Ally McGinn and ‘FaB Blogger in Residence’ Kerhys Reilly met up at Ally’s exhibition ‘The House That Painting Built’ at 44AD artspace in Jan 2020 to talk about Ally’s work, and what winning the Bath Open Art Prize’s 2019 ‘Solo Exhibition Opportunity’ meant to her.

We were lucky enough to catch up with Bath Open Art Prize exhibitor Ally McGinn. Ally was awarded the Prize’s Solo Exhibition Opportunity offered by 44AD artspace which offers a month in their basement gallery. Ally used this space to exhibit finished works, experiments and current work/projects whilst also greeting visitors. 

Ally told FaB that she discovered her love for art in her late twenties, where she found her interest in exploring things. Ally soon started her family and was creating more illustrative work in the meantime. Her daughter had started school when her husband suggested that she should pursue her love for art by studying for a degree. 

“it wasn’t until I was able to immerse myself in theory that I found philosophy, which has become a singularly important factor in my practice.” 

Although the majority of Ally’s work contains little paint, Ally described herself as a painter and installation artist. 

“There is always an element of paint involved, although it is very often a far smaller amount than traditionally expected, and most often dried and placed rather than painted.”

She went on to describe the contrast in the categorisation of perceptions of paintings and personal perception itself is where her interests lie.

In terms of process, Ally went on to explain how she knows when her work has transitioned from a sketch to finished artwork. She said the whole process usually takes more time than physical action. When it comes to choosing pieces to become artwork, Ally expressed that the nomination was a more exclusive club. 

Ally tends to work on multiple pieces at any one time, so that she can allow time to figure out the next step in each piece. 

“[This] can be a long process and sometimes just a case of acknowledging something is already finished.” 

These puzzles and finding out what her art will look like in the end are the drivers for Ally’s practices and final pieces. 

The motivation to apply for the Bath Open Art Prize was the good reputation it holds and how the prize celebrates local artists. When she started her degree at Bath Spa university, Ally knew that she wanted to show her work at 44ad, “The prize was the perfect chance.”

Being awarded the Solo Exhibition Opportunity felt very surreal to Ally, when she received the email letting her know she had won the prize “I had to ask my husband to read it to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.” After double checking and re-reading it the excitement hit.

FaB asked what Ally finds it like to be an artist in the so called ‘provinces’ rather than art world giants like London, Berlin or New York? Ally responded with two points, number one was that it could be harder to be ‘seen’. The second point expressed was money. Travelling and transporting art is expensive and can be a barrier to some of the possibilities that occur. Money is a factor that can affect the ability to attend events and exhibitions. Ally sees the positive of having global opportunities thanks to the internet giving visibility that doesn’t rely on geography. 

Ally’s second point was personal isolation, living away from the centres of art. Even though Ally finds herself some distance from the centres of art she loves living in the middle of nowhere. The isolation can help Ally’s practice at times by working away from the hustle and bustle of big cities.

“One of the ways I deal with this is operating my practice in Bath where I have my studio, I am part of a critical group, and where most of my friends in the art world are based. That contact with the community is vital, especially with a practice so founded in theory.” 

Not being in the middle of a big city, where posting a myriad of updates on social media is the norm can mean that these updates can often be forgotten, but Ally manages to consistently update her website, blog posts and social media statuses full of her studio progress and current art pieces. Ally tries to make it a habit whilst working in the studio, keeping up with her online presence helps her to carry on with her art.

Ally McGinn has accomplished so much already, she is currently working towards her PhD whilst also having a family to care for. For people who are looking to start a new path in life Ally gave strong and sure advice, “jump into the deep end and just see what you think.”  She expressed that juggling life and art has been difficult at times but as the two started to work well together, it got a lot easier to manage. Ally felt confident in starting her fine art degree and found that it consumed most of her time in a life changing way. 

“Art is a wonderful place; you can explore wherever you want.”

Discover more of Ally McGinn’s work - allymcginn.com - instagram.com/ally.mcginn

Written by Kerhys Reilly - Linkedin: KerhysReilly - Twitter : @kerhysreilly

The Bath Open Art Prize is organised by Fringe Arts Bath.

To submit to the Bath Open Art Prize 2021 visit bathopenartprize.co.uk, deadline 26 Sept 2021.

Prizes include £500 cash, a group exhibition 20 to 31 October 2021, a Solo Exhibition Opportunity, Artist Development Bursary and more.