i haven’t managed to do anymore on my collaborative project recently, for various reasons, mostly to do with editing the material from the grotto, but I decided to go to a talk arranged by Artquest about collaboration for obvious reasons. It was given by Andreas Lang, an architect who works with others in a collective called Public Works.
Their collective seeks to involve members of local communities and members of the public (citizens was a term Andreas liked to use) and in fact members of the public are seen as collaborators, and genuinely have an input into the group’s projects. See their website http://www.publicworksgroup.net/
In fact, we could probably say that members of the public become citizens in the course of their collaboration and participation in these projects. So there is collaboration among and between members of the collective, and the public who become involved. They do some really worthwhile things to do with recycling, reclaiming spaces, building community and civic values, affordability etc and are based on notions of sharing and gift giving. I can’t really give a summary of Andreas’ talk here but it made me think quite a lot about the collaboration i’m doing with the a-n bursary.
I wonder if i want to be in control too much, or, how much control and direction is needed while still entering into a fruitful collaboration, where all parties gain something? Andreas emphasised that letting go, opening up, and sharing are key factors in his own collaborative approach. He also emphasised that successful collaborations are not based on competition with others. At one point the discussion mentioned failure, as a means of learning and moving forward and it reminded me of a book i read not too long ago which i wrongly told the others was called Art and Failure. In fact it’s called Art and Fear, but actually i found it useful when i read it because it’s about fear of failure. It’s a short publication by David Bayles and Ted Orland. I think i may have been drawn to this advice in the book as a parent, but it did strike a chord. The authors say ” ASK YOUR WORK WHAT IT NEEDS, NOT WHAT YOU NEED. THEN SET ASIDE YOUR FEARS AND LISTEN, THE WAY A GOOD PARENT LISTENS TO A CHILD.”
This may be a bit touchy-feely but it’s got something. But i also think i need to ask myself what I need as well, and what others need, as well as what the work needs. And what do my collaborators need? i suppose this comes back to something i was wondering before about differences between assistants and collaborators.
I should use this quietish period as a time to reflect on the a-n collaborative project so far, and how to continue to build on what we’ve got so far, while doing something genuinely different.
I’m going to use some of my own money as well as the bursary money to pay Lucy for ten more lessons, as despite my feeble efforts to take massive abdominal breaths and sing, i am thinking of more things to try and ways that i can put my ideas into practice, and Lucy is supportive and creative. so, on we go…..
