Meeting with Matthew Hearn and Rebecca Travis 

6th March 2013

Alvinos 6pm 

Need to consider more visual content (visual ways of communicating) e.g. photo essays, newly commissioned work, collaborations… What makes this project unique? The opportunity for developing new work, new conversations and connections… Commissioning artists/new works but also promoting and catalysing discourse/art here and publicising on an international platform. 

What is the template/ format of the site going to be? Important to keep the initial online pieces short and pithy but with the potential that they can catalyse extended, polyvocal conversations… a conversation held in different media, through different perspectives, cumulative conversations which can be edited in an interesting way. Perhaps inviting people from different fields to hold a manifold conversation around a single object/subject/event (similar to the origins of the Literary and Philosophical Society)? How do we publish these conversations? As edited transcripts? Videos? Audio/podcasts? In terms of the design of the site we need to get someone on board who understands the ethos and can collaborate with in terms of appropriate design and up-to-date content. Need to meet the balance between something which is conversant and flexible but not too dry. Try and escape the inflexibility of the wordpress site with a single, fixed front page and find ways to embed things in appropriate places. The design and functionality has to mirror the ethos and intentions (i.e. multiplicity, scattered, shared). Attention to detail which makes a site great (and functional) but also what makes it unique… Programmes such as Text pattern may be appropriate as needs to be something which we can update. Need to work on design ideas: name and a brand. 'Mirror'? 'Prism'? Something which reflects, refracts but also absorbs light? The mirror as a truth seer, a spiritual way of divination. Cf Susie Green's photograph of the shattered mirror…  (not) Mirror and sponge… soft mirror… look for a title and a tagline/ summary of ethos/intent… palindrome… black prism?… 

What is the thematic aspect of what we're doing? Something which represents the ideals of the project and what we're looking at… Maybe we ourselves need to begin with choosing a film, book, record or our own 'top 10 reading list'?… Differentiation between this site and similar projects e.g. 'it's nice that" … Inviting content that we are not necessarily going to publish, how to negotiate that process and think about critical dialogue not limited to any specific format… Project needs to be open in turns of language and output i.e. not a particular, overly prescribed kind of language (i.e. rarefied art speak)… Need to consider why we should be 'managers' of the project…

The online content as opposed to the 'real life' activities/content - how do these components relate? i.e. Invited artist/writers talks and events, documentation, involvement of people here in newcastle, crits and seminars outwith that programme.

How to develop and sustain momentum in the project? Perhaps programme 3/4 events in a year (rather than make it a monthly event) whilst the ongoing crits/seminars keep conversation and activity ticking over… responding to/extending ideas and conversations initiated through the project… 

Comparative project - Dexter Dalwood's monthly crit groups in which the group have to read a book, watch a film and listen to a record. Positive in extending the conversation beyond the remit of art but don't want to impose rules/perimeters which may become overly restrictive/close down the potential for organic response and growth. Perhaps we could think about inviting individuals to curate a curriculum? Bringing artists from outside Newcastle (ideally with publishing credentials) to the city to run these (through talks/seminars/crits/meals), way of extending networks and reach, inviting participation, enlivening the conversation and raising ambition locally and nationally. How do we select these artists? Based on similarity of ideas/interests to us? What is our curatorial position? Need to find someone who we'd be interested in working with. They develop content of (2/3 day?) curriculum, to which we invite people to express an interest in why they should be involved and what they can contribute (contract/mutually beneficial agreement) and invite them to generate new content (anything from a spottily playlist to an object, image, article, performance etc)… 

Next steps… Flesh out and tighten up ideas for the project and affirm the plan particularly in regards to participation, openness, control, whose running it, how it can involve people in terms of dialogue. Wish list of people we would like to involve (aim high!). Do we need to write a manifesto? Decide on our curatorial role (e.g. compared to other sites including 'It's Nice That' and 'Pitch Fork' which are curated according to a latent critical policy in what they choose to review and not to review). Turn notes into/ transform into a plan then by this time next week share with CVAN - Julia and Alessandro… website one thing but want to drive through this content propose they fund the first? then follow up with ACE funding?. The first person we invite to write a curriculum should be someone new (i.e. outside the area) in order to enrich the conversation, push for higher aspirations. Perhaps what initially needs to happen is to acquire some money to pay them to come here and meet us and invite people to propose why they want to be part of it… Look for an artist but with some publishing credentials… Alec Finlay?… Jeremy Mellor?… bridging artists and writers… Would be good to publicly launch the project once the first visit has happened with the publication of new content - begin as we mean to go on with links to 'coming next'… Get the funding to set up the website and run the first programme then try and get future funding off the back of that, first project will set the format (and opportunity for us to reflect on successes/areas for improvement) as well as to entice future participation…CANNED is dead, long live 'Prism'?… Look to provisional partners who may be part of this… dialogue with the community but diversify beyond the art field and beyond Newcastle… Perhaps the events happening here may be able to fund the website somehow?…

Time Scale - September 2013 to launch the first curriculum?

>Website design and project intentions

>Invite someone to design first curriculum

>Invite people to propose participation

Do we include artist interviews? What's the most effective approach to these (e.g. 60 second interviews/ face to face/ via correspondence)? More directed questions about an individual's practice? Involving other media (books, films, audio?) Perhaps we ask them to recommend their 10 most influential reads or something similar? Becomes an extension of the conversation and provides access to the project in a way which is not bound to the physical location… Potentially a fast, interesting way of tapping into a larger conversation/exploration of content… Similarly lists of things you should do before you die… Email conversations can work better in a sense than the metro's 60 second interviews (allowing people more time to compose and respond)… How we unify and yet make these interesting and relevant "tell me an anecdote"… why are we asking these questions? what is our impetus? and why do we consider this to be important and not something else?… 

Other partners - talk to Will M and Will S at NewBridge about potential support/space/affiliation - way of involving their artists and degree of mentoring from the visitor but also mutually beneficial in terms of offering potential venue/support/volunteers. Baltic/Baltic 39's programme of artists/ visiting lecturers? Newcastle University? University of Northumbria? Vane? Workplace? NGCA? Hannah Marsden, Alessandro, Emma Dean (coming from Milton Keynes - different group of people e.g. artist Matt Calderwood)? Other people who are involved in programming in the NE/ bringing people from different places and disciplines here. Makers Space? Culture Lab? But do not want to become reliant on any single partner - the project has to have it's own identity, unfixed to another location or institution. If looking at films could potentially talk to the Tyneside about deals/ use of a space for after screenings for discussion events? Consider bigger events and, as such, affiliation with other, larger spaces (without becoming reliant on any one institution or space)… Toby Huddleston, Joanne Tatham and Nadia Hebson. Upcoming Spectrum show at Baltic 39 - potentially provide to access to many artists… Ways we can positively link in with the universities e.g. seminars which may benefit from more authorial control… Curriculum linking to Nadia's Free University somehow? Having a reason to interview someone from the visiting lecture programmes… 

Creative dialogues - how can we maximise the potential of the artist being here?… We want the first artist visit to be so good that we can then hook in other exciting things/ people… Important to consider the access/accesibility to the lecture programme i.e. how we can make it useful and appealing to people outside of the arts (musicians, writers, scientists, philosophers etc). Do we need to experiment with the number of people we work with in a project (e.g 10/20/30)? Perhaps the artist can curate a meal/ recipe?… Passing a recipe via the blog which we then have to make… Another way of extending participation beyond the here and now - a sense of collective action and participation beyond this single point in time and geography. Potentially absurd recipes, working with different people to record and realise these in a plurality of means… Looking at different ways we can document this… performative… perhaps we should initiate the events then look at the content and decide on best way to publish?… 

Structure - us three as the backbone of the project (important for accountability, structure and shared sense of direction/intent). Necessity in being able to step back from things and critically reflect/ modify accordingly. How prescriptive can we be? Should we be? Do we accept/allow pre-published work? There will be a lot of transcription/editing work involved, can we bring on board volunteers to assist with this? NB? Do we keep the project quite rigorously curated? How much chance is allowed to come into it? Do we bank/collect all these conversations/ideas we're tackling now? Perhaps even recording these conversations may be a good starting point. Keep everyone CC'd in via google docs and dropbox - way of sharing these conversations/ revisiting/ editing… Potentially look to doing 4 site visits (seasons), this the base/ spawn for the whole project (thinking long term)… 

Participation of attendees must not just be passive but active - important to understand and convey how useful it is/ how might be interpreted by different individuals/ utilise the opportunities to their fullest potential. Liaising with us to develop some kind of critical response to these events whether visual, written or other… Something Understood… a subjective journey… the conversations a journey in themselves, process as crucial (if not more so) than outcomes?… If we can work editorially to make that journey make sense; Tracing a pathway through these discussions/events/seminars ("how did you get from cool runnings to photographing Jesmond Dene?")… Transgressing specific geography… Callout must capture respondees will be the most enthusiastic and involved for maximum benefit of everyone… In the longer term might even be looking for people to write a book/develop a publication… Perhaps we send out the curriculum in advance and ask people why they think they can respond critically and creatively to these subjects/themes/ideas/events?… Could include any interested party - not just the art community… should consistently aim high and target people who are 'higher up the food chain'. The idea of a curated recipe can extend to the meal itself e.g. organising tables and attendees to include one scientist, one artist, one writer etc, instigate movement around the table itself so that conversations shared… Playful approach to something which will unsettle people to a degree/put them beyond their everyday situation, open up discourse and potential new relationships, collaborations and cross-disciplinary conversations… People who are involved benefit from the visit but agree to produce responses, need to consider carefully this tiered approach… rhizomatic… synopsis of connections… structuralism… mapping the threads and throwing back to the person presenting work/ideas… 

How the studio crits might feed into this project as another branch?… Perhaps adopting an approach similar to "First Thursdays' in London (regular, timetabled well in advance means for keeping up the momentum). If they are held on a set day it might make the process easier and people able to accommodate i.e. not coming because they can but making the time and effort to get involved as it's a mutually beneficial exercise. Visits to shows also - negotiate with the spaces/galleries themselves (Yorkshire Sculpture Park and places further afield, broadening horizons?) - could we persuade them to give us access to a discussion space and a pot of coffee after? (Similar to True Romance idea that noone goes for 'pie after the cinema' anymore or a drink after a show - need to push criticality rather than just passive consumption). Moderating between what we want to visit and what we get in return i.e. not just doing this as a favour to the institutions in advancing what they're doing and providing a critical dimension but a reciprocal process between the group and institutions. How we can be instrumental in recording/ directing those conversations in order to tease out interesting ideas)… Practical considerations - How to have a good group conversation without having a conch?… Perhaps using cards where all participants given a limited number e.g. four cards (Primary point card, secondary/ counter card)… Looking at something which potentially doesn't work but doesn't work for the right reasons and that makes those situations interesting… the way the travelling mic at 'any questions' provided a controlling influence… Trying to find means for everyone to participate without their being dominant/subservient voices - a conversation held and shared. 

Will Gombrich… 

'Curriculum for a free university'

Important to constantly be examining why are we asking particular questions and what our impetus behind them is. Embodying a shadow self who is questioning why we consider one thing to be important and not another, accountability for our editorial decisions… Why are we inviting particular people to contribute? Why not someone else?

Last works by artists - Cologne Kunstraum…. Or similarly, last speeches such as Harold Pinter's on accepting the Nobel Peace Prize (his vehemence)… Swan songs… embodying a degree of editorial pomp and creativity…  Something as a catalyst… Raises critical dialogue in the region, not a hired vocal… real criticism not just complementary…