NAN

In June 2009, a.a.s. was granted a NAN Go and See bursary to travel to Glasgow for research and development. Artists’ Networks Coordinator Emilia Telese talks to Stuart Tait of AAS about the bursary and its impact on the group:

ET: Tell us about your group!

ST:Since a.a.s started in 2002, we have curated and organized around twenty events and exhibitions, collaborating with over 150 artists. Throughout this time we have built relationships with artists, galleries and curators and worked in various locations throughout the UK and overseas. We have experimented with creating work outside of the gallery context, using public spaces and unusual methods for reaching audiences. We found that by doing this we develop wider participation and engender a range of levels of potential involvement for participants. Our practice often involves working with other artists and the audience as collaborators in the work. The wrk we do is open to the possibility of being challenged or problematised by participants as well as developing through chance encounters.

ET: What did you want to achieve through your NAN bursary?

ST: We wanted to discuss our project The Other Place with other artists who work collaboratively and have a history of dialogue and participation in the local context in order to discuss their strategies and use this to strengthen our own practice. We also wanted to create a useful exchange of ideas and the possibility of having some of them and some of their own network, working with us on one of our projects. We also hoped to make similar connections to organisations and galleries, both to discuss possible opportunities for us to work with them, and to explore what we can learn from each others' strategies in involving audiences in the development of work

ET: What did you find out during your trip?

ST: We met with Anthony Schrag and Ellie Harrison and explored Glasgow with them, discussing possibilities for using venues and public spaces in future projects, and also how we could set up projects that took place across the two cities where we are based. We investigated how each of us uses urban and virtual spaces as sites of potential for generating ideas and engaging audiences and participants, and how these techniques could inform our future work. We identified any links that could be made for future development of our current work in progress, The Other Place.

ET: What do you think will be the effect of your NAN bursary for your group in the long term?

ST: We are keen to include the artists we met with in our future projects, and we have all benefited from the discussions around this kind of practice. We are also considering the possibility of developing a project that links Birmingham and Glasgow, exploring the new links between the networks of artists in those cities, as well as resonances between the industrial heritage of both cities.

Artists interested in being involved in a.a.s. can contact aas@aasgroup.net.

See AAS' NAN profile on www.a-n.co.uk/nan/organisation/44267

First published: a-n.co.uk February 2010