The Artists' Choice

Being an artist is, first and foremost, a choice.

Today, however, it is a choice that is becoming increasingly difficult to make, and even

more difficult to sustain. Contemporary artists are expected not only to develop their

practice, but also to navigate funding, self-promotion, networking, administration and

commercial pressures, often within systems that leave little room for alternative paths.

Success is frequently measured through established routes and institutional

expectations, leaving many artists feeling they must adapt their practice to existing

structures rather than develop it on their own terms. At a time when artists are

increasingly building independent careers beyond the traditional gallery model,

questions of sustainability, collaboration and self-organisation have become central to

contemporary artistic practice.

Rabbits' Choice emerged from this experience. Rather than asking how artists can

better adapt to existing systems, we ask a different question: how do we create

structures that better support artists on their journey and help to sustain their career?

The philosophy behind the project is embedded in its name. Throughout history, the

rabbit has symbolised paradoxes: fragility and resilience, instinct and uncertainty,

caution and curiosity. Within Rabbits' Choice, it becomes a metaphor for the

contemporary creator, someone constantly navigating external expectations while

making conscious decisions about their practice, their collaborations and the direction of

their work. Freedom, in this context, is not understood as the absence of limitations, but

as the ability to continue making meaningful choices despite them.

How do we create structures that better support artists on their journey and help to sustain their career?

This philosophy extends beyond artistic production. Creative practices rarely develop in

a linear progression. The most significant opportunities often emerge through

conversation, experimentation, shared experiences and relationships formed during the

creative process itself. Collaboration is therefore understood not as a final outcome, but

as a methodology, a way of thinking, working and allowing ideas to evolve. Rather than

pursuing predetermined results, Rabbits' Choice seeks to create the conditions in which

unexpected encounters can lead to new projects, partnerships and ways of working.

One of the ways this philosophy takes shape is through a new series of Creative Labs,

launching from October 2026 through to January 2027. Each Lab is developed

collaboratively with an invited artist, using their practice as the starting point for

collective experimentation around themes of vulnerability, identity and sexuality. Rather

than functioning as workshops or networking events, the Labs create space for artists

and creative professionals to test ideas, build relationships and discover new ways of

working together, allowing collaborations to emerge organically rather than in response

to predetermined outcomes.

Collaboration is therefore understood not as a final outcome, but as a methodology, a way of thinking, working and allowing ideas to evolve.

The Creative Labs build upon the collaborative methodology introduced during Rabbits'

Choice's recent pop-up studio presentation, developed around the themes of fragility,

sexuality and identity that define Maria Cohen's artistic practice. Rather than inviting

collaborators to contribute independently, the project explored how a single body of ideas could evolve across different creative languages. This became the starting point

for the collaboration with Deep Food, who developed Board of Dinner, an AI-gamified

edible experience conceived specifically for the event. Inspired by the curatorial

question Can a Rabbit Eat a Wolf?, the experience invited participants to engage with

Cohen's exploration of power, vulnerability and identity through food, artificial

intelligence and collective participation. Rather than producing parallel works, the

collaboration demonstrated how one artistic practice can become the catalyst for

another, with a shared concept continually expanding and being reinterpreted as it

moves between different disciplines.

Ultimately, Rabbits' Choice asks whether artists should continue adapting to existing

cultural structures, or whether new structures can emerge around artists themselves.

Rather than prescribing a single definition of success, the project seeks to expand the

choices available to creative practitioners by fostering the conditions in which multiple

paths, collaborations and sustainable forms of practice can develop.