Creative inclusions

1^st of November I had a 3 hour session with my mentor where we discussed the next steps of my Creative Inclusions project and looked at my timetable which I have been doing daily to see how productive my time is. When you take notes its amazing and very scary to see where and how I have been spending my time…. No wonder why I never have time and I have to work in the night to catch up on things… Is frightening to find out that I am doing on average 4-5 hours daily on admin that includes conversations, arranging meetings, replying and sending emails etc.

I was invited to attend both the dinner at De La Warr Pavilion on Tuesday 2nd November and the event at Towner Art Gallery on Wednesday 3rd November, organized by Turning Point South East. Tuesday 2nd November, all delegates arrived for buffet dinner at the De La Warr Pavilion and had the opportunity to enjoy De La Warr Pavilion’s Myth, Manners and Memory: Photographers of the American South exhibition – http://www.dlwp.com/WhatsOn/ExhibitionDetail.aspx?EventId=1299

With a working title of “Economies and Ecologies”, the Turning Point National Event and Dinner was an opportunity for members of the regional Turning Point Steering Groups to gather together to explore and discuss ways of strengthening the national network by using the Turning Point structure as an agent of positive change and support for the visual arts.

The day event started at 10:30am on Wednesday 3rd November, and finish with drinks at 6:00pm. The programme of the day was very interesting. The morning opened with a workshop by John Holden, an associate of the think tank Demos and visiting professor in cultural policy at City University London. This workshop looked at new business models through the prisms of networks and ecology.

Then we had to make a choice of on of the Workshop bellow for the morning session

1. How can we maximise and share resources? – drawing on her TPN research and examples from other sectors, Susan Royce, will lead a practical workshop.

2. Digital Creativity – what are the funding, production and artistic opportunities being made available through digital innovation funds and collaborations with public service networks (led by Honor Harger, Director Lighthouse) or Market Development (East and North East CAS)

3.Sharing best practice – marketplace for inter-regional collaboration

And the afternoon choice of workshops was:

1. What are the lessons from the TPN evaluation process? The future of the TP network (led by Annabel Jackson)

2. Investing in artists – how can we continue to ensure that artists are supported?

3. Sharing best practice – marketplace for inter-regional collaboration

I chose to attend the Digital Creativity by Honor Harger and the afternoon session the Investing in Artists by Gillian Nicol and Stephen Beddoe.

31^th of October

Last week I had to attend Brighton Magistrates Court and for a first time give evidence. The defendant broke into my studio and not only caused damage to the premises but also to my artwork. I had to attend court because he pleaded guilty only to damaging the premises and braking into my studio but not to destroying and damaging my artworks. The damaged to my art works was in the value of £5000.

Although I was not being accused I was very nervous in attending this court case. I arrived at Court and sat there and waited patiently for to be called in. After about an hour I was told that the defendant, when was told that I have arrived to give evidence, changed his plea into GUILTY. This meant that I was not longer required to give any evidence. I was thanked for attending and left the court. Next day I found out by the police that the Court case was rescheduled for the 27^th October because the defendant lost his plot and when mad….. On the 27^th this was finalised and I was told that he was prosecuted and had to do 6months community work at a mental hospital and that I will be paid £350.00 for all the damages.

Unfortunately at this time when my studio was broke into I didn’t had any insurance for the value of my artwork so I can’t claim for any of the damages. Since the damage in March 2010 I’ve moved to a new studio and at present looking into insuring my work.

At the end of this week I had a very productive meeting with Mark Segal and Jo Sanna at ArtSway. We discussed all the projects that I am involved with and the next stages of my Creative Inclusion project. We also discussed the new Artsway shop at Culture Label and what other works they can put for sale. http://artsway.culturelabel.com/

21^st of October

Being an artist you have to juggle so much work at the same time and sometimes is so difficult to draw a line of priorities!

I had a very productive meeting on my first visit to Queenborough in Kent where I met Nicole Mollett and Simon Evans at the new Arts Centre. The three of us discussed the project and ways forward to develop ideas and how to engage with the local Romany community. We talked about our interests and first steps of the project. So Simon took the responsibility of making contact with people that he know and has worked with in the area, so we can arrange our first visit to add list two different communities.

Our first site visit has been arranged for the 26^th of November.

I also had my first meeting on site at the Southgate project in Bath with the commissioners, arts consultants, personnel from Bath City Council and the fabricators.

We looked at the site and the first samples produced by the fabricators that were made out of different woven metal materials and various samples of different methods of joining together. Everyone was so pleased with the samples and there was a join decision that everybody liked the most intricate and delicate sections that used the Placid mesh and the smallest bends with the thinner joint strip that will be gilded.

After the meeting, I met with my friend Teresa who is also based in Bath and will be helping me with the gilding on this project. We run some test and gilded one section in order to work out the cost and hours that will take to do the full job.

I when to see Robert Mapplethorpe’s ARTIST ROOMS at Towner in Eastbourne and met with Sanna Moore for a short catch up and to give her an update of the development of my commission with the salmon skins. ARTIST ROOMS is an outstanding collection of Mapplethorpe’s photographs alongside a selection of his sculptural works never before seen in a UK public gallery.

11 October

I had my final meeting and sign of day for the project in Bristol at St Bede’s School.

The commission was finished on the 27^th of August but there were final snaggings of the staircase to be done by the contractor. Although the contractor is still working on the outside, they are finishing the amphitheatre and the landscaping, they have moved long way and should be completed by the end of this year. It felt good going back to the school and seeing the students, the staff and the finished artwork.

From there I when to our quarterly AIR meeting that was held at the Architecture Centre in Bristol.

9th of August

Artsway Associates meeting with Paul Hobson from CAS at Artsway in the New forest.

Paul Hobson covered

(a) Strategies related to developing public collections of contemporary art – challenges facing public collections, approaches to acquisitions, the work of CAS in this area

(b) Things artists need to know about the commercial market, things to think about in developing a relationship with the commercial market and how to develop relationships with private collectors.

(c) How endorsement is formed in relation to the commercial market, promotional and selling strategies for artists/organisations like ArtSway

This was a very, very productive and interesting afternoon.