WITH Collective Members | Al Hopwood Studio

Years of therapy or trying painfully hard to be interesting can be skirted with just one call to WITH. SOMA Magazine.

To mark the 20th year of my WITH project I am launching WITH Collective - an invite-only membership scheme that is a rewarding way to support the future of the project. There are two levels of membership to explore with a variety of enjoyable benefits, including access to private WITH events and the commissioning of new WITH artworks.

Throughout 2024 I'm redesigning the WITH website, distributing a new series of WITH adverts and developing proposals for new exhibitions, live performances and broadcast projects. Support from WITH Collective members will be an integral part of the creative development these initiatives and I'd love you to come along for the ride.

Full details are listed below and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

With Us
1,000£
Every year
- A WITH limited edition each year of support
- Two WITH events per year
- A digital edition of a WITH solution advert
- A WITH 'me at work now' temporary tattoo
- Annual Xmas gathering for WITH Collective members
- VIP invites to all WITH related activity
- A members only quarterly newsletter
With You
2,500£
Every year
- A unique WITH artwork each year of support
- A WITH limited edition each year of support
- Two WITH events per year
- A digital edition of a WITH solution advert
- Two WITH 'me at work now' temporary tattoos
- Annual Xmas gathering for WITH Collective members
- VIP invites to all WITH related activity
- A members only quarterly newsletter

These benefits are offered in year one of your membership. In year two you will receive new WITH artworks. Minimum membership is 12 months.

Unique artwork

Each With You member can commission one of the following unique WITH artworks.

A mystery WITH solution

You can commission evidence of a WITH agent performing a 'solution' on your behalf. Visit the project website to see examples.

Each WITH solution will be presented on a WITH branded hard-drive. A single image will be printed and framed from the commission and presented with a signed certificate of authenticity.

Image: Fomona: Social Mediator. (Detail). WITH solution commissioned by Museum of Old and New Art, Tasmania.

A WITH TV commission

You can commission a single page WITH TV film storyboard that fictionalises an experience from your past. Visit the project website to learn more.

Each storyboard is hand-drawn in digital graphite on an iPad Pro. The drawing is printed on Permajet Heritage 310gsm paper (size: 420 x 297mm) Presented with a signed certificate of authenticity.

Image: Beg Forgiveness, Not Permission. (Detail). WITH TV storyboard commissioned by Ceri Hand.

Limited edition artworks

Each With You and With Us member will receive the following limited editions

As a patron you can choose to have a WITH TV commission created

A mystery WITH edition

You will receive a limited edition WITH artwork that features evidence of an agent performing a solution on behalf of all WITH Collective members. The edition will be presented as a single image (or object) and as a digital collectable.

WITH Solution Advert

You will receive an authenticated, digital collectable edition of a WITH solution advert. You can choose one advert for each year of membership. You can see the available adverts on the homepage of the WITH website.

Events and other benefits

Two events per year

I will host at least two WITH events per year for WITH Collective members. Events will include live performances, mystery tours and special guests.*

*Events may be online and/or in person.

'Me At Work Now' Tattoo

WITH Collective members will receive a different temporary 'me at work now' tattoo each year of support. This means you can claim all experiences as a valid form of work for a period of your choosing.

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Xmas gathering

WITH Collective members will be invited to a Xmas drink at a delightful gastro pub in London. There may also be some WITH antics at play...

Image for illustration purposes only

Get in Touch

Please feel free to get in touch to ask any questions about the WITH Collective scheme.

Please note that after ordering you will receive a welcome pack within 2 weeks that will include details about your limited edition art work.

What is WITH?

Al Hopwood has worked under the satirical guise of 'WITH' since 2004, creating playful conceptual artworks through a series of Solutions. Whether creating evidence of a happier (or more traumatic) past, playing out a worst case scenario or exercising on your behalf, WITH claim to offer their clients "time-saving solutions for personal growth and individual development". Project partners have included Tate Britain, ICA London, Hayward Gallery, Mona Tasmania and Chapter Cardiff.

WITH has received extensive arts and media coverage, being described by critics as a “brilliantly bizarre spoof”; as a project that could have been the “brainchild of Andy Warhol”, and as “the most original artist project in Britain today”. It uses humour and an innovative storytelling framework as a potent tool to encourage discussion about the impact of digital culture and role of fiction in our lives. As curator Emma Ridgway said in her essay ‘WITH: Life Enhancement Solutions’, “The implicit intention of WITH [...] is to jolt each individual from being a self-conscious visitor to being a self-aware, critical, thinking viewer.” Visit the WITH website to learn more.

Al Hopwood is an award-winning artist, writer and curator. Over a 25-year career, he has made performance and exhibition projects with leading galleries including Tate Britain, Hayward Gallery, ICA London, Wellcome Collection, Espacio Fundación Telefónica Madrid, Science Gallery Bengaluru, Talbot Rice Gallery and Mona Tasmania. He was the first visual artist to receive a prestigious Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellowship and in 2019, he curated (with Honor Beddard) the landmark exhibition Smoke and Mirrors: The Psychology of Magic at Wellcome Collection. He has attracted extensive media coverage from leading art / science magazines, national newspapers, and international broadcasters, including the BBC and ABC Australia. His work is in private collections in the UK, USA, and Europe, and he was recently awarded an unconditional PhD by Publication from the University of Westminster. He is currently an AKO Storytelling Fellow at the University of the Arts London. CV