Funding

There is no funding allocated to this project, unlike the £1000 we had for the BBROOTS project. This has presented us with a few challenges so far and possibly more to come. We are in the process of looking into fundraising ideas in order to get wood supplies for the sound boards and printing of marketing, as well as any unforeseen costs. Saltram House staff are getting back to us about whether the National Trust can supply any drinks/refreshments for the opening of the exhibition.

Liaising

In order to bring together each element of the event, the curatorial team liaised with the other interns, Take a Part and external agencies.

We liaised with Take a Part to establish various issues such as transport, refreshments, access to photography for printing, access to films which were screened at the event, information for marketing etc. We also negotiated with other members of the group to delegate tasks and keep people updated on progress of the event and held a large group meeting which involved all members of the group. During this meeting on the 22nd January, we designated roles for the day of the event in order for it to run smoothly:

Tess/Jem/Reiss – Curating and setup
Siobhan/Ellie – Website station and photography
Maddy – Filming of the event
Pip/Will – Photobooth
Kath/Tiff – Bonkers Bunting station and fashion show

During this meeting we also established the plan for the event with the group and made final deadlines for marketing and website completion.

Motorcade/Flash Parade & BV Studios, Bristol

Motorcade/Flash Parade

Motorcade/Flash Parade started up in 2009 and functions as an artist-led space in Bristol. The aim is to ‘excite, offering a tantalising vacuum, an interruption… an empty space ready for exploration, experimentation and adventure; where boundaries are pushed, ambitions exceeded and freedom is enjoyed by both artists and audience.’

They run a variety of events and exhibitions including an annual summer residency, which this year was given to Steven Paige – one of our Fine Art lecturers. We were also accompanied by him on the visit to Bristol so it was interesting to view the results of the residency and hear from the artist himself on his experiences.

The exhibition consisted of several different media set ups, two video projections, two small TVs and a simple table with some texts and book references displayed. The feel of the installation and films was very educational and about the learning and intrigue and intentionally amateurish. The subject of the work was based around the Milgram experiment of the 1960’s, which was a series of social psychological experiments which measured the willingness of people to act under authority. The main film projection in the exhibition was a modern day re enactment of this experiment, exploring the notions of control and the role of teacher/learner.

All of the film shown in the installation are influenced by the instructional films of the 1950’s and 60’s. The smaller projection, TVs and books support and contextualise the work as the large projection acts as a metanarrative.

I felt that the exhibition was a success, the concept seemed to be well rooted and contextualised which is something I always look for and the work itself was well made, especially when considering the time scale of the residency. In terms of the way the work was curated I think it was a success; there was a clear relationship between all of the pieces in the installation but keeping the large projection as the focal point on the main wall.

The space itself was fairly large but due to the nature of the gallery and its budget there were some aesthetical things I noticed that could have been fixed. The blinds blocking out the sunlight from above had holes in which let some light into the otherwise blacked out space, as well as a random cork board propped up against a wall which was clearly accidental but took away from the professional qualities of the show.

I think it was important to compare this space to Spike Island, with less of a reputation, Motorcade/Flashparade gives more room to experimentation and informalities. Though as a space it felt messier and less care taken over it as a space to exhibit works, compared to Spike Island; a bigger space with a larger budget.

BV Studios

On the same site as Motorcade/Flashparade there are a large number of studios for rental. BV Studios is owned by a man who rents out the studios at what seems like a relatively good price, in the heart of Bristol and surrounded by dozens of other artists it seemed like a really good space to rent. We were given a tour around some of the ‘clean’ and ‘dusty’ studios – divided in terms of the messiness of the nature of their work.

The studio spaces varied in size, some of them fairly small, others larger but generally well lit and airy. What struck me was the variety of work seen in the spaces – some very contemporary sculptural works compared with some landscape drawings and watercolour paintings. The interaction and variation of work you get to interact with as an artist working there would be really valuable.

The application process seemed fairly simple, emails exchanged, an application form including 8 images and a CV to then wait a selection process and if successful artists go into a pool awaiting a studio which suits their artistic needs.

Prices: range from around £5/6 per square ft – averaging £600 a year for a 100sqft space. Contact: contact@BVstudios.co.uk

References

Cnr.berkeley.edu. 2013. Milgram’s Experiment on Obedience to Authority. [online] Available at: http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7article/article35.htm [Accessed: 11 Oct 2013].

Motorcadeflashparade.com. 2013. Motorcade/FlashParade: About. [online] Available at: http://www.motorcadeflashparade.com/p/about_24.html [Accessed: 11 Oct 2013].