Tomorrow sees the opening of the CUBEopen exhibition. This is the one I applied for (without certainty) and mentioned in the blog. It’s usually a good exhibition and this year I am excited to see the work and to be in it.
http://www.cube.org.uk/exhibitions/detail.asp?id=2…
My personal experience has not been great however. There has been some broken communication from the start, the first instance of which was them asking to show ‘Inhabitant’, which was clearly marked IN AUSTRIA on my application form. Although I stated it would be a photograph on display, that hadn’t been read and their audible disappointment completely battered my confidence.
Their second choice was a work 3 metres high and it turned out they hadn’t read the dimensions so it wouldn’t actually fit in the gallery. Aside from those practicalities, there was also absolutely no budget for transport, so I couldn’t have brought it in anyway. As there is no budget for anything, I have to wonder where the £10 entry fee goes. The prize money is not sponsored, so I guess all the entrants are just chipping in for that. This feels especially wrong, like a lottery controlled by judges. I don’t know why, I just expected that money would go into making the exhibition happen.
After that it felt like ‘oh well, anything else will do’ like all my other work is a bit second rate. Anyway, that might all be inferred by me to be honest, but I just feel that I shouldn’t have been put in that situation at all. Next I drop my work off, and then find out I have to go back a few days later to finish install as the gallery was not ready for hanging.
Lastly, and the spectacular icing on the cake, I get a phone call from them saying one of my pieces has gone missing from the gallery. It has not been found and I am going in tomorrow to finish installing the other work and talk about insurance. My gorgeous new bookbinding shears were packed in with the work too dagnamit.
Clearly (to me), it is in a bin somewhere and probably flat as a pancake. I was surprised how gutted I was to lose this work,. This is probably because the whole thing seems so uneccesary and because I didn’t actually need to drop it off when I did. In theory I could re-make it, but I just can’t see that happening. Ironically I had just talked with the curator at YSP about including it in my solo show and using it as one of the starting points for the exhibition. HA. Not so.
I’m a bit resigned to it now, I just hope we can sort out money to pay for it. I shall be going to the opening, but I am sad to only be showing one (teeny) piece. I hope something good comes out of the exhibition so that it ends up being a more positive experience overall.
I have to say though, twitter and facebook have been amazing. I put out a question asking if people knew anything about insurance and galleries losing work. I had SO many replies, some with personal experience, some pointing me to useful websites, some patting me on the head and saying ‘there there’. I love the online art community, there are so many generous people out there. Thanks to everyone who replied and shared.
Gosh, MOAN OVER. Sorry about that. Cheer next time, I promise.
