I’m pleased to share that the British Art Network have awarded me funding of £1,000 to research where our British shamanic artists in the South East of England work and sell their art. Over the next six months, I will be building a free, open-access, interactive digital directory of contemporary shamanic, intuitive, and animistic artists across Sussex, Kent, Surrey, and Hampshire.
Shamanic arts are growing in popularity in the art world with some big name galleries producing exhibitions on esoteric and animistic themes (Natural Magic at Turner Contemporary, Amy Hale discussing her book Magic: Beyond the Supernatural in Contemporary Art at the Tate Modern). But what about those artists using wild materials or practices that are lesser known? How can we get a sense of who is practising what art, where, and with which materials in the UK?
Because of the financial and time limitations of the project, I have chosen to focus on the South East of the UK, with the aim of applying for further funding to expand the project in the future. This project will be finished by March 2027.
🌀 What the Directory Will Do
Think of it as a living atlas for the esoteric art community. Using a free, no-code mapping platform (Google My Maps), the map will let curators and curious customers instantly filter practitioners by four distinct pillars:
- Raw Materials: Tracking the use of clay, organic matter, and other earthy elements.
- Creative Processes: Highlighting ritual, sonic, and trance-based methodologies.
- Geographic Hubs: Pinpointing hyper-local clusters across the South East.
- Market Connections: Seeing how artists navigate traditional galleries vs. decentralised markets.
Are you an artist in the South East of England who uses wild practices or materials and want to be part of this directory? Or do you know someone who is? Please share this with them. Here’s a link to fill out the form to populate the map:
This mapping project is supported by the British Art Network (BAN). BAN is a Subject Specialist Network supported by Tate and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. The British Art Network (BAN) is a community of curators, academics, artist-researchers, conservators, producers and programmers at all stages of their professional lives. The Network provides funding and practical support to help Members explore, connect and share research focused on curatorial issues and themes connected to British art.