(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.

Responsibilities

• Design: I was for the most part solely in charge of designing the brand, marketing material, and interpretation for the exhibition. This involved creating a brand identity and implementing said identity across all material throughout the exhibition. This included, wall texts, interpretation pamphlet, posters, social media posts. and signage. With my previous experience with these methods and applications that allow for the fruition of this work, I was the ideal group member to fulfill this required work. The work I did in this sense not only allowed us to have a cohesive feel to the material, but relieved some of the pressure in our tight budget.
• Research: There was significant research that went into this exhibition. Numerous hours scouring the internet and going through archives looking for examples of community-led resistance. This was particularly true as it pertained to Joey and Keira’s work. I was tasked with finding archival material for Muirhouse and Pilton areas of Edinburgh. Research was pertinent to the exhibition as there was immense consideration for the locations that the Traveling Gallery would be visiting. We wanted to make sure that those attending the exhibition would feel represented. In addition, there was considerable research that went into logistics. As I was tasked with overseeing the creation of the zine/workbook, research was essential in bringing the zine into existence from printing, dimensions, content, and colour.
• Liaising with Artists: A fundamental role for this exhibition was communicating with the artists our hopes, expectations, and intentions. Although I was originally assigned to liaise with Winnie Herbstein these assignments quickly dissolved into the specific tasks that the group adopted throughout the process. By adopting the workbook as my task I was tied to Joey and Keira. I had to have information at the ready for them as well as feedback on the final product.
• Group-work and Collaboration: As this is a group project, collaboration is essential to the success of this exhibition. Not only do we have to work with each other, but we also have to work with the Centre for Research Collection and all the artists involved in the exhibition. Although as stated above there was considerable things that we took on as individuals, most of the exhibition was a largely collaborative effort. It makes it difficult to say which aspects can have only one name stamped upon it.

Skills and Competencies

• Communication
• Research
• Creativity
• Ethics
• Team work
• Scheduling
• Curating

(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.

Project

• Events: We will be doing three major events, one of which was facilitating a performance piece from The School of Pedestrian Culture. The two other events are the Living Archive workshop at Community Wellbeing Collective and the screening of Minutes (2019) at Queer Film Night. All three would need supervision over ticketing which needs to get done no later than two weeks before hand. These events also need diligent communication between organizers.
• Archival Material: The gathering of archival material from the different locations that the bus is visiting is detrimental to the commission of Joey Simons and Keira Mclean’s wall montage and workbook. We are to independently research cases of community action and resistance to housing struggles in these locations. We need to gather all the material by mid-January so that the artists could have ample time to work on the workbook and the wall montage.
• Install: Install will be undertaken over the course of two days. In this time we need to acquire the wood for the stud wall, the wall paper for behind the screen, the foam board for the wall text, as well as organize the overall installation of the exhibition. On day 1 it is imperative that we get Joey and Keira to start their wall montage, and have all the elements ready to be put up and ready to go. On day 2 we must focus on wall texts and AV. Everything must be set up by 4pm on day 2.

Self

• Communications: I am in charge of designing and creating all marketing material for the exhibition and all signage and interpretation material. All marketing material needs to be done no later than one week before the exhibition. The interpretation leaflet has a bit more leeway but needs to be printed and folded ready for opening day. All signage must be ready for installation.
• Workbook: I am in charge of getting the workbook printed. This means that the finished workbook must be sent over to us for proofreading the week before installation, that way we have time for edits. The final workbook, after edits, needs to be printed by the last day of installation.

(3) Discursive Self-Reflection

I find it difficult to retrospectively assess the work that was done on this exhibition. I remember the time as a whirlwind of countless meetings, emails, and late nights. However the most clear and shining aspect of the exhibition is how well the group worked together. We navigated this placement together in constant support and equal dedication to the outcome of this exhibition. This sort of group dynamic allows for the contribution of individuals in almost all aspects of the exhibition, where there was slack another group member would come and take it. Hence it makes it difficult to see where ones work begins and another’s ends. This worked out for us in the end, but that may not always be the case. I often found that tasks would go undone for long periods of time because no one knew whose role it was to fulfill them. Ultimately everything got done and I am proud of the work that we produced.

Although I consider the exhibition a success, there are still plenty of things that I would have done differently. With the knowledge and experience I have gained from this placement, I can now reflect on our communication with the artists. There were definitely areas in which we should have been more clear. There was miscommunications between every artist we worked with. For example, Joey and Kiera were under the impression that the zine/workbook was going to be printed in colour which resulted in a last minute change to the print. There was difficulty in communicating with Lucas about his marketing material and Winnie with her degree of involvement. I acknowledge that we are novices in this front and with this experience we can work towards better communication in future exhibitions.

Oct 26, 2022