Maidstone Radio Interview

This First episode of Inclusive Arts podcast UK, Elaine Foster-Gandey is being Interviewed by Cassie Beckley from Maidstone Radio who coincidentally she co-present's on Cassie's Sunday brunch morning show at Maidstone Radio. Elaine talks about her first Arts council funded project Hope and how the project came to be.

Maidstone Radio can be found here.

[00:00:00] Welcome to the inclusive arts podcast. This is Elaine Foster-Gandey in October, 2021. I was invited by Cassie Beckley of made stone radio to come and talk about the hope project on the radio. After the interview, I mentioned I would love to be a radio DJ. It always been one of my dreams and to my astonishment, Cassie replied.

Well, why don't you I'll train. Since then I've been volunteering on maam radio. And I, now I co-present on the Sunday brunch morning show with Cassie. I think this goes to show that if you ask for what you want in life, miracles can happen and it happened for me and it can happen for you. I hope you enjoy this interview.

We've got Elaine foster Gandhi here. We've asked to talk about her new exhibit going on at Mastone museum. It's starting at Mastone museum. Is it touring? Did I see? Yes, it is touring. Oh yeah. Yeah. [00:01:00] It's exciting. It's going to be touring to London. Popular works. It's gonna go to two schools in Kent. There's a few more dates that are gonna be added on.

So, so watch this space, watch this space. So what's it all. well, yeah, so, um, hope we've in communities together. It really was a seed that was sewn in lockdown. I lost all my work as an artist. I'm a freelance artist and teacher and, um, everything dried up. And I suppose in a way that gave me time to reflect.

On what I wanted to do, you know, what, where I was gonna go. And I think a lot of the thoughts that came through are the feelings as lockdown continued. I made some scrubs and things, so I stayed busy and I did of archiving some of my work, which was really good actually to have that time. Um, but we'd moved house, so we didn't know anyone.

So I was really isolated actually, obviously just my immediate family, you know, we all get bored with each other. Don't we're sort rattling around the house a bit. . [00:02:00] And I think at that point, I, I, yeah, I was feeling a bit, yeah. Not, not connected. Um, and there were times I really missed my friends, you know, I'm sure lots of people felt that way.

And miss seeing my close, like my mom didn't get to see her, but then I started thinking about, okay, if I do wanna make something, what I wanna make something that can bring people together. Mm. You know, and a lot of the work I've done, I'm an inclusive arts practitioner, which means that. I put on what, you know, I set up exhibitions and I work with groups and bring, and really give voice to those groups.

Um, I ran something in 2009, which was really important was the, um, real people catwalk show at the ICA, which brought people on the catwalk that would never have chance to be on a catwalk. and, um, at that point, you know, the people, there was a girl who had a debilitating disease that meant that she wouldn't be able to walk anymore.

And I wanted to give people chance that, you know, to step up on the [00:03:00] catwalk. So it's giving people voice. And I think that's what this hope exhibition's about is giving voice to groups. So I've been running. So, yeah. So scrolling back that, that, that sort of seed. Sex. I thought, yeah. How can I do that? You know, because I saw on, on, um, on your website that you wanted to get people involved, particularly, as you said, who, who wouldn't usually have a voice, how did you go about selecting.

People or, um, what sort of people came to mind? First of all? Yeah, cuz I'd already worked. I've already worked with groups. I've got client groups that I work with, but I couldn't have any access cuz you know, they're vulnerable groups and vulnerable people. So it was really hard actually at that point to know.

And then, so I just started reaching out and mental health, you know, was really high on the agenda for me because I know friends and myself it's, its been quite tough in lockdown. Family members. So that was key for me to sort of see how I could reach out there. So I sort of really started scouting around.

And the thing [00:04:00] is that sending emails out was really hard, cuz no one was responding. Cause you know, all these, all these groups were just in complete meltdown, you know, how are we gonna, they were working from home. They were trying to reinvent their whole businesses and their whole community set, you know?

So it was trying to find ways in. To just get people to respond to me, cuz I was especially into groups that I never had any access to. So I started really with groups that I had access to and really out of there sort of, I sort of navigated, I was like going down a stream, not quite knowing which where I was gonna go, you know, and suddenly I'd sort of find myself whizzing off, down one leg of the stream and thinking, why am I, no, I'm not, you know, sort of pulling myself around.

So I was working. Before visually impaired groups. Um, and I still had contact with some of my, um, learners who actually had E luckily they were on email. So it was, it was like being in a war, you know, where you kind of like trying to find people that, or [00:05:00] find them, you know, on, on some kind of communication that you can, you know, obviously I had the telephone, but I didn't have everyone's numbers, you know, and the people that were running those groups, I couldn't get hold of.

So luckily I did have a couple of emails. and there was one lovely, lovely client called Len who, um, An elderly gentleman who is who's visually impaired and he makes amazing paintings. So I, I kept in contact with him throughout lockdown. I'd sent him some projects to do and things, you know, we'd just banter we'd banter on the email and, um, and another client.

Jenny visually impaired. So I was able to keep contact with some of these groups. Um, my mental health group in Hellhammer had no way of contacting them, which was really upsetting actually, cuz I knew some of my clients there were really struggling, but there was no way to get through to them because their gatekeepers also were having difficulties.

But I knew. Where we work there, we have the, the [00:06:00] goca cleaning company. Mm. And so I thought, ah, you know, and also the Nepalese group, um, I found through mestone museum, put me in contact with the Nepalese ladies group. I really only heard from the Nepalese. I kept emailing emailing, and nothing came back and I came back and it wasn't right till, you know, the point where it was really.

Make or break coming to crunch. Yeah. Coming to crunch time. Suddenly I got this little email saying yes, please. , you know, um, which was wonderful. And then school groups started to come again right on the crunch point because, um, I needed funding. Took me three months to get the arts council funding. You know, it's like writing a dissertation.

Yeah. Very Vigo info. really vigorous. I know. And I needed help with that. And I got some support with that. It was a difficult, um, hurdle to jump over, but I'm really pleased. I did. And I'm so grateful to the arts council. And actually what I did was you end up writing the whole project. So now when. When you're working your project, you've got your blueprint, you know, so it's [00:07:00] really vital in that way.

It's good. Isn't it? Yeah. Cause it, in that ways to come up with a plan. Yeah. Um, it's with COVID and lockdown, the people who have been most isolated and vulnerable in a lot of ways that have copped it the worst. And, um, also. Mental health particularly is the big thing that's been. People have been suffering from isolation.

You need your support networks there. So it's an excellent thing that you're doing, trying to bring these people together. And, and you're doing that in, um, the form of a giant sculptural dress. Why, why did you choose a dress? You, I was gonna ask, knew that, you know, it's funny, I was driving here thinking what's Cathy gonna ask.

And I suddenly started thinking about the dress, you know, I come from a fashion background. I had 30 years running a business called designer sales UK. And before then I was a stylist. And you know, I, well, I left school at 16. You know, there was no very few qualifications. I didn't, my head was somewhere else.

And I went and worked for a bank for four years. And then I studied really. I went into education at [00:08:00] 20. So the dress. Always, and I studied at Fort pit in Rochester. So Kent I'm a kind girl, you know, CAD and, um, you know, that was really an important part of my life. That college, it set, it sewed some seeds for me, um, that really benefited my life.

Many years later. And I met a lovely tutor called Howard Tany, who became, um, he was a, he was a teaching at St. Martins teaching drawing. He taught John Galiano and loads of these designers, and he was ended up being a really close friend of mine and a mentor and, um, really, really kind, man. He became the head of St.

Martins for many years and. Helped many, many people. His art's wonderful. So if you get a chance to look up his work, illustration work, Howard tany.com. I think it is, oh, I have to get his name from. Yeah. And anyway, so I, I started fashion there and then I went on to EPAM school of art design. So the dress was important for me.

But before that I come from a, a line of dress makers. [00:09:00] My grandmother was a dress maker. And she inspired my life, you know, my, my fashion life and, and my making life as a textile artist, because I used to watch her make dresses. And there was a time in my life where I'd got really big. I'd put on lots and lots of weight.

And, uh, I was very depressed around the sort of 11, 12 time in my years, you know, when I was 11, 12 years old and I lost weight. And, um, I went to Dr. Ha you know, was put on a diet lost weight. My Nam made me a dress and, um, it was a celebration in a way of my new body. And she made me the stress and I. I felt like the be knees in this dress, you know?

Oh, I felt like a princess and I was called names at scores, bullied for being a big, big girl. And so when I put this dress on, one of the boys called me, you know, called me a name and one of his mates went, we can't call her that anymore. She's not fat anymore. You know, and, and it was a turning point actually.

So this dress, I then when I [00:10:00] started started, uh, I started find out a lot later. Again, I went back into art school when I was still running my fashion business when I was 34. And I did a part-time and then full-time, and the dress has been a symbol in my artwork as well. So it means a lot. It's like a, in a way it's a sort of celebration, but it's also a, a symbol of moving forward, moving forward.

And, um, it's a, it's a feminine image, but it also is. You know, men wear dresses too, you know, I've got like the L G B T Q community. We had some students that have written quite a lot. So there's on the, on the pieces of fabric that have gone into weaving this giant dress. So I'm jumping, jumping ahead a bit here, but yeah, the dress is a, is a huge symbol of, I suppose, femininity in all.

Mm, the feminine, the importance of that and, um, celebrating ourselves, whoever we are, whatever shape, size, color, age we are. It's a, you know, it's an important [00:11:00] symbol for me. Just speaking about inclusivity of the project, all the wonderful artists that have been involved, like commission. They say commissioned is that yeah.

Yeah. I've well, you know, I say I've got the arts arts council grant, which is amazing, and I'm bringing people in, you know, giving them jobs, which is just wonderful to be able to do that. Um, so, um, an artist called Alice Cotton who set up a workshop called Zomi, which is a Japanese eco printing kind of technique.

And it's great fun. Cause you fold the leaves into fabric and you hammer it. Oh, and so it's very cathartic. So you can kind of hammer hammer hammer. So the groups that I'm working with that I've worked with quite a lot, other, uh, the police ladies group, and also refuge. And I've been working with women and.

Not only men, but women from refuge, especially at this time, you know, lockdown, there's been domestic violence. And, um, [00:12:00] so it's really feel great to have worked with these groups and the other, the other workshop was paper making and that we had such great fun with that. And it's N idea DGA did the paper making and appalled NAIA in she's both NAIA and Alice were.

Part of the inclusive arts training at the university of Brighton, a great masters there two year course. I'd like to also talk about PRA who is from the Neese ladies group, who has just been at every single workshop. And she's been such a support during this time. Her husband came over his GU. And serve this country and, um, he's teaching a lot now and Haritha has been just wonderful.

And she's gonna have some of, I'm gonna show some of her work. She's, she's a wonderful artist and I'm gonna show her work was in the exhibition at made stones. I mean, she, I told them about the project and we'd be weaving and, you know, explained the project and they came her and the other ladies [00:13:00] came already with work made, you know, they were, they were starting to embroider words like we are coming together.

And, um, perpetra made a handbag, but was stitched, um, a self portrait on the front and then words on the back. It is stunning. And so those are gonna be on display at the mestone museum. Does it match the dress? Yeah, I think you, well, yeah, it sort of does. Yeah. Yeah. In a very stylish way actually. Cuz the dress.

And, and talking about partners, London, college of fashion, actually someone who I knew, um, who's a journalist GaN yourself, gave me a Claire Swift's name from the London college of fashion. And Claire swift is sort of the eco side of London, college of fashion. She's incredible lady. And, um, they're doing amazing projects at the London college of fashion, um, at popular works and.

They're working in prisons and doing sort of, uh, helping, taking, slowing, and, and making into the prisons it's called make for change. I think it's called really worth looking that up. If you're interested in going to London college of [00:14:00] fashion, um, you are a student, or if you are someone that wants to work more kind of environmentally and also more, um, ecologically in terms of working with groups, you know, so, and they donated loads.

Fabric. And my intern, who I have to give a big shout out to Eve who I talked textiles to now works with me, and she's been a great support throughout this project. And she came up with me to popular works and, and Claire sort of opened her door and said help yourself. And, oh my God, I was like, lad's cave.

I was like, how much can we get in the back? You know, grab it in because I was like, you know, I'm gonna, we, we want to cut these up into strips so that people can write on them. And so. So that's the premise of the project is that these, all this fabric that was donated recycled is cut into strips and then people write words of hope, and then it's woven into this.

Then I take it back to the studio, all these lovely strips that, which I call them my, my painting palette, you know, [00:15:00] and then I've woven it into this giant piece. And I'm gonna be, there's an interactive part at the Mastone museum where people can weave their own that I've got the two template sleeves, which are.

They're like dresses themselves. They're as tall as a, a person they're they're sort of, you should say it's a giant dress. Yeah. Yes. Right? Just so the sleeves are big and you can go and weave your own, your own piece. That's nice that it continues as well to, to integrate people, um, who might not have had a chance to take part before that will go on, on tour with it.

I, I presume or. Yeah, the interactive side sort of side side of it. And also, you know, I also wanna say that Alex GU is the, uh, curator at Mesa museum and evil in Palmer. And, you know, I hassled them really hassled them throughout lockdown. Cuz I joined this online, uh, New York group that were like, you just got hassle, you know, you.

Just don't worry, just hassle. So I was like, going back in going, you know, look, we're so English aren't we like, oh, oh, I [00:16:00] can't really ring them up again. Cause I rang them up this week and they're like, no, you gotta go in there and just keep on, you know, this is professionalism. This is good advice. Yeah. It was really good advice.

This, um, this New York group that I joined. So I, so I was Hasling and, um, hustling and Hasling and uh, as a day, yeah, . So big dress. Yeah. Going on tour, you said you're still working, sneaking up to the oh no, but my studio's still sewing. Yeah. Yeah. So after here, you know, it all looks glamorous. Yeah. It's desire all there.

And there, I am like driving back to the studio, sewing, you know, in like, oh my God. Yeah. Yeah. I've, it's been a bit stressful. And the. What's it gonna look like because you see something as giant as this, I haven't been able to a prototyped small pieces, but then the large thing, you know what, you're not quite sure how it's gonna interact once it's hanging up, you know, how is it gonna hang?

You know, there's loads of questions that, you know, um, in another world another time, and you know, if I [00:17:00] was a rich artist, I would've been able to prototype this properly. You know, if I had a studio, you know, we've been, I had. My wonderful student. So Eve and Dexter and Christian. And Effy came around to my studio yesterday and we were trying to get this thing off the wall, a 12 foot heavy template, getting it off.

And we were like, it was like back, back, back, you know, like, hold on, hold on, hold on. You hold there. Oh, hold there. And it was just like, you know, it was something like out of, yeah. Did you anticipate how heavy it would be or was it a bit of a shock? It was a bit of a shock. Cause they said the template was gonna be made out of foam and I thought, oh, light.

Light and fluffy. No, no, no, no. It was really heavy. And of course then with the fabric on it, you know, all woven. So it was, uh, yeah, it, it was like launching, it was like launching the QE two when we took it off the template. It was amazing. You get your bottle of champagne and bucket. Yeah. Yeah, I know. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So, [00:18:00] um, yeah, no, it's, it's very exciting. And, um, I'm part of a resilience group. Uh, there's something called. The resilience forum, and it was set up the university of Brighton, set it up and it's quite big. It's across the, across the country now. And even the world I think, and there's gonna be a resilience forum.

Um, it's gonna be on my website and it's, um, 29th of September and it's online. So if anyone's interested in resilience and sort of what that means, and it's, it's hope in terms of resilience. So we'll be talking about how this project happened in, in. In, in very circumstances, uncertain times in the pandemic and also what that meant for all the people involved in the project, cuz everyone's had their own kind of stuff to deal with, you know, in terms of what's been going on right now, right here, right now over the last two years, really?

I suppose, isn't it. I sort of coming to the beginning of 2020, you know, we are through 2020 and we're, you know, almost through 2021 and. um, you know, people [00:19:00] had jobs cut, you know, at the Mason museum, they, they took their numbers down their days down, so they lost work. And so, yeah, there's sort of, what does that mean?

What does resilience mean in terms of hope? Hope, and resilience. Yeah. Artists have really suffered haven't they not just like, um, Textile artists, performance artists, but musical artists, any anyone whose job is entertainment? Yeah. That's a sad, sad world to have lived in for the last couple of years. And you don't even realize, so it's yeah, we are all sort of dehydrated, you know, needing art, needing culture, needing something I know through the pandemic, we were living in Tom bridge at the time and I literally walked through and there's a public sculpture there.

And I was, I was so, you know, like my eyes were feasting on it and it was. I hadn't seen it before, you know, so I was starting to really appreciate the little, like things that I'd walked past and that were, that just were really exciting to look at in terms of color and shape. And so I think we've all had to re that and what that means.

We need art and [00:20:00] culture. We need entertainers, we need singers, we need it all. You know, we need that. That's the stuff of life. That's the juice of. And it's first stuff to go as well, which is this ironically, isn't it because we've lived in science now for the last two years, you know, we've lived in a world of science, I think really?

And so art's been pushed back and we need it desperately, um, in our lives because that's a connection to the, the sort of connection to our inner souls, our spirit, you know, and, and a voice for people who don't usually have one. Absolutely. And that's what this project's about is that I wanted to bring, give voice to people who don't always get seen, especially in the high art world or any art world is to bring voice to, you know, groups like, you know, the Neese ladies group, visually impaired refuge.

Um, You know, refugees, people who don't have voices, the L G B T Q community. And also, you know, I'm, I'm a woman over a certain age or not. So we don't always get [00:21:00] a, a look in that is beginning to change, but that's some of the best artists as well. Yeah. You know, people, I look up to people that sort of like, you know, that made it a lot later in life, like Louise OI, you know, love, love.

Yeah. I was gonna get that in. She was fierce. I mean, she was just a fierce lady who went for. And I love her work just, yeah, it's it's we need to be inclu more inclusive in art in the art world. Women need to step up in women of, of age inclusivity is including all groups until we all come on board, you know, in this world and everyone has their voice heard.

Then how can you move forward? You know, and in a way, this dress is stepping forward into this in hope, in a new way, you know, stepping forward in a new way with recycled, you know, recycled fashion is a big topic. I could talk about that forever more. Yeah. Stepping out in a new way, bringing all of our voices, all voices need to be heard.

Excellent. And, uh, and thank you for so much for coming in and to talk to me. And can we just have your [00:22:00] website address one more time so people can have a look and keep updated. Yep. It's elainefostergandey.com. And, um, I'm also on Instagram at fostergandey, all one word and, uh, yeah, follow me and, uh, yeah, come and come on board and get involved, you know, there's lots to there's interactive stuff and yeah.

Yeah. It's been a real pleasure, Cassie. Thank you again.