Bobby Baker is a woman, and an artist. She lives in London, England. In a career spanning four decades she has, amongst other things, danced with meringue ladies; made a life-sized edible version of her family; and driven around the streets of London strapped to the back of a truck yelling at passers by through a megaphone to ‘Pull Yourselves Together.’
Baker’s touring exhibition Diary Drawings: Mental Illness and Me premiered at the Wellcome Collection in 2009. The accompanying book of the same name won the Mind Book of the Year 2011. Her most recent show, Mad Gyms & Kitchens, was commissioned as part of London 2012 Unlimited for the Cultural Olympiad.
Baker is the Artistic Director of Daily Life Ltd, part of the Arts Council National Portfolio.
**EXCLUSIVE NEW FEATURE** Find out more about Bobby Baker via an RPA partner journal
Daily Life Ltd (DLL) believes in the radical potential of art to transform our understanding of ourselves, and our relationship to the world around us. We promote the abilities of people with experience of mental health issues through the arts, collaborative research and diverse participation.
Baker is a past recipient of three separate Wellcome Arts Awards, and occupies a uniquely expert professional and personal position in the worlds of both the arts and mental health. Following an AHRC Creative Fellowship at QMUL she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in 2011.
DLL has a long track record producing high-calibre participatory arts projects incorporating performance, visual, digital, research and collaborative processes. Last year (2012) they reached 150,000+ people through their work.
They are currently developing The Daily Life Project (TDLP), a 3-year exploration of the East End, on the ground and online, to meet individuals from all walks of life who have personal experience of mental health issues. TDLP aims to discover and promote people’s unacknowledged expertise at developing creative strategies for daily living.
Photograph © Andrew Whittuck
