The Healthy Artist

This week, I’m joined by North East-based trans and disabled artist Kitt (aka Lady Kitty) to talk about how art can be genuinely useful. We chat about growing up unschooled, how mess and collaboration connect us, and bypassing traditional galleries to make interactive art you can actually lie down on. We also dive into Kitt's drag alter ego ‘Hot Art Dad’ and how to use the "Wanker Tipping Point" to push past polite paralysis and demand the baseline support and access you deserve.
Links & Mentions:
Mentoring with Kitt: Find out more
Supporting Kitt's transition
Our Substack: Read our longer-form piece expanding on today's chat (Hot Art Dads, The Wanker Tipping Point, and Mess-Making as Social Glue) over at Substack
The Healthy Artist: Our new offerings are kicking off in September! Head to thehealthyartist.com for all the details.
Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time x

Ever stood in front of a gallery text and felt your eyes glaze over? You're not alone, and it's not you.
This week, Dan's back, and we're unpacking "art speak" (aka International Art English): where it came from, why almost nobody enjoys writing it, who it ends up excluding, and what to do instead.
Want help finding your own way to write about your work?

 Our six-month, one-to-one Healthy Artist mentorship gives you dedicated time to deepen your practice and build momentum in the studio. On session 5 you have a 1.5 hour 1:1 with Dan about articulating and writing about your work in a way that feels authentic to you. If this sounds good to you, you can check out all of our offerings over on thehealthyartist.com
To read our Substack reflection on this episode please do so here.

In this episode, we sit down with art critic and author Hettie Judah to discuss her brilliant new book, How to Enter the Art World. If you have ever felt completely frozen by the sheer volume of things you think you "should" be doing to build a creative career, this conversation is a massive breath of fresh air.

The Healthy Artist Website
How to Enter the Art World (Without Freezing) substack post.
Buy How To Enter The Art World from Hoxton Mini Press- They plant a tree every time someone buys the book from their site!

In this episode, we sit down with artist Khadija Ceclile Niang to explore how her practice bridges the gap between structured planning and pure intuition. Born in Norway to Senegalese parents, Khadija shares how discovering the rich connection between her family’s fishing heritage and the history of African surfing completely transformed her relationship with paint.
We also dive deep into a topic we are unpacking on Substack this week: Creative Variety. Khadijah discusses breaking free from the "monastic studio myth," learning to embrace multiple creative outlets like knitting, cooking, and DJing, and why having zero-pressure hobbies is actually the secret weapon to sustaining a deep artistic practice.

The Healthy Artist Substack Article
Khadija's substack
The Healthy Artist Website (with all offerings)

In this week's episode we dive deep into what it means to be successful and discuss how we can shift from a lack mentality when it comes to our creative paths. We discuss how to redefine ambition as a daily roadmap, rather than hyper-focusing on an imaginary 'sparkly castle' that we want to arrive at. "Man plans, and god laughs" is a quote we reflect on and how leaning into the everyday is the most healthy way of living.
Read our Substack recflection here: The View From the Mountain: Breaking Free from Creative Scarcity
Our Summer courses and mentorship