A new blog post already! I wanted to tell you about something else that is going on that I’m rather excited about.
I have a friend called Colette from 104 Duke Street Studios in Liverpool. We meet up often and we talk about art and put the world to rights and in the process we get excited about art, we motivate each other to do things (we run the Liverpool Critique Group together) and we do admittedly spend time complaining about artists who want to take opportunities but don’t want to make opportunities. The main conclusion that comes from our little meetings is that we don’t want to do things on our own, we know there are other people out there who also want to make exciting art things happen in Liverpool and who will put the work in. We want to work with these people.
So we had this idea to get people together. It started with the suggestion that we should have some kind of Liverpool Studio Groups consortium, but I know that there are some great doers in Liverpool who might not belong to a studio group and there are some organisations and collectives that make great things happen that are not studio groups. We want to give everyone the opportunity to be part of this.
There have been attempts to set up art consortia in Liverpool in the past and some of them still exist. What might make this one different is that it is not just about networking, it’s about being active and it will not result in an umbrella organisation being formed, instead, Colette and I will try to take a leadership role but we don’t want to control it. We don’t want to make Liverpool’s wonderful independent art organisations more formal, we just want to elevate them, as they are.
So I spoke with Art in Liverpool who said they would support us and Colette had an idea about making a website that showcases all the Liverpool Studio Groups in one place and we met with The Well Space to try to get them in on it and they said we can use them as a venue. So now we’re having a meeting. The invitation is below. It went on the Art in Liverpool website yesterday and I’ve already had a load of responses, many from people I don’t recognise. It made me laugh because the title is ‘Invitation to Make Something Happen’ and everyone is emailing saying they want to attend ‘Make Something Happen’. It was meant to be an invitation to make something happen, not to attend an event called ‘Make Something Happen’, but I quite like it that it’s been read that way. At least the event has a name by default now.
If it does nothing else, the consortium will provide a platform for the doers to meet each other, inspire each other and make arrangements to do more, for the studio groups to have a more joined up approach, for people to share information, make friends and connections and feel like there is something bigger behind them, supporting them. It might help to redress the balance, when some organisations get all the publicity and others who are equally doing amazing things, do not.
At best the consortium will convince the doers to make something more planned and joined up happen during the Biennial, or on Light Night, or at any other time of the year. It might convince someone to try out something they have always wanted to do but never felt confident or motivated enough. It could result in a publication that comes out at various times in the year and maybe collectives or individuals will get together and apply for funding for projects. Someone might facilitate one joined up project that happens during Biennial time and links all the independent organisations together.
In a leadership role, the themes I am interested in pursuing are to do with showcasing quality art, making art happenings that are original and progressive yet entertaining, offering both complex and non complex viewpoints and even evoking a sense of wonder, as well as engaging the public, enticing them into our world and showing them how much they can enjoy art.
AN INVITATION TO MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN.
ATTENTION active artists, studio groups, collectives, underground, overground, independent makers of artistic happenings in Liverpool!
We have a cunning plan that has something to do with getting the doers together, plotting, sharing and forming an alliance, so that we become stronger in partnership, but not structured in a way that stifles our informal, individual approaches. This is just about supporting one another, telling the world about what we’ve got and maybe even making some exciting things happen.
There is fantastic art being made, shown and performed in Liverpool. We just want to tie a big bow around what is already there, give an extra kick to what’s nearly there and then make a song and dance about it all.
Join us to start the discussion
On – Tuesday 27th October, 6pm
At – The Well Space 2 Roscoe Street, Liverpool, L1 2SX https://www.facebook.com/TheWellSpaceLiverpool1
Please tell us if you are coming as we want an idea of numbers, or if you are interested but can’t make this meeting, email us anyway. Reply to [email protected]
From Josie and Colette (but it doesn’t matter who we are)
