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" At the forefront of the London art world, Sarah McCrory has a reputation for championing young and underrepresented artists, through her work for Frieze (where she was curator from 2010-2013) Glasgow International Festival of Arts (where she currently works) and more. Bazaar caught up with her to discuss why art is important, and her latest project for Monteverdi Gallery in picturesque Tuscany.  Can you tell me a little about your background. Where did you study art? I graduated as an artist from art school in Kingston, and then went and worked for a charity for a couple of years. Later, I decided I wanted to get back into it, so I did a masters degree in curatorship at the Royal College. After that, I fell straight into a job with a commercial gallery but decided to say yes to any kind of project, whether it were commercial or not for profit \u2013 I\u2019ve done the whole gamut. Could you describe an average day? Like any job, there\u2019s the really exciting stuff \u2013 like initiating projects, meeting artists and travelling around the world. But then there&amp;#039;s the less glamorous side - sending out contracts and doing the admin.\u00A0 There has been a lot of talk recently about the value of the arts, particularly in relation to government spending cuts. How would you argue that the arts are important?  It\u2019s really short sighted to keep cutting arts funding. Ultimately, they\u2019re really good value for money \u2013 the amount that goes in is miniscule. It\u2019s a huge employer, and on a day-to-day basis the arts give value to our lives. They relieve us from the daily grind \u2013 they become more and more important the more and more cuts are made!\u00A0 You\u2019ve championed a lot of young artists. Why do you think it is important to do this?  Yes! It makes me sound quite \u201Cright on\u201D but actually it\u2019s the opposite \u2013 it\u2019s because they\u2019re people that I find exciting. Before they are professionalised, working in large studios, there\u2019s a bit more freedom and it feels continuously exciting in the beginning stages when artists are finding their way in the world. I like to follow their progress.\u00A0 Why do you think art fairs like Frieze are important?  Fairs like Frieze are important so that artists can go home at the end of the day and make more work, putting bread on the table so to speak. It\u2019s a very small section of the art world who have their work shown at something like Frieze, but it also gives rise to all of the satellite organisations like Sunday Art Fair, a younger fair, that can help more artists. What it\u2019s spawned gives it extra value. \u00A0 Can you tell me a little about your latest project, the Artists-in-Residence at Monteverdi Gallery? Micahel Cioffi, the gallery owner, had a vision for this incredible location in Tuscany. He\u2019s a philanthropist and a supporter of the arts and he wanted to allow an artist to be resident in this beautiful place and to experience it over a long period of time so it could hopefully have an impact on his or her progress. It\u2019s an inspiring place. Yes, I think so. Most artists work in cities, so when they get to go away from that interesting things happen \u2013 whether they find solace or find it isolating. There are quite old fashioned romantic ideas around the artist alone in the countryside.\u00A0 Why did you decide on Marvin Gaye [formerly known as Spartacus] Chetwynd? I\u2019ve worked with her several times, and I knew she had a history of making paintings but that she had taken a break because the demand for her performance work was so high. Personally, I knew she\u2019d happily walk up to people and introduce herself and make friends \u2013 she\u2019s very gregarious. Plus, I knew she\u2019d produce a fantastic show. Do you think women are underrepresented in the art world?  As the programme goes on, I think it is important for there to be a gender balance, but women are underrepresented in the art world. Consistently, programmes will go out with very few female artists in. It\u2019s up to the programmer and the people who buy art to address that \u2013 positive action! The exhibition will be\u00A0open 21 September 2013 \u2013 8 December 2013,\u00A0Thursday\u00A0and Saturday\u00A010am\u00A0\u2013 6pm, or by appointment. Via di Mezzo,\u00A0Castiglioncello del Trinoro, 53047, Sarteano, Italy.\u00A0 For\u00A0further visitor information, please go to\u00A0www.monteverdituscany.com\u00A0or call +39 (0) 578\u00A0268 146.\u00A0 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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