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Going into the process of creating this exhibition, Resistance in Residence, we had a lot of ideas about our individual goals, as well as the goals for the exhibition as a whole and those of our partner institutions. For our individual goals, we each wrote down aspects of putting together this exhibition that we would like to focus on and learn more about specifically; with the exhibition over, now looking back at these original intentions, it is very telling of the changes the project went through as well as the accomplishments. The aspect I wanted to work to become more familiar with was advertising. Advertising is something I had little experience with in the past, which made it an aspect in this project I wanted to learn from and develop. However, this goal did not work out as planned. Advertising ended up being something we as a group had little room for in the exhibition itself. My colleague did the graphic design for putting together the posters that were used in the promotions for the exhibition. The rest was left primarily up to the Travelling Gallery, CRC, and other organizations such as the Edinburgh College of Art, to spread awareness. Though advertising was still a learning process, working with these organizations and their systems for promotion already in place, just as the rest of the exhibition was a learning experience. While I did not end up focusing as much as I thought on advertising, I did learn a lot focusing on other aspects of the project. I worked a lot with the budget, as that is another area that I had not had much experience with. The budget of this project was complex in the way that there were many moving parts: prices of items that changed, artists we wanted to pay the most the budget allowed, among other details. All of the moving pieces made the budget a bit complex, but they were a good learning experience for budgeting this type of project. Looking back on the project, I learned a lot, even if it was not always what I expected.
The exhibition itself was a huge learning experience. Each of the different aspects to this part of the project taught us something new and often presented us with new challenges; the exhibition presented challenges and new experiences from install, through the exhibition dates, right to deinstall. The tour dates of the exhibition were one of the biggest learning experiences. While it was exciting to see the reactions from visitors to months of work, there was still so much to learn from these reactions. Some visitors came to look around quickly, but many were eager to engage with the topic that was so important to their lives. The engagement and responses to the living archive portion of the exhibit were a learning point to better understand these communities.
There were many challenges and learning experiences; one such challenge took place during install and the first of the tour dates. Early on in our discussions with Winnie Herbstein, she made it clear how important audio quality was for her and the presentation of her work. In the midst of these conversations she also expressed a desire to have the audio for the film come from a speaker, as she did not feel comfortable with headphones used. As we began this aspect of installation, we realized the speakers were not operating correctly. This issue was a stressful moment as it was the day before the first day of the exhibition. The Edinburgh College of Art’s team at Bookit was incredibly helpful, helping us figure out that we needed a mixing board in addition to helping to install it. The topic of the audio for the film remained relevant for the duration of the exhibition as it was noted that the noise level in such a small space was overwhelming for several visitors. This information brought us back to the original question posed in the brief, “To what extent can exhibition-making be used as a form of knowledge production (curatorial, conservation etc.) in collections?” Here we learned that there were drawbacks to showing Winnie Herbstein’s films in such a space, how the sound here should be considered in future display, especially in smaller spaces such as the Traveling Gallery.
The process of working with the artists on this exhibition was a large part of the exhibition developing the way that it did and how we as curators understood the way that they wanted their works to be shown. A key part of the brief was knowledge production around the works in the Universities Art Collection, namely Winnie Herbstein’s films. And for my group, a key part to the project was working and communicating with the artists. This part of the project came with a lot of ups and downs. As we worked with the artists, such as Joey Simons and Keira McLean, they influenced decisions such as the idea for a zine becoming a workbook. They participated in the installation of the exhibition, helping it materialize. Communication with Lucas Priest was essential in the planning for advertising the School of Pedestrian Culture walk, how his brand had physical representation communicated in the style of poster. As well as in the placement of his work in the Travelling Gallery, it was essential as there was limited space and we wanted to be sure the work was highlighted appropriately. Working with Winnie Herbstein was central as she is the artist that the group show was built around, and we wanted to stay true to her art. In addition, she was the only artist not able to participate in the install of the exhibition or visit in person as she is based outside of the country. All of this made it especially important to understand how she wanted her work to be presented. The topic of communication, in particular, came up just a few weeks before install, when we sent her the text for the workbook a few weeks before printing, also just a few weeks ahead of install. Winnie Herbstein found a few phrases of the text where she suggested changing the wording to better convey the message. Due to the short notice it was a bit stressful, but left us reflecting on creating better working communication. While that was a hectic moment, it was also a learning moment on how important communication is when working with artists from a curator’s role.
Community engagement was a key part of our interpretation of the brief and our plans for the project. The initial idea for events would focus on Winnie Herbstein and Lucas Priest. Our planning had featured a workshop Winnie Herbstein has been working on and already run several times, Sweat Equity, in conjunction with a walk by the School of Pedestrian Culture led by Lucas Priest. We had debated having them as parts to a singular event or even running them multiple times. This original idea influenced the way we proceeded with the events associated with the exhibition.
Through the events associated with the exhibition we hoped to expand on the themes from the exhibition itself as well as make a meaningful connection with the visitors. We also hoped to use a part of these events as a way to kickstart the display for the living archive aspect of the exhibit. This idea led us to working with Joey Simons and Keira McLean to run a workshop centering on the question ‘what does your dream home look like?’ This workshop ended up being more complicated than we had originally planned as the venues and community centers we contacted were not getting back to us. This ended up being resolved as my colleague Sophia had previous connections with the Community Wellbeing Collective, and they were generous enough to work with us on the workshop as well as allowing the display of the results in the exhibition. The format for the walk by the School of Pedestrian Culture led by Lucas Priest, which focused on studentification, faced changes from the original idea. This walk became a singular, stand-alone event as it became clear that the ideal date for this would be while the Traveling Gallery was centrally in Edinburgh. Winnie Herbstein’s workshop, Sweat Equity, did not end up being run. This decision came about due to a number of factors, but one of the largest was budget; the cost to run the workshop conflicted with the number of other aspects of the project that had come about. The decision was then made to ask Winnie Herbstein to participate in a Q&A film night which was hosted at the Edinburgh Student Housing Cooperative by Queer Film Night, looking into her works Minutes (2019) and Studwork (2018), that were not explicitly part of the exhibition.
Around the point of Winter break we met with Joey Simons and Keira McLean to discuss their involvement in the exhibition. This conversation was a large part of sensing the direction this would take. Joey Simons and Keira McLean both had considerable background knowledge working on this topic and brought new perspectives to this conversation. We already had an idea of how they would be involved in the exhibition and the components we wanted to commission, but their input in this conversation greatly influenced the way that it came about. For example, we had been picturing a zine to go along with the exhibit, this conversation used their expertise and experience to shift it to act as a workbook. This feedback shaped the way we proceeded with the project and the context in which all of the works would be shown. The context in which these different artists and their works would be shown would influence the way they would be interpreted by the audience.
There were other aspects that were key to this conversation, namely the archival material for the wall montage. The idea for this was that the wall montage would be made with archive material drawn from all of the locations that the Traveling Gallery would be visiting. As a group we had already begun looking through relevant archive material at the Glasgow Women’s Library. We continued to do research into relevant archive material through the break, in order to give the most access to material for Joey Simons and Keira McLean. This research came at a unique time as we were all in different places and time zones. Communicating and sharing information became more difficult, but overcoming these difficulties ended up illustrating a productive group dynamic. We shared the labor and stayed in contact with each other; and those nearby helped with any physical research they could.
The brief to our group was to work with the University of Edinburgh’s Art Collection and the Travelling Gallery, to create an exhibition working with the two organizations to center their dynamics as well as their interests. The exhibition would feature the work of Winnie Herbstein, which the Art Collection had already acquired. A key part of this brief was to discover the extent to which exhibition making could be used as a form of knowledge production in collections.
As a group we watched Winnie Herbstein’s films; Dampbusters (2021), Minutes (2019), and Studwork (2018); and discussed the directions this exhibition could take. Taking these films into consideration we started building an idea of what the exhibition would look like and focus on. Collectively we were particularly interested in the notion of house and home; the duality of building a house versus making a home. This thought process brought us to a central question that remained central to the exhibition and became the center of the living archive, ‘what does your dream home look like?’ As we did research surrounding these films and the work of housing activist Cathy McCormack, among other other aspects of this topic came together that somewhat changed this trajectory. We focused in on the idea of resistance and the ability to make change though imagination.
Our research brought us to the work of artists Joey Simons, Keira McLean, and Lucas Priest. Each artist with their own unique perspective influenced the way in which the exhibition began to take shape. Joey Simons and Keira McLean had both worked with Cathy McCormack in some capacity, they had worked with Cathy’s research and Glasgow archive material related to housing struggles. Lucas Priest creates walks in Edinburgh through the School of Pedestrian Culture that interact with the dynamic of the city, the most recent walk explores the complex nature of studentification. We brought Joey Simons, Keira McLean, and Lucas Priest into the exhibition, turning it into a group show – built around Winnie Herbstin’s film Dampbusters, to create the exhibition titled Resistance in Residence.
A central part of our exhibition project was activism. Activism in curation, or ‘curatorial activism’ engages an exhibition with a topic that is often not given the platform it deserves, but the inclusion of something valuable to those in and around the community. Typically this activism is done to represent historically silenced groups or individuals such as women, queer artists, artists of color, among so many others. In our exhibition Resistance in Residence we focused on housing activism in Scotland. In the gallery we looked at activism and resistance through materials like Winnie Herbsteins films and the work of Cathy McCormack. The exhibition was able to continue this train of thought through other unique aspects of activism and inclusion through the living archive workshop, Lucas Priest’s SoPC walk, as well as a Q&A with Winnie Herbstein.
In Curatorial Activism: Towards an Ethics of Curating by Maura Reilly focuses on recognising curatorial activists and their work, as well as the places that could still be improved on. Reilly opens her book by discussing the commonplace exclusion of the ‘other’ in art and museums, pointing out large institutions such as the MoMA. Going on to reference the activists and artists who called out this discrimination, and stood against it, such as the Guerrilla Girls or Micol Hebron (Reilly, Curatorial Activism, 17-19). Through this she is highlighting the nature of activism in the curatorial realm. The overwhelming disregard and discrimination that is pervasive. Despite those activists who work on this topic there is still a long way to go. The text goes on to point out the entrenched formats of curation that exclude certain groups and calls for change. Calling for curators to insist on presenting diverse exhibition schedules. And calling for curators to not separate or isolate any diverse artists or collections (Reilly, Curatorial Activism, 216). Reilly delves into the role of curators and their responsibilities to activism. How the discrimination is entrenched within the curatorial system, but also expresses a hope to work together for the future. This aspect of the text emphasizes the need for activism, to represent different communities and peoples. It goes beyond the past figures one may think of as connected to activism and shows it as a current issue. Reilly recognised the work of curatorial activists while pointing out the flaws in the system and the need for changes to be inclusive to all.
Contemporary art curator Amanda Cachia explores curatorial activism that focuses on those with disabilities in the text ‘Disabling’ the museum: Curator as infrastructural activist. In this text Cachia explains noticing the lack of content containing those with disabilities in art history, apart from a few derogatory works that fail to create anything substantial or challenging. Pushing forward she also suggests for the regular inclusion of disabilities in exhibition material as well as the forethought to plan for accessibility to the exhibition and the works (Cachia, 258-259). Cachia goes on to describe her own curation of the exhibition What Can a Body Do? Where she found the exhibition centered on what the disabled body could not do. And she recalls a blind individual which brought up the exclusions, pushing Cachia to address these issues more radically (Cachia, 265-266). In this text Cachia highlights the need for change in the approach to disabilities, not only within content but in the way that it is accessed as well. She examines her own activism as a curator and finds places to improve upon to grow and be more inclusive. In the exhibition referenced she highlighted artists with disabilities and works that showed individuals with disabilities, pushing towards inclusivity in this area. While also recognising that there was room to learn and grow from feedback. This text highlights how learning and growing from that is a key part of activism.
The exhibition Disobedient Objects that took place at the Victoria and Albert museum in London is one example of a form of activism in curation. This exhibition shows objects of rebellion and political activism that were parts of social movements from the 1970s to present. Focusing on how political and social activism create creativity in art and design. It included objects from around the world that range from defaced currency, political video games, to political banners (Victoria and Albert Museum). This exhibition highlights a broad and diverse range of objects that have been used to create social and political change. They indicate the difference an individual or community can make. The collection and exhibition of these objects works to inspire through past activism.
Victoria and Albert Museum, “Disobedient Objects: About the Exhibition.” http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/disobedient-objects/disobedient-objects-about-the-exhibition/.
In Life Support: Forms of Care in Art and Activism, an exhibition at Glasgow Women’s Library took a different approach to activism. This exhibition addressed challenging experiences of care, health, education, housing and home life through feminist, LGBTQIA+ and anti-racist approaches. Through a collection of archive materials, artworks, and artists, it created an alternative way to understand relationships (“Life Support”). The exhibition created an alternate way of seeing everyday life and the way in which we connect with others. It challenged existing societal structures, pushing the viewer to think critically about their own life as well as the lives of those around them. This form of activism curated exhibition challenges those who visit to reevaluate their understanding of the complexities of support structures.
“Life Support: Forms of Care in Art and Activism.” Women’s Library, Glasgow Women’s Library Website, https://womenslibrary.org.uk/exhibition/life-support-forms-of-care-in-art-and-activism/.
‘Curatorial activism’ is a broad approach to both curation and activism. It allows for topics that differ widely in approach, topic, as well as specificity. It enforces the notion that there is a responsibility as curator to actively be inclusive and to keep evolving. The exhibitions mentioned above, Disobedient Objects and Life Support: Forms of Care in Art and Activism, the two are different in approach but both push the viewer to think critically about these topics. The perspectives discussed here show the importance and relevance of these topics, and the discussions that can be started through the choice to participate in ‘curatorial activism.’
Bibliography
Cachia, Amanda. “‘Disabling’ the Museum: Curator as Infrastructural Activist.” Journal of visual art practice 12, no. 3 (2013): 257–289.
Cachia, Amanda. “What Can a Body Do? – Exhibits | Haverford College.” Haverford College Exhibits, Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, 2012, https://exhibits.haverford.edu/whatcanabodydo/files/2012/09/WCABD_Catalog.pdf.
“Life Support: Forms of Care in Art and Activism.” Women’s Library, Glasgow Women’s Library, https://womenslibrary.org.uk/exhibition/life-support-forms-of-care-in-art-and-activism/.
Reilly, Maura. Curatorial Activism: Towards an Ethics of Curating. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 2020. Print.
Victoria and Albert Museum, Digital Media webmaster@vam.ac.uk. “Disobedient Objects: About the Exhibition.” Victoria and Albert, Victoria and Albert Museum, 20 May 2015, http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/disobedient-objects/disobedient-objects-about-the-exhibition/.
One key aspect of our exhibition is the living archive. A living archive is a collection of materials that allows for the expression and documentation of a movement or community. This allows for the archive to be completely unique, the archive of material to change and shift to match the community involved. In our Travelling Gallery exhibition, this concept holds particular value as the bus is able to reach so many different communities. The use of the living archive in the context of the Travelling Gallery allows the exhibit to be set up in a way that allows for pen and paper responses while individuals are on the bus, as well as submissions online. The gallery will be able to grow to reflect those who attend and interact; making it a community space and more personal to those who visit. The living archive is able to be used to interact with diverse audiences.
The concept of a living archive is broad and allows for many different approaches, but centers on the ideas of community and connection. Luisa Passerini wrote about living archives in the 1970s and 1980s in terms of oral history. She discusses the movement during this time focusing on listening to the stories of elders, preserving their past through tape recorded conversations. Highlighting the intersubjectivity of the experience as well as the different connections to sound via recorder rather than to live. She goes on to discuss the different formats that claim the term, from dance performances to the records of musicians (Passerini,1-9). Passerini’s approach to the living archive centers the human connection; not just of the community involved, but the connection between the person who tells the story and the person who records it. This perspective highlights not only the diversity that can be held within a living archive but the personal and intimate nature of it as well.
“From Where I Stand.” Edinburgh Printmakers, https://edinburghprintmakers.co.uk/exhibitions/from-where-i-stand.
Living Archives and the Social Transmission of Memory, written by Amalia Sabiescu, had a similar idea of living archives but took a vastly different approach. Sabiescu writes that “… living archives perform a function of social transmission of memory, which supports building community and identity” (Sabiescu, 498). She goes on to write about the different effects of different types of living archives. She argues that living archives through performances share memories through embodied knowledge and social participation, while archives achieve this through object memory, creating a collective remembering (Sabiescu, 499). This takes the viewpoint that the community not only impacts the living archive, but that the living archive impacts the community in return. That it shapes the way the community grows and the ways it identifies itself, highlighting the importance of what is shared and remembered collectively. That the ‘living archive’ is living. It also makes suggestions about the way that different types of living archives interact differently with the community. This concept is particularly interesting as despite the different memories they create and embody, they are centered on the individual experience becoming a part of the shared community.
The text The Living Archive in the Anthropocene centers on the use of the living archive to create political and cultural change. It focuses specifically on potential ecological changes and how the concept is used by the Interference Archive, which is an independent community archive in New York. The text highlights how a living archive can give voice to communities and allow individuals outside academia to have their voices heard on important topics. That living archives both preserve the past and inspire the future (Almeida, 2-20). This text highlights how living archives allow for communities to address issues that impact them. While at the same time maintaining their collective identity.
A key part of the Edinburgh Printmakers’ exhibition, From Where I Stand, is a living archive. From Where I Stand is an exhibition taking place in India before moving to Edinburgh at some point in the near future, it features prints and multimedia artworks with artists from India and Scotland (From Where I Stand). The living archive running parallel to this is a collection of oral histories of the relationship between India and Scotland. It will be available online as an “extension of the curated exhibition space” (From Where I Stand). This example of a living archive brings a multimedia approach to the living archive. It shows the connection between multiple communities over an extended period of time, giving a unique perspective on the dynamics of this relationship. This digital submission and access allows the archive to be both accessible and personal.
Shalev-Gerz, Esther. “Monument Against Fascism.” Shalevgerz, Esther Shalev-Gerz, https://www.shalev-gerz.net/portfolio/monument-against-fascism/.
The ways in which the concept of a living archive have been used for communities and artworks vary greatly by type, size, and format, but hold significant insight into the communities that surround them. In Hamburg-Harburg, Germany, a monument against fascism was erected. The intent was that those who lived there would sign their names and put their thoughts there, with the monument slowly being lowered into the ground, in order to give access to more space for their testimonies. This monument gave room for the residents of the area to come together and express themselves. The monument has now been made accessible for viewing next to a text panel (Shalev-Gerz). More recently, Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama, held an exhibition that took a different direction with this idea. This exhibition was at the Tate in London where visitors were invited to place colorful stickers across an all white living space that was set up (“Yayoi Kusama’s Obliteration Room). Over the course of the exhibition this house-like space was covered in stickers, with the places people were drawn to filling up with stickers quickly. The impactful visual of that transformation creates a sense of community and connection between the visitors. Leaving something as small as a sticker left a lasting sense of involvement in this community and making a place your own.
The living archive offers a unique look into a community, or several communities. It shows connection and changes, the way a community will be remembered as well as the way they chose to remember themselves. It creates and shares information and their, often, interactive nature allows for a personal connection with those who are a part of it. As can be seen through past examples the living archive can be used to interact with wide and diverse groups.
Almeida, Nora, and Jen Hoyer. “The Living Archive in the Anthropocene.” CUNY Academic Works, City University of New York , 2019, https://academicworks.cuny.edu/ny_pubs/379/.
“From Where I Stand.” Edinburgh Printmakers, https://edinburghprintmakers.co.uk/exhibitions/from-where-i-stand.
Passerini, Luisa. Living Archives. Continuity and Innovation in the Art of MemoryLuisa Passerini. European University Institute, 9/.
Sabiescu. (2020). Living Archives and The Social Transmission of Memory. Curator (New York, N.Y.), 63(4), 497–510. https://doi.org/10.1111/cura.12384
Shalev-Gerz, Esther. “Monument Against Fascism.” Shalevgerz, Esther Shalev-Gerz, https://www.shalev-gerz.net/portfolio/monument-against-fascism/.
“The Monument Against Fascism.” Shalev-Gerz, https://www.shalev-gerz.net/portfolio/monument-against-fascism/.
“The Living Archive.” Edinburgh Printmakers, https://edinburghprintmakers.co.uk/the-living-archive.
(1) Identify your key responsibilities and list the main areas of work you have been involved in. Briefly highlight the skills and competencies that are relevant to this project/work area.
There were many central areas of the project. As a group we shared a lot of the workload and worked together on many of the tasks. At the same time we each focused in on different areas of this project. Early on in the project, up to about December 2022, a lot of the work was hypothetical. This meant that we were each researching the topic, developing our ideas, and learning how to bring our ideas together as a group. I worked on background research and participated in discussions around themes for the exhibition. I also visited the Travelling Gallery prior to install to help the group better understand the unique space we would be curating. I focused a lot on scheduling, contributing to the artwork selection process, as well as the development of curatorial rationale.
On the project overall there were several areas that were my main responsibilities. I took the lead on loaning artwork needed for the exhibition from the Universities’ Art Collection. This involved meeting with the Collections Registrar to discuss the requirements for, and writing, the loan request. Then following up, as we received the loan for one film, but later decided to use an additional film in an event. Another main responsibility for me was the budget. This involved organising the different fees, keeping track of any changes, and making sure to watch the limit. It meant working in relation to the finance department to make sure vendors and artists got paid, as well as making sure our group had the resources from finance to get travel fees reimbursed. In addition, I worked on scheduling for the group. For this I worked on action sheets, and made note of group goals and the timelines associated; also coordinating with the group for the dates they could invigilate the Travelling Gallery during the exhibition to ensure we each worked an equal amount.
Skills and Competencies
Artwork Curation
Communication
Budgeting
Scheduling
Team Work
Risk Management
(2) Looking ahead, list your key objectives for the GRP. 3-7 SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timed) objectives should be noted with realistic timescales and focused outcomes. The objectives should cover the project itself and your own role.
The main objectives for this project were:
Archive Materials : A large part of getting ready for the exhibition was preparing the archive materials on housing experiences in the areas the exhibition would be travelling to that Joey Simons and Keira McLean would use in their workbook and wall montage. Research was to take place over winter break and early January. As a group we divided areas to research, looking into databases and archives (Glasgow Women’s Library). This was to be completed by mid-January, so the workbook could go to print by January 28th.
Install : Installation of the exhibition into the Travelling Gallery took place February 6th and 7th, with the exhibition opening the next day. This meant ensuring all materials and objects arrived on time, and that the technology ran smoothly. For items like the wood for the stud wall, this meant timing it to have someone there for delivery. Additionally, working with the artists to have them see where their work would be and feel comfortable with the layout.
Events : We had several events as a part of the exhibition: living archive workshop, Lucas Priest SoPC walk, and Winnie Herbstein Q&A film night. Each of these events needed planning, coordination, communication, advertisement, and a plan to evaluate; these aspects impacted the events and all went smoothly. The living archive workshop needed to be coordinated with the venue, as well as Joey Simons and Keira McLean ahead of the exhibition opening, on February 2nd. Lucas Priest’s SoPC walk took place February 9th, as we had to ensure the gallery was in the central Edinburgh area. The Winnie Herbstein Q&A film night required working with the host, Queer Film Night, and Winnie Herbstein to ensure everything ran smoothly, it took place February 20th.
Some of my individual objectives were:
Budget : I worked to keep track of the budget and all changing fees. Making sure payments and reimbursements were made. As well as making sure that everything was handled in a timely manner.
Evaluation : I worked to make sure we have evaluation plans for the exhibition and the events that took place. Feedback that could give us an idea of the audience that attended and how they responded to different aspects. While keeping in mind what we would like to learn from the audience as well as the interests of our partner organisations. The planning for this was done before any of the events, but required meetings to discuss findings later.
(3) Discursive self-reflection
Use this section to, 1) reflect upon the progress of the project to date (both as a whole and with regards to your own specific area/role). 2) Critically reflect upon your experience working with the group. Here you may consider your contribution so far, the value of your specific strengths and expertise, the effectiveness of group communications and your performance in group meetings. How might the group [have] enhance[d] its performance?
Overall, this project was exciting to be a part of and to be bringing up such an important topic. We were able to accomplish a lot: commissioning artists for the workbook, having three separate events, in addition to the exhibition itself. I also feel that the living archive aspect of the exhibition came together well. This bit took significant planning, especially technologically, and effort to maintain it throughout the exhibition – but it seemed to really allow visitors to connect personally with the space. The project came together to meet our goals, as we handled any difficulties as a group.
We had a really great group that worked really well together. At the beginning of this project we started by having a conversation about the background and experience each of us had that related to the project, and bringing that together. We split up tasks well and worked together to accomplish any challenges were handled as a group. A few times tasks remained undone as we were unsure who was in charge of it, but this to was handled in a timely manner. And when we realised that our budget would not allow us to hold Winnie Herbstein’s Sweat Equity, we worked as a group to find a solution. The resulting film screening Q&A worked out well.
We also had great communication, and no real hiccups or disagreements. Over the break when we were all in different places, we stayed in contact and made time for group meetings. When there were differing opinions we discussed the options and voted. This effective teamwork allowed for the project to run particularly smoothly, and eliminated any disjointedness that might have occurred with bad communication. It also meant that as a group we were able to split up to learn new skill sets through this project, while also supporting each other. I had little experience with budgeting, and took the lead on that. I learned a lot in this process, but had support from my group mates with more experience here. I am glad to have worked in this group; though we set a challenging plan for the exhibition, my colleagues and I were successful in the results.
The Courage Within: Women Without Shelter, an exhibit at the Monterey Museum of Art from early to mid 2022 focused on the women who have faced homelessness in their local community of Monterey, California (Courage wi
thin…). This exhibit worked with a number of local artists and organisations in order to contextualise the lives of these women who were faced with homelessness and what that looks like in this area. They used the resources available to the museum to incorporate these individuals who face homelessness, as well as their voices, into the project.
The goal of the exhibit Courage Within: Women Without Shelter, was to make visible the lives and challenges of women faced with homelessness. The exhibit itself works with several different female artists: Amanda Salm, Dora Lisa Rosenbaum, Melissa Smedley, in addition to Denese Sanders. These artists work with a range of different mediums from textiles to portraiture to video performance (Courage within…). The exhibit included works from these artists, which are a product of their experiences working in close contact with the female homeless population of this community. The other aspect to this exhibit was from the local community. Over the course of several years, the Monterey Museum of Art partnered with several local organisations including Critical Ground which encompasses the artists listed above, the Fund for Homeless Women, and Open Ground Studios, a community art studio. These different organisations working together allowed for the active participation of the local homeless community in this exhibit (Courage within…). It gave the opportunity for workshops in which these women could express themselves, in their own terms, and for that to be a central part of what was featured in the exhibit. Leading up to the exhibit, there were book arts, drawing, painting, and printmaking workshops all designed for working specifically with women experiencing homelessness. The artists of this exhibit had the opportunity to work with the community in these workshops and get to know them, thus making every part of the exhibit all the more inclusive. This exhibit partnered with the Fund for Homeless Women to both include the local population as well as give back to the community (Courage within…).
The unique experience women who are homeless face, was a central part of this exhibition. Women have their own perspectives and experiences when it comes to experiencing things such as housing or homelessness. The ways in which they are impacted and the ways in which they handle these situations. The gendered aspects to these types of realities is important to acknowledge. The ways in which this exhibit handles this topic are interesting to consider. One of the artists from Courage Within: Women Without Shelter, Denese Sanders, approached this by saying, “…by nature, we all need to be seen and heard in the world, yet for women living with homelessness, identity exposure is too great a risk to their safety and pride, while chronic invisibility crushes their emotional wellbeing” (Courage within…). This is a sensitive, yet incredibly important idea to keep in mind and include within our approach and the exhibit at large. The non-profit organisation, Career and Recovery Resources Inc, has an article on the challenges women experiencing homelessness face. These challenges centre around women’s health and children, as a high number of women experiencing homelessness are single mothers. In addition to this, women are especially prone to sexual assault, physical violence, amoung other brutalities (Unique Challenges…). Women’s experiences of homelessness are distinct and their experiences deserve a platform to be heard.
This sensitive and personal topic in a workshop such as this is delicate, yet important to discuss. Research done in the article “Co-production and arts-informed inquiry as creative power for knowledge mobilisation” indicates that co-production in the arts often opened up participants to learn more about each other and to feel more comfortable with each other (Liddiard ,225). This knowledge is especially relevant for workshops that focus on sensitive and personal subjects. Another article that centres this co-production of research focused on co-producing research on disabilities with disabled youth. This article breaks down working with the ethical, practical, and legal concerns for co-producing research with disabled youth. Highlighting the complexities of co-produced work in terms of relationship dynamics (MacGregor, 163-164). In this it emphasises the complex nature of co-producing relationships. The dynamics here allow insight into the work behind these relationships as well as the ethical considerations. This method of knowledge production offers a unique look into community involvement in workshops.
My colleagues and I will be working with the work of artist Winnie Herbstein, the focus will largely be on the current housing crisis. In her work Dampbusters (2021), she pulls in information from Cathy McCormack, a housing and anti-poverty activist, who was working with a female housing project in the 1980s (McCormack). There is a great focus on housing and its connection to the community. This relationship is highlighted in Winnie Herbstein’s work, especially in relation to Cathy McCormack. Keeping this case study in mind when approaching Winnie Herbstein’s work brings up many important ideas about how to approach such a topic (Herbstine). A topic where something so essential as housing becomes political, makes it all the more important to be aware of the community presence. Courage Within: Women Without Shelter has many aspects that make it an interesting case study for our exhibition. What stands out to me from our own research into Cathy McCormack and the work of Winnie Herbstein is the inclusion of the wider community into the exhibition. This inclusion of community input, feedback, and space to share their own experiences in relation to the topic was influential to my own outlook on the project. This central focus on community greatly connects to our own project, and despite the differences between the projects there are connections that can be learned from. This case study handled this topic in a way that was respectful, this is something that holds significance to every project working with individuals on personal topics.
Bibliography
“Courage within: Women without Shelter: Monterey Museum of Art.” Monterey Museum of Art, March 22, 2022. https://montereyart.org/upcoming-exhibitions/courage-within-women-without-shelter/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=courage-within-women-without-shelter.
“Image Relay – Monterey Museum of Art: Courage Within: Women without Shelter Collection.” Monterey Museum of Art | Courage within: WOMEN without Shelter Collection. https://montereyart.imagerelay.com/sb/16956748-4b4c-4f6f-a6d0-799f8b8085ae/courage-within-women-without-shelter.
Liddiard, Kirsty et al. “‘I Was Excited by the Idea of a Project That Focuses on Those Unasked Questions’ Co‐Producing Disability Research with Disabled Young People.” Children & society 33.2 (2019): 154–167. Web.
MacGregor, Stephen et al. “Co-Production and Arts-Informed Inquiry as Creative Power for Knowledge Mobilisation.” Evidence & policy 18.2 (2022): 206–235. Web.
McCormack, Cathy. “Bad Housing = Bad Health.” World health 47, no. 6 (1994): 22–24.
“Unique Challenges of Women Experiencing Homelessness.”, Career and Recovery Resources Inc, https://www.careerandrecovery.org/unique-challenges-of-women-experiencing-homelessness/.
