Friday 4 May 2018

Feckless Gallery






This collaboration is between students from MRes and MAKE, Liverpool to organise a series of pop-up and short-term events and shows in a purpose built space. 
I have an already existing relationship with Make as I organised an exhibition with them last year


  
The aim of this incarnation is to give emerging artists an exhibition/writing/performance/curation opportunity. Liverpool has several artist-led gallery and workspaces including The Royal Standard and Road Studios and this collaboration allows us to temporarily (for now) add to these creative spaces. 
This shift towards space outside the mainstream may allow for more dialectical, experimental practice. Clare Bishop discusses this in "The Social Turn: Collaboration and its Discontents" in which she describes how "social events, publications, workshops, or performances" may have a lower profile in the mainstream, commercial art world, however they are gaining presence in the public sector:-
  ‘...socially engaged art, community-based art, experimental communities … participatory, interventionist, research-based, or collaborative art. These practices are less interested in a relational aesthetic, than in the creative rewards of [a] collaborative activity…’  


20/2/18
Why Collaborate?
I had produced and curated a show before so why involve more people now? Is it easier for artists /curators to retain more autonomy and focus working alone or is the idea of the solitary creative process changing? In "Creative Collaboration" Vera John- Steiner argues that some of our greatest artistic and scientific endeavours are produced from the  "Joint thinking, passionate conversations, emotional connections and shared struggles" of collaboration.

Once five students had registered interest in going forward with the project I suggested that we meet up and present our work; despite many of us on the MRes being practicing artists we had not seen each others work I felt it would be useful for this collaboration to see how we might work together but also was simply interested in seeing everyone’s work.
Alzbeta made a beautiful graphic film but is also going to send us links to her  documentary work

Alzbeta Kovandova - Everything Will End Up in a Pine Box


Georgia showed a very layered multi-media installation/video performance piece, which also had elements of sculpture and drawing in it. 

Alice Sergeant - Buoy

 I showed my work and then Alice showed some quite graphic paintings and sculptures.

 Amy Russell

We discussed the elements of our work that would work well together in the gallery environment and made a plan to produce the first show on the  “First Thursday’ of April, and idea that JP (our contact at Make) was keen on.  Our hopes for this project seem on the same page; to provide space and autonomy for artists/curators to work, particularly those that might feel marginalised or intimidated by mainstream 'White Cube' gallery spaces. Felt very excited about he possibilities of making this show with these people. 

28 /2/18
Spoke to Mike Badger (Well respected local artist/musician who I have worked creatively with before) about doing a show of some kind, and have sent him images of what we did with the space last time. 

Its important that the process of networking, speaking to as many artists as possible, is set in motion straightaway so that the project has a chance to grow and gain momentum.

7/3/18
Visited Make Liverpool. 
Think everyone excited about he possibilities this space offers







We decided that Alice would show sculpture, a painter she suggested from Leeds, would show paintings and Georgia would perform a piece on the night in the space. The inclusion of this performance seems an important part of shaping what Feckless can become perhaps even pointing ahead to work unconfined to a fixed place. 

Grant Kestors "Conversation pieces" is a discussion about what he describes a dialogical art projects, that is projects that are outside the usual gallery settings that have attempted to develop new forms of collaboration. These projects, he asserts are at the "Intersection of cultural activism"

16th March
Georgia produced a mission statement

Feckless Gallery is not located in a specific geographical location, and unusually for a gallery has no fixed dimensions or space. Instead it is a collective of postgraduate artists and researchers who met whilst studying at Liverpool John Moores University, with a desire to push their own practices in new and exciting ways. This project represents the exhibition opportunities created by this group, who are currently working with MAKE, Liverpool to organise a series of pop-up and short-term events and shows. The primary aim of Feckless is to give emerging artists, an opportunity to test and show their practice with the support of the group, providing an exhibition / writing / performance / curation opportunity in the ‘Creative Capital of the North’.
We welcome all artists, curators and cultural practitioners to collaborate with us and exchange practices, in whatever way imaginable. No matter your experience or subject, the Feckless Gallery is open to all. 

I felt this is a well-written statement, which encapsulates what it is we are trying to achieve in this gallery. It made me feel hopeful that we are indeed playing to our strengths and that we all have different skills to bring to the process. The way we have as a group organised the different roles we play within this collaboration is working well.

Kate Hodgson


14th April
One of the artists selected for the show has backed out. We started looking round for other artists and found two with potential to work with the artists already selected. Kate Hodgson Produces printed graphic work and Mick Hannon is a printmaker who produces fanzines and prints. Felt that these two were perhaps an even better fit than the original artist, and as they are local it is easier to have them contribute any ideas about installation preferences etc perhaps it is easier to work with local artists? Perhaps that could be one of the aims of the gallery?

Mick Gill


16th April
Had confirmation from JP that we will go ahead with the Show on the 26th April. Alice was struggling with photographing her sculptures for the poster but they are needed now, as we will have less than 2 weeks to advertise it, So IG (photographer and graphic designer who had volunteered to help) and I drove over to her studio to photograph the sculptures. IG did a great job and then brought the images back to make the poster.







17th March
All posters are finished, however one the group don’t like the font that the designer has used, the rest of us are happy with it. I feel strongly that when you procure the services of a skilled and experienced practitioner and you are not in the position to pay them then you should trust their judgement (within the realms of what you have asked them to do) This brings up further questions around Commission versus a more formal contracted type of collaboration; IG himself said that if we had been paying him we would then, in his mind, become clients and he would therefore follow to the letter, what we wanted, whilst giving us the option of his expertise. However, if we chose not to listen to that expertise he would do what we wanted. For him, this project feels more like we are asking him to collaborate because we trust his skills and aesthetic.







24th April
I emailed The Biennial Independents about the possibility of working with them and being involved with the fringe Biennial- they said he would be happy to support us. I’m hoping this experience will encourage the other team members to carry on with this collaboration as I think the possibility of working with BI is exciting- I have worked with them before and know that it holds lots of possibilities to reach larger audiences and involve a wider variety of artists.
 A problem has arisen as a result of us holding the exhibition for a week rather than one night event, as last time. Mis-communication means that Make can’t really invigilate so we can only have visitors to the show by appointment only. This is a big problem as we have printed out all the posters and we are now short of time. In retrospect it is easier to make a One-night only event as originally planned.
There is a tendency for me, to not want to dictate the terms of the project when others have ideas, even if I know from experience there may be problems with said ideas. I feel that this is more in the spirit of collaboration and dont want to be seen as 'taking over' but clearly, looking back at this, there are times when I need to be more vocal and offer compromises or suggestions for making ideas work. 
Roberto Verganti and Gary P Pisano appraise two different distinctions of hierarchy in collaboration in their article "Which kind of collaboration is right for you?" In essence, that a flat, bottom- up approach where decisions are made jointly offers shared risks and technical challenges , whereby a more hierarchical form allows a member/members an authority which can steer the direction of the project unhindered. Both models can have their merits in this situation I feel.


26th April
Install and Exhibition PV
Picked up Mick’s work and met the others at Make, the Exhibition space had been constructed for us.



The space seemed too dark once the work was up- I went to buy some spotlights but saw a string of unbreakable lights that would only need one electricity point. The light isn’t perfect but is pretty good, quite warm and having a string makes it more straightforward.







Sometimes a decision of practicality vs. aesthetic perfection has to be reached. As this project progressed I found I was selecting more of the “practical’ options, making something “good enough” and having it happen seems more important than spending too long on small details and not getting the project finished. Here is the Final Install








 The event itself went well, really well attended and well received. An attentive crowd watched Georgia’s performance, filmed by Alzbeta. 



We spoke to several artists who are interested in showing work with us; this was always one of the aims of the night. The event itself ran much more smoothly than the run up. JP has already been in touch to ask when we would like to do another show. 






Finally, the event was made into a film by Alzbeta