In aid of ideas about artist-led groups I went to part of the Outpost Summer Fayre Symposium (Norwich) yesterday (by chance actually, but let’s pretend I’m just well informed and ‘out-there’). Lots of energy and inspiration and falafels, but sorely disappointing coffee. The symposium was more a series of short talks by the contributing organisations, such as a retro look at City Racing and someone from Permanent Bookshop based in Brighton. Lots of talk again about partnerships and credible partners – seems to be ‘on trend’ as it were, but a useful consideration and position for us. Interestingly, most places with their own venues felt the need to move away from and outside them in order to be part of something larger and be more connected up, so we have a possible strength in that we are forced to move out, around and away from the start, as we have little physical tethering, no gallery.
My impression is of lots of piles of print editions / newspapers and making process and archive into sellable, desirable commodity (financial sense?). I took a couple of photos but they’re still on my phone, so here’s a link to some info instead:
http://www.norwichoutpost.org/other_events/outpost…
The stamp collage, of course, is another satellite version. Perhaps it could be one of our seven types of group limited edition prints….
Dominique Rey
To be without a space
Satellite has never had a physical space, we move around spaces for studio visits, meetings and we work with different partners/venues when planning and running our in conversation events. As we are based in disparate geographical locations managing a physical space would be impossible and in fact we see it as a strength of the group that we operate without one.
I was collecting work from APT gallery in Deptford today and took the opportunity to look at Core Gallery which is almost next door. Their gallery is the corridor between the individual studios and Caroline Lambard had installed a series of three dimensional cubes in the space which worked beautifully with the roof structures of the building www.calcaro.com I liked how the work asked something of the space. The in conversations thus far have been like cafe salon affairs and i wonder if this may develop in our next project to ask more of the space itself (which ever space that is) the location and how people get there.
The journey home was hot (it being the hottest day of the year in London thus far) and a traffic jam to the Blackwall Tunnel resulted in us crawling along for a good while. Did get a good chance to look at the familiar beauty of the gas tower, now a redundant space, empty yet full of potential.
Nicola Naismith
Wondering about the myriad ways to archive our group processes and our past attempts. So much of our group ‘stuff’ – the conversations and batting back and forth of ideas, tasks, preferences, troubles – disappears in a puff of smoke and the odd saved email remains. We tried, and abandoned to date, our attempts of recording the ‘In-Conversation’ events, which in the moment appeared rich in thoughts and ideas. Difficult to capture the energy and liveliness of our ongoing series of studio visits, after the event. I suppose the blog serves as a more solitary, quieter record of part of these group processes without the ‘groupness’.
Dominique Rey
Nicola and I met with two of the Aid&Abet originators – Sarah Evans and David Kefford – between shows at their gallery, Cambridge. We had an interesting and inspiring time discussing different models for artist-led groups and events and future permutations for our Satellite ‘IN – CONVERSATION’ series of talks. We were so involved in the chat that we forgot to take a photo for our archive, so here’s an alternative picture – of a satellite dish.
Despite driving rain the roof held up well. I checked the weather for Omdurman and it was not raining at all there.
Dominique Rey
