Having the commitment of fellow artists and the enthusiasm they have shown, has really excited me about what can be achieved with this project.
Initially I tried to pull a meeting together so we could all discuss what and how it would all work. But this proved quite difficult and although we did have a meeting it was moved quite a few times before a date could get at least half the group together.
This scared me a little as I thought that we really needed to get together to make things happen, agree agendas, timeframes, etc. I soon realised that if it was to succeed I would have to relax about this as everyone – including myself was really busy. I’d have to just take the lead and hope they followed, thankfully everyone has been really supportive and encouraging so far and progress has been to everyone’s liking.
After gathering a team of artists I contacted Philly to ensure she was up for our proposal and gave her an idea of rough timescales. I initially thought we could have it done by xmas. She was really keen on the idea of not just raising money but getting the children involved which was great.
Putting my thinking cap on I also thought if there was synergy with the BIG Issue model, maybe we could get John Bird on board – be our auctioneer for instance. You don’t ask you don’t get, so I started contact with the Big Issue, see if I could make this happen. I also contacted the Bolivian Embassy here in London; see if they would be interested in associating themselves with our project.
We were now in the run up to the Olympics and everyone was either involved in this or on holiday escaping it! Initial investigations into possible venues were proving tricky in the lead up to xmas too, then we heard Philly had had a nasty bike accident, badly injuring her shoulder. She also wasn’t sure the reciprocal nature of the project would work as a lot of the children I had originally met had now moved on, meaning the photos I already had were no use. Philly also had holiday planned in September.
It was all pointing the same way – we had to slow the project down. Plan the auction for the New Year. Maybe then getting the right people and venues in place would be easier.
