Attending Factory Nights

Rednile Projects, Factory Commissions, Crabtree & Co Proposal

Project Name: The Queen’s visit

Medium: Live event

Concept

I intend to facilitate the visit of a Queen look alike to take part in the launch of the Crabtree & Co Factory book at the Lyndon House Hotel. The Queens upcoming Diamond Jubilee and her past visit to the factory in 1962 inspired my idea. The Queens appearance will mark 50 years since her first visit and I intend to signify this with a plaque that her majesty will unveil. I feel an impressive event will attract lots of publicity raising the profile locally and nationally of Crabtree & Co achievements in design and manufacturing. In times of austerity it is said that royal events lift the spirits of the people.

Format

I have specifically chosen the Lyndon House Hotel as the Crabtree Society are planning a book launch at the venue. To make this project happen I plan to organise and facilitate the visit, working closely with the Crabtree Society. I intend to follow royal protocol, and research further into the management of the event at the factory in 1962. A plaque commemorating both visits will be located on site. The design will incorporate a Crabtree & Co switch that illuminates the piece, which the Queen will switch on.

Public Engagement

The event will be locally promoted through radio, TV, and press with an open invitation for the public to attend. As a way of documenting my research for this project I have published a blog on a-n website and I would like to develop social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to promote the event. During the visit there will be a number of opportunities for the public to see the Queen look alike and participate in the event such as the grand entrance, book launch, unveiling the plaque, finally leaving the hotel. To encourage participation in the royal visit we will provide flags for people to use.

Factory Outlet Multiple

This project is primarily based around the live event. Although I do feel a commemorative item such as a limited edition print with a photograph from the day would make a suitable multiple.

Your reasons for doing this

For the past two years I have been hosting small events in semi public spaces. However, I want the event focus to be on the Crabtree & Co legacy, and to develop my experience in performance making on a large scale. I have shown my work at micro live art events although at this stage in my career I want to work towards a public event with the support of the society and Rednile Projects. My work can challenge the rules of performance, however in this piece I intend to follow royal protocol to give the event authenticity with a sense of humour. My performances are one off events although I would like to develop my practice to produce items of memorabilia. This commission will give me the opportunity to produce a multiple and a commemorative plaque creating a legacy for the work.

Artist Work

Showreel, YouTube link: http://youtu.be/f4U9hQL2sCQ

After the event

For the past week I have been developing my proposal and I visited London to see the Jeremy Deller and David Shrigley show at the Hayward gallery. I do love the Hayward it is my favourite place to see art. I was particularly interested in Jeremy Dellers work being shown in a gallery as his work is all about the research and the live event. How do you present the ephemera after the actual event? This is a question I struggle with myself and on seeing the exhibition I could see how in a gallery context this doesn’t always work. I did like how he showed a vast back catalogue from earlier projects to more recent pieces such as the parade in Manchester, International Arts Festival, 2011. I thought it was quite telling how the Hayward were showing two artists for the price of one, value for money or a need to fill the gallery space? In part I did feel the curation of the Jeremy Deller show a bit scattered. However a project that was well researched, a live event using a variety of media is always going to be a challenge to re-show or feel complete. The Southbank Centre website documents Jeremy Dellers work really well and is a great example of how the internet can make a better frame to show off work rather than the art gallery (http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/jeremy-deller). This has got me thinking about what is left from the Queens visit at the Lyndon House Hotel. As the budget is really tight I have to prioritise what is most important for this work, which I feel is the live event. It is the experience from the event that resonates with people. I do not intend to re-show this work although a one off piece of memorabilia would be a fitting way to commemorate the event. The Queen look alike website has images of written testimonials on letter headed paper my favourite being the thank you letter from Greggs.

Queens Visit

I have three weeks to write a proposal for one of the Factory Nights commissions. My problem can be that I have too many ideas and find it difficult to decide on one. My initial idea I had during the visit was to pose as the Queen presenting at mini book launches in the city centre. I was also curious to meet some of the women who worked in the factory and find out if they could perform there actions from working the machines. I would video the actions made on location at there homes. To make a video on location would be a challenge technically. I just feel with video or film there is a pressure for the image to look HD. I am not interested in the actual filming process more the idea and visual direction. This has got me thinking again about the Queens visit and how I could expand on the idea. In my work I am the performer and the facilitator. What if I hired a Queen look alike? I have been researching royal look alikes and there are some funny looking Queens out there. There was one lady who looked more like the Queen mother. I remember last summer in Manchester city centre there was a David Beckham look alike situated in Barclays bank shop window. He was kicking a football around which drew a massive crowd and you could have your picture taken with him. I have found the best Queen look alike although she comes at a price. We spoke on the phone for ages and she told me how she is going to write a book about her life which I think would make a fascinating read. She kindly knocked £100 off her fee. Although she was very vocal about a famous artist who uses look alikes in compromising positions. She said that she would not perform any actions that would offend the Queen. Of course not your Majesty!

Mobile Plug

On the train on my way to Walsall I tested out using my iPad taking photographs with it for the first time. I am still getting used to this new piece of equipment that my granddad kindly bought me a couple of weeks ago as a treat. I generally don’t like touch screen technology and have been getting used to typing by gently tapping which feels a bit odd. However the great thing about the iPad is that it’s small and easy to carry around instead of my heavy laptop, ideal for traveling. I particularly like the free doodle app called Zoodle and I am enjoying drawing with my fingers. Before the site visit in Walsall I had seen an image of a two-pin plug, manufactured by Crabtree. The plug is round similar to a door handle shape. This quirky form I think could make an amazing interactive arts educational stand which could be wheeled around museums, art galleries and outside on the street. I am working on an arts education project at the moment and have been thinking a lot about breaking down artwork for children to learn. Although nowadays, would children be interested in playing with switches and plugs? I think very young children probably would. I have been thinking about ideas for new work, as there is an opportunity to propose a project, which has a small pot of funding. The commissions will be available to the participants who attended the Factory Nights meeting in Walsall.

Once a Factory now a Hotel

I arrived a bit early although it gave me time to write up my blog. The pub interiors have a mock period look and felt warm and cosy wth the open fire alight. Factory Nights meeting was in the basement in a long narrow room and Rednile Projects warmly greeted me. The session planned for the evening was only two hours and we started promptly. Rednile introduced themselves and the wonderful Factory Nights they facilitate in the North East and Midlands area. Alan and Roy from the Crabtree Society gave an introduction about how the business started. The factory was founded by John Ashworth Crabtree in 1919 and started with a few employees and grew to become one of Walsall’s largest engineering companies. I was struck by how the humble electrical light had such an impact on working conditions extending employee hours and the quality of what was made in the factory. The impact of this was growth in the business. John Ashworth Crabtree is most well known for designing the first make and break switch. We were given a tour of the pub and hotel, which were part of the factory. We were taken upstairs to a hotel room that used to be Crabtree’s office. The interior decoration of the hotel is mock period and sometimes I am finding it hard to believe that this place used to be a factory. Outside there is another building which houses the ‘honeymoon suite’. At the back of the Hotel is a garden with palm trees.

The Crabtree society was set-up in 2006, which is mostly made up of ex employees and is the face for the archive. When the society first started there were 300 members although most recently this has fallen to around 80 due to people getting older and sadly dieing. Alan and Roy from the society have been working on a book documenting the history of the factory to ensure its legacy. I really struggled to find information online about the factory or get any visual reference. However once the book has been published the society intend to develop the website. We finally got to see the film ‘Factory Day’ which was used to advertise and recruit school leavers. I was really impressed by how many women were part of the workforce and the importance of their contribution in the manufacturing process. As I am interested in performance I was hypnotized by the repetitive actions they performed everyday. One of the female workers is asked about working at the factory and responds by saying:

Do I like it?

I love it

I could really see the importance of manual work and the process of making something as a collective from start to finish. From watching the film I got a sense of everyone working for each other and a community spirit that has been sucked out of society today. It is dawning on me the impact the death of manufacturing has had in this country.

The Queen visited the factory in 1962 and was documented on film by the employees. I liked how the women put decorative flags ontop of each of their machines. The film is black and white although I did get to see colour stills in the page layouts of the book. To coincide with the Queens Jubilee and the visit 50 years ago a copy of the book will be given to her. During the visit I got quite excited about the Queens visit and had an idea of doing mini book launches in the city centre dressed as the Queen. This morning all I keep thinking about are the wonderful women who worked in the factory.