Outside In

The exclusive global art market is one which few aspiring artists manage to penetrate. How, then, can a creative person with virtually no arts engagement or formal training, perhaps with mental or other significant health issues, disability, or experiencing difficult social circumstances, find a way in? Witnessing the treatment of people in a day centre took author Marc Steene on a journey which led to the establishment of Outside In, a charity championing and promoting the work by artists encountering significant barriers and with the aim of creating a fairer art world. The book shares some of the most inspiring artwork produced outside of the mainstream. It includes work by respected ‘outsider’ artists and other, mostly contemporary, artists that the author has discovered during his work – art rescued from European asylums, the works of Madge Gill, channelled from her spirit guide Myrninerest, Rakibul Chowdhury whose work draws on his fascination with popular culture, and Drew Fox, whose otherworldly creations result from a series of near-death experiences. Exploring the necessity to create by people on the periphery, the unconventional techniques often utilised and the settings in which this work may be produced, Steene provides a compelling case for inclusivity and change.