Emma Smith – collaboration (part 2)
…continued from the previous post
I was interested to hear from Emma how the Waterbeach project feels a bit less like her own work than her other pieces which she initiated. With her other projects she beings with the question ‘who do I want to work with and who wants to work with me?’ Often this will begin with meeting people in their own spaces on their terms, telling them about the project and asking if they would like to be involved. For example she talked about finding people to work with at The Showroom gallery for ‘Playback’ – a game of communication. She visited existing groups and introduced herself to them, to begin a discussion, rather than inviting people to the gallery in the first instance.
Another ongoing work ‘Change in Energy=Work was initially developed with an Artsadmin bursary based upon a research question asking what does it mean to have performance based, rather than object based outcomes? The work is research based and ongoing. Each performance is an iteration of the work, testing how far they have got with the project so far. In terms of the performance, Emma Smith is the artist and is credited as the author of the work but the other contributors get credited for their role too. Emma provided a good reasoning that it is very important for being clear about where responsibility for the piece lies. As part of the research process people may share some intimate stories or experiences. To create an environment of trust it is important that there is a person who is ultimately responsible and accountable for what happens.
The contributors for an iteration at Arnolfini (Jan 2013) were a phoneticist, particle physicist, musicologist, molecular biologist, tai-chi master and improvised movement practitioners. Other members of the public are invited to participate in rehearsals and an event/performance but are not involved in the core group of research collaborators.
I asked Emma whether she offers a fee to people she collaborates with. She said it depends on the situation. Generally if people need to be there for the project to happen then she would aim to pay them. Or if they are invited in to bring a specialism she requires. However in some instances she works with people that are being paid from elsewhere (e.g. academics) and who are working with her because it also furthers their own research. With the people who she works with ‘Change in Energy=Work’ she often develops ongoing research relationships from which both parties benefit.
I’ll write a bit more about my conversations with Emma in upcoming posts. I recommend having a look at her website to see more of her work, it provides a good example of collaboration being inherent to a really interesting body of work. http://www.emma-smith.com/
