Week 7: Building a Village & Workshops

Call drawing by Marie Béney, from Bernard, Romane, et. al. “Now Imagine That We Are a Village” in Reckitt, Helena and Richter, Dorothee. eds. ‘Instituting Feminism.’ On Curating 52 (2021), pp 141-145.

 

This week, I have been thinking about the emphasis on dialogue and community that is so central to the project — and how to intertwine this in all facets of the project, before/after the exhibition itself.

Building a ‘village’

I have been greatly inspired by the text written by members of the “collectif étudiant intersectionnel féministe” (CEIF), a feminist intersectional travelling exhibition, in “On Curating 52”. They utilize the village as a metaphor and framework to underscore the necessity of collective action and community central to the project. 

Incorporating workshops in the development of the exhibitions, CEIF leads with care: ensuring the empowerment and connection of participants in the exhibition. 

 

I am currently participating as an artist in off-page 26, a workshop/development programme in Glasgow, and have been thinking about this model of workshops/crits/dialogues leading to exhibition. Whilst the curators/organizers select artists involved, the curatorial project becomes expanded and guided by the diverse interests/practices of the collective and the (actual) dialogues of the artists.

Given the nature of my project, incorporating an artist workshop prior to the exhibition is essential. Perhaps I have been too focused on dialogues amongst publics/project, but a programme for participating artists would foster empowering dialogues and collective gathering. 

 

Myvillages & Situated Practice

The discussion of the ‘village’ goes hand in hand with this week’s focus onsituated practices and reading on the rural; revisiting this text cemented key tenets underpinning community and access in my project, and the resonances with my own upbringing in the rural.

I recognize (and am critical of) my own situatedness in relation to the project themes, and as such this emphasis on “[breaking] with more traditional modes of gazing” is crucial for the success of the project. I am not seeking to “produce knowledge about others”, rather, I am devoted to the project offering opportunities for “sharing time” and dialogue, crucial for building an understanding and empathetic public/community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extending Dialogues

In conducting further research for the project publication, I came across Out of the Blueprint, an eco print studio actually located within Out of the Blue Drill Hall, the proposed site for the exhibition. They focus on supporting young people within the community through residencies, workshops, and training opportunities, and their printing services support these efforts. As such, they are a perfect partner to work with to print the publication, flyers, and other project ephemera. 

 

I would be very interested in proposing workshops through Out of the Blueprint as part of the programming to involve young artists from the local community, and will investigate this further in the coming weeks.

 

 

References

Bernard, Romane, et. al. “Now Imagine That We Are a Village” in Reckitt, Helena and Richter, Dorothee. eds. ‘Instituting Feminism.’ On Curating 52 (2021), pp 141-145. https://www.on-curating.org/files/oc/dateiverwaltung/issue52/PDF_to_Download/OnCurating_Issue52_WEB.pdf

 

MyVillages, “Introduction” in MyVillages (eds.), The Rural (Whitechapel Gallery, 2019), pp. 12-19.