archive and the community

Beginning to write a strategy for the archive...

Step 1. links between the archive and Allenheads, who and what is it for? who will use it ? how will they access /use it?

ACA brings in diverse and innovative artists who offer fresh ideas and a contemporary approach to issues relevant to the Allenheads environment. Through the intimacy of the venue, their work becomes closely linked with the surroundings and the people. 'The way in which artists are encouraged to work at Allenheads means that community members have the opportunity to actually participate in the creation of the artwork.' (Bridget Kennedy, local artist) 'As well as bringing a redundant building back to life, as a centre for the arts and a resource for the whole community, Allenheads Contemporary Arts has encouraged villagers to unite in their efforts to commemorate and celebrate.' (Dave Hurrell & Suzanne Dilley, local residents)

extract taken from the Allenheads Contemporary Arts website

Research: Mass Observation Archives

A brief history of Mass Observation

A book about the original Mass Observation project

Photo from the Worktown collection, taken in Bolton

Origins of Mass Observation, 1937-50s

The Archive results from the work of the social research organisation, Mass Observation. This organisation was founded in 1937 by three young men, who aimed to create an 'anthropology of ourselves'. They recruited a team of observers and a panel of volunteer writers to study the everyday lives of ordinary people in Britain. This original work continued until the early 1950s. Find out more about the original Mass Observation project.

The archive comes to the University of Sussex, 1970

In 1970, the Archive came to the University of Sussex and was opened up as a public resource for historical research. The Archive holds all the material generated by Mass Observation between 1937 and 1949, with a few later additions from the 1950s and 1960s.

The New Mass Observation Project, 1981

The original Mass Observation idea of a national panel was revived from the Archive in 1981. Through the press, televison and radio, new volunteer writers or 'Mass Observation correspondents' were recruited from all over Britain. The project continues under the direction of Dorothy Sheridan.

About three times a year, we send out a "directive" or set of themes which invite views and experiences. Since 1981, over 2,800 people have contributed to the Project, and the current active mailing list is about 400 strong. We are still recruiting new volunteers.

Awards and celebrations, 2006-7

In 2006, the Mass Observation Archive was awarded Designated status by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA). Only 38 collections in libraries and archives across England have so far been recognised as having outstanding national and international importance under the Designation Scheme.

ACA update and NRFTA

A recent update from Alan Smith at ACA, we have more contacts coming forward from the Allenheads/Allendale area. Alan is working with these contacts.
I have been researching footage held by the Northern Regional Film and Television Archives (NRFTA), which has revealed that there was a screening of footage held by the archives relating to rural Northumberland screened 7th June 2005.

"At the invitation of the Allendale Film Society, we screened a selection of films and excerpts relating to life and work in rural Northumberland."

I will be contacting NRFTA to discuss the programme and the possibility of futher screenings in collaboration with Allenheads.

I think there is certainly some potential to set up a touring programme which could be taken from Allenheads to Newcastle.

Curatorial models: Isis Arts, The Big M, Newcastle Upon Tyne

THE BIG M

From motion pictures to mega pixels, the Big M celebrates moving image culture and the possibilities for experimentation created by digital technologies. Unique in both design and function, the Big M provides an alternative to the conventional gallery setting and takes work by emerging and established artists to diverse audiences.

The Big M is a highly-stylised inflatable structure that functions as a temporary and mobile venue for the presentation of video and digital media. Fabricated from pvc, it is 17 metres in diameter and 5 metres high. Click here to watch a short video of the structure.

Via a specially designed touch-screen interface, viewers choose their own programme by selecting individual works, each with a running time of 5 minutes or less. Three video projectors show work on DVD in a three screen arrangement with stereophonic sound.

ISIS Arts has produced three programmes and tours for The Big M; Programme 1 was launched in June 2000 and included 21 new and commissioned works by 16 artists. Programme 2 was launched in 2002 and featured 24 innovative works by 18 international artists. The current Programme, number 3, features 20 works by 17 artists addressing the theme of 'Crossing Borders' and was launched in September 2005 in conjunction with the Berwick upon Tweed Film and Media Arts Festival.

From experimental narrative, to performance and computer animation, all of these works push the boundaries of video production and highlight the diversity of practice within this expanding field.

Text sourced from Isis Arts

Curatorial models: The Caravan Gallery, Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale, Portsmouth

The Caravan Gallery is a mobile exhibition venue and visual arts project run by artists Jan Williams and Chris Teasdale. The aim of the project is to record the ordinary and extraordinary details of life in 21st century Britain. Williams and Teasdale are eager to examine clichés and cultural trends, they are particularly drawn to absurd anomalies and curious juxtapositions, typical of places in transition and in the process of reinventing themselves.

Simultaneously seduced by and suspicious of the rose-tinted tones of tourist information brochures, and frustrated by their yawning omissions, Williams and Teasdale have set out to redress the balance by sidestepping the brown signs and interpretation boards to see what lies beyond. Their findings form the basis of a substantial exhibition, as well as a highly subjective survey-cum-tour guide to the ‘real’ Britain in the new millennium.

The Caravan Gallery, a diminutive mustard model (circa 1969), with white walls and beech floor on the inside (like a ‘real’ gallery), provides the perfect setting for an evolving exhibition of photographs made in response to places visited; at any one venue, location-specific work arising from a previous research visit is exhibited alongside other material from the Caravan Gallery archive.

Also displayed are some unique custom made postcards that reveal the reality - and surreality – of contemporary Britain. Although not picturesque in the traditional sense, (Caravan Gallery cards don’t airbrush out Portaloos and are as likely to feature tanning salons as thatched cottages) the appeal of these cards lies in the very familiarity of their subject matter and their celebration of overlooked details; unexpected delights are to be found in the most unpromising situations – and, of course, the reverse is true.

The Caravan Gallery exhibits at an eclectic range of locations, rural, urban and suburban, from small-scale community events to major festivals and venues. The scope for interaction with an extremely diverse audience is enormous, the inevitable feedback (including enthusiastic recommendations of places worthy of investigation) making a valuable contribution to the project. Having seen the exhibition in the caravan, visitors are invited to complete a Caravan Gallery survey about their locality and lifestyle. With questions ranging from the serious to the frivolous, these surveys have proved incredibly popular, yielding fascinating results, e.g:

99% of people surveyed would rather die than arrange a pre-paid funeral.

17% of people surveyed have won meat in a raffle.

30% of people surveyed have seen their parents naked.

18% of people surveyed avoid their neighbours when out shopping.

57% of people surveyed manage to kill houseplants without even trying.

Alan Titchmarsh is loved and loathed in equal measure.

Source: 'About Yourself' - The Caravan Gallery at Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth, 2000.

The Caravan Gallery : Early Days

In 2000, members of Art Space Portsmouth were invited to submit proposals for 'an outdoor installation along the seafront' for Portsmouth City Council's 'Summer Arts Across Portsmouth' season.

Jan Williams put forward an idea that involved using a caravan as the focus of her ongoing investigations into British leisure, landscape and lifestyle. Having got the go-ahead for the project, Williams and co-collaborator Chris Teasdale set about finding a suitable caravan; a small-ad led them to Hayling Island where they found just the thing - a tiny mustard (on one side) egg-shaped 4 berth 'Europe' model. They couldn't resist.

Prior to its conversion into a gallery, the caravan enjoyed a brief incarnation as a small but effective gin palace in London - this was at the opening of an exhibition called '3 in the Park' ( John Dargan, Jo Roberts, Jan Williams ) at The Pump House Gallery,Battersea Park.

Williams, Teasdale and friends went on to transform the caravan into a clean functional gallery space by gutting and rebuilding the (rather tatty) interior; brown velour curtains, floral upholstery and a small wood-effect table were retained in the reception area as a mark of respect to the gallery's 1969 origins.

'The Caravan Gallery Millennium Experience' took place over a rather tempestuous August Bank Holiday weekend on Southsea seafront. Following a celebratory launch featuring traditional caravanners' fare (dress code : socks with sandals), a steady stream of visitors received a guided tour of the exhibition in the caravan before completing a survey about their leisure interests and thoughts about Britain today.

The weekend was so successful that plans were made to develop the project and take The Caravan Gallery on tour. Funding from Southern Arts, local authorities and gallery and event organisers enabled The Caravan Gallery to undertake a pilot tour of the Southern Arts region in 2001 before venturing further afield.

Public Accessibility

Audience diversity and social inclusion are fundamental to the project. The Caravan Gallery project is accessible to all and operates in a range of public and highly visible locations. Although access to the caravan itself may be difficult (although not impossible) for people with certain physical disabilities, we will ensure that provision is made for full participation in the area set up around the caravan. This could include taking part in surveys, looking at exhibits and shows in an adjoining marquee etc. People unable to enter the caravan can view a certain amount from the outside and are able to look at a portfolio containing images displayed inside the caravan.

source of text - Caravan Gallery Website

Any uncanny link between the Mobile Cinema and my interest in crafts (and design)...

maybe there should be an article on caravan culture in the arts (and crafts)?

check out the designed and Made TrailerMade caravan...

sadly sold now :(

Mobile Cinema beginings

The Mobile Cinema began it's 'life' as part of the 'RISK: Creative Action in Political Culture', 2005 exhibition curated by Ele Carpenter. '

'RISK' was an exhibition, which featured Film - Web - Discussion - Media Lab - Participation.

The RISK exhibition presented social actions and processes, political statements and questions, films, participatory computer based works, research material, alternative trade systems, live performance, media lab, discussion forums and art objects. Over 34 Artists and Collectives took part including: Aisling O'Beirn, The Atlas Group, Doug Aubrey, Ross Birrell, Jota Castro, Ruth Catlow, Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army, Jem Cohen, Critical Art Ensemble, Andrea Crociani, Jeremy Deller, Ghazel, Gregory Green, Jordan & Hewitt, Gavin Hill, ICOLS, Martin Krenn, Torsten Lauschmann, Maris, Harold Offeh, Josh On, Platform, Topsy Qur'et, Jai Redman & Damian Mahoney with UHC, Oliver Ressler & David Thorne, Kate Rich, Jackie Salloum, Trans:it, Yes Men, Variant.

Here is a statement regarding the role of the Mobile Cinema in the Exhibition:

The RISK mobile cinema presents a selection of short films investigating the relation between content and spectacle, truth, fiction and conspiracy.

Media is political: the medium is the message. Free and independent media is crucial to understanding and transforming the power structures in which we live. In the 21st Century information and recreational media is becoming polarised with increasing corporate and government control of the mass media and an explosion of independent grassroots media distributed through the worldwide web, festivals and micro cinemas.

Alternative print presses, radio stations, film collectives and micro-cinemas have a history of collective working and a commitment to independent production and distribution. This collective model, combined with the open source, open access potential of the internet to both upload and download content has led to new opportunities in filmmaking, promotion and programming.

Collectives are formed as non-heirachical organisational models to skill-share complex technologies and to create alternative social centres. A commitment to horizontal planning, grass roots communities and creating new modes of production and distribution is a core value of Indymedia, micro-cinemas and arts film collectives alike.

Artists use many different strategies to interrogate the relations between aesthetics and ideology in film: from documentary essay work to re-enactment, performance and deconstructed narratives; motivated by personal experience or artistic research; from witness to direct action; exploring the shifting relationship between the political and the aesthetic. Art practice deconstructs the ways in which we make and view film, functioning as a process of cultural evaluation, offering alternative narratives and conceptual strategies for investigation.

The Mobile Cinema has the potential to travel, taking experimental and independent film to our cities, towns, villages and summits.

Written by Ele Carpenter, follow the link for more information about the other projects.