Contemporary exhibition practice is a 30 credit curatorial module requesting a group of 5 students to devise and create a collaborative exhibition which is open to the public with a minimum of 4 professional artists which at its inception were unknown to the group. The group were to manage all aspects of the exhibition including finance, marketing, sourcing a venue, artists and of course the final curation. The group included myself, Megan Ford, Harry Ford, Sonja Purwal and Jennifer Murphy.
– The following text was the initial artist proposal written by myself sent out via websites such as Axisweb, Surrey Open Studios and the Chichester Artists Trail giving the title, context and brief.
‘Culina Artem’ (Kitchen Art) Contemporary Art Exhibition
The forthcoming group exhibition curated by second year BA (hons) Fine Art students studying at the University for The Creative Arts in Farnham is to be held in the Gridshell at the Weald and Downland Living Museum near Chichester, West Sussex http://www.wealddown.co.uk between 13th and 17th December 2017, these dates include the install and take down.
Entitled ‘Culina Artem’ Latin for Kitchen Art the initial premise for the exhibition is to interact with the museums rich history of domestic and agricultural heritage through the language of contemporary art. The context in which we aim to deliver this principle is the idea of the domestic kitchen and the usage and contents as used over the last 950 years of the museums remit.
Our curatorial project is based around the writing of Michel Foucault focusing on his theory of Heterotopia. Foucault uses this concept to describe spaces that have more layers of meaning or relationships to other places than immediately meet the eye. In general, a heterotopia is a physical representation or approximation of a utopia, or a parallel space, such as a museum, museums enclose in one place objects from all times and styles. They exist in time but also exist outside of time because they are built and preserved to be physically insusceptible to time’s ravages.
This will be a collaborative exhibition showcasing between 4 and 8 artists. We ask each artist to create or submit an existing work in response to the domestic kitchen paradigm, this could be to create a discussion, a comment or a critique on the utilitarian nature of the kitchen as a space or simply a response to a specific object found within the space such as a bowl, cooking pot, knife, utensil or a tool which would be equally recognisable to an 11th century cook as to a 21st century one.
The Gridshell is a very large award winning contemporary venue which fully lends itself to all aspects and disciplines of contemporary art including painting, sculpture, performance, film and sound. The exhibition will use approximately one third of the available space. The Weald and Downland Living Museum is looking to increase its diversity and inclusivity of contemporary art and with full support of the Cultural Development team the anticipated attendance could be between 500 and 1000 people, this includes all age groups due to the Gridshell being open to the public visiting the museums other attractions.
– After a period of time the final details were confirmed and the exhibition was held. The following text is the exhibition write up and final evaluation submitted after the event was held. As requested this was written from my own personal perspective and not that of the entire group and therefore highlights the activities, successes and failures for which I was accountable for.
In order to explain the genesis of our contemporary exhibition practice module I must first explain the brief. Our curatorial project was based around the writing of French Philosopher Michael Foucault, focusing on his Theory of Heterotopias as described in his lecture entitled ‘Of Other Spaces’ (March 1967). Foucault gave five basic principles of Heterotopias. In the fourth principle he described, “Heterotopias are most often linked to slices in time, or Heterophony’s”. Foucault uses this concept to describe spaces that have multiple layers of meaning, or relationships to other places, than is immediately apparent. A heterotopia is a physical representation or approximation of a utopia, or a parallel space, such as a museum or a library. Museums enclose objects from specific times and styles. They exist in time but also outside of time because they are built and preserved to be insusceptible to time’s ravages.
We were assigned into groups of five and asked to devise a curatorial project to transform the idea of a kitchen to become a host for artists’ work and ideas. We were to curate four artists who on its inception were unknown to us. The theme was of our choosing. We were asked not to remake a white cube environment rather use the artists to intervene, interrupt or remake the space around the given theme. The exhibition was to be open to the public and be located away from the university campus. The group I was assigned to included Megan Ford, Harry Ford, Sonja Purwal and Jennifer Murphy. I would be project manager. Megan and Jennifer would do fundraising. Harry and Sonja would do advertising publicity, and we would each find an artist. For the purpose of this essay I will concentrate on activities, decisions and contributions made by myself to the project as a whole and evaluate the process based upon my own experience. After an initial group discussion, it was decided we would all try to find a venue for the exhibition in the first instance and once that had been confirmed we could go forward and contact artists. After a spell of inactivity, I approached the group with the idea of holding the exhibition in a museum. This not only tied in with Foucault’s writing as he specifically mentions museums. The Weald and Downland Living Museum near Chichester West Sussex appeared to hold all the elements we were looking for in a venue. The museum’s remit focuses on vernacular life over the last 950 years with a strong emphasis on the kitchen and cooking with twelve kitchen reconstructions dating from the Saxon period to the Victorian. Once an initial contact had been made with the museum I approached the group and dependant on cost they were all in agreement it would be a suitable venue. After completing a site visit and meeting Lucy Hockley the Cultural Development Manager, we had agreed to use the Jerwood Gridshell which would be available mid-December 2017. The Museum’s award-nominated Gridshell was the first to be constructed in the UK and is regarded as an iconic building among architects. Completed in 2002, the building was financially supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The building is a lightweight structure made of oak laths. The upper deck is called the Jerwood Gridshell Space, and this is the Museum’s conservation workshop and training space. Its dramatic, light and airy structure also makes the Jerwood Gridshell Space ideal for exhibitions and events. Julian Bell, the museum’s curator, required a detailed proposal of our intentions before negotiations on the venue hire could begin. After a period, the submitted proposals were accepted and a fee of £250 was agreed which is far below the standard commercial rate for the building. The exhibition dates were set, installation would be 14th December, open on the 15th and 16th then uninstall on the 17th. The group agreed that funding the exhibition would be made up of each individual putting in £50 towards the venue hire then additional fundraising would be done for any further costs. During the next meeting the exhibition title was agreed on, Culina Artem, Latin for kitchen art. We felt this tied in well with the museum’s scope of historical curation and education while providing a strong literal sense of our intended theme.
Due to the large scale of the venue we chose to curate between four and eight artists asking each to create a specific work or, due to the short lead time, submit an existing work in response to the domestic kitchen paradigm. This could be to create a discussion, a comment or a critique on the utilitarian nature of the kitchen as a space or simply a response to a specific object found within the space such as a bowl, cooking pot, utensil or tool which would be recognisable to an 11th century or a 21st century cook. Now we had all the specific details in place the group proceeded to gather artists to fulfil our requirements. During my own search on available platforms I received eight rejections. This was due to artists needing more time to create site-specific work or artists wanting to be paid a fee. After several weeks and numerous emails, telephone calls, a site visit to West Dean College and other artists’ studios I managed to secure four artists. Firstly, via Axisweb, Jeannie Driver MA, a professional artist/curator and visiting lecturer in fine art at Portsmouth University who submitted a piece called ‘We All Make Our Mark’ (1996). A sculptural work made up of twenty white octagonal and square canvases laid upon the floor. During the original making of the piece the performance comprised of Rows of bowls placed on the ‘kitchen floor’ with yellow marigold gloves and cleaning brushes. A pile of the unmarked octagonal and square canvasses made by the group lay ready in waiting. These floor pieces were marked during a live art scenario and are the evidence of twenty women’s involvement within the project. The completed work was installed in the Gridshell by the artist and acted as a sculptural representation of the kitchen floor and the labour and toil suffered during domestic life. Secondly, Shauna Stanton MA, via the Surrey Open Studios. A painter, supplied six paintings representing various dreamlike states or fantasies surrounding food and female domestic life. Thirdly, Pippa Ward an alumnus of UCA via Axisweb, supplied a video work called ‘Waste of Waste’. Due to the nature of the building and its walls this work was shown on a small monitor mounted on a white plinth and scrolled through 365 photographs taken from the same height and angle of the domestic food waste from her family over an entire year. The minute-long film accompanied by piano music culminated in ever decreasing pixilated images until the entire 365 images were on the screen simultaneously. The final artist I secured was Ellie Philpot, a self-taught painter found on the Chichester Artists’ Trail website. Ellie has magnificent skill in executing realistic paintings of food, specifically fruit and vegetables. We were supplied with six paintings in different media and scale which although had a more domestic pictorial feel juxtaposed against the contemporary critical approach shown by others. This worked well in the setting of the venue if somewhat deliberately allowing for the rather traditional demographic of the museum’s visitors. During installation I supplied a white fridge freezer to act as a display for some of the photographic work and a cooker to be an information display. I also created and printed exhibition catalogues and promotional flyers (fig 1) which were used in the advertising and as handouts to museum visitors. A visitor’s book and refreshments were also supplied. During the two-day exhibition we had approximately fifty visitors. Some very positive comments were left in the visitor’s book which were mirrored by the museum’s staff and management who were particularly impressed with the diversity of the work and our professionalism. One error which was regrettable is that we omitted one of the artist’s work from the catalogue, for which we apologised but were unable to rectify in time. This was a very unfortunate mistake, but a valuable lesson learnt.
In conclusion, we curated a professional, collaborative exhibition in an award winning contemporary venue show casing eight professional artist. The exhibition opened on schedule and on budget. We advertised widely on Facebook, Instagram, the Weald and Downland web site (liaising with their marketing team) and via external posters. The artwork was varied and provoked discussion and was critically well received. To this extent I would deem it to have met the brief and been a success.
– A variety of images from the exhibition.
Michael Palmer 