ASSIGNMENT 2
A. PROJECT PLAN
The present conditions for an exhibition due to Covid do not allow for considerations such as are outlined in the course notes and so my planning and thinking are within the context of the present special circumstances.
- Exhibition space
Our garden is approx. half an acre and is a very mature, natural garden with huge rhododendrons, mature trees, some planting of flowering shrubs and a wild flower meadow. It has some wonderfully secret and quiet places, under clumps of old trees and in a huge bamboo grouping. My studio is at the bottom of the garden.
There are many areas in the garden for exhibiting the paintings and drawings, inspired by the garden. The section of the work inspired by the fires in Australia and Brazil last year would be best exhibited in the studio.
- What will you put in the exhibition?
At present I have about half a dozen paintings I would like to include. These are all on paper and roughly about A1 size. I am keen to experiment with canvases and work bigger. The works need to ‘play happily’ with the natural environment of the garden and so I would not be looking to have them framed unless with Perspex, no mount – aimed at a natural look! Somehow I would also like to include examples of my wire sculptures and of course my poetry.
- Aim of the exhibition
I want the exhibition to be a fundraising event. My work is about raising awareness of the need to care for the natural world and so it seems logical to me that any funds raised from sales or donations should be directed to helping organisations in this way. Because of my connection with Australia, I have been in touch with WIRES, an Australian wild life rescue organisation which I already personally support financially to begin to talk to them about using the exhibition to raise funds. Only a few pieces are actually in response to Australian climate conditions but I believe climate change and our need to be part of the dialogue is a world issue and not confined to any one country.
Holding the exhibition as a fund raiser obviously has implications I am not aware of at this stage.
Supporting an Australian fund raising charity may raise interest from Australian organisations here in the UK. I am reluctant to get too involved with climate change activists because of the political and highly charged atmosphere that can result. That is not me and it is not what the exhibition is about. I am a painter/poet and I see things in my own unique way and I want the exhibition to reflect that and not be taken over by another thought.
- Timing of the exhibition
None of us know what the situation will be regarding Covid but I need to plan in response to the present situation and the obvious knock on implications of the present restrictions. I’ve been given a 6 month extension and so I am aiming at March assessment 2021 for SYP and an exhibition in possibly April/May because of the weather/seasonal implications of using the garden. I need to complete the course by June.
There are parking difficulties to the garden. Our house is one of just two houses, accessed along a narrow lane with parking for up to 6 cars. It is possible for parking in the main road but this too is limited because our lane is just around a corner of the road which makes visibility for pedestrian and parked cars quite dangerous. It may be that interested viewers need to book a time to visit. I am aiming at just one day or possibly a weekend
- Documenting the exhibition
Holding the exhibition after assessment will mean that I need to create a virtual exhibition. This could be with IMovie, video or photos. I can set up the body of work in the garden and photograph it, including performance videos which obviously will allow paintings of the seasonal changes in the garden. Such documentation would not include the whole Spring exhibition of work but it will give a trailer of what is to come. I don’t know if that is enough.
I think the IMovie piece is important in the fund raising scenario because it can be viewed in Australia or anywhere in the world where art can be seen to be an essential element of the climate change emergency debate.
- Contingency planning
Because of the space’s limitation, I would only be expecting small numbers of visitors and at booked times. So it would be possible, if the weather is poor, to use the house as an exhibition space. I hope that will not be necessary.