Art-Athina was a brilliant experience. Also exhausting. We hit the ground running as our plane was late.
After dumping our baggage at the hotel, we made our way to the stadium to start installing the work at 6.30pm. There were a few teething problems as the sockets and lights were not in the booth as we had expected.They would have to wait til tomorrow. We unpacked and began the task of hanging the work. At 9.30 there was a message to vacate the building as the lights were being switched off.
Time for something to eat. We thought we’d try the tram which we were assured was 2 stops away from the hotel. Except we caught the one going in the wrong direction. We were lost and hungry. A happy accident as we stumbled on a humble restaurant that served traditional Greek food at a very modest price. Calamari, octopus, humous and other traditional food with a carafe of wine for less than 7 euros a head. Yummy. it was definitely time for a taxi. We needed to be up early to instal the rest of the show at 9am before the press arrived at 12.
1 x installation 3 x digital prints 2x DVD portable players 1x wall piece of 9 objects 6 x small paintings on board 1 x small portfolio 1 x book 1 x sketchbook business cards postcards fixings Artwork by 5 different artists. All in a suitcase. As you might guess these items have been thoughtfully considered by each artist and therefore light and transportable… And v visual. Ive finished printing the labels and bumf. I’ve handed the info over to Alison who has organised statements and biogs in a folder. Kerri and Alison are carrying tools and various other bits to hang the work. It’s a team effort. The invitation to participate in Platform Projects @ Art-Athina was open to all members of HMS. Seven responded and the challenge was to find a thread that linked the different practices. My proposal to respond to the metaphorical, sociological or literal definition of ‘strata’ was broad enough for both a conceptual as well as a more literal approach. It will be interesting to see the result tomorrow evening. We’re off tomorrow at 6am to Stanstead . yey!
1 x installation
3 x digital prints
2x DVD portable players
1x mixed media piece of 9 shelves
5x small paintings on board
All this in a suitcase and hand luggage on a Ryanair flight. I am picking up the last piece today and will pack and weigh tomorrow.
Being on the edge of Nottingham HMS can feel a bit isolated from the other studios. I try to make the effort to see events etc in order to feel connected. Yesterday, 3 of us from HMS visited Primary, formally a school but converted into a labyrinth of studios, exhibition and project spaces. The studios are to die for! It was great to catch up with artists and see some interesting work.
Yesterday, Chris Wright and myself were notified that we were selected for Summer Lodge at NTU. We were 2 of 5 artists from Nottingham studios to be selected. Nottingham Trent Fine Art staff team have selected 5 artists from local studio groups to participate in a two week artists residency hosted in the NTU studios, Summer Lodge.
The overall participants making up this year are a total of 31 artists from NTU staff, HPL’s & PhD students, Sheffield Hallam University fine art staff
Jem’s firm like many other surveying and law firms, offers pro bono advice for various studio groups and charity organisations ie on a voluntary basis. Jem has helped a few studios and saved one group of artists from years of financial stress because they were unaware of the implications of a break clause in the lease. As his firm normally charges his services out at A significant sum per hour, only a limited number of cases can be taken on. But it is worth artists asking around for firms that offer this advice. On a different note, I have spent large chunks of time adapting two portable DVD players ( those designed to keep kids entertained in the car). I needed to find a way of plugging the gaps between the screws enabling the fixing to lie butt up against the wall. i can’t believe I ever thought polystyrene was going to work. After a few attempts I came up with a rather modest and insignificant looking structure.
Seven artists are showing work at Platforms@art-thina. Everything has to be packed in a suitcase along with tools, info and portfolios. Oh and clothes and a toothebrush. 3 of us are flying with Ryanair where there is zero tolerance for excess baggage and extra inches..so it all requires some thought. We have a couple of portable DVD players for Maggy and Chris’s video/sound pieces. Even these are heavier than I imagined. Sookyoung Huh and David Manley are exhibiting digital prints which will travel in tubes. Chris Wright’s wall piece fits in a plastic food container. Maggy Milner’s installation, ‘Something’s eating my daffodils’ is made of plastic and polycarbonate tubing. We still have to find a way of protecting and packing it safely. Kerri Pratt and Alison are travelling so will be carrying their own paintings. I have made a series of copies of miniature oil paintings on board which are currently drying. From past experience board is a good option as it requires minimal wrapping. Today, I have been sorting out labels and statements/biogs of all the artists. Nearly there. Paul Warren’s show is due to come down whilst I’m away so I’ve had to make arrangements for someone to coordinate with Paul so he isn’t left high and dry. Thankfully, this wasn’t a problem and someone has come forward to help. I am seeing Carole Hawthorne on Friday about her show of recent paintings which is due to be installed on my return.
