Just some notes from 'Curating Artist Film and Video'

I finally found my notes from an ICO course last September. What better way of preserving them for future generations....blog it!

Mike Sperlinger - LUX

• LUX archive - Can be hired
• Offers Curatorial advice
• Collaborations with organisations on screenings and exhibitions
• Touring programmes (relatively inexpensive/for hire to venues)
• email 'Newswire' - up to date info about LUX archive/programmes and events
• Online Archive - view archive online, advance bookings, DVDs, copies, published books

ICO are also developing a site specifically aimed at Curators specialising in AFV.


Other interesting Orgs.

• ICO - Project launching next year, 6 progs. Classic work, (HDV) good media coverage.
• Lumen - Leeds based, equipment
• FACT - Liverpool based, MITES offers advice, equipment and installation.

International

• New York Film Makers Coop
  
• Electronic arts intermixed (EAI) New York based
• Video Databank - Chicago based
• Canadian Film Makers Distribution
• Lightco - France
• Netherlands Art Institute
• Study Centre, St Martins, London - To view works

Funding - Think Ambitiously

• Arts Council - grants for the arts
• Local Councils (Local arts officer)
• National Institutions e.g. Goethe Institute (specific artists e.g. German)
• Collaborations
• Look to your peers
• Rotterdam Film Festivals/Oberhausen - good networking opportunities

Generating an awareness in the audience of why they are there/who with?

Sarah Wood - "A Curator in search of an audience"

Where to Focus?
Approach?
Audence led?
Artwork/Artist led?
Personality/institution?

Artwork/Film





Audience Curator


History/context of artist film - lots of terms:

• Experimental film
• Exerstential film
• Avant Garde

Showed film examples:

1. Early experimental films - 'Dickenson experimental sound film', 1894, 20secs (from Library of Congress)
2. Current artist - Vicky Bennet, 'The Remote Controller'. (created using found footage, collage, found sound) www.peoplelikeus.org
   

Important to understand context for where you are screening work. Watch films in different spaces e.g. Cinema, Gallery, installation.

Be sympathetic to peoples discomfort [with the medium]. encourage development and understanding via:

Talks
discussion
marketing

Film examples no 2:

Elizabeth McAlpine - screened in different contexts - Gallery
Cinema
Monitor } all create different
interpretations of the work

'Curating and Developing audiences' - Mike Sperlinger and Michelle Cotton

MC - more of a gallery background, Independent curator. Ran S1 Salon programme 2003 - 2006 at S1 gallery.
MS - Gallery and Cinema background

images - artist's interaction with cinema environment
- Guy Sherwin, 'Man with a mirror', performance lecture

• Make screenings an event, ephemeral, an occassion.
• Invite artist/filmmaker/curator discussions

MARKETING

• Email lists - community. Pulls out adn highlights event from the printed programme.
• Word of mouth
• artists as core part of audience?
• share programme with local galleries and orgs
• invite artists to an open event. FIlmmakers bring work to screen/ask 3-4 artists to bring work to screen/discuss.
• remember screening notes! Who, where, when, info about artist
• DVD is not the best format
• MONEY/Expenses - usually £175/day artist screening fee for a 1/2 day talk and travel.
• remember to provide feedback to artists - statistics, feedback

Keep a sensitivity to framing of work.
try to remain strategic, informative and open regarding the work.

Week 13

This week we have been asked to consider the structure of our reports. In order to do this we have been requested to draft a table of contents and to also think about our working methods.

My notes thus far are as follows:

• Title - Village Life Project

Part 1

• Intro
• Background
• Proposal & Project aims/objectives

Part 2

• Critical discussion - curation and exhbition of artist film and video
• Curatorial models

- Urban screens
- Berwick Film Festival
- The Caravan Gallery
- The Isis Arts Big M
- Ele - Risk Exhibition/ Side Cinema

Part 3

• working method

• Evaluation
  

week 14

An interesting exercise at uni this week. We had to work with another member of the group and explain to each other what each of our projects was. We then had to present our partners project to the rest of the group. As I haven't yet sat down and written out my actual project I found it really useful to have to explain to someone with no prior knowledge of the project what it was.
Here are my notes:

• collaboration with Allenheads Contemporary Arts
• Working title 'Village Life'
• 2 starting points for the project/ the project was born out of 2 factors.
  
• (1) I have ran the Mobile Cinema since 2005, which has primary operated on a venue for hire basis rather than a curatorial project.
• My own interests lie within the distribution and exhibition of Artist Film and Video and through my project I hope to combine my role as Mobile Cinema Coordinator with my interest/research in programming and exhibiting the moving image.
• (2) I came to be working with Alan Smith and Helen Ratcliffe (ACA) as over a period of about a year Alan and I have been in discussion about bringing the Mobile Cinema to Allenheads. Alan was especially keen to have it at the village show, held annually in September.

• For the actual 'Village Life' project came from a trip to Allenheads on 10th/11th May 2008. As the result of talking with Alan and Helen I came up with the suggestion to combine Alan's interest in developing an archive of moving image work exploring peoples life in Allenheads, comprising of films/documentation of events at ACA and films from the community.
• I am interested in combining work produced by artists at Allenheads, documentation of artists residencies and 'home' videos to create a dialogue between the two, which I hope will explore different and varied experiences and perceptions of Allenheads.

I have broken the project into two phases. My report for my final project will primarily record the first phase but will also explore the potential of the second phase.

Phase 1.

I have drafted an open call for submissions of moving image from the Allenheads community.
I also hope to revisit Allenheads in the coming weeks to review their moving image material for inclusion in the programme. I still need to decide on a deadline for submissions of work for the open call. This should really be done this weekend!

From the submitted material and the chosen films from ACA I will programme a showreel of films to be screened in September at the village show.

I have also drafted a budget, which has highlighted the need to source extra funding. Ben from the curating course recommended that I look into Elephant Trust and the Leverhulme Trust as potential funders. I also plan to submit an application to ACENE.

Phase 2

This is the achieve stage, where I hope to bring together the work screened in September with potentially some new commissions. I envisage the archive to be hosted online and again will marry this phase with my previous research into curating moving image online.

I am interested in exploring a project run by Julie Ballands at the Tyneside Cinema called 'digital Stories' with the view to using techniques from this project to make films with residents of Allenheads.

Curatorial influences and models for this project are:

Caravan Gallery
Berwick Film Festival
Ele Carpenter (Risk exhibition at Glasgow CCA, Caravan used as alternative screening venue)
Archive projects - Radix NE, Tim Brennan
Amber
Tyneside Cinema - Digital Stories and Newsreel projects
Jeremy Deller

Ok almost a year since my last post and probably about time to catch up.

I am now in the final semester of my MA in Curating at Sunderland University and have been pondering what to concentrate on for my final project.

Part of my pondering process has taken me to Allenheads Contemporary Arts (see ACA link).
In between splashing about in pools, drinking, eating and general merriment, Alan (Smith) and Helen (Ratcliffe) managed to discuss potential ideas for the Mobile Cinema when it visits later in the year.

Alan and Helen told me about an idea to create an archive of videos from various sources and in a variety of styles, homevideo, artist video, documentary etc which reflect on the village. I have offered to run with the idea and am hoping to compile an archive of work which reflects different notions and reflections on 'Village Life' not just specific to Allen heads but globally (if possible)

First step...write call out