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Labour of writing
Shared by Khanya Mashabela Date shared 8 June 2023 Projects Source Conversation

"People are often talking about why there aren’t many independent publications writing about art, and the answer is very simple. When you plan an exhibition you have to pay for the space and perhaps some installation and production costs, but you don’t have to pay every single artist in order for them to agree to exhibit their work. Every writer will say that they need to be paid for the labour of writing for a publication because, unlike with artists, there is no chance of money coming in down the line if a work sells. Either you get paid for your writing or you don’t get paid."
– Khanya Mashabela

Invited practitioners joined curator Khanya Mashabela in a roundtable conversation centred on artist-led project spaces and collaborative exhibition-making. The engagement formed part of Mashabela’s wider research project, Social, and took place in the Gallery during Common, extending the exhibition’s reflections on collective action and shared resources. Matthew Blackman and Ed Young (YOUNG BLACKMAN), Carol Khaas and Lebo Kekanna (FEDE), and Mitchell Gilbert Messina (Under Projects) contributed to the conversation.

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