Supermarket days 3, 4, and +1
It struck me the other morning that I feel similarly about Supermarket to how I feel about the studio association and about my time at Dartington – that I am at home there, that I am a part of the lovely, slightly awkward Supermarket family. I can not imagine not ’doing’ Supermarket. Quite simply I belong there.
Saturday’s Meetings programme went well and I am really pleased that the final meeting was the international Virtual Studio Group – complete with virtual participants – it was a fantastically welcoming, open, and generous gathering. I was invited to join the group and might well do so. I will be seeing them at Juxtapose where they are also participating.
Sunday morning I met with Pam and Cecile from Juxtapose. In a flash of inspiration(?) I remembered that there is a wonderful independent garden centre with a lovely café not too far from the fair venue and not too far from where Pam and Cecile were staying. We met there and some oh-ing and ah-ing at the the plants I was treated to a very nice brunch and we three shared a slice of delicious carrot cake – quite possibly the best that I have had in Sweden. Our conversation was wide ranging, inspiring, and affirming. We talked about our lives, about Supermarket, and about Juxtapose. It made me even more pleased and excited about being part of Juxtapose 2025. I really like how Pam and Cecile are thinking about what Juxtapose could be – the biannual gathering, they are striking the words art fair from the name, is just one aspect of their ambition to support the artist-run scene. I am really pleased to see the development of their critical engagement, and am truly flattered that they are are open with me about their ideas.
Not having meetings on Sunday is so good! It gives me a chance to see the stands – I am pretty much fully occupied with first Forum and then Meetings from the moment that most booths are finished … which is usually only moments before the Forum session beings. So Sunday is the first opportunity for me to see what’s going on. It is also very nice to have time to speak with all the meeting moderators and hosts, to thank them for their meeting and to hear how it was for them.
I also got to speak with both established Supermarket participants and some first timers. I would so dearly love to be able to follow-up on all the invitations to visit artists in Ireland, Tunisia, Istanbul, San Paulo, Mexico, Essex, Canada. I am definitely going to do my best to get to Frankfurt this summer where I will not only get to spend time with some brilliant artists and see their spaces but also celebrate Pride – such a generous invitation!
Day +1 is always a little melancholic. This year the firm that the temporary walls are hired from arrived super early and by the time John and I arrived, after our traditional ’posh coffee’, the venue bore little trace of what it had been just sixteen hours earlier. Our tasks on Monday are odd: sorting the recycling, rolling up and putting away the banners, de-constructing the information desk, packing up the office. One minute I am carrying a sofa to the loading bay, the next I am carrying a single visitors badge to the small box where we are collecting such things to re.use next year. Mid afternoon I say my goodbyes and head back to Uppsala physically and mentally exhausted … and happy.
Reflecting on the fair I have a great sense of care and generosity, there was general feeling of community … family? I saw a good deal of hugging, and even handshakes were affectionate –often the other hand gently grasping of the upper arm or shoulder. Perhaps this is how things were before Covid (my first year as Meetings Coordinator was 2020 – the year that Supermarket became Super Local so my knowledge of the fair before the pandemic is from another perspective), or … and … perhaps the world political and economic situation is making artists, at least those in the ’always already’ alternative and independent artist-run sector, even more caring and compassionate. It felt hopeful, and that is much needed right now.
