Do Your Own Thing — Richard Phoenix

Do Your Own Thing is a full-length work of non-fiction from artist and musician RICHARD PHOENIX detailing his experiences of the best underground arts scene you’ve never heard of—Do Your Own Thing, a project run by learning disability arts organisation Heart n Soul. Looking at the transformative potential of working to support creative young people make the music and art they want to, this book contributes essential new voices, reflections and considerations to the established ideas of ‘Do It Yourself’ culture. Phoenix’s book, written with a disarming and idiosyncratic voice, asks what our often reductive understanding of DIY aesthetics might mean in light of questions about access, support and who gives permission to whom to make art, guiding us through the kind of project only spoken about in funding reports and transforming it into a polyphonic, collaborative and joyful work of art.

“A thoughtful meditation on how to shape and hold space with self-determination, a radical proposition in a moment where the framework of institutions is being reimagined and requires individual contributors to stand up, say something, do their own thing.” —Legacy Russell

“This book is hugely important, it offers a glimpse into a community and world and a way of thinking that would benefit everyone.” —Robyn Steward

“A firsthand account of how the spirit of punk—its freedoms as well as its anxious energy—can help make meaningful art and true friends.” —Jeremy Atherton Lin, author of Gay Bar