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Digging through the archives always brings up some interesting memories, but this one stands out as a proper defining moment in my DIY journey. Back in 2013, I had the chance to exhibit my work at Strummercamp Punk Festival, a raw, independent celebration of punk spirit inspired by the ethos of Joe Strummer. This was not just any exhibition, it were the first time visual art had been featured at the festival, and it were about as far from a pristine gallery space as you could get (Hurrah!). Thanks to Paul Aitch Art (seriously, go and check out his work if you have not already), I had the opportunity to be part of something truly special. The exhibition space? A makeshift tent with art hung on some fishing nets my friend borrowed us, right in the thick of the festival, surrounded by noise, chaos, and the relentless energy of punk. And just to make things even more memorable, the whole thing happened in the middle of a proper torrential rainstorm, thunder and lightning cracking across the sky on the saturday night nearly blowing the whole tent down. Stressful maybe at the time, but the perfect backdrop really looking back!
The work I was showing at the time were from a project imagining an apocalyptic Manchester, a visual project that sat alongside the music we produced in our anarchopunk band Black Light Mutants - a place where the old world had crumbled, leaving behind a wasteland where mutants roamed the ruins and punks danced defiantly in the face of oblivion. It was all about rebellion, survival, and finding beauty in the aftermath of the collapse. A fitting theme for a punk festival, do you not think?
There were no white walls, no hushed conversations about "meaning." Just soaked canvases, dirt under our boots, and folk engaging with the art in the most honest way possible. I think art should be for everyone, not just for those who can afford to sip wine in a gallery (gross!). That is what DIY is all about, taking up space, creating on your own terms, and bringing art back to the people who live and breathe it.
The weekend were a blur of bands, getting drunk with some polish lads, after party nudity and chaos, wonderful conversations, and that electric feeling of being part of something you get only from a punk fest! With the main stage blasting punk anthems nearby, the exhibition space became its own kind of gathering point, artists sharing ideas, handing out my free political prints and zines, punks swapping stories, and the ever-present risk of another downpour keeping us all on edge then eventually surrendering to a space in the pub on the Sunday afternoon!
Looking back, it is moments like this that remind me why I do what I do. Punk and DIY art are about resilience, about creating in the margins, about rejecting the idea that you need permission to make something meaningful, make something happen. Whether it is music, painting, zines, or a pop-up show in a muddy field, this is where the real culture lives.