Iceman: You can be my wingman anytime.
Maverick: Bullshit. You can be mine.
Top Gun, 1986
Between 2020-2023, Action Hero ran a yearly residency for mid-career artists called You Can Be My Wingman with a focus on collaborative practice. Each year, 10 artists working in pairs joined Action Hero and an international artist-mentor to spend a week resting, reflecting and making space for new collaborative ideas. Action Hero cooked all the food, the artists spent time doing whatever they liked alongside the mentor. It was like a spa week for your artistic practice.
This project was funded as part of Action Hero’s National Portfolio funding, which was awarded to the company bt Arts Council England between 2018-2023.
2023 participants w/mentor Karen Christopher at Dartington Hall and Coombe Farm Studios
Simone French & Paula Varjack
Hannah Sullivan & Ania Varez
Luca Rutherford & Jemima Yong
Rachael Clerke & Clara Potter-Sweet
Tom Marshman & Karen McLeod
2022 participants w/ mentor Britt Hatzius at Dartington Hall
Jo Bannon & Augusto Corrieri
Hester Chillingworth and Anna Clock
Amy Sharrocks and Selina Thompson
Marlo De Lara, Natalie Hyacinth & Shanti Suki Osman
Omikemi and the river Dart
2021 participants, self-directed at AH’s Bristol studio
Gwen Thomson & Gwen Hales
Saqib Deshmukh & Yasmin Begum
2020 participants w/ mentor Maiko Yamamoto at Dartington Hall
Sue MacLaine & Hannah Ringham
Chloe Dechery & Karen Christopher
Dan Canham & Caroline Williams
Vera Chok & Tanuja Amarasuriya
Racquel Meseguer-Zafe & Liz Crow
Maverick: Bullshit. You can be mine.
Top Gun, 1986
Between 2020-2023, Action Hero ran a yearly residency for mid-career artists called You Can Be My Wingman with a focus on collaborative practice. Each year, 10 artists working in pairs joined Action Hero and an international artist-mentor to spend a week resting, reflecting and making space for new collaborative ideas. Action Hero cooked all the food, the artists spent time doing whatever they liked alongside the mentor. It was like a spa week for your artistic practice.
This project was funded as part of Action Hero’s National Portfolio funding, which was awarded to the company bt Arts Council England between 2018-2023.
2023 participants w/mentor Karen Christopher at Dartington Hall and Coombe Farm Studios
Simone French & Paula Varjack
Hannah Sullivan & Ania Varez
Luca Rutherford & Jemima Yong
Rachael Clerke & Clara Potter-Sweet
Tom Marshman & Karen McLeod
2022 participants w/ mentor Britt Hatzius at Dartington Hall
Jo Bannon & Augusto Corrieri
Hester Chillingworth and Anna Clock
Amy Sharrocks and Selina Thompson
Marlo De Lara, Natalie Hyacinth & Shanti Suki Osman
Omikemi and the river Dart
2021 participants, self-directed at AH’s Bristol studio
Gwen Thomson & Gwen Hales
Saqib Deshmukh & Yasmin Begum
2020 participants w/ mentor Maiko Yamamoto at Dartington Hall
Sue MacLaine & Hannah Ringham
Chloe Dechery & Karen Christopher
Dan Canham & Caroline Williams
Vera Chok & Tanuja Amarasuriya
Racquel Meseguer-Zafe & Liz Crow