We are finding that tying up the project for the final activity report form is a whole lot harder than it was actually doing the main part of the activity. does anyone else find this? perhaps it is because the thrill has gone somewhat, the writing in NY was a high point, and on coming back we wrote our socks of for various magazines, but we only got a few UK magazines to print content on Performa and we still havent managed to programme a workshop back in the Uk on critical writing and Live Art, as we said we would in our grant application.
Since November the publishing points we outlined in our ACE bid, have been few and far between. Despite tring to publish with various magazines- and I think its only right that i list them, since what is the point of this blog if we are not listing details and specifics about Writing Live? – Art Monthly, Dance Theatre Journal – we have only had several publications take us up on their original offer of Performa related critical writing. The reasons for this are many, but mostly relate to in house editorial decisions that reflect the logistics and remit of the individual publications, and not the fact that they dont think performance and new media work in new York isnt important.
Despite this lack of UK take up, Writing Live has resulted in three reviews in Realtime Magazine(Aus) ( (all 08 issues), one peice in Yishu Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art (May 08), and a two page centre spread in Total Theatre (March 08), we have also written many catalogue entries for the Performa 07 hardback catalogue. Whilst this is all a real acheivement, we had hoped UK magazine coverage would have been more plentiful. It just prooves that aside from the writing content, the challenges of the blog format and the live work itself, getting print published is just another hurdle. It has made us think that future critical writing workshops should have taylored sessions in how, and who, to approach regarding print publication. Even though i am convinced blogging is the way forward, sadly, the Arts Council and many other individuals are still convinced of the hierarchy of the printed word and whilst this bias remains good critical writing must keep a foothold on the print side of things. The tide is certainly changing but lets hope blogs wholly take up their rightful place of -economic and intellectuual, academic- value soon.
And lets hope our UK workshop materialises soon!
Will post next week update; i was interveiwed by journalist Lara Farrar recently about critical writing and new media versus arts criticism in print and mainstram newspapers. it was an interesting interview. It made me realise there are still a lot of pertinant issues on critical writing still to be discussed. I want to theoretically lead off from where Jane watt started in her AN article on blogs. Watch this space.
Rachel Lois
