Venue Search Continued
The Novas Contemporary Urban Centre.
Both Tommy and I called at The Novas in person a few times because it was always difficult getting hold of the Arts Team on the phone. They were busy arranging exhibitions, I expect! I had emailed Carla Weaver a few times explaining our needs and she said we were welcome to go there and look round any time.
One of Carla’s staff members showed Tommy the larger exhibition space upstairs, and later took both of us (plus Des) round the smaller gallery downstairs. I took some photographs of this space, complete with current exhibition, to show the other students back at college. We discovered that this smaller gallery was the room which last year’s Gallery Practice Group had hired, and decided that this space would meet our requirements especially as we are a much smaller group this year. The rest of the students agreed and approved of our decision.
A few days later Carla and Tommy made the deal and a fee was agreed on. Fortunately this fee was to cover the hire of the room for ten days instead of seven which we had previously arranged. Tommy, Emma and I returned again just before Christmas to sign the contract. Stevie, a member of staff kindly took us round one of their exhibitions by an American/turned local artist. Extraordinary Drawings by Laurie Lipton was a large collection of amazing pencil and graphite art works, based on real life crimes and events, as well as taken from the artist’s gruesome imagination.
Tommy took the cheque to Carla over Christmas. Part of the money raised came from our Gallery Practice fundraising cake sale and Tombola – just before we broke up for the holidays. Michelle organized a table for us outside the lifts at Twelve Quays which we manned all day. And one of the third years kindly provided a huge box of fairy cakes which proved to be very popular. I made some flapjacks and everybody in our group donated unwanted gifts and festive goods for the table.
We are holding another Tombola event on the 11th February and will be donating unwanted Christmas gifts for this sale and raffle. I think this time we are going to improve on our system and have the winning tickets ending in a five or a nought (which is what the punters were all expecting last time!). We are aiming for a bit of a Valentine’s Day theme and are hoping for donations of romantic candles, chocolates and sexy underwear!
