Creative Facilitation

I went on a course today at Cornerhouse - it was Creative Facilitation, one of the many Youth Arts courses run by Artswork, an independent agency supporting the national youth arts strategy. It was an interesting day with lots to think about and lots of people to meet, but the value in training always comes in the following months when you hope that it feeds in to your everyday work. Having learnt most of my methods of facilitation in one gallery and with one team, it was really good to talk to other people about the tried and tested ways of engaging young people. There was one in particular that I think I might try in a sound & art workshop I'm doing in Liverpool in a couple of weeks. It's based around the idea of counting 1, 2, 3 alternately between you and a partner. i.e I say 1, you say 2, I say 3, you say 1, I say 2, you say 3, etc. Then you start replacing each number with a different sound or movement, until you're just creating your pattern of sounds or movements. We talked about the possibilities of filming or recording it... Can't wait to give it a go!

Still checking out the live stream of Soft Furnishings over at SHOWstudio. Here's an image from one of the final shots -

While I'm waiting for the most exciting stuff from SHOWstudio I'm trying to finish the report that was published on Monday 'Get it: The Power of Cultural Learning.' From what I've read already it's quite an important document and I'd recommend it to everyone working in that sector - even if you just read the executive summary, do it!

Eroticacaca

Since I got home from work (Thankfully without another crime scene on the top deck of the bus - another story completely) I've been checking out the live stream of The Erotic House of Peter Saville at SHOWstudio. It's the photoshoot for Saville's editorial piece in July's issue of Wallpaper* magazine which is constructing images of furniture fetishism. It's yet another fantastic collaboration from SHOWstudio - we all know Saville is one of the most important graphic designers of our time, and Wallpaper* is one of the most uber-chic, aspirational lifestyle magazines. I'm always constantly impressed by SHOWstudio though; I listened to a Tate Events podcast a while ago with Penny Martin from SHOWstudio talking about the collision of art and fashion (recorded 11/05/07 and available through iTunes) which was really interesting, particularly with other guest speakers including Charlotte Sinclair from Vogue and one of the editors from Tank. SHOWstudio are one of the organisations that really push the limits of technology, audience participation and new ways of experiencing art, and one of the key themes from the talk was art's ever diminishing boundaries between creator and audience. Their archive of past projects is pretty amazing if you have a spare hour or so to check it out.

Head on over to http://www.showstudio.com/project/softfurnishings
Wallpaper*'s Sex issue goes on sale on June 11th.

Back to Black

For a moment there, I thought I'd lost my passion for design. The magazines on the shelves are full of images that I've seen before and the fashion for DIY culture seemed to dilute the communities that always challenged me. I don't think it ever crossed my mind to stop making work, but I need a moment to catch my breath, take myself off auto, and find my voice again.

I'm marking where I've come from, to see how far I get.

Hello!

I'm starting again. PMA. This is what you've missed.