risks

i wrote some time ago about risks within the art trail. this morning we've had another reminder of risk. the shop that has been empty for months and on our radar for displaying stuff has now become a hot bed of activity for something as yet unknown.

as we waited for the agent to arrive this morning to give us the keys there was a feeling of something not being right. at the 10 minute point, of waiting for the agent to arrive with the key i rang him. he was in duffield. i'm expecting a phone call back from him to explain where the landlord is with stuff.

christine and i are rapidly realising we don't have an empty shop right now. contingency plan b will swing into operation, once i've run around the library displaying the international distress signal...

working at the weekend

i find myself working at the weekend. well that's not exactly correct as what i'm actually doing is editting and adding words to this legacy blog for the art trail while cooking and preparing brunch. i would rather play on this blog adding stuff and stuff than watch ebay continuously waiting for another bidder on an item i have for sale.

now my funded project within my practice has begun, the art trail has become a thing of beauty that i tinker and play with when not in full practice mode. i've added some additional pages to this site, they are for listing the artists and venues of the art trail. i very much get a sense of a work in progress for the whole thing. my funded project to receive funding had to be planned and thought through before any decision could be made about the award. with this project, it is very much in real time and i remain aware of the risks involved in this approach. the benefit of it of course is that in subsequent years of doing the art trail, the basis of knowledge about it will be from this pilot year, so there is everything to gain.

i've placed my own words on the artist page. they are short and to the point. the work will be made during an upcoming residency in derby. i'm quite excited about having an opportunity to show something only a few weeks after having it made. from talking to some of the other artists, there does seem to be a spirit of new beginnings and possibility.

i'm looking forward to how all the work sits together.

it also remains that i view this site as a work in progress and will only be complete once it becomes a legacy of the event. which is a round about way of saying that at any point it's viewed, there's still more to be added to it. so the list of artists added today is not the final list...

risks

as we enter may, i am all too aware of the risks associated with attempting this project.

a large one is that of time being spent on the project being in line with those working on it during the day light hours. potentially the risk is that i cannot spend as much time on the planning as those who daily jobs allow for time to be spent on it.

i hope that all parties are able to accomodate my risk and be patient and supportive as this project develops.

we are at the point of approaching artists that we would like to be part of this pilot year. as discussed before, there is a risk that we do not reach our target figure. time will tell of course.

waiting...

i keep wanting to do something on this project.

the main thought is getting details and information from those participating artists and shops and getting more information onto the webpage. being realistic and honest, as we all approach the long weekend of easter and the large public wedding, i can't help feeling i should leave all what i want to do until we get into may.

evolution of thinking about setting up the trail

when chris said to me that she wanted to set up the trail, i was instantly behind her as it was a great opportunity to so something with an art centric endeavour in belper.

we've been thinking about it and considering it since last september/october. it was before christmas that we decided to attempt 10 artists and 10 shops, as a pilot tester project. on the face of it, this is straight forward, we ask 10 shop keepers to take part and 10 artists to participate. with chris and i wanting to display, that only leaves 8 to find.

lately in my personal practice, i have been struggling to get responses from people with whom i'm attempting new things with. not across the board, just a few isolated instances. what i am experiencing is affecting my well being and clarity of thinking.

in the last few days, i've realised that the internal way i was thinking about putting the art trail together was affecting my well being also. i was thinking about it in terms of an uphill struggle, to realise the intentions. i think the source of the uphill notion is born from an exposure to all the public sector and art sector cuts and redundancy and stuff that is very pull downy for want of any other better way of saying it.

so to turn this around in myself, i need to think about the art trail in a different way. here's the foundations of the art trail:

chris and myself's intention is to mount a trail of art work in belper with the food festival as a pivot of the exhibition. the trail to be spread from the a6 to the market square. this is the first time we've done this in belper, so we're not asking for any funding, as we must first prove what we can do. we have the support and backing of a really supportive and helpful food festival committee. we will put on a display of work in belper

here's my evolution of thinking:

between chris and myself we can put work in as many shops as we can get to our target of 10. by talking to the people who run the shops we can achieve the intention of 10. by talking to members of the artistic community in belper we can replace our work for that made by others. with the help of 8 members of the artistic community in belper we can achieve our 10 in 10 goal. this shift in my thinking helps me to enjoy being part of the art trail.

to my knowledge between chris and i we have spoken so far to 4 members of the artistic community. we have more on our list to talk to too.

i think there is a little bit of a panic in me driven by the unknown, for this is the first time in belper that we have attempted this. i can work towards reducing the panic by continuing to talk and answer questions and be realistic about this, the first year of the trail. we need to do it once to establish a real foundation, to then build on it in subsequent years.