That’s it, weeks and weeks..if not months and months.. of preparation over and now the waiting period begins. The deadline for the application was last night, but instead of making last minute adjustments to it, I went out.
It was one of those applications that you can add to periodically, save and then add more – so it goes after the last save whether it is done or not. I couldn’t think of anything else to add and I really don’t think it would have made any difference if I had fiddled with it to the bitter end. ( … and I had to get out!!)
A big thanks though to two of the group members – Andrew Crighton and Kimbal Bumstead who respectively sorted out the links on the Sci website and sent some fabulous links to video works for the application process.
Moonfruit is fantastic as a free website, but adding links to it made me just want to scream and throw the pc through the window! The website is a huge part of the application, so I’m hoping it ticks the right boxes.
It’s been quite a task – from building on from the residency at Leasowe, looking into its future reputation as an arts centre, making that sodding website and to coordinating group members…..
But , if nothing else, it’s been a learning experience.
Links
http://www.butterpeanut.com/ ( Andrew Crighton)
http://sci.moonfruit.com/ ( the group)
http://www.kimbalbumstead.com/ ( Kimbal Bumstead)
…and what we live in hope for:
http://www.supermarketartfair.com/
Working with Groups…. it’s something I said I would never do again, but here I am putting in a group application.
For those of you who have ever worked with groups will recognise some of the points below. This is how it should go:
Establish the group aims.
Appoint ‘jobs’ for each member of the group.
Agree a date for when these jobs are done.
Collate all of the information gathered and put it together for one fantastic proposal.
This is what actually happens.
Establish the group aims
Appoint ‘jobs’ for each member of the group.
Agree a date for when these jobs are done.
Begin to collate and then realise that everyone else has done sod all.
Do everything yourself.
To prove that you are a pc expert on TV, you have to hit the keyboard really hard and as often as possible. This ensures that everyone can hear you and knows instantly what you are doing.
Whether you are in fact an expert, is irrelevant, the important thing is that people know you are there.
Same goes for working in an office… you have to periodically scream at the top of your voice OMG, OMG I’ve got so much to do , while in reality you are only searching through online shopping sites. BUT – it establishes that all in the immediate vicinity, are making a mental note of your ‘busyness’. I know this from experience.
I have in fact been busy, so I haven’t been writing the blog or doing other things I should be doing – the pile of applications I’d meticulously printed off and set aside for my ‘to do’ list, forgotten and now past the deadline dates, are testament to this.
I did though notice another side effect to this silence – people assume you are not doing anything. This is career suicide for whatever profession you are in.
For this reason, I have set up another blog – my work and reasons behind it: www.a-n.co.uk/p/1534479/ to prove that I am still alive.
This is serving a purpose and can be read if anyone wants to, but I will absolutely not go down the route of sending out updates ( yes, I got another two last night…yawn…)
Some people take the chance and go on to bigger and better things. It is a big risk to leave a regular monthly income and try to make it on your own. But – so many do and it’s good to hear their names in relation to their projects – but what happens to the others?
Reading through the invites to visit artists ‘market stallls’ I wonder – is that really an easier way to make money?
This has been on my mind a lot this week as I’ve been bogged down with paperwork leading to a major mail out in the day job. I find that the more written work I have to do in the daytime, the less inclined I am to produce work or write the blog.
Wednesday was a staff briefing. We do these on the first Wednesday of every month. Sometimes they are facts and figures and I tend to nod off in the darkened auditorium…but this week was slightly different.
After a reference to letters in ‘The Independent’ – to which I am obliged not to make any comments…a guest speaker from the newly built and soon to be opened ‘Open Eye’ gallery: http://www.openeye.org.uk walked on stage. Her presentation on the gallery programme was quite impressive, but it was the closing images that made some of us sit up in our seats.
Images from Emily Speed’s commission…. we saw the name, and the staff that had stuck the job out since Emily left, looked at each other and said ‘ Didn’t she used to work here?’
Yep – some people go on to bigger things… while others cling to that safety net.
Collaborations, residencies and exhibiting overseas…these are the things I’ve been trying to pull together over the last few months. It’s a mammoth project , which has so many interlocking aspects, that sometimes it becomes quite overwhelming.
I only hint at the work I am doing in this blog, as sometimes it becomes so complicated waiting for just one small piece of the jigsaw to fall into place.
Since March this year, I’ve been linking together my ties with the Norwegian group Small Projects ( who I visited earlier this year) with my own residency and with other artist groups.
The residency in Leasowe was a major part of the whole picture. It hasn’t been an easy one, I’ll admit that. I went in thinking that as I was the first artist to go in there, people would be flocking there out of curiosity and I realise now how naive that was of me. I also couldn’t be there as much as they wanted me to be – the residency was unpaid and like everyone else, I have to earn a living.
BUT – it was a learning curve and I now at least have an inkling of what is expected from all parties. It has paved the way for other artists, and with the right funding, this can be quite successful.
That is the crux of all this though isn’t it – funding.
Today, I am waiting to ‘Seal a deal’ over an exhibition space in Liverpool for a large collaborative project. I have asked for a period during the Liverpool Biennial, which is a lot to ask – but fingers crossed! If it works out, one or two of the Norwegian artists can perhaps use the space in Leasowe to work while they are here.
Life would be so much easier if I didn’t do all this of course…… but such is life.
