This 2018 book reflects on the motivations of creative practitioners who have moved out of cities from the mid-1960s onwards to establish creative homesteads. The book focuses on desert exile painter Agnes Martin, radical filmmaker and gardener Derek Jarman, and iconoclastic conceptual artist Chris Burden, detailing their connections to the cities they had left behind (New York, London, Los Angeles). Sarah Lowndes also examines how the rise of digital technologies has made it more possible for artists to live and work outside the major art centers, especially given the rising cost of living in London, Berlin, and New York, focusing on three peripheral creative centers: the seaside town of Hastings, England, the midsized metro of Leipzig, Germany, and post-industrial Detroit, USA. Buy it here: https://www.routledge.com/Contemporary-Artists-Working-Outside-the-City-Creative-Retreat/Lowndes/p/book/9781138712607
This 2016 book considers the history of Do It Yourself art, music and publishing, demonstrating how DIY strategies have transitioned from being marginal, to emergent, to embedded. Through secondary research, observation and 30 original interviews, each chapter analyses one of 15 creative cities (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dusseldorf, New York, London, Manchester, Cologne, Washington DC, Detroit, Berlin, Glasgow, Olympia (Washington), Portland (Oregon), Moscow and Istanbul) and assesses the contemporary situation in each in the post-subcultural era of digital and internet technologies. The book challenges existing subcultural histories by examining less well-known scenes as well as exploring DIY “best practices” to trace a template of best approaches for sustainable, independent, locally owned creative enterprises. Buy it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/DIY-Movement-Art-Music-Publishing/dp/1138840750
All Art is Political: Writings on Performative Art Buy it on Amazon here IBSN: 978-1-9-910021-42-2 21 x 14.8, 160 pages, black and white printing interior w/ full colour photographs, full colour covers, 2014. Since the 1990s, performative art has been increasingly accepted into the cultural mainstream, becoming a familiar and popular feature of art galleries and museums, as shown by the Tate Modern s recent Collecting the Performative project. As art historian Roselee Goldberg notes, The term performative , used to describe the unmediated engagement of viewer and performer in art, has also crossed over into architecture, semiotics, anthropology and gender studies. But what is performative art? What about its radical origins? How does it remain politically engaged? Writer, curator and lecturer at the Glasgow School of Art, Sarah Lowndes, takes us through the world of performative art, using five case studies spanning from the 1960s to the present day. A series of essays and conversations, All Art is Political explores the work of artist-musicians Mayo Thompson and Keith Rowe, Berlin-based artist Thea Djordjadze, Glasgowbased Turner Prize winner Richard Wright, American conceptual artist Susan Hiller and German-Swiss artist and writer Dieter Roth.
Social Sculpture: The Rise of the Glasgow Art Scene Buy it on Amazon here IBSN: 1-906817-59-6 15.2 x 20.3, 444 pages, black and white throughout, full colour covers, 2010. Social Sculpture (2010) explains the phenomenon described by the curator Hans Ulrich Obrist as ‘The Glasgow Miracle’ through detailed analysis of the city’s predominantly self-organised and autonomous arts infrastructure and interviews with the people who made it happen. This fully revised and updated edition of the first and only book to chart the emergence of the Glasgow art scene draws upon over 60 original interviews with Glasgow writers, curators, artists and musicians, including Turner Prize winners Douglas Gordon, Richard Wright and Martin Boyce and Turner Prize nominees Christine Borland, Cathy Wilkes and Luke Fowler, curators Will Bradley, Katrina Brown, Charles Esche and Toby Webster and musicians Stuart Braithewaite (Mogwai), Aidan Moffat (Arab Strap) and Optimo DJ Keith McIvor.
Publications edited by Sarah Lowndes
Like The Sea I Think: New Marine Writing from East Anglia (2019) Edited and co-ordinated by Sarah Lowndes , Like The Sea I Think is an enthralling collection of new marine writing from East Anglia gathered from library workshops and open submissions held across the region. A memento and inspiration for all those living by, inspired by, or curious about, the sea. It is our provider, our enemy, our defender, our gateway to the world; it defines our borders, informs our imaginations, it inspires our artists. The anthology features an incredible range of writing styles, subject matter, and authors; the youngest featured is 11, the eldest 87. The perfect companion on a Norfolk coastal walk punctuated by warm coffee shops and local pubs. The volume includes 55 contributions from Viv Allen • Roy Ballard • Molly Bernardin • Neil Bousfield • Erin Bradshaw • Bev Broadhead • Tess Carruthers • David Cochrane • Louise Cole • Ruthie Collins • Mireia Molina Costa • Jade Cuttle • Janet Ellis • Cathy Erlam • Rose Evison • Jessica D’Alton Goode • Rachel Goodman • Mirabel Greaves • Chloe Hambly • Cate McKay Haynes • Sarah Hudis • Barrie de Lara • Jeni Lawes • Imogen Lea • Patricia Jane Lee • Stephanie Lillie • Angie Maddigan • George Mahood • Pip Mattich • Hillary Mellon • Jane Mills • Lloyd Mills • Jess Morgan • Lindsay Nash • Molly Naylor • Eoghan O’Maolain • Anna Opara • Sebastian Owen • Maria Pavledis • Clare Peed • Jon Platten • Simeon Ralph • Thogdin Ripley • Holly Sandiford • Gaia Shaw • Graham Sillett • James Smart • Robert F.W. Smith • Katie Stockton • Ryan Thacker • Rebecca Tough • Sarah Walker • Elizabeth Lewis Williams • Rachel Wood • Suzanne Woolnough Designed by Emily Benton. Buy it here: https://www.ueapublishingproject.com/shop
Actions: The image of the world can be different (2018) Actions was the first exhibition to be held in the new Jamie Fobert-designed exhibition space at Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge, following its reopening in 2018. A group show curated by Kettle’s Yard Director Andrew Nairne, it encompassed the work of 38 artists and sought to reassert the potential of art as a poetic, social and political force in the world. The exhibition catalogue was edited by Andrew Nairne and Sarah Lowndes. The exhibition featured the work of 38 artists – the eldest being Naum Gabo, born in 1890, the youngest Khadija Saye, who was born in 1992. 22 of the artists were British, while the others came from America, Bangladesh, Colombia, Cyprus, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Russia, Serbia and Syria. The exhibition and publication highlighted the social, political and artistic changes of the last century, with a particular focus on themes of translocality, postcolonialism, migration and the performative. Buy it here: https://shop.kettlesyard.co.uk/products/actions-the-image-of-the-world-can-be-different
The Burning Sand VI £5.00 Published By The Burning Sand 20.5 x 12 cm, 52 pages, Black & white offset printed, Single color cover, Perfect bound, Softcover, Ed. of 300, 2016 With global contributions from Jamie Bolland, Jeff Eaton, Irem Günaydin, Michael Lawton, Nick Lynch, Katherine McBride, Mick Peter, Louis Reith, Carrie Skinner and edited by Sarah Lowndes. Buy it here: http://goodpress.co.uk/journals/the-burning-sand-vi?rq=the%20burning%20sand
The Burning Sand Vol V by Various Artists £5.00 Published by The Burning Sand 160mm x 260mm, 44 pages, black and white offset printing throughout, foil detail cover, saddle stitched with red wire, edition of 500, 2016. Beautiful design (by Matthew Walkerdine and Jessica Higgins) and red foil detail taken in abstraction from contributor David Roeder’s work. Contributions from Susan Brind & Jim Harold, the aforementioned David Roeder, Brendan Breslin, Aimee Campbell, Giuseppe Mistretta, Iain Morrision, Jessica Ramm and Thom Walker, edited by Sarah Lowndes. Buy it here: http://goodpress.co.uk/journals/the-burning-sand-volume-v-by-various-artists?rq=the%20burning%20sand
The Burning Sand Vol IV by Various Artists £5.00 Published by The Burning Sand 240mm x 140mm, 48 pages, black and white offset printing with four page full colour offset printed section, perfect bound, edition of 500, 2015 New writings from Will Bradley, Maria Fusco, Daisy Lafarge, Neil Mackinnon, Kathrine Sowerby, Gordon Douglas, Amy Pickles, Catherine Street and Michael Stumpf. Edited by Sarah Lowndes and designed by Matthew Walkerdine and Jessica Higgins. Buy it here: http://goodpress.co.uk/journals/the-burning-sand-volume-iv-by-various-artists?rq=the%20burning%20sand
Studio 58: Women Artists in Glasgow Since WWII (2012) Available from the GSA shop and Aye Aye books ISBN 978-0-9567646-1-4 Edited by Studio 58 curator Sarah Lowndes and published by The Glasgow School of Art on the occasion of the exhibition Studio 58: Women Artists in Glasgow since World War II , 7th July-30 September 2012. Designed by GSA graduates Sophie Dyer and Maeve Redmond it features contributions from the 53 artists in the exhibition and writer’s texts by Aleana Egan , Liz Lochhead , Sarah Lowndes , Louise Shelley , and Joanne Tatham . The publication was supported by Glasgow Life, The Glasgow Society of Women Artists and the Research Development Fund at The Glasgow School of Art.
The Burning Sand Vol.III Buy Volume III from Good Press here: http://goodpress.co.uk/journals/the-burning-sand-vol3-by-various-artists?rq=the%20burning%20sand
ISSN: 2052-5699
17 x 23cm, 48 pages, black and white offset printing throughout, full colour covers, saddle stitched, 2014.
Third issue of The Burning Sand, the bi-annual prose, poetry and art magazine edited by Sarah Lowndes and designed by Sophie Dyer and Maeve Redmond. Vol. 3 features works from Nerea Bello, Kim Moore and Fergus Dunett, Luke Fowler, Kathryn Elkin, Tony Swain, Sarah Lowndes, Lauren Gault and Jenny Brownrigg.
The Burning Sand Vol.II Buy Volume II from Good Press here: http://goodpress.co.uk/journals/the-burning-sand-vol2-by-various-artists?rq=the%20burning%20sand
ISSN: 2052-5699
23 x 17, 48 pages, black and white offset printing interior, full colour covers, saddle stitched, 2013.
Second issue of The Burning Sand, the bi-annual prose, poetry and art magazine edited by Sarah Lowndes and designed by Sophie Dyer and Maeve Redmond. Vol. II features works by Scott Caruth, Emily Ilett, Mark Hamilton, J L Williams, Tom Varley, Sophie Mackfall, Richard Wright, Sam Bellacosa, Jamie Bolland and Danny Saunders.
The Burning Sand Vol.I Buy Volume I from Good Press here: http://goodpress.co.uk/journals/the-burning-sand-vol1-by-various-artists?rq=the%20burning%20sand
ISSN: 2052-5699
23 x 17, 48 pages, black and white offset printing interior, full colour covers, saddle stitched, 2013.
First issue of The Burning Sand, the bi-annual prose, poetry and art magazine edited by Sarah Lowndes and designed by Sophie Dyer and Maeve Redmond. Vol. I features works by Giles Bailey, Rob Churm, Romany Dear, Mark Hamilton, Ashanti Harris, Chris Johanson, Tom Worthington, Richard Wright, and working collaboratively, Katy Edelsten & Annie Hazelwood, Barry Burns & Louise Shelley and Laura Smith & Rebecca Wilcox.