ARTISTS TALKING

# 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.

# 30 [27 September 2007]

The electricians have finally finished and handed over the certificate (and the bill). Well, not quite. We've decided the exhibition area needs more light. We can't afford anything sophisticated, just bigger flourescents and doubles instead of single tubes. Sheila has created a stunning installation which will benefit from the upgrade. I also intend to start painting the floor next week, ready for the open studios.

Met the curators Jane Hardstaff and Jayne Falconer who were selected for the residency in October. They will be working with artists from HMS as well as others in the region. It's v exciting because the whole thing is quite organic where curators and artists are not sure of the outcome. The whole process is being documented and uploaded onto the website

www.standingroom.org. Kat has worked hard to get this off the ground without any budget, just great determination. It's been a steep learning curve for both of us.

I feel we're on the last leg of setting up HMS, though it's not a full-stop. The Open Studios, 26th - 28th October provide the deadline for sorting out all physical aspects such as the kitchen area, plumbing and the rest of the lighting. The plumber was supposed to turn up today ....

The invites are on the way - snail post takes up to 3 weeks but much cheaper. We have a few problems beacause a couple of artists had nominated their partners to provide live music at the PV. However, they have been offered paid gigs so they had to pull out - a shame but quite understandable. It might be a CD player - we'll see. After all we've achieved it seem quite minor.

# 29 [14 September 2007]

The fire officer recommended fire exit signs over the doors, the sort which are wired up to the electrics This is necessary if we are to use the studios at night. As the electricians are already here I asked for a price ... the contingency pot is gradually eroding. Anyway, I can't ignore it, so Stuart is sorting it out. No smoking signs, hand-held extinguishers, a fire blanket and instructions are also on the shopping list. Oh and some sort of bell - to raise the alarm.

# 28 [5 September 2007]

The electrician has finally made a start. Some other good news: the partner of one of the artists runs a kitchen business and will install kitchen units. What generosity! I can't believe our luck. We are currently using a wash hand basin - not ideal but better than nothing. An aunty is also donating a kitchen table. We just need a fridge and a microwave and we'll be sorted.

I've had five meetings this week. Kat organised the first to sort out the residency for the Standing Room. We had some excellent proposals and I'm am delighted with the final choice. There will be a website linked to HMS dedicated to the Standing Room - with a forum to encourage critical debate about curating. A webcam will also capture live discussions between audience and curators. All exciting stuff, only achievable with the technical help of Lori, Simon and Joss.

Kat has also created an Allotment Show for Christmas. An ingenius idea where artists are invited to submit work by reserving a space on a grid via the web. On receiving a £10 admin fee, the space will be officially booked. The work (15 inches square) is then delivered, photographed for the web and placed in the selected space. The grid will include floor space for sculptural pieces as well as a wall grid for 2-d work. The intention is to tour it to 2 venues - one in Long Eaton as well as somewhere else in the borough. It makes work at HMS more accessible too!

Going back to the meetings, we also had a gathering to discuss the launch. We haven't managed to sort out funding - I have to hold my hands up because I developed admin fatigue before my hols and I haven't fully recovered. We will therefore opt for a simple marketing plan with postcard invites and some press-releases. We have some funding in for workshops thanks to others in the group.

Another meeting involved a school. Without being too personal I wasn't impressed....

As for my own work - it's going depressingly bad. I can't blame the environment, the weather or the other artists. The return of artistic angst...

# 27 [28 August 2007]

"Do you have an anti-bullying policy?" "What about risk-assessment?" - just more questions I was asked this week. And my response:"We haven't even got a proper sink yet." What do we do if it starts raining cats and dogs and we didn't have enough wellies to go round? You see, this whole business is sending me mad! You put up a few partitions and rent out some spaces and all of a sudden you are supposed to have all this paperwork in place.

# 26 [20 August 2007]

I have just spent a week at the edge of Bodmin Moor. The weather was a bit rubbish but the break has helped me to reboot. No internet and no mobile phone. Lori and Sheila fielded the phonecalls and emails and it was remarkably calm in my absence. Thank you both!

I have received a few applications for the 3 remaining spaces. We will be holding a meeting (at the end of August) as a group to make a decision. We are also triyng to work out a constitution, but we are still at the embryonic stage. I think it is important to get the structure right. This was the message I was getting from studio groups I researched before we got the keys.

Creative Launchpad have offered their services for free to help HMS artists develop their professional practice. This includes one-to-one meetings as well as training sessions. They are also going to help me develop my business skills in relation to HMS. In particular, forming a cooperative and issues relating to health and safety. Brilliant - I have someone to bounce ideas off.

Rang up the electrician today and it seems he may be able to start as early as next week. The Arts Council money will also be on its way - so fingers-crossed.

# 25 [10 August 2007]

Had a fright: my computer died. It wouldn't boot up and all the files relating to HMS were locked inside. I dropped into the store where I bought it. The assistant took the battery out and plugged it into the mains and hey presto - it worked. I could have cried. This happened last week and it served as a wake up call to back-up. The necessary drive arrived yesterday. It was £80 and another one of those 'contingencies' - or unexpected costs that arise - along with extra keys and the rise in the price of copper.

# 24 [9 August 2007]

I had a letter which began, "I am pleased to let you know..." from one of the solicitors. It went on to say the deal had been concluded in relation to the SIPP. I thought good. I failed to notice the significance of the line which went on to say we had elected to pay VAT. Jem read it and went bananas. Apparently he had been at pains throughout the negotiating period to stress that we did not want to pay VAT. It would mean that whilst we could recover VAT on any building works, (which aren't that extensive) - we would have to charge the artists who colud not recover it. It looked like an expensive mistake. We spent a sleepless night until a phonecall first thing revealed it was a typist's error. It was one of those copy and paste letters which got paste-happy.

started some small oil paintings this week. Turps never smelt so good. Just when I thought things were getting more creative, I had to deal with STUFF. I arrived at HMS to find a locksmith was fitting a new lock to the turret. Noone had thought to let me know. The locksmith told me he had been instructed to do all the buildings for health and safety reasons, and as we didn't own the stairs there was no obligation for the company to tell me. We may only be a minority shareholder but we do have rights.
The immediate problem was to get keys cut for everyone. We have artists from 20 miles radius so deliverng them personally was out of the question. Four of us were at the mills today and between us we have managed to sort it.