guild should be all about ?
Speakers at The Salon of Doubt 001
(Click on name or portrait for more information)
Professor Roger Kneebone
Roger Kneebone, a brother of the AWG, is an educator in surgery and public engagement in Science
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Roger Kneebone, a brother of the AWG, is an educator in surgery and public engagement in Science
Claire Collison
Claire Collison is a writer, artist and educator, whose work spans photography, poetry, performance, installation and participatory events.
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Claire Collison is a writer, artist and educator, whose work spans photography, poetry, performance, installation and participatory events.
Julia Ellen Lancaster
Julia Ellen Lancaster is an artist working with clay, rock and ceramics across the UK.
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Julia Ellen Lancaster is an artist working with clay, rock and ceramics across the UK.
William Hardie
William Hardie runs Studio Hardie, a passionate design and manufacturing studio that fuses art, design, engineering, architecture and craft. He is a Brother at the AWG
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William Hardie runs Studio Hardie, a passionate design and manufacturing studio that fuses art, design, engineering, architecture and craft. He is a Brother at the AWG
Katie Bentall
Katy Bentall is an illustrator, originally from Poland she now lives and works in the UK.
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Katy Bentall is an illustrator, originally from Poland she now lives and works in the UK.
Nathalie Edwards
Nathalie Edwards is an artist and ceraicist. She also runs artist and writer retreats from a restored mill in the South of France.
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Nathalie Edwards is an artist and ceraicist. She also runs artist and writer retreats from a restored mill in the South of France.
Charlotte Cory
Charlotte Cory, a Brother at the Art Workers’ Guild is a London based artist and writer.
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Charlotte Cory, a Brother at the Art Workers’ Guild is a London based artist and writer.
Simon Hurst
SCHD Ltd is run by Simon Hurst, a registered architect from 2002 to 2023, he is a Brother at the AWG.
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SCHD Ltd is run by Simon Hurst, a registered architect from 2002 to 2023, he is a Brother at the AWG.
