Marley Starskey Butler is joining Beacon Family Services as an Incidental Artist. Their practice as a Social Worker has spanned has spanned child protection, fostering, adoption, and mental health. Have you ever wondered what an Incidental Artist does? Read on…
We are delighted to announce that Marley Starskey Butler, a qualified Social Worker and Artist, is joining Beacon Family Services as an Incidental Artist, in collaboration with Eastside Projects and supported by a Wheatley Fellowship from Birmingham School of Art, Birmingham City University.
What is an Incidental Artist?
The Incidental Art of the Eastside Project is influenced by the work of the Artist Placement Group, formed in the 1960s. The concept behind incidental art is that linking art and creation to industry – anything from factories to government offices – can offer a much-welcomed fresh perspective to further the work and help it line up with people’s needs, not solely business goals.
At Beacon Family Services, understanding the impact of the support we offer to families matters. It helps us show how our therapeutic services make a real difference. We’re always looking for creative ways to share these stories, which is why we’re excited to welcome Marley to work with us. Through observation, and artwork, they’ll capture moments that highlight the relationships, emotions, and everyday interactions that shape our work. This fresh perspective will help bring our stories to life in a way that words and statistics alone cannot.
Marley, we are so happy to have you join us. Can you explain to our parents more about your aims for this project, and about the nature of your role as an Incidental Artist with Beacon Family Services?
The project is influenced by the Artist Placement Group, where the focus of the placement was on the context and the process through which the artist engages with the organisation they are placed in. With this, the project has an open brief, allowing me to develop my ideas based on what I learn, gather and ‘to watch the doings and listen to the noises’.
I’m beginning by getting to know the service, having conversations with staff, and learning about the work they do—the what, how, and why—while also considering the wider context in which Beacon sits.
The process begins with the following questions:
- What does this kind of service mean for children and families?
- How can an artist navigate this environment and be helpful whilst creating impactful artworks that facilitate further contemplation and positive action?
- What can an artist propose within this context and these boundaries?
Approaches will include situating myself within the organisational space both directly and indirectly through reflective conversations – beginning how all things should begin, by listening.
Will you have the opportunity to collaborate with and listen to parents and families as part of the project?
Yes – this will take place throughout the year, so parents using Beacon Family Services will hear from me either directly or through the Beacon staff you work with soon.
How has your life’s journey prepared you for this role?
My practice in social work has spanned child protection, fostering, adoption, and mental health. I have been an artist my whole life, and I have familial lived experience of social work. It’s the intersections between these that have prepared me, and given me the lens through which I see the world, to then bring to this project. These experiences lead me to have a sense of curiosity about everything I do, which works well with a role like this.
With degrees in both Cultural Studies with Popular Music Production and in Social Work, what are your thoughts on the importance of creativity and social impact, and how they can intersect?
Creativity as a means of recovery, wellbeing, building resilience, and meaning making for adults, children, and young people with adverse childhood experiences is very important to me and the work I explore.
I believe there are under-explored potentialities in the role of arts-based approaches within different types of social care systems, and the positive impact they could have as part of the fabric of care for the most vulnerable.
I don’t have any preferred media. I work to seek what medium, mediums, or mixture of mediums a given project is asking for, and then bring an arts-based way of thinking to that.
Many of your exhibitions and projects have been local to the West Midlands. What does local community mean to you?
For me, community means the realities of where you are based, who and what you connect with and why, and your sense of home. Most of my life has been in the Midlands, and it is where my roots are. Though community extends beyond physical geography for me, as the word ‘local’ refers to what is near, and what is near can be both an emotional connection and physical. Your emotional neighbourhoods cut across space.
Once the project is complete, where will the final results of your collaboration with Beacon Family Services as Incidental Artist be exhibited?
An exhibition will take place at Eastside Projects in Digbeth, Birmingham, in January 2026.
How can people follow your work and find out more?
The main places to see and follow my work are on my website, and my Instagram account.
Further support for parents
If you or someone you know is struggling with family relationships, Beacon Family Services can help. We provide a range of therapies and resources to support parents, children and families including our Connect For Kids Theraplay® group and parent workshops on a variety of topics, as well as access to peer support groups.
For further support, and to see our latest parent events and services, please visit the Families hub.
You can also explore our resources for instant support, including newsletters, online support groups, and much more. You can also read further insights and tips from qualified therapists and professionals on our blog.
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We provide training to use our resources with families and in schools. We partner with professionals, commissioners and organisations to provide in person and online support for families, professional development and training and support and supervision.