20/20 meet the artists: Billy Dosanjh
- Written byKatie Moss
- Published date 10 August 2023
In June, UAL announced the twelve emerging and mid-career artists in the second of 2 cohorts for 20/20: a national commissioning and network project directly investing in the careers of a new generation of ethnically diverse artists.
20/20 was launched in November 2021 by UAL Decolonising Arts Institute, working with a network of 20 UK public collections, museum and gallery partners, and with funding from Freelands Foundation, Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants Programme and UAL.
We caught up with Billy Dosanjh about being selected for the second cohort of artists for 20/20. His residency is taking place at Wolverhampton Art Gallery.
Tell us about your artistic work, discipline & background
"I am a filmmaker and photographer, born and raised in the Black Country. The stories of this region have shaped my life, and I find myself returning to it time and again for inspiration, laughter, and re-examination. The early settler lives of empire workers, like my parents, are a universe I cannot shake. My art is often a way to reinterpret gathered material and cast these eras anew, to reimagine poorly documented times, to look at the other story and find ecstatic truth in felt experience.
"I am drawn to the Black Country because it is a place of contradiction. It is a place of industrial grit and natural beauty, of poverty and wealth, of tradition and innovation. It is a place where people have always been forced to adapt and survive, and where the past is never far from the present.
"My work is an attempt to capture the essence of this place, to tell its stories, and to celebrate its resilience. I believe that art can be a powerful tool for understanding and transforming the world, and I hope that my work can make a small contribution to this effort."
Why did you apply for the 20/20 project?
"I am thrilled to create a new work that responds to Wolverhampton’s collection. I will explore the stories that have been overlooked and the gaps in the collection. This is an opportunity to contribute to a vital conversation about the history of gallery collections and the role of art in our society. I am excited to expand my creative practice and engage a wider audience with my ideas."
What conversations, thoughts or feelings do you hope to encourage amongst your audiences during your residency?
"I believe that decolonisation is not about erasing the past, but about creating a more inclusive future. I want to work with Wolverhampton to create a new artwork to highlight diasporic worlds, riffing off the outsider experiences already captured in the collection, particularly from rural settlers in the early eras of the Black Country’s industrialisation. I also want to create opportunities for dialogue and debate about the role of art in a world where deep diving into colonial histories is increasingly mainstream.
I believe that these experiences and interactions will help to create a more inclusive and welcoming environment for minority artists and curators. We must ask why minority communities are underrepresented in our museums and galleries, and what we can do as artists to change that. I am excited to work with the gallery to make a difference in this important area."
Follow Billy Dosanjh on social media:
Instagram: @billster187| billy-dosanjh.com