A Symposium of Sorts:
A Collaboration of Experts
17th May 2013
April 2013
Wake. Plan. Email. Negotiate. Fix. Talk. Think. Create. Reconfigure. Promote. Sleep.
Repeat.
An object made by an artist comes to fruition through a series of decisions that shape it into exactly what it becomes. It is an amalgamation of considerations; material, size, shape, form, placement, audience. It will inevitably be influenced by a back catalogue of references, existing works and personal preferences. My work comes to be in much the same sense: It would instantly be something else entirely should any one of my decisions alter.
Arranging a symposium has meant that my days have come to revolve around to-do lists and spider diagrams. It’s my first thought in a morning and my last before I drift off. I wake up in the night with an idea of something I could do differently, or what the first job of the next day should be. Checking and updating Twitter and Facebook have become the direct result of making decisions or progress and wanting to share it. I have truly learned what it means to eat, sleep and breathe your work. Although it’s tiring, each day is purposeful, exciting and focussed: I feel like I’ve waited three years to make something like this happen. I can already foresee how huge the gap will feel when it’s over.
Why?
‘Make personal troubles public issues’ - Les Back, Author and Sociologist
Collaboration and conversation have become central to my practice and ethos: Vital, in fact. In discovering this, I have been surprised to find a distinct lack of community between creative disciplines. Of course my agenda does not, and could not, hope to speak for every creative practitioner, but during a time of tightly squeezed budgets and a reignited ‘DIY’ attitude, I’m keen to facilitate a firmer grip on the ‘collective’.
In organising an event during which the participant’s skills are valued on an even platform, permission has been granted to be frank about issues, I hope to set the tone for more work in this vein. Perhaps new collaborations will be initiated at the event, maybe a group will feel strongly enough to meet again or it could be that a seed is planted that doesn’t rear its head for some time. Whatever the outcome, I’m keen that the conversation happens.
What?
1. A conference or meeting to discuss a particular subject.
2. A collection of essays or papers on a particular subject by a number of contributors.
3. A drinking party or convivial discussion, especially as held in ancient Greece after a banquet.
This is how the Oxford English Dictionary defines a symposium. However, I’m arranging ‘A Symposium of Sorts’, so am entitled to break some rules and write a few new ones!
Through a series of participatory and proactive workshops and discussions, the day will seek to unpick how we can strengthen the connections between creative people, what currently blocks or limits interdisciplinary working and how improved relationships can, and do, go on to positively affect our local environments and communities. In accordance with the third definition, there will be ‘convivial discussion’ and some form of ‘banquet’.
How?
Collaborative process=Collective product
I am a big believer that collaborative projects can, if approached and structured mindfully, become far more than the sum of their parts, which can only ever benefit the people involved and the audience reached. I am also a big believer in practicing what you preach. To me it was a no-brainer that, although I am leading the process, I would enlist the expertise of the people around me to advise, facilitate and participate. It’s a principle I am asking others to consider, so of course I would employ it myself!
I have approached illustrators, bloggers, film-makers, and people who know technology to form a documentation team, as well as thinking up ways in which the participants themselves can share the day’s events. It’s important to have an accurate record so that these conversations can be solidified and revisited.
When?
17th May 2013
This date is otherwise known as ‘ten days before my assessment deadline’. I am offering places on a first come first serve basis to keep a track of numbers, but please do contact me if you’re interested in participating. It will be the people that make this day.
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