With beginnings in sculpture and conceptual art in the UK, Kayleigh Heydon moved to Melbourne ten years ago and has since incorporated painting, ceramics and music into her practice.

Don't be offended, but you're probably making your humble cup of tea wrong. When we investigate the subtleties of tea making with Manchester born and raised Kayleigh, it gets heated pretty quick. She's from the North and she needs it strong. Whilst apparently no one wants to be "The Tea Master" in Britain (too much pressure to be the person making everyone's cuppa), they certainly have an opinion on how each one should be made. According to Kayleigh, it can get very political (depending on where you're from).

Something that struck us when we began unpacking the Starving Artist myth were the realities of being an artist in Australia in contrast to the UK. She's very aware of how the myth can be used to "other" people in conversations or interactions and finds it an awful way of devaluing someone who is a professional creative. We all agree that it can be an easy way to create a quick and unbalanced hierarchy where the artist is always at the bottom.

We discuss the elephant in the industry - the gender divide between representation and support of male artists and female / non binary artists.

When it comes to her favourite places in the city of Melbourne, the Preston Market is in her all time top five destinations. You already know how much we love the Preston Market, and it was wonderful to chat about specifics - Kayleigh loves chatting to her favourite butcher and asking for tips and recipe-specific cuts of meat. It's such a crucial community meeting place and we share a collective moment of respect and alarm at the current situation regarding the proposed destruction of the market.

Grab a meticulously made cup of tea and join us as Kayleigh shares her green mango and prawn salad, her kitchen super power and the most epic kitchen disaster story that it left us speechless...

Find us @whatartistseat on Instagram and our website www.whatartistseat.com.au

Links to Kayleigh's work and anything else we chatted about:

• Kayleigh's website
• Kayleigh's instagram
• Artist Brendan Huntly
• Favourite cook - Clare Scrine
• Deuce - Wild Type
• https://www.savetheprestonmarket.com/

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