I've just joined OUTPOST, an artist committee run gallery in Norwich. Instead of paying an annual subscription, you get the option of doing a day's invigilation at the gallery, and that was what I chose to do. I'd heard nothing following my application, then on Wednesday I received a phonecall asking if I could invigilate for a private view that evening.
Anglia Square is a slightly seedy shopping precinct in one of the poorer parts of Norwich. OUTPOST has managed to borrow five empty shops there, and have transformed them into fantastic-looking galleries. Especially fantastic as Norwich just doesn't have contemporary galleries like that in the normal run of things. For the month of July, five British artist-run galleries were invited to nominate an artist to take on each of the spaces. Then, for August, the galleries were handed over to five European galleries/artist organisations.
'My' gallery was that of Les Complices* from Zurich. Their artist, Edit Oderbolz, had taken up the carpet in the ex-charity shop, turned it over, divided it into segments and glued it to the walls and ceiling leaving the floor pitted and bare. Spending time in the room I increasingly appreciated the way the space had been used, and even got used to the smell! It was interesting to talk to the artist and the gallerist, and I bumped into various people I knew from art school too, so all in all it felt good to be part of something that seemed so dynamic and exciting. A far cry, frankly, from my perception of the majority of the Norfolk art scene.
Meanwhile I've been slaving over a hot computer and, with Trevor's help, the pdf of Kalender 3 ('Big Bonfires and Relics Issue') is cooking as I write this. Then I'll email it to the printer and hopefully be able to pick up the 180 copies later this afternoon. And then I can start rubber-stamping each one, filling cellophane bags with this issue's free gift and stapling them to the covers. Absolutely no let-up!
And … the next festival – St Christopher's Day – is next Tuesday.
www.re-title.com/artists/imogen-bardwell.asp
www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/Imogen+Bardwell/41443.html
