Deborah Duffin

'Organise Your Own Exhibition - A Guide For Artists' pub. ACME 1987, Pub. AN Publications.

Deborah worked for ACME from 1982 - 86. One of her responsibilities was to organise bookings of the Showroom, a hire gallery run by ACME. Taking an interest in the shows and the exhibiting artists, she went to all the shows and as she talked to the exhibiters, she found some struggled with aspects of organising their shows and were disappointed with the audience numbers. "I suggested to Jonathan Harvey, one of the directors of ACME, that we produce a leaflet to help the exhibiting artists. He thought this was a good idea, and if I wrote it, he would edit it. It turned into a 40,000-word book. With an Arts Council grant and support from the British Council, it sold well in Britain and worldwide, becoming a standard text in college and university libraries.'  The book was subsequently taken on by AN Publications, it went into several editions and became one of the publishers best-selling books.

'Investigating Galleries' Pub AN Publications 1994

'Investigating Galleries', came out of Deborah's continued interest in the subject of exhibiting as she developed a lecture tour based on her first book. She found this subject came up regularly at seminars and raised many issues for students and artists. For artists exhibiting is central to their work and careers, but many found it a challenge to get started, develop a career and navigate the art world. Deborah proposed writing a book to throw light on this essential subject. AN Publications took the idea on and, again with Arts Council support, the book became another best seller within their inventory. 'It was an exciting opportunity to ask all the questions I had always wanted to ask curators and gallery owners myself. I approached a wide variety of people working in the sector, everyone I asked agreed to be interviewed, and their generosity in giving their time and answering all my questions in open and accessible ways, was a truly humbling experience.'

'Directory of Exhibition Spaces' Pub AN Publications. 1985

As one of AN's established writers, Deborah was asked to take on some of the work of compiling a comprehensive list of galleries and exhibiting spaces around the country. She worked on the writing up of several areas of the country, and wrote an introductory essay: 'Making an Informed Choice', to enable artists to make the most of the publication and use it to develop their exhibiting careers.

'New Feminist Art Criticism' ed Katy Deepwell, Pub Manchester University Press, 1995

Katy Deepwell was working on 'New Feminist Art Criticism' commissioned by Manchester University - a comprehensive look at the art world from a feminist perspective and Deborah was one of a number of practising artists invited to contribute a chapter to the book. She was asked to explore exhibiting strategies. 'By this time, women made up the majority of art students and practising artists (around 65-70%) , but they were massively under-represented in the gallery system. The top galleries and venues showed around 90% male artists, particularly as regards solo shows. Women, however, often dominated the small venues, with few resources and a more local & community approach. I wanted to explore ideas to enable women artists to flourish in this world and learn strategies to help them achieve their ambitions.'