There's Enough Space for Everyone — Ashleigh Kane in Conversation
Ashleigh
Kane
Dazed & Confused Arts & Culture Editor · 2013–2020
The Face · i-D · Highsnobiety · AnOther · Elephant
Thursday's Child · eye spied newsletter
Melbourne & London
Your greatest inspirations or influences?
The people I surround myself with. Whether that's IRL or online. I'm lucky to have lived in London for 11 years, amongst a community of the most forward-thinking minds in art, fashion, music, photography. With Covid, and when I'm in Australia, that shifts to existing almost wholly online, and I find a lot of amazing connections can happen there if you allow them.
I'm inspired every day. I love going to museums and galleries because in those spaces is where I do my best thinking. Something sparks an idea, and then it flows like that. It might be something on the wall, a text in the catalogue, or something in the gift shop.
"I love going to museums and galleries because in those spaces is where I do my best thinking. Something sparks an idea, and then it flows like that."
You've done a lot of things in the creative world. What are some of your greatest achievements or career highlights?
I'm really proud of the work I did while at Dazed, discovering and supporting some of the photographers, filmmakers, and artists who are now the best in the world. I was always very aware of the power and reach of Dazed as a platform, and I wanted to do my best to widen the landscape to allow more voices and more experiences in.
The most rewarding moment in my career was running the Dazed+Labs photography workshops at the Rugby Portobello Trust youth club in West London with Eddie Otchere. There was something very special about those Tuesday evenings, and I hope we can get back to teaching after Covid.
as Arts & Culture Editor
2013 — 2020
How has this year changed your creativity and work process?
Dazed was a small team, so I always have worked on my own, with a network of freelancers. It was just myself looking after Art + Photography content. So communicating via email or on the phone is native. As an after-hours freelancer, I already had a few years working in cafes or at my kitchen table, conducting interviews, writing features, consulting, curating, etc.
With Thursday's Child, our lifeblood is in creating shoots, so that obviously changed a lot. We were lucky because the business is already nimble, global, and a community full of young image-makers whose ways of working are already small but with huge ideas — so adapting to restrictions, shrinking teams, and local shoots was something we were already doing pre-Covid.
Who do you consider to be an icon of our time?
There are so many, but one of those is Munroe Bergdorf. She is a great role model for young people to look up to. So much grace and strength, even in the face of great adversity. She's the people's queen. There are so many people doing good in the world, but she stands out.
"People are creating their own platforms from scratch, in their own ways, and those are some of the best out there. If the entrance to the art world is widening, then that's only a good thing."
What do you think about all these new platforms popping up and sometimes people with zero experience trying to sell art?
If you're pretending to sell art, that's not good — that's probably a scam and people should do their background checks. But otherwise I think it's great that the art world is finding ways of democratising. We have been conditioned to believe that the way the art world works now is how it should. But that's not true. The art world has long been a single-step ladder, and there's barely any rungs left.
For people with zero experience who are doing their thing, trying to take a piece of the pie — good for them. I didn't have any experience when I got into the art world, so if the gatekeepers had pushed me back, I don't know where I'd be now. Experience, to me, doesn't come from having a school degree or nepotism — but that's traditionally what it's seen as.
I never looked at anyone's CV beyond their contact details. I only looked at the work they were presenting me and how they spoke about what they do, what they make, or what they write about. There's enough space for everyone.
Antakly Projects — originally Ninu Nina — has been in conversation with the most inspiring voices in art, fashion, music, photography and culture since 2003. We search for inspiration so we can inspire and connect.
Explore the archive — search our interviews with fashion editors, photographers, designers, artists, and the people shaping culture. There's enough space for everyone.
Keep widening the landscape. ✦And for the personal rants on life, opinions you didn't ask for, and the occasional existential spiral: follow me on Substack.
