Solidarity, sunshine photography and pain.

Can Art Save Us?

Joe Howell, also known as Maverick Beyond is a photographic artist working with an alternative cyanotype process from which she also creates sculptures. Her identity is firmly rooted in Sunderland, loyal to her working class roots, Jo is standing up to arts elitism by staying put. Despite the barriers against her as a working class woman in the arts, Jo not only supports community groups into creative practice and learning, but she foregrounds women lost in history. We talk about the 'Sad Countess' as both a victim of shocking domestic abuse and as a ground breaking victor of sexist law. Jo also amplified and made visible the significance of the Countess as a botanist in the Bowes Museum collection. We talk about the contribution of women to the 1985 Miners' Strike and the role of art in banners which she is also making visible again today. Jo talks about the pain she lives with, fibromyalgia, alongside the social wounds in society today but, just like her nana did, with every intention of getting on.

Series Audio Editor - Courtesy of Joey Quan.

Series Music - Courtesy of Barry J. Gibb

Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can also be found here: https://www.canartsaveus.com

Discover Jo's work here along with free, creative workshop videos, get curious!

https://maverickbeyond.com/