The electricians have finally finished and handed over the certificate (and the bill). Well, not quite. We’ve decided the exhibition area needs more light. We can’t afford anything sophisticated, just bigger flourescents and doubles instead of single tubes. Sheila has created a stunning installation which will benefit from the upgrade. I also intend to start painting the floor next week, ready for the open studios.
Met the curators Jane Hardstaff and Jayne Falconer who were selected for the residency in October. They will be working with artists from HMS as well as others in the region. It’s v exciting because the whole thing is quite organic where curators and artists are not sure of the outcome. The whole process is being documented and uploaded onto the website
www.standingroom.org. Kat has worked hard to get this off the ground without any budget, just great determination. It’s been a steep learning curve for both of us.
I feel we’re on the last leg of setting up HMS, though it’s not a full-stop. The Open Studios, 26th – 28th October provide the deadline for sorting out all physical aspects such as the kitchen area, plumbing and the rest of the lighting. The plumber was supposed to turn up today ….
The invites are on the way – snail post takes up to 3 weeks but much cheaper. We have a few problems beacause a couple of artists had nominated their partners to provide live music at the PV. However, they have been offered paid gigs so they had to pull out – a shame but quite understandable. It might be a CD player – we’ll see. After all we’ve achieved it seem quite minor.
The fire officer recommended fire exit signs over the doors, the sort which are wired up to the electrics This is necessary if we are to use the studios at night. As the electricians are already here I asked for a price … the contingency pot is gradually eroding. Anyway, I can’t ignore it, so Stuart is sorting it out. No smoking signs, hand-held extinguishers, a fire blanket and instructions are also on the shopping list. Oh and some sort of bell – to raise the alarm.
The electrician has finally made a start. Some other good news: the partner of one of the artists runs a kitchen business and will install kitchen units. What generosity! I can’t believe our luck. We are currently using a wash hand basin – not ideal but better than nothing. An aunty is also donating a kitchen table. We just need a fridge and a microwave and we’ll be sorted.
I’ve had five meetings this week. Kat organised the first to sort out the residency for the Standing Room. We had some excellent proposals and I’m am delighted with the final choice. There will be a website linked to HMS dedicated to the Standing Room – with a forum to encourage critical debate about curating. A webcam will also capture live discussions between audience and curators. All exciting stuff, only achievable with the technical help of Lori, Simon and Joss.
Kat has also created an Allotment Show for Christmas. An ingenius idea where artists are invited to submit work by reserving a space on a grid via the web. On receiving a £10 admin fee, the space will be officially booked. The work (15 inches square) is then delivered, photographed for the web and placed in the selected space. The grid will include floor space for sculptural pieces as well as a wall grid for 2-d work. The intention is to tour it to 2 venues – one in Long Eaton as well as somewhere else in the borough. It makes work at HMS more accessible too!
Going back to the meetings, we also had a gathering to discuss the launch. We haven’t managed to sort out funding – I have to hold my hands up because I developed admin fatigue before my hols and I haven’t fully recovered. We will therefore opt for a simple marketing plan with postcard invites and some press-releases. We have some funding in for workshops thanks to others in the group.
Another meeting involved a school. Without being too personal I wasn’t impressed….
As for my own work – it’s going depressingly bad. I can’t blame the environment, the weather or the other artists. The return of artistic angst…
