I live in Vancouver, Canada, where outsider art is relatively unknown. I learned about art brut in my days as a university undergraduate but didn’t encounter outsider art until much later in life. It delivered a visceral punch, and still does.

I began exploring outsider art through books and art exhibitions and then began my own research on outsider artists in Canada. I recorded my research in a blog, which has since been re-built as this website. I attended international conferences, completed an internship at Intuit (the outsider art museum in Chicago), interviewed curators and gallerists, and travelled across Canada to meet outsider artists and learn about their practice.

One thing led to another and, mid-way through a career in law, I completed my master’s degree on the topic of outsider art (Outsider Art – Forty Years Out). A book about Canadian outsider art is underway. It has been an incredible journey.

Linda Rainaldi