‘Post [at your own risk]’ (2017)

A site-specific artwork combining Lucy’s dual roles as Arts Professional and Artist, made for OVADA’s ​​‘Directors Cut - Art behind the Artist-Led Space’ exhibition. Both roles involve writing funding applications - namely to Arts Council England, who decide where to invest public money from the National Lottery to support arts and culture across the country. Using scratchcards, this artwork subverted the significant labour that curators and artists undertake when they apply to receive a National Lottery funded grant. The process of applying is, in a sense, a gamble. With comparative odds of ‘winning’, both carry investment risks of either time or money.

The artist gave each participating artist a £1.00 coin, inviting them to purchase a scratchcard of their choice and send it to OVADA attached to the front of a postcard. This act, in turn, contributed funds into the grant system. The project was left to chance as the participants selected a scratchcard and postbox of their choice. The outcome of this artwork rested on the reliability of the postal system as to whether the cards would be delivered safely to Oxford, from as far afield as Norwich and Edinburgh.
 All ten of the scratchcards posted by OVADA’s Trustees were delivered intact to OVADA throughout the course of the exhibition.

At the beginning of the project, the artist set the rule that all the winnings, whether it be £1.00 or the jackpot prize, would be donated in full to OVADA. Prize winnings were ‘revealed’ during a live performance on the last day of the exhibition. The total amount of £5.00 (3 x £1.00 + 1 x £2.00) from winning scratchcards was donated to OVADA - ready to start the cycle over again as ‘match-funding’ in a future grant application. 

This work was created for the ‘Directors Cut’ exhibition (April 2017), marking five years of teamwork in order to open OVADA’s new warehouse space in the heart of Oxford. It provided a rare opportunity for OVADA’s Directors to exhibit together and to discuss their research interests within the context of the artist-led space. The work in the show demonstrated the diverse practices of the group and included painting, sculpture, printmaking, installation, film, photography, mail art and performance. The range of work also reflected OVADA’s interdisciplinary attitude and experimental approach. Though differing in subject matter, what brought the work together was an underlying preoccupation with people, places and situations. This is also evident in a shared vision to support and respond to OVADA’s diverse community of creatives and a drive to make exciting things happen.

Exhibiting artists: Adrian Arbib, Jan Crombie, Gerard Hanson, AD Pawley, Jon Place, Roger Perkins, Lucy Phillips, Hugh Pryor, Ryan Quarterman and Hannah Wilmshurst.