ARTISTS TALKING

# 40 [11 February 2008]

I’m on top of most of the dross, but there is still stuff I should have dealt with weeks ago.  Like the telephone.  The easiest access for BT was in my space. My intention was to extend the connection over three other workspaces to a mid-point near the entrance to HMS.  Unfortunately the job is a tad more tedious now because artists have moved more gear into their spaces.  Although the line is for incoming calls only and broadband, it will make life easier for everyone once it’s done. No excuse really.

Onto something a little more rewarding - the residency of Christopher Parkes.  

There is always a pang when a show comes down, and this was true when Christopher’s residency in Standing Room ended last Friday.  His miniature landscapes in response to the Allotment show had undergone a series of changes, both controlled and organic.  During the last two months I had looked forward to seeing the various stages of reconfiguration and observed both the minutiae and the drama on a regular basis. 

Christopher’s first landscape in the prescribed Allotment show format of a 15 inch square was contained in a pristine white box. A discarded tape lay inside.  By the launch of the Allotment exhibition in mid December, there was little hint of change, but as if on cue for the Christmas celebrations, a lush green swathe of young shoots appeared -  despite the seasonal cold weather. When much of the show moved to the Town Hall, Christopher chose to use remnants of the exhibition, the hooks, the screws and the various fixings as part of the installation.

 The original ‘plot’ was moved due south-west and nearer to the window where the plants continued to thrive. Two unpainted boxes also formed part of the new composition. Nestled amongst the shoots in the middle container were numerous small red metal rods, peering like periscopes in different directions, directing the viewer to the matrix of fixings on the wall.  Drama in mid January occurred when a schism in the earth revealed the base - a natural disaster on a miniscule scale.

The third box contained ivy and a figurine of a cat – thus encouraging the viewer to look closer and from a different perspective. Over time, I imagine the climber would extend well beyond the boundaries of Standing Room and into the rest of HMS! 

There was also a fourth ‘plot’: a burial mound with a childlike toy in the form of a grim reaper lay at the head of the pile.
see www.standingroom.org
 It makes all the dross worthwhile. 

# 39 [5 February 2008]

I was excited, but also nervous yesterday about the Artelier presentation by Nick Kaplony at HMS. It’s like hosting a party and wondering if anyone is going to turn up... only worse because Nick was on his way from London and I felt responsible.  Stupid I know, because artists were bound to be drawn to this exciting project facilitating connections all over the world for free  The website http://www.artquest.org.uk/artelier/' will be launched next month detailing how artists can become members. It was described a bit like a dating agency for artists and arts organisations where exchanges of creativity, resources, studios, galleries, accommodation etc can be facilitated ... and on an international scale.

Anyway, we laid out the medley of chairs including fold-up, garden chairs, stools and of course the donkey easel. 40 seats in all.  We stocked up with wine and nibbles and I picked up Nick from the train station. The new road works and the rush hour traffic highlighted the distance from Nottingham which took longer than normal. Would the artists travel to Long Eaton?

No worries. It was bums on all seats – with standing room for late-comers. Representatives from Southwell Artspace, Banks Mill, some newly formed studios and a few established groups from Nottingham came.  We had MA students from Derby, Bianca from Creative Launchpad and a few curators too.

The atmosphere was relaxed and the talk generated loads of questions. HMS artists were as always, helpful, with plenty of offers to pour wine and clear up.

 A seasoned form-filler who was used to producing figures for funders to crunch, asked me if everyone had signed in. I had intended to be organised this time, but was enjoying the occasion too much to get the visitors' book out. Jess has photographed and videoed the event so we do have a visual record.

# 38 [4 February 2008]

The Allotment show came down from the Town Hall on Wednesday. Most artists collected work but many chose to have it posted. Whilst this is an onorous job, the exhibition attracted artists from up and down the country where distance might have been an issue.

Waiting lists are fluid...or so I realised when Mazhah announced he was moving to Banks Mill studios (where he will receive business support after successfully securing a contract as a freelance designer). I contacted artists on the list but they had all moved on... or so I thought. A brief advert on the HMS website immediately attracted 3 artists. I had messed up though, because one of them had already registered her interest in November. I'm afraid I failed to record her details. Anyway, I will hand over the keys to Justine today.

# 37 [28 January 2008]

We're behind with marketing, so Kat and I were a bit concerned on Saturday that no one would turn up for a talk by Professor David Crouch on 'The Art of Allotments'. However, the first visitors arrived promptly at midday - from London. A car load from Leamington Spa arrived shortly afterwards and so our worries turned quickly to concerns about the logistics and seating arrangements.

In the end, the talk attracted 35 people - a mix of allotment holders and artists. We collected 22 chairs (donkey easels and stools included) - so it was 'cosy' with standing room only for late arrivals. The event was therefore v informal but the feed-back was fantastic. Lots of food for thought in relation to common ground shared by artists and allotment holders - creativity, shared spaces and property developers have also dentified both groups as soft targets.

The event provided a good rehearsal for the Artquest visit next week. I'm expecting roughly 40 artists so we will use the exhibition space for the presentation instead of the communal area. More seating and a projector have already been organised.

# 36 [20 January 2008]

We installed the Allotment show in Long Eaton town hall on Friday. With help from Stella, Phil as well as Isabel from the Council we managed to sort it out relatively quickly (given the constraints of the space which is smaller than Standing Room). Three  boards were only designed to hang lightweight works, but luckily three glass cabinets with an array of invisible props enabled us to display heavier 2-D pieces and sculptures. A fourth board gave us the chance to screw other pieces directly into the wall. It will be interesting to see the response from the locals!

I have abstained from most of the paperwork since Christmas... but it's no good it just doesn't go away. However, the volumes are not nearly as great as they were setting up HMS (at the moment) and so it doesn't seem quite so bad.

We have Nick Kaplony of Artquest coming to HMS on Feb 4th at 7:00pm to give a presentation about Artelier to the various studio groups in the area. I think most Nottingham studios will be represented - new and established. Also a few Derbyshire ones  which will be interesting as HMS straddles both counties.

# 35 [8 January 2008]

My New Year's resolution to resist filling in forms is already broken... it was only a teeny-weeny form and it didn't take an age. Well Jem hasn't divorced me:) I think it's unrealistic to avoid forms - none of us can survive in a bubble. If Standing Room is to survive beyond the summer we will need to secure funding and as Kat has worked hard to raise the profile, it would be a shame to let it go.

Sheila's work came down last week and the space seems v empty. However, it is also v exciting because Tether, a group of Notts Trent graduates arrived yesterday to make their mark in the exhibition area over the next month. It should be quite interesting because we also have Chris Parkes from Airspace responding to Standing Room at the same time.

Tether are storing their stuff in the "cupboard" next to my space. It's about 10m tall and 2m wide and the full length of the building. An amazing space! It bridges two buildings and used to house the drive belt for the lace machines. The original exterior brickwork makes it a unique space. It has great potential for amazing installations and I was pleased when Tether expressed an interest in making work for it.

# 34 [15 December 2006]

The Allotment show opened last night and despite so many other events, there was a reasonable turn-out. The feedback was good too, with some interesting comments to consider if we repeat the event in 2008. The show moves to Long Eaton town hall in the New Year so making the work accessible to a wider audience.

Kat has done an amazing job, but it has been an enormous task for one person. She's had help from a number of people including Lori, Laura, Joss and Stella but it has been Kat who has done the lion's share. I have tried to do as much as possible but there is always a lot of HMS stuff bubbling away, and we have had some major personal issues to deal with too.

# 33 [10 December 2007]

I was talking to an artist on Friday who is collaborating with another professional across the Atlantic. As you can imagine, the costs of meeting are not insignificant. Expecting she had financial support, I enquired who was funding the project. She was. Increasingly I am speaking to artists who can't face the painful process of filling in the forms and the agonising wait. They prefer to do overtime and pay out of their own pocket.

I am fortunate that HMS is self-sufficient. Though, I am grateful for the financial contribution from the Arts Council and Tina and Sarah gave sound advice, my partner has threatened divorce if I go through the proceedure again. He says the £5000 sum received, divided by the time it took to complete the form - equals the minimum wage plus a bucket load of stress.

# 32 [7 December 2007]

I was going to let this blog die a natural death, but it seems HMS has generated a lot of interest. It's not long since I returned from the studio providers conference at Spike Island, Bristol where I realised HMS is quite a unique set-up. It was depressing talking to a number of artists whose studios were at risk from disappearing because developers were moving in. Leases were coming to an end and studio groups are forced into premises with ever shorter leases - some less than it takes to do a body of work.

The last studio group in one city is struggling to survive in a damp, leaky building. Desperately looking for funding, they are in the unenviable position of having to prove 'need'. As their building contravenes every health and safety regulation, they dare not advertise. They are not replacing artists who are leaving and so it becomes increasingly difficult to prove 'need'. This is the LAST affordable studios in a major city. When I set-up HMS I was encouraged by the local arts council who were convinced artists would be drawn to affordable studios. Indeed this proved to be the case. But I am left wondering whether had I applied for more significant public funding, would I too, have been required to prove need.

Thank goodness the NFASP are on the case!
http://www.nfasp.org.uk/

Anyway, I will move on to our latest project - Allotments. Kat has done an amazing job. Details can be seen on http://www.standingroom.org/

The work for Allotments is by open submission on a first-come-first-served basis. Entirely unselected, I was expecting the entries to be pretty average. But most of the work is great, and it is like Christmas opening the packages. Work was submitted from all over the country including Newcastle, Stockport, Oxford, London as well as local residents.

Submission was also online and the artists chose their spaces - so the curation is quite random. However, it's amazing how visual connections are already being made between the pieces. We haven't finished hanging yet, but it promises tobe quite an exciting show. It will be previewed next Friday and I am v excited.

I have had a few difficult decisions to make which initially gave sleepless nights. One artist had to leave, but Jem is taking over the administration of the licenses and I think it will be easier being one-step removed.

Being on the Nottingham/Derbyshire border means we have feet in both camps. Our launch coincided with the Nottingham Contemporary Arts festival, but a Derbyshire wide festival takes place in May. The studio is split on whether we participate. From a personal perspective, it is too soon after the October one and I really haven't got involved in my work yet . From previous experience, I realise it takes time before a new studio feels like a second skin and I haven't achieved that oneness yet. However, I know this isn't the same for everyone, and I would support those who want to take part. I think it would be good for the stuidos to be in the Derbyshire loop too.

# 31 [20 October 2007]

'Beware of the artist' and 'Artists prohibited' - just some signs which I think the men in grey suits would like to pin on our door. Well thats what it felt like until last Wednesday when I took them round. The men, by the way, are board members of the Harrington Factory Company. Apparently they didn't know about our plans to create studios despite a letter to the managing director earlier this year. Politics. Anyway, they were reassured when they came round. We had considered fire risks etc and they had to admit it was better shape than some of the other companies. We gave them an invite to the open studios.

We have been working flat out for the Open but it is starting to pay off. We have painted most of the floor and walls. The kitchen units arrived last week. A BIG thank-you Sarah and her husband Joe. See the piccie. One of the units has been engraved - and as they are made of ply, you can see all the different layers of wood. Beautiful. Jess also presented the studio with a fridge, so no more sour milk. Thanks Jess :) This is all icing on the cake. From basic work spaces for messy artists we now have something much more.

We received funding from the Coop for a workshop and development of Standing Room. We are giving Justice for Carers a preview of the studios followed by a session with charcoal, clay and watercolours.

Kat has been working hard on Standing Room and the Allotment exhibition. Lori has developed the website so individual artists can log on and book spaces on the Standing Room website. This is v clever stuff which is way beyond me.

The Open is fast approaching, just hoping we have a good turn-out. I know we have some local newspaper coverage, so fingers-crossed.