“I think that in the beginning there was a need to create differentiation – for example, if you have a child who is autistic you need to know that they are autistic; it helps with their education. But at a certain point that person doesn’t want to be known as an autistic kid any more. And I think that’s the same with outsider art: it helped in the beginning to define something which needed definition; but then it just became very restrictive as a term. That whole inside/outside thing became what everyone wanted to talk about. So I just avoid it. I just think that there are all these unusual, often private makers and that their work is incredibly illuminating,” says Brett. Before tackling The Museum of Everything exhibition it’s important to understand the context in which it was established. Since it has existed, the art world, as defined by its commercial and institutional roots, has nurtured a culture of what some would perhaps call elitism. This inner sanctum of artistic production favours artists who have taken the traditional route of academic training and adhere to the beliefs, philosophies, standards, and agendas of the so called “mainstream.” The Museum of Everything focuses on those artists who are not able to conform to the standards of convention and tradition, whether it be because of a mental or physical illness or impediment, a life of isolation or seclusion, a lack of academic training, divergent or conflicting views or philosophies, or because of a number of other reasons. By identifying this dichotomy of the art world I am not attempting to pass judgement on its merit or value, but merely stating that it exists. The Museum of Everything exhibition is proof of this. According to Brett, mainstream museums generally, but not always, don’t allow non-academic makers to be included in their shows. “Tate Modern in Britain is about Fine Art – modernism. They won’t show Henry Darger for that reason. They won’t show 99 percent of these artists for that reason.” he says. “Because these makers are not taught. These makers are not making art about art. So within the known cultural histories they often don’t exist – they are invisible.” It’s interesting to note that there’s very little formal evidence that the artists in The Museum of Everything exhibition are working outside the boundaries of convention and tradition. The existence of obsessive mark making, the repetitive depiction of particular motifs, the abundant and sometimes overwhelming textual elements, and the expressions of rather unconventional views, beliefs, and ideologies that sometimes venture into the realms of fantasy and fanaticism are the only real indications that what you are looking at is not what you usually encounter in a mainstream museum or gallery. There’s also some dominant themes that emerge as the exhibition unfolds, in particular themes encompassing topics relating to religion, spirituality, politics, sexuality, and gender. These themes are not unusual in themselves, but the way the artists approach and address them sometimes is – not that this is a bad thing in any way! One of the most astounding aspects of The Museum of Exhibition is just how many of the works in the exhibition could be said to rival or even outshine the work of some of the world’s most famous contemporary and modern masters. Gifted blacksmith and self-taught sculptor Georges Liautaud’s Calder-like silhouettes, the Gauguin-esque paintings of Sebian artist Sava Sekulić, Pietro Ghizzardi’s Beckmann and Picasso-rivaling expressionist portraits, and Russian artist Viktor Kulikov’s Hockney-style daily recordings of the weather are just a few examples. There are many more. Identifying highlights of an exhibition where pretty much every work is amazing and eye opening in its own way is difficult, but some of the other works that really stand out include German artist Hans-Jörg Georgi’s fantastic cardboard models of aircraft, Julia Krause-Harder’s cable-tied found object creatures, both from Atelier Goldstein in Germany, and self-taught Indian artist Nek Chand Saini’s enchanting figurative mosaic sculptures, to name but a few. Brett says he sometimes feels like Dan Akroyd and John Belushi in The Blues Brothers, sitting in front of James Brown or Cab Calloway, saying: “We’re on a mission from God”. “I don’t mean to sound like a minister, but The Museum of Everything is on a mission” he says. “We inherited that from our artists, like Sister Gertrude Morgan. Her mission was to preach the Gospel, ours is to preach an alternative visual culture. I do believe that we human beings were made to make, it is inherent in our DNA. It gets programmed out of us as we get older, but creative being and functioning is there for us all. Me, I used to make films - but today my outlet is The Museum of Everything. The Museum of Everything has become my format!”