Manse Project 15

Artists working with Museums

I was intrigued to see a number of recent FB and twitter posts marketing multiple-choice options for the public to select what museum an artist should work with. The Connect 10 vote is a social media campaign for people to select their favourite project and venue to take place in the UK for Culture 24, Museums at Night (http://www.culture24.org.uk//places-to-go/museums-at-night). I am happy to see new collaborations between the artist and the institution, although I do question how the artists were selected in the first place? I must have missed this one, although there are a few high profile artists, which doesn’t surprise me such as Rankin, Spencer Tunick and Grayson Perry.

I am pleased to see performance artist Jessica Voorsanger in the mix and my vote goes to her working with Haworth Art Gallery in Accrington (http://www.culture24.org.uk/places-to-go/museums-at-night/art461885-Connect10-Vote-Jessica-Voorsanger). It does feel like slowly but surely institutions are seeing the benefits of working with performance artists although it feels a long time coming. This seems silly really considering the unique way live art can reach diverse audiences and immediately engages people. I have been researching creative marketing campaigns as I feel it is an area I want to use in raising the profile of my project. Would ACE really put the money behind a marketing campaign for an independent artists project? It does feel like if your not working with large institutions marketing is a luxury few artists can afford. On a lighter note I have been designing a cake to give out to potential partners, that combines a Manchester Eccles cake with a Finnish Karelian pastry.

Thinking/Writing/Thinking/Writing

The past three weeks have been all about thinking and writing funding applications for the Manse Project 15. As I am due to have my baby any day now I have been trying to research and contact as many people as possible. I have made a good start on my ACE application, which is challenging as it has a short word count for each question. Don’t get me wrong I like to be precise and to the point with what I’m doing, however this is a complex project that is difficult to shorthand. I have since seen a couple of other funding opportunities such as the a-n Re-view bursary and The New Opportunities Award. I have to say when I saw the The New Opportunities Award I was a bit annoyed as the strategy behind it is very similar to what I want to do. As an independent artist the thinking and strategy is also part of the creative process for me taking a lot of time for one person to achieve. Then suddenly there is this commission were a team of people have worked it all out to hand it over to the artist. The positive from looking at this is that I am on track with the benefits of working with museums and I have similar budget expectations. However I am not sure whether to apply for it as I am convinced that a high profile, national award will mean that the institution will select a well-known or pre-selected artist of choice. I have to remember my motivation for applying to ACE for an Artist Led project, which is to lead rather than to be led.

I came across the a-n Re:view bursary via twitter and feel this would really contribute to making a strong ACE application. If I received this bursary it would allow me to meet with Producers, Artists and Curators. Due to the scale of my project I feel it is important to work with a Producer to help the work reach its potential. I will have the opportunity to showcase my past work and future project, which may in turn create more opportunities/collaborations on projects with my chosen peer group. I want to learn from performance artists how they have worked across different contexts and with diverse audiences. For example I have specifically chosen Lowri Evans who originally trained as a visual artist, although works with performance (). She has created small independent projects and large-scale performances for the stage. Pru Porretta imitates Lady Godiva and works with Coventry Museum. From this research it will help inform my performance character and the potential for presenting the work across different contexts. Meeting a museum curator offers the chance to talk about how they have developed a working relationship with the artist from R&D to the realisation of a finished piece. Speaking to experts in the museum & performance field will inform my presentation in Tampere, Finland, which I hope will get partners interested in my project.

a-n Re:view Bursary: www.a-n.co.uk/p/4179058/ *Please note this is only available to a-n subscribers. Deadline noon 20/01/14.

New Opportunities Award: http://www.vasw.org.uk/news/new-expressions-new-opportunities-award-launched.php

Mythological Fact

Developing the ‘Manse’ character I want to get a balance of creative interpretation with historical fact. I have been looking at two different characters from very different times, firstly Lady Godiva, 980 AD and Pandemonia, 2008. I was drawn to Lady Godiva as she was a real person in history, although she is most famously known for her mythical act of riding naked on the back of a horse through the streets of Coventry. Pandemonia known as the love child of Roy Lichenstein and Jeff Koons is an international contemporary figure making special appearances at fashion shows and private views (http://pandemonia99.blogspot.co.uk). On the surface I am drawn more to Pandemonia and her colourful, fetishy appearance. However I have become more fascinated with Lady Godiva and how her myth is greatly documented as if it were fact.

Her legend goes:

‘Lady Godiva was upset with Leofric for crippling the development of Coventry with taxes. She persistently pleaded with her husband, who eventually said he would reduce the taxes if she rode naked on a horse across the town. Everyone showed their respect by staying indoors and with only her long hair to cover her, Lady Godiva rode through the deserted streets. Only one person looked – the character we now know as Peeping Tom – but as he gave in to the temptation he was struck blind. Amazed by her compassionate deed, her husband fulfilled his promise and reduced the taxes immediately.’ (http://www.bbc.co.uk/coventry/features/stories/2002/04/the-history-of-lady-godiva.shtml)

The woman and legend of Lady Godiva is well documented in works of art such as paintings and sculptures. I am planning to go and see this painting of her by John Collier, 1897 at the Herbert Art Gallery in Coventry. To keep her memory alive today the artist, Pru Porretta, impersonates her. Pru makes appearances at cultural/religious events locally and internationally. I wonder if I could get to meet her? How does someone get to become a legend impressionist? Pru is well known for her creative presentations to different communities and schools. I would love to see her at work as I feel my Manse character will have broad appeal to different ages and contexts. Why does performance only have to happen in an official art space or exhibition?

Designer Labels

I have started my Manchester cotton trade research online and have been really impressed with the MOSI website. Searching through all the menus I am really excited to see how big the collections are and how creative they are at communicating them. From looking on the website I would like to look at the working manuals and trade literature from the mills. I would love to handle samples of printed cotton and was really taken with the woven labels. Each woven label is a picture, aesthetically much more sophisticated than a clothes label you might see today. The picture represented the trademark of the exported goods, which reflected where the products were sent. This meant the products are instantly recognised with less need for too many words or language. I have fallen in love with this Behrens shipper’s label. It reminds me of my performance characters and I wonder how they researched the details within the image with no google search to tap into. From the markings it looks like goods were transported to China.

I intend to create a costume that will mash together traditional and modern design references from Manchester and Finland. The most famous and well-known fabric designers in Finland are Marimekko. I was introduced to this fabulous world of colour and print by my Finnish artist friend Anna Puhakka and visited the flagship store in Helsinki in 2011.

‘In 1962 Armi Ratia, the founder of Marimekko, defined Marimekko as “a cultural phenomenon guiding the quality of living”. She built a utopia called Marikylä (“Marimekko Village”), whose aim was no less than to house the staffs and to function as a laboratory for product design and to develop new ways of life. This year Marimekko will bring to life the Marimekko Village of today.’ (https://www.marimekko.com/marimekko/history)

Marimekko Core Values

Living, not pretending

Fairness to everyone and everything

Common sense

Getting things done together

Courage, even at the risk of failure

Joy

How do I make a proposal to the institution?

Where to start? The obvious way is to look at websites to find out contact details of who to approach, however this is not always visible. For my project I want to aim high as I don’t want my work to be lost in a fringe event. Although I love the independence of making performances in public spaces they have no legacy or are not marketed/documented in the right way to allow this to happen. I feel working with a large institution will offer research benefits, resources and potential links into other events. I have started sending emails to my wish list of institutions I would like to work with. At the start of the process it was quite depressing with being sent back generic emails and no crystal clear process of how an artist is meant to make a proposal. It seems that the local artist has to simply wait around and hope that someone might notice your work. I was most shocked by a response from someone in marketing from Manchester International Festival who was quite rude and unhelpful. I had a better response from the Gallery of Costume, although they are programmed up to 2016. The most helpful contacts have been at MOSI who have a specific application form to fill in, with particular deadlines for the work to be reviewed throughout the year. It has been really helpful using the MOSI form to get as much detail down before I put in an ACE application in the New Year.

Alongside getting a partner involved in Manchester I am looking to research and develop my performance in Tampere Finland. This has been just as challenging with my emails getting a bit lost in translation. My plan is to visit the International Theatre Festival in August 2014 to research potential venues/partners for my final performance in 2015. It took a few weeks for contacts to get back to me and understand my research and development needs. However, I managed to get a spark of interest from Eevamaija the PR Manager of the International Theatre Festival who wants to help me make contact with the producers of the event. Hooray! I can’t tell you how happy I was to get this personalised response. Finally I have someone to converse with who gets who I need to speak with to make my project happen. She said I was lucky as they are inundated with festival queries and thought my ideas sounded pulsating and humorous. I feel a short research residency in Tampere would provide the ideal support network to develop the project. I was surprised to find many artist residencies in Finland although from the few I contacted, they do not accept children to stay. I have now managed to find a place to stay for my family called the Tampere Artists Association, which has living and studio spaces for independent research. I have made an initial booking to go in 2014 for two weeks. Finally, it feels like this project is starting to build some momentum.