Life In A Shoebox

The concept: We live in a crowded city with high land prices
art studios and gallery spaces are being lost to more profitable, development.
prices for galleries were a major drawback, waiting lists long
we settled for hiring a tiny space in Peckham. How much space did we really need to show the work of 30 artists? Could we limit ourselves to works which reflected the scale of the shoeboxes many of us live in?
So LIFE IN A SHOEBOX became the title and the theme of the show. Our art must address the theme of reduced scale, claustrophobia, itinerant lifestyles (renting) and living in small dwellings in the modern city.

Concept visual by Paul Anton

City claustrophobia
How big?
Shoebox poster
Shoeboxes installation on site

The debrief for the exhibition was tense at times. It was our first show as a group of artists and the learning curve had been quite steep. Participants noted tensions around differing approaches to organisation, punctuality and responsibility. The timetable was not always respected and standards of professionalism differed. Nevertheless, we had enjoyed most of the process. A key weakness was considered to be communication between artists and teams.

Reflections - future checklist -

Communication - there is a need to have an easily accessible document online (such as a website or drop-box) in which all key dates, team members, and critical timetable information was available.
Punctuality - all artworks to be delivered on time and with set up information for the installation team.
Press and invitation deadlines were critical in getting the message out to potential visitors.
Respect roles, and don't step into someone else's unless requested to. Offer help if you think it would be appreciated.
Clearly defined design team is necessary, this was one of the weakest parts of the experience.

Planning:

identifying tasks & appointing teams (mostly by volunteering) for design, tech, installation, press, posters, private view, social media and curating
credit to Marie for being project manager and to Paul Anton who, with his extensive architectural experience, designed the box installation and co-ordinated the tech team building it in our wood workshop.
4 styles of boxes were made which artists had to finish and use for their artwork.

My role:

to research the area, artists background and help Jenny Timmer with writing the Press Release
to research a contact list through which to publicise the show.
to set up and run the Twitter account.

Skills used:

collaborative, not heirarchical, working practices.
researching content and style for different kinds of press release.
writing and editing for different platforms.
disciplined use of social media.
criticality of press deadlines.
importance of proof reading and checking all info.
patience in handling teams of volunteers, very different from working life where people are appointed or recruited to tasks.
respect for people's personal development and how this may involve allowing others to make mistakes during the learning process.

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Life In A Shoebox

City claustrophobia

How big?

Shoebox poster

Shoeboxes installation on site