There can be few more passionate creative champions of the left bank than artist Alison Bailey Smith.
But it’s not just the work Alison creates that excites her - it’s the chance to be a catalyst to switch on others’ creativity too.
“I’ve spent the last three decades making creative things happen,” Alison says of her work, which started as a student at Edinburgh College of Art in the '90s.
“The motivation of my work comes from growing up with post-war parents, Scottish thriftiness and an avid watcher of Blue Peter," she says.
In the last few years, Alison’s been closely involved with community arts projects and with getting art - in all its multifaceted glory - on the agenda on the Wirral. Now a member of the group steering the Borough of Culture for 2024, Alison’s determined to make the year as colourful, inventive and essential as the work she creates.
“I”m really excited about having my own studio too,” she says of her new Wellington Road practice, in Oxton, where other makers gather and organise workshops and open gallery tours too. “I”m currently learning how to weld. I’m not a natural, I have to be honest,” she says.
Alison runs an artist network online too, called Art on Wirral - the Left Bank of the Mersey. “We now have 2,500 members,” she says. “We have in-person meet ups, and it’s great to chat to people, and see what inspires them to make art. We’re planning another in Rock Ferry soon.”
“It’s good to get yourself connected,” Alison says.
We can think of no one better to connect to.
