Sophie's Spring

image: Art for Kidbrooke event, 8 March 2008

SKYPE MEETINGS
Bankleer invited me to have a skype meeting with them about self-organised work, autonomy and support structures. The result is part of an exhibition at Shedhalle: http://www.shedhalle.ch/eng/presse/index.shtml

PLATO's TABLE
I am going to a symposium in Edinburgh on 14th April to discuss hospitality and participatory practice: http://www.collectivegallery.net/
While I'm in Scotland I'll be visiting On the Edge in Aberdeen and Deveron Arts in Huntly. I'll report back on my visit in my action research pages.

THE BODY POLITIC
I'm looking forward to starting Platform's course at Birkbeck on Social and Ecological Justice, Art and Activism in April: http://www.platformlondon.org/bodypolitic.asp

NEW WRITING ON PUBLIC ART
I'm commissioning a series of critical texts on public art for ixia. Please read and comment on the texts: http://www.ixia-info.com/director/index.htm

Coming up....
Socially Engaged Art: The conscience of urban development
An essay for a new online publication on the work of Christian Nold.

A Journey in Time Through Leidsche Rijn - collages and drawings telling the story of my residency in Holland in 06-07, forming part of a publication about 'A trama rururbana', a project that aims to analyse the theme formed by the dialogue between the rural and urban aspects, edited by Carme Nogueira and published by the Department of Educational Activities and Projects, Galicia, Spain.

Art for Kidbrooke - framework for a community art programme. I am working with Independent Photography to write up aour recommendations for the next steps.

Longhouse publication coming out soon which documents the artists workshops Tim Knowles and I led last year in Stoke-on-Trent.

New Year News

image taken at the Famine Museum, Donegal in September 2007.

Alongside the reading, writing, reading, writing and the tax return, January is a month for...

The Launch of the Manifesto of Possibilities, London
An evening event to ‘test-drive’ the Manifesto of Possibilities – a manifesto relating to commissioning public art in the public environment.

www.manifestoofpossibilities.co.uk

31st January 2008, 6pm – 8.30pm,
Wellcome Collection, Conference Centre,
183 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BE
BOOK YOUR PLACE: https://www2.bbk.ac.uk/business/bc.html

My Curating as Critical Practice module at Birkbeck Collegebegins:
http://curatingascriticalpractice.blogspot.com/

Hinterland: http://www.hinterlandprojects.com/
I'll be travelling to Nottingham again this month to take part in a two day walk around the Big Track transport network to discuss plans for future temporary public art projects. As part of my visit I'm also working with Hinterland to host a workshop with local residents to discuss the possibiltieis of art in the area.

Art for Kidbrooke
I am currently working with Independent Photography on developing a community art programme for Thomas Tallis School. The first event on 24 November on the Ferrier Estate brought together videos and images of past community art initiatives in the area with food and workshops. For more info go to our blog: http://art4kidbrooke.blogspot.com/

COMING SOON...
I'm building another simple web page to document my research for my PhD (on how public funding over the last 10 years in the UK has effected what it means to be political and /or critical as a socially engaged art practitioner), including links to relevant projects and articles plus theory and policy timelines, texts, diagrams and workings out.

Sophie's Autumn news

PROJECTS:
Art for Kidbrooke
I am currently working with Independent Photography on developing a community art programme for Thomas Tallis School. The first event on 24 November on the Ferrier Estate brings together videos and images of past community art initiatives in the area with food and workshops. For more info go to the blog: http://art4kidbrooke.blogspot.com/

RECENT PUBLICATIONS:
'Pictures of Lily', a short story written in response to Shez Dawood's one year project Knightsbridge, West London in ARTISTS' STUDIO edited by Capucine Perrot (London: Cultureshock Media)
http://www.artistsstudio.org/flash.html

'Resource', profiles of 12 'participatory' art projects from the B+B Archive in the LUCY + JORGE ORTA PATTERN BOOK edited by Paula Orrell (London: Blackdog)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lucy-Jorge-Orta-Pattern-Book/dp/1904772757

'tenentspin' in ART OF NEGOTIATION edited by David Butler and Vivienne Reiss (Manchester: Cornerhouse)
http://www.cornerhouse.org/books/info.aspx?ID=1934&page=0

'Taking Play Seriously' in TAKING THE MATTER INTO COMMON HANDS edited by Johanna Billing, Maria Lind and Lars Nilsson (London: Blackdog)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Taking-Matter-into-Common-Hands/dp/1906155186

UPCOMING TALKS / PANELS / DISCUSSIONS:
Friday 23 November 2007, 2pm–10.30pm: Spike Island, Bristol
Hosts & Guests: A Setting in Search of a Celebratory End hosted by Paul O'Neill and Can Altay.

Tuesday 27 November, 7pm: ICA, London
Political Manifesto as Curatorial Project with Liam Gillick, Mark Nash, Will Bradley and Marysia Lewandowska.

Friday 7 December: Broadway Media Centre, Nottingham
3rd National Public Art Conference - Art in Public: The Culture of Possibilities.

Recent projects:
THE 2007 ALMANAC OF POLITICAL ART
The 2007 Almanac of Political Art is ready for you to download! Go to the news page ('this season's crop') of the Reunion website. The Almanac contains over 80 A4 contributions from artists, curators, activists and writers from around the world and offers a completely partial survey of what political art might mean today.

HET RESERVAAT
Sophie's residency in the Dutch new town Leidsche Rijn culminated in a big one day event on 15 July that attracted over 800 visitors! Sophie worked with director Daphne de Bruin and producer Joost de Groot to create a one day open air museum of life in 2007 and convince the residents of Leidsche Rijn they were travelling back in time from 3007 to 2007. Visitors could experience strange spectacles such as local politicians discussing the meaning of democracy in 2007, rare sightings of elderly people playing board games and Dutch residents practicing an ancient art called Tai Chi in amongst the trees while the infamous (local teenage) rock band EitherWay screeched up to a stage in a bright orange jeep and performed their four song repertoire every hour, among lots of other strange goings on...

See images of the day on the Beyond website: http://www.beyondutrecht.nl/

MANIFESTO OF POSSIBILITIES
The Manifesto has been re-edited and the final version now appears online at www.manifestoofpossibilities.co.uk where you can still add comments and feedback. The Manifesto will be published as a poster and distributed as an insert with Art & Architecture Journal in December 2007.