When I was in Milan last week I saw a huge demonstration by students against cuts to University budgets. The last time I saw anything like that here was when they brought in fees – at eca we all went and sat in the road at the main traffic lights on Princes Street. It didn’t do any good in the end, but at least it made very visible our opposition to the move.
In Milan the students were being cheered by the passers-by and they were shouting support to the students and joining in the chants. I think most of the public in Edinburgh avoided eye contact to be honest. I saw in Variant magazine that it has also happened in Rome. The public support may be a general feeling of anger towards Berlusconi and an increasing mistrust in the Italian political system, but I can’t imagine students being taken really seriously like that over here. To be honest, the students kind of negated their actions by then going to McDonalds and leaving the Duomo square and the connected streets literally covered (like a blanket) with litter. Support and respect goes two ways and this was kind of rude – just an arrogant gesture of teenagers I suppose, but I felt less inclined to support them afterwards!
If you haven’t seen the news already about the un-capping of tuition fees in England then there are some details here.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11510466
Another unbelivable barrier in the way of those from low-income households.
It got me thinking that I have no idea what the best form of protest is, especially as all the save the arts campaigns etc don’t seem to be very far reaching at the moment. The art has been thought provoking and there is a lot of support for it, but I don’t think much of that is from outside the arts. That opinion is only gathered from taking to people I know, so it is a small sample indeed. But it is easy to see that people wouldn’t care too much when everything is being slashed and there are more immediate and personal worries to deal with. I hope it doesn’t get to the stage where people are asking what happened to free museums and all the holiday activities there used to be for kids etc – after it has been cut out of budgets.
Here is the latest great contribution to Save The Arts by Bob and Roberta Smith.
http://artlystlondon.blogspot.com/2010/10/bob-and-…
On a personal note, I had a good conversation with Emma Gregory at the Bluecoat yesterday. She is an artist and the print studio manager, and also like a wise bird. I was asking advice on whether I should take up an offer I’ve had from a gallery, something I feel I should take but my gut says no. I had made my decision already I suppose, but wanted to somone to tell me it was the right one. She pointed out that I was talking about the offer like the owner had asked me on a date – i.e. I was worried about turning him down and upsetting him, and ultimately I was flattered by his interest and didn’t want to disappoint.
Correct. It appears I am completely transparent.
I really have to stop seeing things through a personal lens and to disconnect feelings and personal relationships from making the correct decision for the long term. It would be easier to say yes now, but it would be very hard to make it work over time. MUST REMEMBER! Any ideas how anyone?
