A New Blue Monkey Network

BLUE MONKEY BRAINSTORM

Looking forward to meeting with the other Monkeys tomorrow to brainstorm ideas for the Network opening programme : )

EASTBOURNE FESTIVAL

The fourth Eastbourne Festival started this weekend, the beginning of 3 weeks of music, arts and literature events in the town. Many Eastbourne artists, including Blue Monkey Studio, open their houses and studios for the festival and it was great to be there at a busy, buzzy Blue Monkey private view on Friday evening. It was also a good opportunity to talk to some East Sussex artists who I don’t see very often and hear their enthusiastic response to, and hopes for the new Network

Yesterday I treated myself to a day off from Census collecting and set out with my long-suffering husband to walk a sunny trail to visit some artists open houses and see their work. It was great to see the fantastic efforts people have made to make the best of their spaces and to set up some really vibrant exhibitions in their homes and studios. I was rewarded with warm welcomes, a real enthusiasm for the new Network, and the added bonus of making some new acquaintances from out of town – so seeds could be sown for new lines of connection spreading out beyond Blue Monkey and the town itself, beginning to extend the Network.

http://www.eastbournefestival.co.uk/resources/Fest…

SOCIAL NETWORKING…

Just set up our Blue Monkey Network Facebook page. Really looking forward to getting some feedback & hoping for some “likes”!

www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Monkey-Network/216305941729120#!

STARTED PLANNING SOME EVENTS…

This week’s milestones:

promo card ready to go to print as soon as I get the NAN logo for it

set a date for the launch party – SAVE THE DATE! 16 June, 6 – 8pm at Towner! (anyone want to sponsor our refreshments?)

started planning some events…

Actually my notebook is beginning to fill up rapidly with ideas for events – from a Skills Swapshop to a Snapshot Artchat presentation evening with up to 12 artists giving strictly timed 5 minute talks about their practice or their passions. Two of our early aims are 1) to get artists talking about their work and 2) to get to know one another better. Hopefully these events might help with both of these aims.

As I keep saying, the success of the Network will depend on a strong membership, and just because we’ve got a tight budget doesn’t mean we do less, it just means that to start with we do MORE oursleves. I’m very aware that East Sussex artists have an enormous range of knowledge and experience, so to begin with the emphasis will be on finding ways to share and exploit that knowledge; to work together to make things happen.

In the long term though, our aspirations are to build an outward-looking and progressive network that will make links beyond our regional and national boundaries. But that might take a little longer.

AS ONE WEEK BECOMES ANOTHER…

I reflect on the past week and order its events in my mind. I realise that I have enjoyed the balancing acts of my different roles, while at the same time wishing for the continuity of uninterrupted creative time. But isn’t that, the perpetual artist’s dream, always imperfect in reality? I suppose I acknowledge that actually I respond best to a busy timetable of varied activities. The week before last was spent engrossed in making art and showing my work. Last week, in contrast, I made no art, but entered a new phase of thinking about the next work I’m to make for an exhibition, DISPLAY ONLY, in a temporary space in Eastbourne in May, while also progressing with plans for the new Network AND starting a temporary part time job as a Census Collector (which will provide me with a month’s worth of wages – not to be sniffed at!)

Some things moved slowly, others moved on in leaps and bounds. At last the bank account has been settled and I just need to sign on the dotted line – 1st job tomorrow morning. I’ve also been researching the options for setting up the organisation, and have decided to go for the simplest choice – an Unincorporated Group. This is easy to establish and can be changed to a more formal organisation in the future if it seems beneficial to do so.

We had a useful planning meeting at Towner, mapping out some ideas for events for the rest of the year, and fixing a date early in June for our launch party! We also distributed our first lot of promotional material to artists attending Elpida’s talk at Towner on Thursday. I’m really looking forward to beginning to spread the word more widely about the network, and then… fingers crossed… hopefully we might get some members!