In his 1938 novel Enemies of Promise Cyril Connolly asserted that ‘there is no more sombre enemy of good art than the pram in the hall’. Since April 2009 Enemies of Good Art has debated the issues arising from this infamous quote.
Enemies of Good Art seeks to investigate the possibilities of combining art practice and family commitments. In particular it seeks to encourage participation by parents and their children in a series of public discussions and art based events.
Enemies of Good Art began as a series of public meetings, details of which are in the meetings section. Broadly considering the meaning of community, the movement’s aims are to
– Connect with practitioners to encourage participation in a series of public discussions and events.
– Reach artists affected by the economic and practical demands of childcare, so that we might encourage local support systems.
– Initiate public discussion at local level and within the wider art world.
– Seek to change the art world’s view of what it means to be an artist parent by provoking debate.
– Encourage civil associations through semi formal childcare arrangements and possible communal studio spaces for artists.
– Write our manifesto.