Still trying to catch up/ multitask but grateful to be in paid work I suppose. ….
24 September. Work day. Crazy day as hundreds + hundreds descended onto Chagall before the exhibition ends next week, so I couldn’t get any of my own admin done. Went to see Grayson Perry’s Reith Lecture in the evening at St George’s Hall, Liverpool. We were given free tickets for the event and it was very last minute, but I was thrilled to go. I like the way he talked with absolutely no art speak, open and enthusiastic. Questions from the audience were asked at the end and I suspect some were ‘planted’. I few ‘idiot’ ones too from people who just like to be heard, but have nothing to say ( no doubt they will be deleted from the recording) I wanted to ask how much he earned, but didn’t have the guts. Time spent on own work and admin = 0
25 September. Day off. Two hours working on a-n bursary and chasing up a reference for it. Email to Warrington arts festival to see if can deliver my work on my day off instead of the day they requested. Desperate not to take any more leave. Admin 2 hours. Own work 0
26 September. Work Day. Email response from Warrington arts Festival. They suggested an alternative day to deliver, which was a lot easier for me. More emails/admin in evening. 1 hour.
27 September. Work Day and unscheduled staff briefing. Nearly everyone thought that this was it – an announcement that there were to be more cuts. It’s almost two years since the last round and as we all knew of the recent arts council and regional government funding cuts, it was a natural assumption that someone was going to go. The meeting was about nothing though – leaving us all totally frustrated. One interesting thing though –when asked if there were any questions, one person asked why the skills of the staff aren’t being used – highlighting that fact that most have degrees, MA’s and in some cases PHDs, but were all working front of house. It was met with some confusion and a hasty ‘but we offer secondments’. I’ve lost count of the amount of secondments I’ve been on. Nothing will change.
The rest of the day was horrendous – too many schools visiting and the public were angry that the gallery was closed for nearly an hour. Zero admin done, though I did read the email saying that I didn’t get one of the things I’d sent a proposal for recently. Shame, as it was a paid one, but logistically, it would have been difficult sorting out the time to do it. Went to PV at Bluecoat in the evening. Interesting exhibition and nice to catch up with people. While chatting to a few others, two asked if I had been exhibiting anywhere. Neither use social media or read a-n, so it made me think again how I should be promoting myself. Really don’t want to use a mail out, but what other option? Admin and own work = 0, Networking 1hour
