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Hello CRUMB list
just a quick note of thanks to the Contemporary Art Society for co- 
organising, to BALTIC for hosting, and to our amazing photographers,  
sound recordists, bloggers and tweeters for documenting for the  
conference on Friday. Colleen's notes are very thorough so I'm not  
certain I'll post the longer version I compiled, but will read  
through and post the most appropriate tidbits.
Tomorrow morning CRUMB hosts further discussions at CultureLab at the  
University of Newcastle about curating and research methodologies  
with guests Clive Gillman, Sabine Himmelsbach, Kate Southworth and  
Ruth Catlow,... and Friday we have CRUMB's 10th Birthday Party... so  
we'll be more online after that.
Sarah



On 5 Mar 2010, at 16:31, Colleen Brogan wrote:

> Hello Everyone,
>
> What a fascinating day! The morning lecturers really sparked some  
> great
> breakout sessions in the afternoon. Here is a recap of the topics, the
> people involved, and the top points to take away:
>
> + Breakout Group One: Commissioning for Collection
> Expert: Benjamin Weil (LABoral), CAS questioner: Julie Milne (Laing)
> Local curator questioner: Alix Collingwood, MIMA
> Organiser Reporter: Beryl Graham (CRUMB)
>
> Top Point: Take Risks!
>
> 1. Risk: artist has right to fail.
> 2. Commission (ish). Museum commissioning artwork and then  
> receiving a copy
> from the artist. Can be collected and historicized.
> 3. Relationship between collecting documentation and collecting  
> artwork.
> Slippage of artwork status between archive and art exhibition.
> 4. Partnerships between institutions is a very good idea. Good  
> example: New
> Museum, Modern Art in Chicago, and the Hammer in LA (!! but what about
> Rhizome???)
>
> + Breakout Group Two: Residency/Product/ Collectors
> Expert: Lisa Panting (Picture This)
> CAS questioner: Winnie Sze
> Local curator questioner: Dr Ele Carpenter Lecturer (MFA Curating,  
> Dept of
> Art, Goldsmiths College)
> Organiser reporter: Lucy Bayley (CAS)
>
> 1. Risk-taking. Looks at international institutions and the difference
> between them.
> 2. Recupement. Often comes down to the individuals. Lots of demand on
> publically-funded institutions to have recupement. Do you need to  
> let public
> institutions know when you sell a privately owned piece?
> 3. Arts Council Strategy: accessioning variable media. Collecting vs.
> distributing film and new video work.
> 4. Re-iternated the need for failure. If the outcome is built from the
> start, that can be limiting as to what is produced through the  
> residencies.
> 5. Creating an archive of contracts, potentially how Contemporary Art
> Society can make a database of past contracts with artists and  
> galleries to
> see how they evolve. Goes back to failure--documents may reveal  
> what should
> have happened that didn't happen in the past.
>
> Breakout Group three: Collections/ Community/ Process
> Expert: Graham Harwood
> CAS questioner: Marguerite Nugent (Wolverhampton Museum and Art  
> Gallery)
> Local curator questioner: Andrea McDonald (independent curator)
> Organiser reporter: Axel Lapp (CRUMB)
>
> 1. Institutions have to have clear outlines and also be open to  
> networking
> with other institutions.
> 2. Pieces might change while in collection, artists really have to  
> be clear
> about how they want it to exist. A recording of the artist talking  
> about the
> piece and what s/he wants conserved is very important.
> 3. All about relationships: continued strategies between artist and
> institution. Ex: AV Festival. Important to have local involvement.
> "we live in a world that is networked like never before. The  
> imperative to
> join forces has become greater than ever. Institutions should work
> together."
> 4. Communication and transparency. We haven't really talked about
> artists-as-curators. Artists sometimes come in trying to shift the  
> way you
> work.
>
> Breakout Group four: Live Art/ Documentation/ Archive/ Public Space
> Expert: Lois Keidan
> CAS questioner: Chris Kirby (The Herbert, Coventry)
> Local curator questioner: Llana Mitchell (Wunderbar)
> Organiser reporter: Lucy Byatt (CAS)
>
> 1. Role of the Collection: it's hard to know what the role is. The  
> way in
> which collections are animated/used/researched. It's unreliable;  
> open to the
> whims of the institution. We should be clear how unreliable that is.
> 2. Commissioning and acquiring work: was that ultimately limiting?  
> As long
> as the artist knows from the outset that it's going to be acquired  
> and knows
> "the whole constellation", then it should be smooth.
> 3. Commissions that are participatory are difficult: rather than a  
> document
> of the work, there should be a documentary. Different narrative,  
> different
> cultural value, not trying to recreate the piece. A 'fixing' of a  
> document
> to an event.
> 4. The type of work that shouldn't be collected was a big challenge.
> 5. It's okay not to know...yet. We don't know what technology will  
> be in the
> future, yet we have to carry on with our work. We have to develop
> narratives. We need to work with artists and have confidence not to  
> know
> yet, quite yet.
>
> Summary and Farewells: Laura Sillars and Beryl Graham
>
> The answer is yes! --best thing to hear/say when a collaboration is  
> starting
>
>
> Think about how collections should be contested to keep them alive.
>
> Referring to "Golden Age" of commissioning (lots of money for
> commissioning)- late 90's
>
> Blurring the status of artist (delving into curator responsibility)  
> and
> curator (delving into artist responsibility)
>
> Keep the space for negotiations and discussion. Keep conversations
> transparent and strive to make them more transparent. Preserve  
> artists and
> create international collection. Shared knowledge banks, contract  
> banks.
> Institutions should act as catalysts to collect information and answer
> questions.
>
> Signing off! Enjoy the AV Festival.