Risky Business

A common attitude from recent discussions it seems has been about taking RISK, pushing ideas and possibilities as far as they go. It could well produce an amazing event, output, solution, possibility or experience. Sophie Hope ( B+B, http://www.welcomebb.org.uk/
- Curator/artist) came up to Gray’s from London via Bristol and worked for a couple of hours with 8 PG students on a textual/video workshop. The aim was to consider your own work and something which has happened to you but you really want to try an explain what really should or could happen. So we were able to disguise ourselves to express what we really thought about it all. Starting texts were , Audre Lorde's short essay: The Master's Tool's Will Never Dismantle the Master's House' (in Sister Outsider, 1984) in conjunction with the summary of the DCMS' Creative Britain report (2008): http://www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/3572.aspx
showing that we need to pursue risk and identity and creativity or we will all end up doing the same things and controlled by bureaucracy.
Katie Nicoll (independent arts producer, Glasgow) also came and talked about her recent projects (Hidden Garden, Tramway, Glasgow; Jardin Public, Edinburgh). Major production values and high in health and safety procedure to produce the projects. Katie showed skillful negotiation style and experience to produce creative, dynamic works which took risks but ultimately had to accept certain compromises to exist.