Introducing: Lady Kitt

Lady Kitt is a socially-engaged maker, researcher and drag king. Based in Newcastle, Kitt is also an Artist-in-Residence at Durham University. They join me on Zoom with a huge smile and an easy laugh. Kitt tells me about digital art projects, gender stereotypes, and the role of university in building community. Although Kitt admits that they were “terrified” when the first lockdown was announced, they demonstrate that, with a can-do attitude and a willingness to reach out to others, opportunities create themselves.

Faye Saulsbury: So firstly, how do you bring social activism into everything you do?

Lady Kitt: The answer to that question is that I don’t ‘bring it in’. It is the starting point for everything. So it’s not a bolt-on, or a bit of seasoning (ha!), it’s the essence of everything. Everything I do is driven by this question: how can art be useful? What are the social and civic functions of art and creativity in this particular circumstance, or in this context, or if we’re trying to achieve this. Engagement, activism is where I start. That’s always the starting point. 

"Everything I do is driven by this question: how can art be useful? [...] Engagement, activism is where I start. That’s always the starting point."

Did you have to learn that practice, or was it always part of what you wanted to do with art?

I’m laughing because that’s something that I’m really interested in. So, in short, no, not at all, socially engaged art was not taught to me. It was always something that I was interested in. When I was at university I was making socially engaged work. Although I didn’t call it that because I didn’t know that that existed! I didn’t have the language for it. But I was always interested in working with people and in how art can change things and how creativity can help people to change things.

      

Image 1: Installation Image, Credit: Lady Kitt (see full description at end of article) 

Enrolment for arts and humanities courses is declining whilst the government push to encourage students to take up STEM subjects seems to be working. What’s the case for the arts?

Um. Well. It’s really fun innit! That’s the first thing that I always say. It’s really fun. 

"I think that it’s a shame to kind of set arts and science disciplines in opposition to each other because actually the best, most exciting, useful stuff happens when people collaborate and share their enthusiasms and interests."

And beyond that, quite often people set up art and science against each other, or at opposite ends of this magical, invisible scale, but that’s not how I see it at all. I think that all of these disciplines are totally fascinating and the most interesting, most useful thing is to combine these specialisms together. From that comes the best learning and the most useful learning and you get more fun! I think that it’s a shame to kind of set arts and science disciplines in opposition to each other because actually the best, most exciting, useful stuff happens when people collaborate and share their enthusiasms and interests.

And can you explain what your role as Artist in Residence at Durham University entails?

I’m working alongside an amazing artist called Sofia Barton, so it’s a collaborative residency. We’re working with Cosin’s Library on Palace Green. It is a really, really old library, it was opened in the 1669 and is one of the oldest public libraries in the north of England. It was opened as a public library, but what that actually meant was that it was open for rich men, yeah... so not really what we consider to be public these days!

"In the library there are portraits of illustrious people - again, also all men - that were commissioned when the library was opened. One of our big questions is “who else could be there?”"

The project that Sophia and I are doing is about bringing other voices into a public library that’s been just for rich men historically. Sophia is working with school groups and I’m working with lots of different local groups and individuals to find other stories in Durham. In the library there are portraits of illustrious people - again, also all men - that were commissioned when the library was opened. One of our big questions is “who else could be there?”

So you talk about involving school groups, but what do you think can be done to involve university students more?

It’s quite interesting that there’s a real lively art community at Durham University and yet there isn’t an art course! I think that’s really impressive.

Image 2: Finn Ratford, Image credit: Finn Ratford. (see full description at end of article)

But there’s a massive amount that can be done to make students a more integrated part of the community, more generally. Of course there are challenges. The fact that  [Bishop] Cosin’s Library has been the centre of Durham for hundreds of years, but has been a place that for all those hundreds of years has massively excluded nearly all of the local population… there’s a huge amount of work that needs to be done to get to the point where people even think that they can go into those spaces. 

"A lot of it is about the university building really long-term, nuanced, rich relationships with local people, and then offering opportunities for students to become part of that."

A lot of it is about the university building really long-term, nuanced, rich relationships with local people, and then offering opportunities for students to become part of that. That can be from loads of points of view, like the people who they employ, the way they reflect local culture and history within the institution, not only from the point of view of teaching, but also - if they have galleries, do they display the work of local artists, is there information about local people in the libraries? I definitely have seen at some universities, this recurring problem of assuming that it’s sort of the students’ job to go out and make connections, when actually, it should be the university that has established relationships which it can then support students to get involved with. 

Are there any issues specific to the North East that might be different if you lived in another part of the country?

Yeah. Loads! I mean historically bits of the NE are incredibly poor. There’s been huge industry here and that’s been, as some people view it, just snatched away. One of the things about all of the pits disappearing is not only that people lost employment, but also people lost a sense of community and a structure around which to build those communities. I think that’s something that’s often hard for people who don’t live here or know much about this area to understand.

You asked me why I was interested in working in socially engaged ways. One of the big answers to that is because I grew up in communities where that social engagement was how people lived. For me, it seemed really natural that this would be the way that I would operate as an artist. My whole practice is very much informed by a community centered, politically engaged way of looking at the world.

How would you draw in people who are not already involved to come to your workshops and to see the work you display?

Again, it’s similar to the university conversation. It’s to do with setting up a space where there is a regular opportunity to connect. 

"And I think there’s a real crap idea that art institutions should bring art to the people. And I just think, ah, that’s such nonsense isn’t it? People have creativity!"

It’s also about the fact that most places have their own culture and their own creative way of doing things. And I think there’s a real crap idea that art institutions should BRING ART TO THE PEOPLE. And I just think, ah, that’s such nonsense isn’t it? People have creativity! 

This idea of ‘hard-to-reach’ communities makes me feel really furious actually. Phil Douglas, the director of Curious Festival here in the North East, says: people aren’t hard to reach, they’re easy to ignore. And I just think that is so true. The idea that art institutions should be getting local people to be interested in art just makes me so uncomfortable. No, art institutions should be interested in the art that people who live near those institutions are already making.

"The idea that art institutions should be getting local people to be interested in art just makes me so uncomfortable. No, art institutions should be interested in the art that people who live near those institutions are already making."

I also wanted to ask you about your drag performances. How did you get into doing drag?

That’s in the last 5 or 6 years. So I’ve always done some sort of performance in my work. A friend took me to a drag king night in Sheffield and it was so fun! So inclusive, well thought out, a lovely atmosphere. I went to that and I thought “ooh, yeah, I might be able to do that…” Since then, I’ve done stuff with a local drag group called DGA in Newcastle.

What have you learnt about gender stereotypes though doing drag?

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about why masculinity is often seen as so negative. There are a lot of strong loud voices out there talking about toxic masculinity. But to me, that’s only one conversation to have about it. There are lots of really attractive things about masculinity, as there are about femininity. And I am fascinated by the positives in the way we experience gender. I believe there needs to be more fluidity about how we think about those things.

Image 3: Image of Sarah Li and Edwin Li (from left to right), Pronouns (left to right): they/them, he/him, Image credit: Sarah Li and Edwin Li (see full description at end of article) 

Audio: Sea Improvisation 01, credit: Sarah Li and Edwin Li 

You know, there’s definitely a lot of lad-ish-ness in me. Definitely some of the stuff that I find attractive about other people is lad-ish. Of course negative things about people need to be challenged, but let’s not assume that everything about somebody is written off because of a stereotype. 

How do you prepare for a performance? Do you prepare at all?

That’s a funny one. Yeah, the drag performances are a combination of little snippets that are highly, highly rehearsed, down to every little eyebrow wiggle! Then there are chunks that are improvised. There’s quite a lot of swaggering around in the character. So that when it comes to the improvised bit, it seems natural, whatever happens in the moment. 

I mean in the real world, I mostly don’t get very nervous - with the odd exception of course! That said, I’ve found doing talks and workshops in this digital space really really difficult. But I’ve found breathing exercises are good. And just acknowledging it as well, makes me feel less anxious. I did a little bit of work around it late last year. I did a performance called ‘Enter Pursued by a Bear,’ which is this idea that when I’m doing a workshop on Zoom, I sort of feel like I’m being chased onto the screen by a big bear of anxiety!

Do you see any interesting projects coming out of this lockdown experience?

Yeah! Well I’ve been doing a project called Art Confined since the first lockdown. I’ve embraced technology - using social media, sorting out my own website - but I’d never really used technology and digital stuff to make my work. So when the first lockdown happened, I was terrified. I just couldn’t see how I could have intimacy with people if you can’t see them face to face. With Art Confined, I thought, well, we’re gonna find out. 

Image 4: Image of Jan Secret, Pronouns: she/her, Image credit: Jan Secret and Sarah Li. (see full description at end of article)

It’s involved talking to people on the phone, going for socially distanced walks, outdoor photoshoots, making work at home and posting it to each other. I went into it thinking it wasn’t gonna work, but I had to try because what else was I gonna do? But it did work, and there are definitely techniques from that project that I’m going to carry on using. It has offered me an opportunity to think about some of the benefits of digital technology. 

Have you found that digital platforms are more accessible?

Yes and no. There are some people for whom digital things are much more accessible. But some people for whom it’s not accessible at all. Some things need to be negotiated. For me, I find the use of chat very difficult. I’m very dyslexic. I’d have to just be focusing completely on the chat and it would take me like, a week to read it! Things like subtitles and taking breaks are really important. We need to think about how we manage accessibility within this digital context.

"We need to think about how we manage accessibility within this digital context."

Can you tell me about what you are working on at the moment?

I’m in the middle of a project called enSHRINE, which is funded by the Arts Council. For that, I’m taking collaborative crafting techniques and methods, and looking at how you can use them as a way to think about organisational structures and policy change. So you’re using the togetherness and the collaborative-ness of working together to physically make things, and from that learning lessons about organisational development. 

It’s a research project. I’m working with a voluntary arts group who are in the middle of writing their policies and procedures, and I’m working alongside them running workshops. Afterwards, I’ll unpick what worked and what didn’t.

Do you have to do that kind of research for every project you do?

That’s a really good question... so, no, this is a really kind of deep research project. It’s 8 months long. For other projects, there usually isn’t this level of methodological research. enSHRINE is quite unusual for me.

I’ll normally do quite a lot of reading - because a lot of the projects I do are looking at untold histories. But this is the first time that I’ve had research funding to just spend a good few months really really specifically developing some methodologies.

Did you ever find yourself doing work that you didn’t want to do, just for a pay check?

Yes, absolutely, I did loads of work that I didn’t want to do. And some work, I look back on and think I just shouldn’t have done it. One of the things I think it would be great for universities and art schools to offer is more information about employment rights, joining a union, how to ask for support. That’s not art specific. But for people who are interested in freelance work, I’d recommend joining a group or studio like Empty Shop in Durham, which will give you a network of people like you who can support you. 

"One of the things I think it would be great for universities and art schools to offer is more information about employment rights, joining a union, how to ask for support."

Saying no to work is something I haven’t really learnt to do until recently. To have the confidence to stick it out. There’s the immediate ‘I’m gonna get paid to do that,’ but if you have the methods in place that let you think about not just your finances but also your career development, it becomes easier to have more foresight and to say no to things which aren’t interesting. You need to look for work that will pay you money and ALSO give you an opportunity to do what you’re interested in. And that ends up being more than twice the opportunity than the one you turned down. 

The images used in this article are part of Lady Kitt’s project ‘Art Confined’. You can find out more about it here. Please read the full image descriptions below. 

Image 1: Installation Image, Credit: Lady Kitt

An installation which includes giant paper sculptures made from 11meter by 2.75 meter sheets of bright pink and purple, recycled paper. The sculptural works are lit from outside, and within, by a variety of lights in shades of blue and white. Some form tower-like structures, others appear to drip from the ceiling, or pour out of the two brick fireplaces built into the gallery walls. Within these large, organic paper forms are hidden tiny, intricately sculpted, 3D objects.

Image 2: Finn Ratford, Image credit: Finn Ratford.

Image description: Head and torso colour portrait. Interior - dark. Finn, an 8-year-old, white human with dark blond hair looks up, mildly bored, cheeks puffed out, towards the camera. She is wearing a necklace of large red and green 3D paper strawberries. The background is very dark, the image is lit from above, looks a bit Caravaggio - y . 

Image 3: Image of Sarah Li and Edwin Li (from left to right), Pronouns (left to right): they/them, he/him, Image credit: Sarah Li and Edwin Li

Audio: Sea Improvisation 01, credit: Sarah Li and Edwin Li

Image description: White non-binary person (left) and British Chinese man (right) stand in front of a shower. The blue shower curtain covered in a blue and brown fish pattern is pushed back behind the non-binary person. The two figures have a hand on each other. The non-binary person is touching the shoulder of the man, and the man is touching the thigh of the non-binary person. Both of them have a thigh slightly elevated as if they might be standing on something, although the image only shows down to the top part of their thighs. The non-binary human is wearing a black swimming costume with a mesh v- shape showing their cleavage. They are also wearing a belt with black and white piano keys and a piano made out of money notes attached to the belt. The piano lies in the very centre of their waist. The man has a pair of glasses on his head, pushing back his hair. He is wearing a costume which also has a black mesh v-shape showing his chest a little. The rest of the costume is made into a similar pattern as the other figure’s costume, using money notes.

Image 4: Image of Jan Secret, Pronouns: she/her, Image credit: Jan Secret and Sarah Li

Image description: A colourfully dressed woman wearing a protective face shield sits in her yard. She is holding a mirror out in front of her and looking carefully at her reflection with a look of strength on her face. The mirror is made with money notes. 

Interview led and edited by Faye Saulsbury, co-edited by Amana Moore.