Becoming Part of Something

It really is a bare knuckle ride this Core Gallery craziness!

We wait on tenterhooks for the website to be up and running, a little overdue, but of course as someone is helping us out with this our hands are tied- however as we have 2,500 flyers with our non existent website it is quite a nightmare!

The gallery, artist led, is coming into its own in terms of people coming together with a shared vision and making things work!

I spent 3 days designing/ advising /liasing on a new banner for our front gate with Leyla, Gillian and Elizabeth. Leyla was a star thrashing out changes and layout with me making charming but nonetheless firm phone calls to the banner company as I slowly wept over fig rolls …oh and the banner has the website too in very big letters…..yes as I say fingers crossed on that front!. So in the interim, all our info is here:

http://www.deptfordartmap.com/core-gallery

Chantelle, our press officer has worked tirelessly on mailings and has managed to get us featured on artrabbit and updated listings endlessly as each artist in the chain is announced, revising press releases, distributing press releases etc ;

http://www.artrabbit.com/all/features/features

http://www.artrabbit.com/all/features/features/apr…

Kasia has put together all the posters and invites- again endlessly updating and revising!

At the gallery we have our first artist Iris Priest who has come from Newcastle to draw her work directly onto our walls….the other works are still to come but its very exciting to have someone here making works here!

Enver our efficiency co-ordinator ( self named! ) and my partner has been sorting out the gallery space and the launch night in terms of entertainment ( which is going to be the excellent La Donne and the Islington Boys Club) and generally holding my hand, making coffee, soothing noises and listening to my ideas and backing me up.

Not only do we have this going on but we also have an external studio members exhibition which opened last night near to the Tate Modern , which was selected by the excellent artist Silvia Battista.

The Truth is Rarely Pure and Never Simple
Nolias Gallery
60 Great Suffolk Street
SE1 0BL

Gillian our studio manager is part of the London Fringe Festival committee and our exhibition was part of the launch of a visual arts competition. Gillian answers about 50 emails from me a day and is super efficient juggling all her commitments all with a beaming smile on her face. The PV was very good fun although I found many blank holes in my brain where people’s names were meant to be- as Core Gallery consumes my every thought!

There have been meetings and meetings and meetings, teaching and guest lecturing, and a little bit of soothing painting in between.

More plots are afoot about core gallery and my own place in being part of something may become a lot more entrenched as I am interested in creating a professional development network with my clever studio mate Elizabeth in Deptford and nearby areas……just a teeny tiny funding bid to put together in 2 weeks amidst the Exquisite madness!

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Exciting news from Nick about the artists who have been chosen for Exquisite Corpse :

(In the order they appear in the chain)

Liv Pennington, Lucy Newman, Tasha Aulls, Justin Richel, Leni Kauffman, Nicky Deeley, David Raymond Conroy, Linda Florence, Iris Priest, Jock Mooney and Rebecca Birch

Due to our excellent press officer Chantelle Purcell, Art rabbit are going to feature Exquisite Corpse on their home page, the South London press and BBC may also be attending the exhibtion which is also great news!

http://www.artrabbit.com/all/features/features
http://www.artrabbit.com/all/features/features/april_2010/corpse

I also may even be given the gift of an intern if I am super lucky!

I cant believe we are already near the end of April……and the launch of Core Gallery

So after a little glutting on much wine and chocolate over stupendously late night backgammon over easter the race is back on and :

Ta Da! The first phase of Exquisite Corpse is done, all the curators are confirmed and my my they are pretty dazzling and an honour for them to work with Core Gallery

Nick Kaplony

freelance curator, artist and Exhibitions Officer at Battersea’s Pump House Gallery and genius behind Exquisite Corpse:

www.nickkaplony.com

Claire Heafford

Art consultant and curator

http://www.heaffordandhall.co.uk/profile.html

Matt Roberts from Matt Roberts Arts and the famous Salon competitions,

Gallery in Vyner st

http://www.mattroberts.org.uk/

Sarah Schuster, Curator at Pumphouse Gallery Battersea

Medeia Cohan-Petrolino, Curator of The University of the Arts London

www.ual.ac.uk

Angelica Sule, Curator of Gallery Primo Alonso in East London

http://www.primoalonso.com/

Laura Eldret

Collecting Live Art

www.lauraeldret.com/

Zoe Whitley

Curator from V&A, Contemporary Collections

www.vam.ac.uk

Julia Alvarez, Curator, Bearspace Gallery , Deptford

www.bearspace.co.uk

Helen Griffiths

Bea De Souza

Agency Gallery , Deptford

www.theagencygallery.co.uk

The chain of artists is also coming along and sure to be as dazzling hurrah!

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So far I am not too happy with March.

The one great thing is that I have been commissioned for my first article for a-n. Giving advice for new graduates about ‘ how to become part of something.’ This exhilarates me.

In this month of turmoil however .

I have

1. had a bike crash

2. had my purse stolen

3. had my bike stolen

4. developed a sore thoat flu type thing that has bunged up my brain and given me lethargy which makes me just want to go to bed and watch the entire season of Lost for a bit of escapism from the many commitments being asked of me.

I have strong and good feelings about Core Gallery, our team of artists, our professionalism, efficiency, energy and pooled resources. I am awed by the enthusiasm that others show in our project and the awesome happiness that others want to be part of our little something.

I pledge I will not treat artists like commodities, I will give as much support to anyone who needs it, not for my own gains but for the mere satisfaction of it being rewarding to help and to teach. I will make sure we meet our deadlines, that we are professional and organised. I will try to be as visionary with this as I attempt to be in my own work. This is an experiment, a ground roots determined project. Sure I don’t know everything I am doing at this stage but I am good at project managing I discover, I am good at co-ordinating and inspiring others and I am not saying this arrogantly but by the excitement that I see in others as a result of this project. I stand by these aims and you know what I am pretty ambitious too. I refuse to be knocked down.

My fingers are healing from my bike crash albeit a little sore, but I wanted to write a little.

My meeting with Bea De Souza from Agency Gallery was invigorating. Bea gave me lots of sage advice and also said she would help input into our development. It gave me an idea that I should try and set up a few more meetings with the Deptford Art map Galleries in the area and just say hi. Some are more forthcoming than others. I guess some people are part of something really because they have to be rather than want to have enthralling and stimulating conversations and exchange of ideas. Each to their own I guess…..

I mean in many ways I keep thinking what am I doing? Am I insane to be setting up a gallery? I have not only my own practise to think about , but teaching, lecturing and blogging, finding more art related work, entering competitions and writing proposals, well that is plenty to do but somehow I want to make this work and all the studio members that are working so hard alongside me and are such great cogs in this Core Gallery Machine , well they are relying on me to make this work…..so no pressure then!

…now my mind is occupied with how we could get a bit of funding to run the space, but my god, funding applications are an art of their own and so much trouble one just gives up………Bea suggested trying to get funding for an International Residency which sounds great , but just exactly how?

I did meet some other art geniuses last week as well who run an experimental art space and studios. The art space is in a place called The Bunhouse in Peckham, which always looked to me as I passed it on my journeys through Peckham like a scary tumbleweed blowing , locals only kind of place albeit with beautiful tiles and authentic mouldings. Well blow me, it actually houses a thriving exhibition space and arts community plus the bar staff give you chip sticks and jelly babies with your pint of Stella and are actually super friendly and have a fantastically diverse crowd due to the bunhouse bandits I am guessing. Plus of course intersting exhibitions.

You can read more about them here

http://www.bunhousebandits.com/about/

http://fieldonline.eu/

Craig and Francis are an inspiration to Core Gallery

Okay ouch ,my fingers hurt now. Have to go