This September, MA Curating and Collections 2021 graduates Amy Louise Comis and Jacob Lomas collaborated on their UAL Graduate Showcase submission, the project 1/100.

The project consisted of a 1-day show held in a marquee on the Parade Ground at Chelsea College of Arts, where 100 individual works by artist Stephen Anthony David were displayed for public viewing.

We interviewed Amy and Jacob to find out more about the project.

Tell us about your project, 1/100: what were the inspirations behind it?

1/100 was an initiative aimed to make art more affordable for students and young professionals at the beginning of their art careers, whilst also reaching out to new audiences by delivering artworks in a more inclusive, accessible, and approachable way.

As students and young professionals interested in art, we realised that being able to own art is difficult, especially for those who are not within the art industry. Some can also find attending galleries and exhibitions an unapproachable and quite pretentious experience.

We wanted to highlight that art can be for everyone, so we exhibited the work of an established artist in a way that would not only compliment his aesthetic but introduced a new accessible way of displaying art that could draw in new audiences.

We wanted to highlight that art can be for everyone, so we exhibited the work of an established artist in a way that would not only compliment his aesthetic but introduced a new accessible way of displaying art that could draw in new audiences.

This was done through our curatorial decisions and display techniques, as well as we upcycled all the materials to keep costs low and be sustainable.

The works were displayed at different intervals, interchanging throughout the day allowing for different narratives to emerge within the space. The drawings transformed the space into a visual artist dialogue, offering up works from the studio archive, artist sketch book and a personal look into the development of David’s artistic process.

Did you overcome any challenges during the project?

Yes, 1 thing we didn’t factor in was the temperature change within the Chelsea tent where we were exhibiting. The humidity and uncontrolled temperature of the tent occasional saw some of the edges of the works beginning to curl and so we had to change over the narratives at regular intervals during the day to avoid the works being on display for long periods of time.

Tell us about your final exhibition and how you felt being able to physically curate an exhibition once again?

This was actually our first physical exhibition. Starting the course during the pandemic, we had only curated exhibitions online, so having the opportunity within the Chelsea tent gave us the perfect space to put into practice the theory we had learnt over the first and second terms.

How have you developed and adapted your curatorial practice through the pandemic?

The pandemic taught us how important the collective experience of art really is. The dialogue between curator, artwork and viewer in a physical space is something very difficult to replicate online.

What have you enjoyed most about studying at Chelsea College of Arts?

The opportunity to work with archival material, material collection objects and the collective learning experience.

Despite the difficulties that covid created, the course and all of the students, including us, were optimistic with our projects and looked at the pandemic as a means to develop a new outlook on exhibitions and curatorial practice.

• You can see more work by Amy and Jacob at the UAL Graduate Showcase 2021
• Follow Amy Comis on Instagram
• Follow Jacob Lomas on Instagram
• Find out more about MA Curating and Collections at Chelsea College of Arts