Help Kimmy fund Masters at Royal College of Art
Donation protected
Hello all - friends, fam and strangers alike.
My name is Kimberley Cookey-Gam. I am a young artist and maker and have been accepted to study at a prestigious university (RCA) for my Masters, which will be in fine art Sculpture. My course is due to begin at the end of this month which I am extremely excited about. However, like so many other young creatives, due to the current global crisis, times have proved financially trying.
I have been very passionate about sculpture since I first discovered it during my foundation year almost 6 years ago and have not steered from it since.
My study of sculpture has allowed me to utilise and refine my skills through crochet. Being aware of the esoteric exclusivity often associated with the art world, I try to make sure that my work is imbued with a strong sense of accessibility and relatability. Using crochet as a communicative medium, with aspects of video, performance, sound and heat, I have explored topics ranging from solitude to mental illness, race to tradition in African cultures.
Over the past couple of years, I have managed to exhibit some of my works in places such as the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in London, been shortlisted for the Woon Painting and Sculpture prize and have been invited on panels to talk about my work. And I know there are many more opportunities waiting for me in the future.
I am aware that as a black woman from a working-class background, the odds of me being able to gain access to the likes of the RCA are set against me.
Within the art world, the places I have studied so far has lacked black representation from actual students, to tutors, to learning about black artists in lectures. I would love to be able to simply have the space to create work not only about the experience of being black, but about my interests and what I think would resonate to an audience. I want to contribute to the normalisation of black people making art without it always having to be reviewed as overtly political, painful and debatable, even when not necessarily intended in this way.
I know that this course will give me the boost I need in my artistic career, allow me to create genuine connections and grant me with the tools I need to propel myself within the art world and beyond. Ultimately, I want to get to a point in my creative journey where, aside from being an artist, I can help struggling mothers outside of the Western world, (namely Nigeria) or aid formerly incarcerated women by offering them a sustainable income through crochet and art. I am confident that this MA will be a large and much needed stepping-stone to making this dream a reality.
There have been hurdles that have hindered me from starting the course when I was accepted in 2018. The first year I simply couldn’t afford it. I had just finished university and knew that I would need at least a year to be able to save and get out of my overdraft. The second year, I went through a very scary mental health episode (psychosis) that left me unable to work and earn any money for around 6 months. I had therapy paid for very generously by a friend as myself and my family couldn’t afford it and the NHS wait list was extremely long. I have worked very hard to heal my mental health and managed to get job as an exhibition duty manager in late January for two months - until COVID-19 became prominent, to which my job contract ended and I did not have a stable enough source of income to be able to save for my course. Though during lockdown, I set up an Etsy for crochet orders to sustain myself- it was not enough to pay for it fully. However, I won't be able to defer for a third year.
This money will go towards paying for a fraction of my MA Sculpture course. As it is a two-year course, the funds from student finance only covers one of those years. As I would need £20k in total, I have organised to loan 10k from student finance and make/raise/save the rest.
The course will begin at the end of this month, I will need to raise the funds pretty soon to secure my place for the registration period.
I will be so grateful to receive any amount as every little helps. I also do understand that times are difficult for a lot of us and if money is tight, then sharing this post is a huge help too.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Lots of love,
Kimberley x
My name is Kimberley Cookey-Gam. I am a young artist and maker and have been accepted to study at a prestigious university (RCA) for my Masters, which will be in fine art Sculpture. My course is due to begin at the end of this month which I am extremely excited about. However, like so many other young creatives, due to the current global crisis, times have proved financially trying.
I have been very passionate about sculpture since I first discovered it during my foundation year almost 6 years ago and have not steered from it since.
My study of sculpture has allowed me to utilise and refine my skills through crochet. Being aware of the esoteric exclusivity often associated with the art world, I try to make sure that my work is imbued with a strong sense of accessibility and relatability. Using crochet as a communicative medium, with aspects of video, performance, sound and heat, I have explored topics ranging from solitude to mental illness, race to tradition in African cultures.
Over the past couple of years, I have managed to exhibit some of my works in places such as the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in London, been shortlisted for the Woon Painting and Sculpture prize and have been invited on panels to talk about my work. And I know there are many more opportunities waiting for me in the future.
I am aware that as a black woman from a working-class background, the odds of me being able to gain access to the likes of the RCA are set against me.
Within the art world, the places I have studied so far has lacked black representation from actual students, to tutors, to learning about black artists in lectures. I would love to be able to simply have the space to create work not only about the experience of being black, but about my interests and what I think would resonate to an audience. I want to contribute to the normalisation of black people making art without it always having to be reviewed as overtly political, painful and debatable, even when not necessarily intended in this way.
I know that this course will give me the boost I need in my artistic career, allow me to create genuine connections and grant me with the tools I need to propel myself within the art world and beyond. Ultimately, I want to get to a point in my creative journey where, aside from being an artist, I can help struggling mothers outside of the Western world, (namely Nigeria) or aid formerly incarcerated women by offering them a sustainable income through crochet and art. I am confident that this MA will be a large and much needed stepping-stone to making this dream a reality.
There have been hurdles that have hindered me from starting the course when I was accepted in 2018. The first year I simply couldn’t afford it. I had just finished university and knew that I would need at least a year to be able to save and get out of my overdraft. The second year, I went through a very scary mental health episode (psychosis) that left me unable to work and earn any money for around 6 months. I had therapy paid for very generously by a friend as myself and my family couldn’t afford it and the NHS wait list was extremely long. I have worked very hard to heal my mental health and managed to get job as an exhibition duty manager in late January for two months - until COVID-19 became prominent, to which my job contract ended and I did not have a stable enough source of income to be able to save for my course. Though during lockdown, I set up an Etsy for crochet orders to sustain myself- it was not enough to pay for it fully. However, I won't be able to defer for a third year.
This money will go towards paying for a fraction of my MA Sculpture course. As it is a two-year course, the funds from student finance only covers one of those years. As I would need £20k in total, I have organised to loan 10k from student finance and make/raise/save the rest.
The course will begin at the end of this month, I will need to raise the funds pretty soon to secure my place for the registration period.
I will be so grateful to receive any amount as every little helps. I also do understand that times are difficult for a lot of us and if money is tight, then sharing this post is a huge help too.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Lots of love,
Kimberley x
Organizer
Kimberley Cookey-Gam
Organizer
England