I have been called an emerging artist a number of times and I think the first was probably 2005 when I completed my first residency. I was sucked in by this and thought, hey I'm going to be one of those artists who does residencies now. 15 applications later I thought, hey I'm not going to be one of those artists who gets asked to do residencies now and went back to running workshops (Which I love). The hammer in the film could represent many things - the art world- neo-liberalism- luck- life but it is probably me, I was never that good at emerging just as I get a breath of air I sort of pop down again to hide, even before the hammer strikes my head.
It's been really interesting supporting a group of artists on our 'Taking the lead' project. It's been great getting to know everyone and it's been nice to be able to help people as much as we can. The really useful thing for me however is the realisation that learning to explore new ways of working, learning new approaches with new people is exciting and rewarding for everyone involved. The seven artists we are working with all have very different experiences, expectations and needs yet there is a common thread that is summed up by the projects title 'Poly-math', artists have become spectacularly divergent. The work- I always tell Kate we are ahead of the curve, heralds Sheffield's "Making ways" project £550,000 to invest in developing excellence in the visual arts in the city.
I think I've become one of those people who stands up at meetings and say's 'I'm not here to talk about the meaning of words like - creative - artists or community that's all just semantics."'and then goes on at length to ineffectively explain what semantics means. But and it's a big but I would really like to know what the Art's Council England means by 'excellence'. If we are to pursue something we need to have an idea of what it is or what it looks like, otherwise we may be going on a snark hunt.
"Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
That alone should encourage the crew.
Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
What I tell you three times is true."
I'm sure there is no criteria of excellence, no check list of what makes a work of art or an artist fit into the category excellent artists, producing excellent work, in the national and international field of excellence. There are markers and indicators, audience number, critical acclaim - turning up on time and not been drunk, was one of the criteria for an excellent artists when I used to work for creative partnerships. Hopefully £550 000 over three years will give Sheffiled a chance to help define excellence in our city with our audiences and our artists.
Kim Streets CEO of Museum Sheffied says in the press release
"Sheffield has a reputation for DIY culture and for growing things from the ground up. Making Ways will harness our potential as a centre of excellence within the visual arts and make a real difference for our artistic community.”
To do this I think we will have to define what excellence in art looks like, in schools, in Hospitals, in parks our communities our homes and workplaces and yes also in our art galleries. Excellence can be an intimate and gentle exchange of ideas, a sideways glimpse of something different enough from the everyday to make us see the world differently. God , the devil and excellence probably hide in the detail, it will be interesting to see what Sheffield decides to do with our half a million. Hunt other peoples idea of a snark or grow our own.
Comments
Post a Comment