I have written about this before, I know I have, from varying angles…

My various feeds and inboxes are inundated with open calls, competitions, “opportunities” designed to extract money from my bank account to not benefit me or other artists. 

There has to be a better way? Surely we are collectively imaginative and creative enough to think of something better than pitting us against each other in competition? Art is not a competition, so why are we buying into this in our thousands?

So I have made another decision – yes – it’s an ongoing problem – to not enter this race. I am not a sportsperson. I am an artist.

I have made this pledge many times. Then every few years I give in, pay out a load of money, then regret it immediately afterwards and swear not to do it again. Even Arts Council England works on this competitive basis. How many times have I got the “good but not quite good enough” email? Loads. Occasionally they have said yes, which, like the scratch card addict, keeps me running back for more.

We need a revolution… any ideas?

I think if I had a load of money I would visit loads of artists, and then if they thought they were onto something (not me, them) I’d give them some money to pursue it. No forms, no performative pleading, just the knowledge that they needed to follow an idea. Here you go, I’ll pay your studio rent for a year…. Or the equivalent…

So, I am in my abstinence period. I can’t afford to pay out all these fees for no guaranteed return. I don’t mind a hanging fee, and I don’t mind a modest commission, but entry fees… nope. When my bank account is hovering around £100 most of the time, £30 for exhibition entry is disproportionate, especially when I need a hair cut and a visit to the dentist and optician. Maybe when my pension kicks in I will feel different. Again.