Michelle Baharier, sitting at a table during Baharier's artist talk at the Creations Atelier group exhibition Metamorphosis. There are paintings exhibited on the wall behind them.

Artist Talk / Creations Atelier Podcast

28 April 2025

Finding Voice Through Art: Artist Talk 

 

Everything I do is Art. My Artist Talk during the group exhibition Metamorphosis at Marylbone Parish Church, London.

 

A discussion on what it means to live as an artist.

Michelle Baharier

The discussion, organised by artists Natalia Giacomino and Paola Minekov from Creations Atelier, widened into a collective reflection on childhood memories, political realities, the disability community and everyday experiences seep into art. 

 

I didn’t become an artist—I’ve always been one. From the age of five, when I cried because I couldn’t take my handmade witch collage home to my mum, art has been how I’ve understood and navigated the world.

 

For me, as a multidisciplinary artist. being an artist isn’t just about being a painter. It’s about having something to say—about disability, about being a woman, about injustice—and finding the right form to say it. Sometimes that’s a painting. Sometimes it’s a performance or a piece of sound art recorded on a London bus.

 

Growing up dyslexic, I was often misunderstood and underestimated. I didn’t get the usual qualifications. I had to blag my way into art school with bags of sketchbooks and handmade clothes. I failed my A-levels, but I got into an MA anyway. I’ve always found a way.

 

I’ve run play centres, squatted studios, and built a mental health arts charity from scratch! I’ve dressed loud when people said to blend in. I’ve painted witches because they are symbols of powerful women—many of whom, like me, never got invited to the party.

 

Art gives me a voice.

 

But more importantly, it gives others a way to see. And once a work leaves my hands, it’s not mine anymore—it’s yours to connect with, however you want.

Everything I do is art. Even walking.

 

Tune in and add your comments here: https://creationsatelier.substack.com/p/finding-voice-through-art-artist

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