No work done today for my degree show. I sorted out the final details with my Friend Vitor for the Postcard show at Derby Museum and Art Gallery. The Preview was this evening 5-7pm and was an absolute success. We raised about £1,000 for our degree show catalogue and expect it to increase as the show continues over the week-end.
Thanks to everyone involved in putting the show up – Vitor Azevedo, Jason Soloman, Stephen Ross and our helper Adam. Also thanks to everyone who helped on the night and a big thank you to Andrea, Louise and Maggie at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery for giving us the opportunity and being very accomodating.
Monday I will concentrate all my attention to my paintings and should have more to show throughout the week.
As part of the degree we have a module called "Career in Practice" This module consists of us creating a file about professional practice taken from research and notes from lectures and talks from visiting artists. Another major part of this module is creating a portfolio that we can use when we have finished the degree. We are asked to either pretend to, or actually make an application for some funding or exhibition, residency, job opportunity, proposals, in fact anything that we feel would benefit our own professional practice.
The Portfolio includes a covering letter, CV, proposal, Artist statement, images and fact sheet. This is assessed in May. We hand it in 2 days before our degree show starts.
For my part I haven't decided what my application is for yet. I keep looking around for the ideal opportunity. I am working on the CV, statement and images at the moment.
We are also required as part of the degree to hand in proposals for our final degree show by the end of this Month. These have to be quite detailed with technical drawings with the exact measurements. We have to considered all requirements from helpers to materials and lighting to budgets.
All this written work as well as producing the art for the final show is keeping me really busy. I'm having to be really organised and I'm trying to manage my time more productively.
Outside of the University arena I am also looking to prepare myself for once I have left the institution, sorting out groups and networking, enquiring about studios and applying for exhibitions and competitions, creating a web-site and promotional material, looking for opportunities to allow me to make a living when the student loan has dried up and the university safety net has been pulled away.
I was reading other degree blogs and I was surprised to read that some students are having to do their dissertation alongside everything else that is needed to be done in this last semester. I feel really lucky that at Derby we have to complete our Dissertation by Mid January. (although I didn't at the time) I really don't know how I would cope if I had to do it now.
Today was an interesting day and was a great experience.
As part of fundraising for our final degree show catalogue the University of Derby has an agreement with Derby Museum and Art Gallery to allow us 3rd year students to have a 3 day show to raise money. We have been organising a postcard show called Anonymous 08 for the last few months approaching established artists as well as students to produce postcards in any medium for sale in the show. All the proceeds go towards our catalogue.
Today we put the show up, we were kindly given the largest space in the Gallery and were left to our own ideas for the hanging without any interference.
Thanks to all the people at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery for allowing us the opportuninty!
We put up in excess of 300 postcards and the show looks really great and has some fantastic work.
The Preview show is tomorrow (Friday 28th) 5pm – 7pm so if anyone is passing this neck of the woods please call in. There's FREE WINE
We also putting up a Postcard show at an Arts centre in Burton Upon Trent in May. The venue is the Brewhouse Arts Centre
Sorry I haven't posted anything since my initial posts. I have had trouble logging on but it is all sorted now.
Things have been going rather slowly on the degree show front in the last few weeks. I spent a week in Berlin on a cultural visit with my University (Derby) It's something they do every year and in my time I have gone to New York, Barcelona and Berlin.
Berlin was really great, it wasn't what I expected as a city, much more spread out and less busy than I had thought. The art was fantastic and there is more to see than you could possibly fit in a week.
One painter's work I came across in Berlin was Herbert Egl. This was amazing work, since coming back I have failed to find much info about him, so if anyone has heard of him and has any suggestions I would be really grateful
Since coming back it's been the Easter break. I have still been in the Uni as I am painfully aware of the clock ticking away. I have prepared the canvas for some large paintings that I will be starting next week and I have been producing the early layers on a hundred of my smaller paintings. I have attached a couple of pictures to give you an idea.
ANONYMOUS '08
Student Postcard Show
I am currently curating a student postcard show exhibiting at Derby Museum and Art Gallery in conjunction with the University of Derby and the Art Gallery.
There will be original postcard sized artworks and 3d works on sale in the main Gallery at the Museum and Art gallery from the 29th March – 30th March. All the artworks priced at £15 each.
There are artworks created by leading international and Uk artists alongside works created by students at the University of Derby. All works will be displayed anonymously so you could get yourselves a real bargain.
There is a Private View on the 28th March at the gallery from 5pm – 7pm. Free Wine and good company.
If you would like to produce some artwork for this exhibition then please send the artwork (must be A5 in size, any medium, any subject) to Paul Hirst, 4 Spinners Way, Belper, Derbyshire. DE56 0HR
Deadline for submission 21st March 2008
