solsbury hill picnic 30th June 2011

Wednesday, 6 July 2011
solsbury hill picnic 30th June 2011
Subject: SPACE PLACE PRACTICE
Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2011 22:19:19 +0100

Dear all

Great to see some of you again today and to share time, thoughts and, importantly, the most yummy food together. This is just a quick note to re-cap on the day and to bring those that were unfortunately unable to join us up to date - so, please find below all the latest on (a) news about the re-configured Space Place Practice (SPP) artist/research group, (b) an outline of what was discussed today, (c) the opportunities on offer for the group as a result of some preliminary groundwork/networking carried out since the last meeting at Corsham Court in March, and (d) as a consequence of our discussions today, new developments/future action.

So, where to start? (I hope you are sitting comfortably as I think this might be more than a brief note after all!)

1 Weather: sunny and dry to start, rain later. Temperature: warm to start, cold later. Smell: fresh, grassy, earthy. Taste: sweet and savoury (mainly sweet!) Touch: varied. Sounds: skylarks, distant traffic, drone of aircraft (deep drpme of hercules aircraft), children, owners calling dogs, friends conversing, laughing ... Sights: huge skies, wondrous cloud formations, distant horizons, valleys, hills, houses, roads, trees, hedges, flowers, stones, long grasses, colours, shades - vast distances and close details; a vantage point, strategic, and special to us today; an Iron Age hill fort with defensive ditches, a place chosen from a hat, a place chosen by Rob. Thank you Rob!

2 One of the first things we did today at Little Solsbury was to discuss the fact that we are now an artist/research group - a cross-institutional group with a focus on issues of space and place, a group that values being one foot in and one foot out of the academy (in that we retain a criticality yet are not restricted by the (possible) confines of the academy), a group where practice involves a rich combination of thinking, doing, making and writing, a group that values each other/the group as a forum for dialogue and exploration.

We each in turn offered brief comments on how we, as individuals, relate to the group:

Sheila: "work with group is a cross-fertilisation of ideas/practice"; would be good to "encourage other disciplines" as appropriate to project

Hil: "Space Place Practice, as a name, is more open to other disciplines" (than previous 'art and geography group'); values the group "as important space/place to have contact with other strands of thought and practice/s, with thinking and doing" and is interested "in continuing with the group and the people ... to do with others"

Richard: the group is "useful as a sharing of resources - both a touchstone with the academy and beyond"; not only might we do projects together but "we can bring our own projects back to the group"; it "fills a gap" (as a doctorate student working remotely from his institution)

Penny: can feel isolated post-MA and the group offers "dialogue/s and invaluable sharing", that it is "organic, that focus will change and doesn't need to be tied down"

Diana: responds to the "loose-ness" of the group and the fact that it allows her "time to think creatively ... a forum in which to discuss how practice can be research"

Linda: how the group "helps [her] to keep focus, to be open, to share and test things out ... to be herself in the group"

Davina: is "passionate about practice-based research"; the group is important as it makes her "ask questions about practice and the place of theory". In terms of opening out to other disciplines, Davina has offered to see if the Bristol-based writing group (Bristol Uni - school of education I think?) is interested in doing something with us. Thank you Davina!

Mel: "important link to place-based issues" and to "having those conversations with others around practice/research"

And I put forward a brief 'mission statement' for group discussion (statement as initially drafted by Suze and Michele and then agreed with Rob and Liz and later forwarded to Iain at PLaCE and to Pradeep Sharma, Head of Art and Design at Bath Spa, Sion Hill by way of introduction to Space Place Practice):


Space Place Practice: a conceptual node through which visual artists/researchers engaged with issues of space, place and site within their critically constituted practice meet, discuss and collaborate. The research station’s dimensions are produced through interaction and discourse, which act as points of departure for both individual practices and collaborative adventures. A space where there is no hierarchical distinction between making, thinking, writing and doing – where expanded critical practice is expressed in image, word and performativity (action).

It was agreed that some parts (in particular 'conceptual node') might benefit from a bit of re-working and with this in mind, I attach a copy of the 'mission statement' for comment and suggestions.

2 Secondly, some preliminary research/groundwork has been carried out since the meeting in March and Suze filled everyone in re:

(a) the generous offer of support from PLaCE - use of space/rooms at UWE for meetings/seminars as well as, vitally, the resource of technical help setting up a website for the group and of incorporating the SPP website into the PLaCE website as an independent research network alongside Land2, Situations, Scenery etc. The website will be ours (independently managed/assembled) and will give us a valuable web presence - within PLaCE/the extended academy and beyond. Suze and Michele have started work on the website but it will take time to develop, ie it will be a while before we are ready to go live. In the meantime, Penny has offered to set up a blog (which we can later link into the website) so that we can continue to converse between our regular four monthly gatherings. Thank you Penny!

(b) an offer of support from Bath Spa University - Michele arranged a meeting with Pradeep Sharma at Sion Hill and Rob, Liz, Michele and Suze met with Pradeep a couple of weeks agao. He has offered the group support for a two-day event/conference next July (although we might need to shelve this until 2013 in order to get funding but we will see what we can do). Pradeep has asked the group to put together a 'business plan' with 'detailed budget' (ie it is up to us to state what we want to do and to itemise costs) and has offered the resource of the printing press for a publication. We will of course need to source some funding for such an event (Bath haven't offered any money although that is not to say we can't ask for something toward the event once we have a detailed structure in writing - whether they give us anything or not remains to be seen). Hil has offered to help Suze locate suitable funding bodies/write funding bids. Thank you Hil!

3 And a project to get us started! Suze has 'acquired' a collection of museum boxes from the Natural History Museum (yes, original museum boxes complete with glass, dust and stains!) and Michele has 'secured' use of the exhibition space at Bath Spa Sion Hill for a month next summer (after degree show - around mid/end June/July). Those of you at the picnic are now the proud holders of a museum box each and I have a similar box for those of you not able to come today - so, please get in touch so that we can arrange a day/time for you to collect your box.

Each box can then be used to represent each of us/our individual 'places' and will, when brought back together in another place for the show next summer, represent the group, each of us/our practices and a series of locations/places. Space (the group) Place (each of our places) Practice (each of our practices) - well, loosely anyway!

Whilst at the Natural History Museum collecting the boxes this Tuesday, Suze suggested the possibility of bringing the 'recycled' boxes back to the museum as an exhibition and has subsequently outlined the project/concept in an email which will be forwarded to appropriate people/depts at the Natural History Museum in South Ken. (I will of course follow this up and put together a proper proposal if they are interested as this could be a really exciting avenue to explore if it happens).

Liz's daughter who is doing a course on Museology has offered to present a paper around the show at Sion Hill next summer. The show could be used as part of the conference/event if we are ready (and funded) to go ahead next year or alternatively, if not, as part of a smaller seminar event and further marker of our presence/intent at Bath next year, a preliminary to a bigger event in July 2013 (by which time I would definitely hope we have found some way of securing appropriate funding). We have valuable resources available via PLaCE and Bath Spa but we still need to find some match-funding opp.

4 And, finally, we shared our places ... Jane who was busy in Bristol, joining us briefly via her phone, with a sound recording of her place in Cornwall. Thank you Jane! Unfortunately we run out of time before everyone had got a chance to share/elucidate on their places and four of the members present did not even get a chance to introduce their places today. So, the starting point for our blog will be the sharing of these four places. Penny will commence with her 'place' (once she has mastered the blogosphere - thanks again Penny, this will be such a valuable space for the group) and Davina, Mel and Hil will also put up their 'places' in due course. Perhaps those of us who did get the chance to bring our places to the group today could also put something up at some point so that we have a record of all of us/our places on the blog and in this way open them up for discussion? As well, of course, as those of you who were not able to come to the picnic today, could you plese add your place to the blog too? In this way, the various 'places' of our boxes will begin to emerge and mutate ...

I think that is everything (but please let me know if I have overlooked anything). Before I sign off, I just want to say thank you so much for your support for the museum box project and that the real treat for me today was to see you all and enjoy the luxury of spending time together at Little Solsbury ... I shall look at the hill as I drive down the road to see my dad in Batheaston quite differently now and hear the skylarks mixed with the sound singing coming from a childs record player (thank you Linda!)

with best wishes to you all
until soon
suze