Inivators Present: Samantha Cotton

Name: Samantha Cotton

Name of Piece you are working on: Statistics

Art Skills/ Expertise: Ba Fine art student. Independent curator.

Other projects you are currently working on? At the moment I’m working mostly in my thesis and my degree show. Curating projects freelance here and there, so that takes most of my time.

What themes are in your work? I’m personally interested in Latin American art and it’s place in the International Art Market. When we talk about Global Art what are we really talking about?

How long have you been working with the Inivators?
This is my first year with the Inivators. I started in September 2009, although I had worked in other Iniva projects and courses and hopefully will take part in many more.

What do you think about Diversity in the Visual Arts? Is it still a major problem?
The biggest problem as that we actually believe that there is an equality and a real diversity in the Art world. During the Inivators projects the figures are clear and show how unequal the ground really is. In the realms of nationality we don’t consider migration and its effect on the artists and the art they produce. The gaps between men and women artists showing in different galleries and institutions is abysmal, which is quite shocking.


If you think it’s still a major problem, why do you think that? If you don’t what do you think has progressed?
The major problem is the lack of knowledge, or the lack of acceptance of the problem. We like to think we are all in equal grounds and the reality is quite far from that. We talk freely of a Gobalized art world and we don’t stop and think what this really means. Themes such as transculturalism, nationship, migration, gender equality seem to be dated and irrelevant now a days, but the reality is that they are still very much relevant to the exploration of the art world.

How have you found collaborating on Works in Progress?
It has been one of the most gratifying experiences. Not only working with an amazing group of people, but working with such interesting and broad subject and with very different inputs in its exploration. I believe it’s important to have

What do you think has inspired/ informed the piece you have been working on?
My personal work and thesis feed into my project very much. It has been a research process that I have been working with for the past 4 years and it only gets more interesting and challenging. I found Chin-Tao Wu’s article Biennals without borders an important starting point to start my own research on London galleries and the sort of relationship that they have to a diverse art world.