Homeworking: Domestic Space and Creativity

Abstract

This project explored how domestic spaces, the places people have carved out in which to live and also work, along with the everyday experiences artists have in those places, influenced creative practice and artistic fulfillment. This exploration was documented visually by spending time with people who have committed to a creative career path and also have an equally weighted domestic life, therefore, examining the ways in which they have determined how to construct and navigate these two realms, the domestic and the artistic. The project hopes to make a contribution to dispel a misinformed mythology of what it means to be an “artist.” By misinformed mythology, I took my cues from Cultural ReProducers, a group of cultural workers who believe that no one should have to choose between having a successful career in the arts and having a family, arguing that this has been the case for too long. The project looked to discover a vision of what normalizing the artistic life for the 21st century looks like.