Meeting on 21 November 2024 in tutors’ Meet Room
Main discussion
1. My recent exhibition and reflections on my learning and challenges.
It was a large crowd, and I found that interactions with smaller groups after the main event were much more personal and easier to navigate. In terms of the large crowd, I was grateful for the support of local artists and the effectiveness of working with a marketing and planning plan. My tutor reminded me that this highlights the importance of professional networking and capitalizing on the momentum gained from the exhibition.
I did not find speaking with a large crowd easy, but I agree that having a speaker and doing my talk brought the visitors into the work. I learned that I enjoy and value meaningful discussions around my work. My tutor suggested I set up a Google document to collect anonymous feedback from the exhibition. I can send it to a list of my invitees/attendees. I should also contact the artist friend who was going to publish an article—I can request an early draft.
The curating was daunting, but I am glad for the learning experience and the fact that I used the barn instead of a gallery space for the work. I am content to agree that there will always be compromises when putting on a show, even in the best galleries. I think the learning was that I tried to do what I thought best for the work and how the viewers would experience it. I was unsure about the depth and size of the body of work, and it was important to learn that there is power in a single, well-presented piece and to show confidence in the work done in preparation. This also gave me insight into the value of understanding the work’s presentation and the potential for future iterations.
The main difficulty was the lightning and the potential for directional solid light to mimic the transparency effect. Contacting a gallery owner/curator to view the work was a positive aspect. I am working on a price list and catalogue of my exhibited work and will share it with interested parties. I need to think about where to pitch the work’s value and the uniqueness of each piece.
2. Final assessment and preparation
I will focus on the practice plan and continue to work on the PowerPoint presentation I started this week. My tutor emphasized the importance of documenting the exhibition’s multifaceted aspects, including the talk, the video, and health and safety measures. I have learned many lessons that I can apply to future projects. I will share this presentation with my student support group in the first week of December 2024 and ask for feedback and comments. I have started to arrange a artist residency at my home during September 2025 and one current and one alumni of OCA will join.
3. Actions
Set up Google Docs for feedback from attendees and ask for anonymous feedback.
Have a meeting with the second curator around the pricing of work and planned residency in September 2025
3. Next and final assignment
I will submit Part Five on Friday, 29 November 2024, so that we can hopefully schedule a tutorial before the 10th of December.