Okay. Still trying to creep back into things after spending ludicrous amounts of time in a darkened room with no technology to make me worse. If I’ve missed your ‘thing’ then sorry, and if you have a ‘thing’ you think is good, tell me about it!
In the meantime, two things that compliment one another have come to my attention.
Firstly, an opportunity:
INTER?OGATION: WALSALL
Call to Artists:
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to become a secret agent for a day in order to interrogate the public spaces of Walsall.
Using the New Art Gallery Walsall as a base you will investigate the artist’s role in the post-industrial world through one of four methods:
INTER?OGATION: ACTION RESEARCH (09/09/09)
INTER?OGATION: CONSULTATION (16/09/09)
INTER?OGATION: COLLABORATION (23/09/09)
INTER?OGATION: INTERVENTION (30/09/09)INTER?OGATION: WALSALL explores the impact that one artist (you) can make in one place, in one day.
This programme of work is organised by Longhouse and the New Art Gallery Walsall, working with lead artist Anna Francis (who can also be found here), and is designed to investigate the impact of short, sharp interventions within the public realm. Deadline for expressions of interest is fairly soon – 12pm Friday 28 August 2009 – so go visit the site to find out more.
Secondly, I really enjoy the idea of creative practice being fused with more spy-like activities – interrogations and investigations.. where everyone gets to be a secret agent and have their own missions! So for those of you whose toes are curling at me daring to mention WALSALL in a CiB post, I wanted to temper that with a signpost towards a great Birmingham artist – Nikki Pugh. I feel she really embodies this excitement within her practice, but best of all has taken the time to document in detail how she’s used this approach with great effect in her “How to Wow” series.
Do you know of any other local artists who work in this way?
With regards to doing the mission-themed immersive stuff in schools, I’ve interestingly only ever come across that type of brief coming from Leicestershire. Hence the importance of thoroughly documenting the project to try and spread the word around Brum a bit more.
I would *definitely* be interested in hearing from any other Birmingham-based who work in a similar way: these projects hinge on having a strong team around them.
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As for spy-like activities, missions, interrogations and investigations for grown-ups, a.a.s. projects are as good a start as any.
Here’s the current one: http://family.404corporate.net/news/. Call 07806 50 27 26 now for immediate consideration onto their revolutionary self-improvement system.