Last week I went to Nottingham to attend the AIRInsights event at Surface gallery, hosted by Rosalind Davies and Helen Jones from Walsall, who curated my degree show back in 2008.
Lots of insights into approaching curators, and developing relationships between artists and curators, commissioning work etc.
As it happens I’ve been applying secretly for Bend In The River at Gainsborough. This was the proposal I was putting together. I applied just after I graduated for work that I now realise really wouldn’t suit the location. Since then I’ve been to see Roy Pearce’s work there, and have been to several exhibitions at Bend In The River, met the curators and artists, I met the lovely Claudia Pilsl not so long ago, so I’ve gotten to know the kind of work exhibited and the spaces. I never knew how my work could respond to that unique location, but I’ve realised that it does. Fingers crossed I get that commission this time.
I got up early on Thursday morning to meet up to look around an empty shop space in the centre of Lincoln, which is outlined as a skillshare space with Lincolnshire Co-op. The Co-op are running the space and are having a cafe and workshops there, and I was hoping there’d be space for us to use on a regular basis, although this seems somewhat more limited to what I had in mind for Lincoln Artists’ Network. However, it’s an exciting prospect, especially as it won’t cost us anything other than a percentage towards overheads, and we won’t have to worry about all the insurance etc, because the Co-op will deal with that.
It’s not likely to be available until the new year now.
All of a sudden there was some excitement about some new studio spaces in Lincoln. An article I read by Susan Jones about how a majority of artists are giving up studios sat there glaringly in my mind’s eye. I prefer to hide away and work in my studio at home, especially when I get no reply from emails to these people, and once our Empty Shop space gets going, we won’t need to charge artists as much, which will be a bonus.
Yesterday was another busy networking day, an EMVAN meeting that started off well… but it ended up becoming difficult to be heard, then I bumped into Jack Hutchinson on a lunch break before taking part in Lincoln’s first AIRtime event.
I was glad to receive some positive feedback from Catherine Burge, especially about the possibility for the empty shops space, then really enjoyed talking to students and gaining support for the Cash For The Community fundraising efforts!!
In between all of this, I was offered a stall at the Indoor Market for the Christmas Market, in lieu of the empty shop not being quite ready yet, so I’m using this as an opportunity to promote the Cash For The Community, sell illustrated cards and some of my limited edition comics with fellow artists. I never make as much money as I’d like at markets, but it’s worth being involved in the Christmas Market for networking and spending a day chatting to interesting folk, I managed to negotiate the stall for free, so can’t really lose.
Yesterday the kids were off school on strike, and a lack of sleep the past couple of nights means I spent a day making proper Norwegian pepperkaker for gingerbread houses. I bought some shop ones from BHS last year and they were awful!!! Looked lovely, but tasted horrible. Proper pepperkaker is more-ish! If they turn out well I’ll sell some at the market! If not, the boys will eat them!!!
