Everything In Its Right Place With a name like ‘The Museum of Everything,’ one’s right to expect a little bit of this, a little bit of that and a little bit of well… EVERYTHING! In actuality, curator James Brett chooses to emphasise the work of artists that are “untrained, unintentional and undiscovered,” making for a uniquely profound experience of an un-museum like museum. The ‘Exhibit 4D fun begins with the unconventional use of space since there is no order with which to view the works. Sprawling the many- roomed Selfridges basement, every entrance is adorned with dangling streamers and each room contains an eclectic mix of furniture. The works range from paintings to clay sculptures to letters in cryptic, fictional languages – all coming from studios around the world that house individuals with mental or developmental disabilities. The focus though is on this previously obscure artwork rather than the circumstances of its creators. Through this innovative exhibit, James Brett manages to critique the way viewers and museums define an artwork while displaying works that would ordinarily go unseen. As the exhibition comes to a close, we catch-up with James Brett about what’s then, what’s now and what’s next. How did this all begin? I was looking at this kind of work and noticed that very few people were showing this material in the UK, so I thought, “that sounds like fun, let’s show a bit of this to the outside world.” What is your mission? We were surprised by how many people were interested in the work and as a result of that, we carried on the show. We thought we must be doing something right, so we toured it. Seeing how many people turned up seemed to indicate it was the right thing to do. The mission is to carry on while people are coming, to show art by people who aren’t necessarily privileged by the world. Was there something you found more captivating about art made by artists with disabilities? Disability is not really interesting in terms of segregating people, but it did strike me that it was one type of work that wasn’t being seen by anybody. We weren’t looking at disabilities, we were looking at the studios where the artists work. The studios are set up to help them make the art. That process seemed fascinating. Then to come to Selfridges to show it, you’ve got one of the most visible places in London showing some of the least visible artists in the world. That conflict seemed very good. On top of that Selfridges looks like a museum, so the show is there to challenge the museums and their curatorial practice, which was also part of the entire enterprise. Do the artists contact you, or do you seek them out? Both. How do you think making and viewing art affects people? Well, at worst it doesn’t hurt. At best it’s a life-changing experience. If you see a great piece of work that somehow reflects why we exist, then you will have a transcendent moment and that will change your life completely. That’s to do with the creativity in all people since birth, but creative instincts are not really celebrated in the art world. It usually rests upon a sort of formal qualification of art. So, if you Oct 2011