PLACE Projects - NWSP Curation

We are absolutely delighted to have been invited by The Collective Gallery in Edinburgh to curate their 'guest room' as part of the New Work Scotland Programme 2009.

As recent graduates ourselves we understand that upon graduation, the idea of being a practicing artist can quickly shift from being an entirely reasonable to an utterly absurd one; imbued with all the endearing but ridiculous bravado of the small child who declares the intention to be an astronaut or fairy princess. Belief is built on confidence and PLACE Projects view artist’s networks as fundamental to supporting the ability of an artist to believe in the purpose of generating artworks. Connectedness, communal purpose and consistent dialogue between peers allows cultural, social and intellectual capital to be accrued and foster a sense of possibility and plausibility. It is this shared belief that led us to conceive our new project for the Collective Gallery’s New Work Scotland Programme which is essentially all about collaboration.

We have invited 4 artists (Simon Gowing, Rachel Maclean, Ric Warren & Katherine Gallacher) to participate in 2 collaborative projects (2 artists in each project: Simon & Rachel and then Ric and Katherine), the outcomes of which will be exhibited in the Collective Guest Room (Project 1 exhibition - 10th October to 22nd November and Project 2 exhibition - 5th December to 31st January).

The intentions for the project are multifarious and include:
• Fostering links between emerging artists and building strong support structures and communities.
• Instigating discussions between practitioners as a method for development of individual praxis.
• Exploring the role of negotiation in the creative process.
• Exchanging skills and ideas.
• Encouraging the production of dynamic interdisciplinary work.

Other than the basic requirements to navigate the creative process together, no other conditions or frameworks has been imposed upon the participating artists. We will also aim to document the creative-collaborative process and the dialogues (between The Collective, PLACE Projects and the artists) arising from each project, with the aim of making them accessible and transparent to other artists, curators and audiences.