"With the turn of a new decade came an intersectional crossroad. Following the murder of GEORGE FLOYD and the outbreak of a global pandemic, the world has been forced to wake up - and fast. These were situations where second chances were no longer an option. Industries were forced to look within and ask themselves: how can we do better? For gallerist Ellie Pennick, this meant beginning again.
Founder of the Guts Gallery, a platform supporting underrepresented contemporary voices, Pennick recognised the responsibility as a cultural institution to implement anti-racist strategies. Accepting that raising awareness was by no means full measure, Pennick, whose footing began through her frustration at the politics of the art world - receiving a place at the Royal College of Art but unable to attend due to her financial status - began to question the wider social austerity within the arts. Recognising it as 'a system that disproportionately benefits people who do not experience racial oppression, gender or class discriminations,' Pennick launched Guts to generate a fair art-business model, 'worth far more importance to me than a piece of paper with a Masters grade on it.'"
