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# Alex Bowron
Sculpture/Installation, 2012. Artist and Freelance Art Writer
Contact Information
Graduation Year2012
KeywordsFaculty of Art
Sculpture/Installation
> I am careful to allow time off and time for creative play, but in between I must always ensure that I am putting myself out there, pitching ideas, accepting offers to work, and researching new opportunities.
**Why did you choose to attend OCAD U?**
I reached a point in my life where I understood very clearly that I needed art to be happy. I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do with a fine art degree, but I knew that there was nothing more important to me than making, thinking about, and looking at art.
**Please briefly describe your current job / practice.**
I work as a gallery assistant in two different Toronto galleries and as a freelance writer for publications, galleries and other artists. I also maintain an experimental writing practice that merges into an art practice on the side.
**How did you get started in your career?**
I made myself known and available to the people I thought might have ideas or work for me. I attended openings, talks, readings, and art-related events of all kinds. I read art news and art writing, looked at art online and traveled for art fairs.
**What were your policies regarding internships, volunteering, and paid work?**
I volunteered when a good opportunity presented itself. I’ve never had an internship, but I entered the game a little later than most. For at least a year I took paid work wherever I could get it, even if that meant working well outside of the art world so that I could afford the time to work on my writing.
**What do you enjoy most about your work? What is the most challenging aspect of your work?**
Writing is what I enjoy most, and writing is also the most challenging. Sometimes I spend hours on one or two sentences. For the most part, I still have to fact-check and edit my own work. I love studio visits, especially when they feed into a collaborative or experimental piece. I learn a lot from the artists I work with. The most challenging aspect of my work is maintaining momentum, especially when other parts of life creep in to demand my time and attention.
**What skills or relationships developed at OCAD U helped you participate in your field? Is there anything you would have done differently?**
Aside from my exposure to art theories and theorists, the most important thing that I learned at OCAD U came out of critiques. We were taught in the Sculpture/Installation program to really *look* at art. We had to describe what we saw, formally, without any personal baggage or interpretation before we were allowed to get into anything subjective. As for relationships, I left OCAD U with a few friends for life, including several of my instructors.
**What are the key responsibilities you maintain for your practice?**
My key responsibility is to remain focused on pushing myself forward. I must allow time off and time for creative play, but in between I must always ensure that I am putting myself out there, pitching ideas, accepting offers to work, and researching new opportunities. Discipline is key. I’ve recently started taking ballet classes for the first time since I was twelve and I find the physical and mental discipline that I exercise in the dance studio translates really well in my art writing practice. I also work at a non-art-related job one day a week and I find this forced break from thinking and talking about art is quite regenerative for me.
**What are your personal and professional goals for the coming years?**
I want to continue to sustain myself from working in the art world. I’d like to take on bigger and more ambitious projects. I want to continue to travel for art and continue to engage in collaborative projects with other artists. I am gathering material for a book that will include writing and audio elements, but that’s probably at least a decade away…
