Since my last post there have been two meetings. The first was a public event held in a lovely little café in Norwich called the Tea House. We advertised it as a show-and-tell, focusing on site-responsive and durational art. It went incredibly well: there were ten of us in the end, and after an hour of introductions/ examples of work we moved on to group discussions about making work in Norwich. We found that most of the group were not particularly interested in working in gallery spaces. There are plenty of empty shops in Norwich, and it has been suggested by three separate members of the group that we focus on Anglia Square as a possible location. Residents of Norwich may remember last year’s occupation of the shops in the square by British and European art collectives, organised by the Outpost gallery. It’s an interesting mid-20th century shopping and car park complex which has fallen into disrepair, and is now home to QD and Pound Stretchers. We are interested in having work that evolves during its occupancy of these spaces, and which is accessible/visible/audible to the public at all times.
Another refreshing thing about the meeting was the chance it gave us all to discuss our work and related practical/theoretical issues. I found it incredibly useful having to discuss issues which I had not had to vocalise since graduation, and I know a number of the other artists felt the same. Even if you constantly write about your practice for applications and publicity it is very rare to discuss it in a large peer group. This is one of the aims for other/other/other: a regular session for critical evaluation of work.
The meeting resulted in discussions which have helped to form our collective’s manifesto. Dot and I held our own private meeting last Monday (9th), in which we pinned down our aims for the group and wrote the manifesto. It is now published on our website so that future members/interested parties can see what we are about. We are provisionally planning a three-day period in August where we hire a space and make work alongside each other. This would be treated as a public event, so the audience would be able to turn up at different times during the weekend to witness an evolving activity. We see this as a precursor to the Anglia Square event, and probably won’t be seeking additional funding for this one. It’s more explorative, and will help to formalise our ideas for an application at a later stage. Our next public meeting will be on the 7th July where we will outline the plan: new participants are welcome of course!
This might be the last post for a few weeks: I’m doing a residency for a few days and then I’m off to Brighton for the Sonic Arts Network Expo. I’m playing at the University Café at 11.10pm (!) on Friday 4th July. Come along if you’re in the area.
