Trading Station

Publications

We have found the process of conducting our exchange through a series of newspaper publications a beneficial way of improving our international practice as POST. The use of multiple newspaper publications throughout the project has brought the following benefits:

· Created concentrated points of exchange where the artists involved have shared and conversed, leading to developments in our individual and collaborative practices. Fixed print deadlines within a flexible approach helped to maintain the momentum of the exchange.

· Created a tangible reason to ‘trade’, when separated by being in different countries, which some virtual methods did not create.

· Reduced the ‘stress levels’ associated with a one-hit exhibition. By opening up communication channels and having 4 publication points that both precede and follow an exhibition a more sustainable working method has been devised.

· A newspaper is a distributable medium that can be sent to our international contacts, providing better focused audience for the development and future professional support for the practices of the artists involved. This has been a valuable way of maintaining interest in the project from outside agencies. We have also broadened our distribution since paper 2, when we printed the document in Istanbul. We sent the publication from Istanbul to take advantage of the low cost postage, and used this approach and mailing list to distribute further publications.

1000 copies of each 16 page full colour newspaper were produced. The publication schedule was modified from the original schedule as follows:

#1 How we are going to make it real.
May 2012
Distributed in Liverpool during Liverpool Art Month. Limited distribution in Istanbul.

#2 Paylas/Share
September 2012
Developed during CK residency in Istanbul. Finalised and published during CW residency in Istanbul. Wide distribution in Istanbul, to international European contacts. Wide distribution in Liverpool during Liverpool Biennial

#3 Open Conversation
November 2012
Developed during the residencies of NA & GA in Liverpool with POST and Curve Gallery. Published to be distributed throughout Liverpool during the final 3 weeks of Liverpool Biennial. Postal distribution to Istanbul & to international European contacts.

#4 Outcome. Consequence. Effect.
April 2013
All artists discussed during Sept 2012 that it might be beneficial to leave a period of time between the 3rd & final publications to allow for reflection and for things to happen organically with the exchange and the outcomes of the work. This longer period has meant that the content of the publication is not forced, and it has also been able to better fit with personal and professional commitments of each of the artists.

This publication was timed to coincide with the World Book Fair, which had a Turkey market focus and outreach events in Liverpool, and the INN London Turkey Art Fair.

This publication has had the widest distribution throughout Liverpool, to many contacts in Istanbul and to our contacts across Europe.

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An evaluation of TRADING STATION. Part 2.

Funding

The major cash spending this project spent was as follows:

Funds for travel between partner cities 14% of total project cost

(of which 58% ACE, 17% other funding, 18% artist funded, 7% in kind)

Production costs for new artworks 10% of total project cost

(of which 41% ACE, 25% artist funded, 34% in kind)

Artist fees for time spent on the exchange by the artists 68% of total project cost

(of which 15% ACE, 85% in kind)

A series of 4 research publications documenting the exchange 5% of total project cost

(of which 85% ACE, 15% other funding)

Exhibition Costs 4% of total project cost

(of which 2% ACE, 22% Artist funded, 76% in kind)

We pursued a number of alternative grant funding schemes. These were as follows:

Successful funding secured

· METAL/Liverpool John Moores University/Liverpool Art Month. We received £500 from the above, which supported the printing costs of our first publication.

· UKTI. Claire successfully raised £1000 funding from UKTI to cover her 2 research visits to Istanbul.

· Cecilia Kinnear received a Bursary of Excellence of £500 from John Lewis Partnership to support her work on the exchange.

· METAL/Liverpool Art Month will provide up to £200 to collate a limited edition of the four newspapers for distribution in May 2013.

· Support in kind. We originally estimated that £37,360 would support the project in kind. The final figure was £44,070. 89% of the support in kind is unpaid time by the artists involved with the project. 11% of the support in kind came from external sources.

Unsuccessful funding applications

CDA Projects €10,000

The Elephant Trust £2000

Juliet Gomperts Trust £650

SAHA £8020

Step Beyond – did not apply

Exchange Visits

Being physically present in another place is an essential part of an international artist exchange. Seven artists (five from the UK and two from Istanbul) spent a minimum of 1 week in the partner city during 2012.

Our timescale for exchange visits between Liverpool and Istanbul became more flexible due to the availability of artists in both countries due to other work and family life, cultural holidays (Ramadan), and natural slippage.

Exchange visits happened as follows:

· Claire Weetman completed her first 1 week visit to Istanbul in April 2012

· Cecilia Kinnear was in residence in Istanbul for 2 weeks during July 2012

· Claire Weetman returned to Istanbul for a 2 week residency period in August 2012

· Susan Meyerhoff Sharples & Amanda Oliphant worked in Istanbul for a 1 during September 2012

· Nancy Atakan and Gülçin Aksoy came to Liverpool during September to work with POST and at Curve Gallery.

· Robyn Woolston visited Istanbul for a 2 week period during October 2012

Evaluating TRADING STATION

POST’s plan with TRADING STATION was to make it’s outcomes transparent to help others learn from our experiences, so over the next few weeks I’m going to publish some excerpts from our evaluation that was submitted to the Arts Council last friday. Here’s a quick reminder about what TRADING STATION was all about for the uninitiated:

– An artist-led project initiated by 5 female, Liverpool-based artists.

– Starting in April 2012

– An exchange with artists in Istanbul, which, like Liverpool, has been European Capital of Culture.

– A series of residencies by artists from both cities, to develop individual artistic practices

– A series of newspaper publications that provided space for exchange and ‘trade’ between the artists to occur

– An opportunity to develop a sustainable way of operating an artist-led exchange programme

– It was funded by an Arts Council Grants for the Arts grant (£16.7K), UK Trade and Investment, a number of smaller bursaries & funding pots and a lot of time in kind.

– our aims were

1. To set up both virtual & physical spaces and times for ‘TRADING STATION’

2: Further POST’s work in the field of professional female art practice.

3. Develop Individual Practice & Interdisciplinary methods.

4. Develop the legacy of European Capitals of Culture.

5. Make our processes and outcomes transparent

There’s 13 parts to follow, some of which might be interesting, others are going to be a bit dull, but I hope it proves to be a useful resource for others.