artist interviews
tate bennett
@tateisalive, thirty one, he/him
what is your art form?
actor, writer, storyteller.
what do you do and why do you do it?
it fuels a passion in me that has been burning my whole life.
who/what has inspired you in your artistic practice and why?
when it comes to acting, in a lot of ways everybody that i have ever interacted with has had some influence on my life. whether it be somebody walking down the street, a long time friend or a family member.
in writing and creating it is the creativity of others. light breathes life which in turn inspires creativity.
what do you think your role is as an artist? has anything stopped you from fulfilling this role?
very subjective in a sense but my role is to create, to inspire, to learn, to grow. sure things get in the way but that is where we can either concede or adapt. sometimes ideas just aren't great, and accepting that self criticism is always hard.
people, capacity, time, money... especially money... are often the biggest killers of dreams or aspirations. being told that you have a great idea but nobody can help is also a big one when you need to rely on others to help fulfil these ideas becomes increasingly harder when nobody is on board.
what have been the biggest challenges in your artistic journey?
being put on a pedestal is always intimidating, especially when you know that you absolutely have to supersede the expectations put alongside you, else you feel like a failure and that is when big time imposter syndrome strikes.
do you believe that good art comes from turmoil and suffering, or is that a romantic notion?
good art can come from anything. annoyingly sometimes the things you put the least effort into get traction, not just from other people but sometimes yourself.
but suffering for the art, embracing the passion that you feel to really commit yourself to something, breeds an entirely different side of art.
how do you feel your age impacts your experience as an artist?
it used to quite significant. nowadays i feel like the communities and circles i am a part of embrace everybody for being a creative mind and having that mindset.
what about your gender/race/sexuality/disability etc.?
now, this is important. i am a cis straight white male and i recognise i have such privilege in life and the arts. in a world where sometimes literally just showing up as a male gets you into a show is a joke. this isn't to say that i don't work hard now, but when i was younger i didn't realise just how bad things were and by not actively working to come to this realisation i was a part of the problem. Ignorance was bliss. i have been so incredibly fortunate in all of my endeavours and i will continue to work hard and encourage everybody to do their best regardless of the situation, whether they have the job booked or not, no matter the outcome already because that is the least of what is fair. striving to do better, be better and stamp out this bullshit.
when it comes to art, what would you tell your younger self?
wake up everyday as if it were on purpose.