I am constantly thinking about my practice and the direction its taking me my last project “hidden hunger”  was a breakthrough for me it was something I am passionate about and I enjoyed working with the food banks and their clients. I am considering a collaboration for my next project and I am starting researching this at the moment, I am looking forward to the Anna White talk as she runs POD Collective and has been involved in many collaborations with woman’s groups and asylum seekers. I am also contacting food banks to see if I can volunteer.

As part of my research I have been in contact with Judith McGarty, she runs not for profit adult training schemes called Inspired Stockport and has recently been working with Chelwood food bank running a computer course. I was interested to find out what response she had had for her course as I thought this would help me to decide on the direction I should take for my future work with the food bank clients, I was shocked to hear that she had only one person stay for a session on the first week and then none for the next three sessions at which stage they made the decision to abandon the course, I asked her why she thought this had happened she said this had been a learning curve for her and although some of the clients had shown an interest in the classes they had travelled by bus to get to the food bank and had commitments and were keen not to miss their return bus others showed an interest but didn’t feel they could commit at this time.

Although this wasn’t the news I was hoping for this revelation has defiantly made me think I need a back up plan …

I have just had a tutorial with Richard, and finally after three years we have hit the nail on the head as to why I have struggled documenting my process. I have always enjoyed researching my projects; in fact I am always researching, my problem is I have it in my mind that I am pre-researching before I start my official research and therefore I do not document any of my enquiries as I’m waiting to start it. In other words, I talk about the research I’m doing but I never get it down on paper

I feel this is a major breakthrough and hope I can now put this behind me and move forward and record!

We had a very engaging tutorial with Richard this week discussing messages in photographers work and the viewers engagement, we also spoke about how space can open up the narrative in photographs, this opened up a really good discussion with the group. We also gave feedback on the groups final projects. I enjoy these dialogues as it helps to hear how everyone else is dealing with his or her own challenges, I to get an incite on how others view my work, these discussions have become more important to me with each year of my degree, I enjoy contributing thoughts and ideas about other peoples work and I feel I have a lot to contribute although I still feel that my work somehow is less worthy of discussion I have deliberated this with Richard and although I am confident of my work and my direction when in a one on one situation doubt sits like a big black cloud in group situations. I then feel when I do speak I come across as sounding flippant about my own work, which is not how I feel at all! Definitely something I need to work on.

After the group discussion with Richard regarding the Parachute exhibition in Dec I have started looking for a venue I have contacted Federation House about their new art spaces although disappointingly this space will not be open in time for our show I have made some useful contacts for the future including their new art spaces coordinator, Nicholas James on: newartspaces@castlefieldgallery.co.uk

New Art Spaces

New Art Spaces: Pop-up creative spaces for emerging talent in the North West

Castlefield Gallery’s vision is for the North West to be a place where artists can live and produce work while presenting their work in national and international contexts. Its mission is to nurture talent, explore cultural trends and deepen our audience’s relationship to contemporary art. As a visual art venue and artist development agency, CG has been actively involved with brokering ‘pop-up’ project and gallery spaces for artists, piloted with Urban Splash in Manchester City Centre, including a large scale art exhibition at Will Alsop’s Chips building in 2009 to coincide with Manchester International Festival. Since then, CG has been aware of many more emerging artists, artist and performance groups, musicians and creative practitioners who can also benefit from short-term use of spaces to develop their art, rehearse and test out new work with audiences. New Art Spaces provides pop-up spaces for emerging talent in the North West in which to develop their creative practice at very low cost. These temporary project workspaces and exhibition spaces can be applied for short-term use, and for a maximum of six months. New Art Spaces Associates membership scheme provides 12 months access for creative practitioners to use Castlefield Gallery’s pop-up spaces, on an application basis. CG Associates can also apply to use these spaces.

http://www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk/associates/newartspaces/

Richards talk about his career path was really interesting he has been involved in a variety of disciplines including the production of artwork for album covers, how he felt there was certain amount of luck involved in the jobs he did and how he got them, I think today we would call that networking.

Richard showed his work and shared the themes that threaded through his practice, people and environment, composite work where he would bring the two types of photographs together via Photo shop making a moment in time.

He advised us to question ourselves as to what are the themes of your work? He also advised us to keep a photograph based blog as this would encourage you to keep taking photographs and share them and receive feed back.

Richard shared his themes and artists that have influenced him -memories, loss, corrupt result, adrift and unlinked, photographic moments. The imagined moment, environment and people the space that they occupy, looking at their gestures, and the way they stand the uncanny (the separation).  Influences: Sharon Yaree, Wendy Mcmurdo, Paul Graham, Christopher Stuart.

A quote he shared:

“Our vanity, our passions, our spirit of imitation, our abstract intelligence, our habits have long been at work, and it is the task of art to undo this work of theirs, making us travel back in the direction from which we have come to the depths where what has really existed lies unknown within us.”

― Marcel Proust, Time Regained

http://www.richardmulhearn.org/

I have been looking at the potential career avenues within community arts and found this excellent website “Creative Choices” I have included the link below I haven’t had an in depth look but there seems to a good variety of advice and options from internships to gallery curator there are also job opportunities posted. I’m sure this will be a good resource in the future.

http://ccskills.org.uk/careers/advice/any/visual-arts/?gclid=CKSLutDLlsUCFWvMtAodWVMAEw

After a year out of education I come back with renewed enthusiasm, my second year project “Hidden Hunger” further expands the thread running through my time on the course, people, place, memory and community I am hoping to continue with this theme in my final year! Things to do: Develop social/ cultural community connections with: Trussell Trust Loaves and Fishes Rev 320 SPARC