episode five of creative conversations has now gone live. http://creativedialog.wordpress.com/
This week I talk to Alan Rogers, Cultural Coordinator as part of the Weymouth and Portland 2012 Operations Team, at Weymouth Pavilion.
Alan’s past jobs have involved a lot of collaborations, a lot of working in groups and with other artists. Then applying and getting the job in Weymouth. All he has done now helps him in the job here.
Stasis for Alan is the middle of Dante’s hell. Stasis is a not productive form to be in. Whereas creation is to re-build something. That creation comes out of destruction.
Do people who live here, or move here, have different expectations around what art and culture they want in the area. Are they happy with the current state of play?
Interesting, just editing my latest version and again have been asked to cut out remarks that could hinder peoples chances of future commissions.
People have felt comfortable in talking openly to me, but once given a chance to listen to these talks and reflect on what has been said, they suddenly start stressing out that people in positions of power, ie arts administrators and curators, will take offence and they will no longer get any work from these people.
& it is shameful to say that nowadays it is all about PR and how successful an event was. And never about looking slightly critically and learning lessons for next time. That curators will take offence with you saying anything seen negative and childishly say ‘well we won’t work with them again’.
Wondering should I give the people I record my conversations with a chance to review the draft edit?
Thinking that I should not. That once a conversation is recorded they person will not hear it until, like everyone else, its gone live on air.
Very interesting how people are nervous of upsetting businesses, arts council funders with comments they make. As just finished editing one recorded conversation and as soon as its posted I have had the person I’ve recorded asking me to take it down!
They haven’t even heard it, just nervous as to what they might have said and I suppose how this might affect their future income. This is from someone who in the past has been rather outspoken, or so I thought.
IS this a sign of the future when we have to go cap in hand to philanthropists. Will we have to be watching what we say, watch our thoughts, let alone what we might actually do.
I have taken the podcast/post down as I am doing the recordings in the spirit of friendship, that they are conversations and not aggressive interviews.
Have to wait and see what they say, see if they want anything cut out. Be interesting what they say, watch this space …
creative conversations is getting a great reception and i have been pleasantly surprised with the reception i’ve received and the amount of listeners so far – to what i thought might be a bit too dry radio show. After all who wants to hear people gassing for 30 min!
Bur as I like to listen to talk radio and i thought there might be an audience, and this is proving to be the case.
I have been asked to be interviewed about the show for a program on soundartradioFM.
http://creativedialog.wordpress.com/
Welcome to episode 4 of creative conversations.
http://creativedialog.wordpress.com/
This week I visit Weymouth seafront, where I meet local photographer Paul Russell. He talks about the difference between a documentary photographer and a street photographer. A definition of street photography is; “the ability to see the unusual in the everyday and to capture the moment.”
Paul mentions a couple of his themes and how they need to be broad enough to allow him to take a range of photos, but tight to hold the pictures together. His Country Show theme was featured on the BBC website and had over 220,000 hits. We hear about how the internet helps him reach a global audience and about the strength of having a good website. How over promotion can be counter-productive and though he uses social networking sites like flickr he does not link to these from his website.
Paul is a member of in-public, which is made up of twenty photographers and whose aim is to promote Street Photography and to continue to explore its possibilities.His membership of the group has helped him gain exposure and to being invited into contributing work for exhibitions.
We hear about the ranges of exhibitions he has been in lately and about his work being included in the “‘must-have book for anyone remotely interested in the genre” Thames and Hudson book “Street Photography Now“. This book presents 46 contemporary image-makers noted for their candid depictions of everyday life in our streets.
We hear how even though successful his photography does not really earn him any where near a decent wage. And how it has become more and more difficult for documentary photographers to make a living. The opportunities to earn money from his art is fairly limited and the traditional source of commissions from magazines has disappeared in the last few years.
We then end up and briefly talk about the “smarting up” of Weymouth seafront, and about the Olympic legacy and how he feels that a small gallery can drastically change the nature of small seaside towns. That though transient events are good the investment in a permanent gallery space would create a creative focus to the town and be a meeting point for artists in the area. He thinks that the seafront has improved recently with the new style huts, that the general toning down of the beach huts make it look nicer.
