Legacy Interview
AJ Stockwell is an artist based in North Uist. Their practice focuses on the relationship between human and more-than-human bodies, exploring how this can materialise through fictional narratives, objects and rituals. We asked them to talk about their time as Artist Advocate for the Even Here Even Now Project in Uist.
What motivated you to apply to be the EHEN Artist Advocate in Uist?
Some of the points in the manifesto resonated with my experience so I wanted to be involved with this next stage of EHEN, to be part of shaping what an ‘even better’ arts ecology could look like for Uist. I was really drawn by the potential for cross conversations between artist communities based in different Scottish islands and what we could learn from each other.
What excites you about being an island-based artist?
Being embedded in the ecology of a place is what excites me about being in Uist. From the perspective of my practice, it feeds my creativity and challenges my approach to making and thinking about my work.
I think practicing in a island breeds a kind of do-it-yourself mentality. You have to make your own opportunities, find your own way of making things work. This can lead to exciting revelations that otherwise might be missed.
What do you think are some of the specific challenges to being an island-based artist?
Access I think is the biggest challenge, access to studio space, materials, travel. Depending on what you work with it can be a challenge to find useable space and materials. I often work with clay, which is a very heavy material to transport and there isn’t a readily available local supply. Delivery costs to the islands can be prohibitive and likewise transporting your work off-island comes with its own challenges. These are some of the issues that were raised when speaking with other artists in Uist. When applying for opportunities you know that your costs are usually going to be higher than someone practicing on the mainland. I’m not sure this is always accounted for by mainland organisations and can be off-putting to even apply.
What is your biggest takeaway from the EHEN programme so far?
I think there’s a lot to take away and develop from this stage of EHEN. It’s encouraging to see how invested artists are in connecting across the islands. There’s a lot we can learn from each other, strengthening our own artist communities and championing these within the wider arts ecology of Scotland.
One of the events I got a lot from was the EVEN BETTER: Building Your Own Art Scene event with Low Profile. This really highlighted what we’ve already got, the value of doing things ourselves and working with the resources we already have. For example, hiring local workshop spaces and collectively organising our own group micro-residencies. It also gave us the idea to look for places that are ‘friendly to artists’, places that we might not have thought of approaching before to make and present work locally.
THE EHEN Uist programme took place in Uist & online from October 2024 – April 2025. See below for the full list of events that took place:
Wednesday 9th October – EVEN US: a Manifest/o? – an introduction to EHEN, Taigh Chearsabhagh
Sat 7th December – EVEN US: Pop-up @ UAA Winter Exhibition opening, Taigh Chearsabhagh
Friday 17th January – EVEN BETTER: Advocating for Yourself with the NEUK Collective, online
Friday 7th February – EVEN HERE: Pecha Kucha, Taigh Chearsabhagh
Wednesday 12th February – EVEN BETTER: Building Your Own Art Scene with Low Profile, Cnoc Solleir, Shetland Arts and online
Saturday 22nd February – EVEN BETTER: Sustainable Practice & Swap Shop, Taigh Chearsabhagh
Thursday 27th March – No Artist is an Island: Even Here, Even Now networking, online
Friday 25th April – Pecha Kucha with Island-based Artists, Taigh Chearsabhagh, An Lanntair, Shetland Arts and online.
With thanks to: Susannah Bolton, Eilidh Johnson, Kathryn Gordon, Andrew Eaton Lewis, Jane Matthews, Bronwyn Mackenzie, Tzipporah Johnston (NEUK Collective, Door in the Wall Arts Access), Rachel Dobbs and Hannah Rose (LOW PROFILE) & all the artists who took part in EHEN events across the islands.
This current iteration of the EHEN programme has now come to a close. For any future announcements about EHEN, join the mailing list HERE.