Hello, Becky Beasley here.
I am a multi-award winning Mid-Career, white British, autistic, female artist and educator. I also recently became a Professor of Fine Art at Goldsmiths College London. I am very proud of this mile-stone achievement. I received an autism diagnosis early 2021 and have been out in the Arts and in university sector ever since. My story was selected as one of only six artists stories to be published to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the prestigious Paul Hamlyn Artists Award, of which I was a recipient in 2018.
Being open about being autistic as a female has been challenging and not without loss of former colleagues, but it has been very important to me to be visible and raise awareness and, most importantly a role model for other younger autistic creatives. There is still so much that is feared and misunderstood about autistic females.
What is an Artist's Monograph?
An Artist's Monograph is a book about an artists work and life. Mine would survey my career up to now.
Given that I accomplished an internationally recognised Visual Arts career right up to mid-career- from 2006-2021 undiagnosed with autism, I am in a fairly unique position to publish a special new generation monograph which comes from my lived experience.
I have always been autistic, even when I didn't know I was. The book will be Monograph of my career to date, as well as an autobiography. The writing (with lots of great images of works and exhibitions, and me over the decades!) will reflect my experience both at the time of making the work and exhibitions, as well as offering the revisionist filter of now understanding my experience then as an autistic point of view. I am certain this late-diagnosis opportunity will be a powerful tool for creating more understanding of difference, and why social disability causes us to be isolated and excluded in social life.
The book will explore Art Career questions such as, How was Beasley's pre-diagnosis work so well received in the Art world, whilst experiencing such stigma, hostility and exclusion in her social life surrounding this public art life? How did she navigate networking the Arts World as an autistic? How did you even get 'in the room?', is the question I am asked the most often by others. I will explore my thoughts about why an art life is so wonderful if you are looking for a career in it, why you create your own art world around you and how to navigate it safely and happily as an autistic or disabled creative.
This will be a radical and timely book which I have a passion to self publish. The book would be a brand new form of artists monograph. The Neurodiversity Movement understands that we need to self-lead and create new forms to represent ourselves, otherwise we will be Othered and Self-Othered by existing normative models. I know that I am ready and able to write this new form book.
I am a great public speaker and will be passionate about doing a UK tour of talks and reading events to promote the book.
Those of us with lived experience and the platform to be visible role models are empowered to tell our stories openly and books are a wonderful and democratic way to tell and share our stories ourselves.
I hope you will join my community in making this book a reality.
My best,
BB
Artists portrait by Jazz Tate, 2024
You can read my story here https://www.phf.org.uk/funding/awards-for-artists/celebrating-30-years-of-awards-for-artists/becky-beasley
www.beckybeasley.com