Tuesday 27 April 2010

TBC Minutes, NPG, April 27, 2010

Attendees: Beverley Bennett, Susannah King, Paula Lucido, Paul Mendez, Elizabeth Oniri, Charley Peters(c), James Tuitt

Agenda by Charley Peters

1. Confirmation of The Crypt exhibiting artists

Beverley Bennett
Laura Davidson
Susannah King
Paula Lucido
Alex McIntyre
Paul Mendez
Elizabeth Oniri
Charley Peters
James Tuitt
Antonia Pilgrim Ward
Philip Weiner

Each exhibitor is due to pay £31.82. It has been suggested that if each member can find, for example, £100, including the fee to exhibit, it would constitute a good basis for a budget, in which case we would have to discuss seriously the idea of opening a joint TBC bank account with all members as signatories.

2. Consideration points for the exhibition after attending a PV at The Crypt last week – Laura and Charley

Private view catering
Exhibitor information pack – press release, price list, artists’ statements, business cards/postcards
Philip suggested as installation technician
Exhibition to be linked with The Big Draw; extra funding can be gained through participatory events with Camden council – Elizabeth to investigate
The Campaign for Drawing (http://campaignfordrawing.org/bigdraw/awards/aspx) awards £750 for the most outstanding Big Draw activities in thirteen categories, representing a great chance to bolster our funding and image
Eleven individual artists exhibiting in a space or TBC filling the space? A combination of both?
The catalogue – Kate Hatton, an art/design historian, has offered to write an essay. Given the emphasis on drawing, who, and what else, can be included?
12 Pages – explore Print on Demand/PDF on TBC website, and printing, in which case, an ISBN number (which can be bought) would enable us to register any publication with Amazon, Gardners, etc., and with the British Library. Moreover, the publication can then be referenced at any point, enhancing its academic credentials
Mailing list – Paula to co-ordinate
Sponsorship – Paul to manage
Branding – Bebe, Charley, James and Paul to liaise on possible branding concepts. It would be preferable that we agree on a branding strategy and style before canvassing sponsors, for example, with a TBC letterhead. This ‘look’ would homogenise anything to do with TBC and The Crypt exhibition, lending extra professional credibility
The group, together or in fragments, must visit the site as soon as possible. Aside from everything else it is inspiring

2ii. Feedback

All members to think about:

Possible title: ‘Drawing Through Conversation’. Discuss
Ideas for participatory events – start discussion circle
A draft proposal to send to potential investors
Shortlist of suitable contributors to the exhibition catalogue
Ideas for branding, and a corporate ‘look’

3. Proposals for the exhibition and title/online presence

Start a discussion circle on a suitable title for the exhibition
Beyond the theme of drawing, what common ground can we find within our relative practices?
Look into who has funded the Big Draw in the past, as potential investors in what I might, in the absence of a name for the show, refer to as TBC@TheCrypt
All members to come up with a short proposal for the exhibition, with a suggested title, for the next meeting
By the next meeting – Wednesday 12 May at the House of St Barnabas, 1 Greek Street, London W1D 4NQ – we should also have a brief for the branding to move forward with

4. Allocation of administrative tasks

This is a provisional allocation of important projects to be taken on by individuals and small groups in the lead-up to the exhibition, but should nevertheless be initiated as soon as possible.

Print and book-binding liaison – Susi
Gallery liaison – Bebe, Charley
Finance/budget – Laura
Branding – Bebe, Charley, James, Paul
Mailing list – Paula
Sponsorship – Paul
Publicity – Bebe, Charley
Private view catering – Paul
Events and Participation – Elizabeth
Catalogue – Toni

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Agenda by Beverley Bennett

Publishing and Online Presence

Press release – this needs to be written as soon as possible. The Guardian and New Exhibitions expect submissions two months prior to the opening, i.e., by the end of July, so branding and publicity have to have hit the ground running well before then
A blog on AN could feature a countdown to the exhibition. With the blogger blog and projected Webbly site we should have a decent online presence, which should satisfy potential investors
Blog on AN, ArtReview to publicise our work in the lead-up to The Crypt, within these communities
Research stockists and independent book publishers
NING blog – Bebe has set up a TBC profile on NING, a Facebook-esque site for artists and art groups. It is by invitation only and is an ideal structure for sharing ideas and displaying work only for each other, away from the public gaze

AOB

TBC is a year old this month. Happy birthday to us!
Thanks to Bebe, Laura and Charley for their agendas and handouts, and Paul for the minutes
Toni’s Private View, Linea di Fuga, Space 2 Gallery @ Watford Museum, 6pm, Thursday 6 May
Next meeting – 6pm, Wednesday May 12, Quintessentially Soho @ The House of St Barnabas, 1 Greek Street, London W1D 4NQ. Tel: 0207 183 3900

Next meeting’s agenda, to be led by Paula Lucido:

Run through our 150-word proposals for the exhibition and possible titles
Discuss the brief for the branding of the exhibition
Fill in a google calendar with deadlines for admin tasks to be completed
Updates on ideas for events, sponsors, catalogue content/format etc. On this point, if anyone has a PDF of a book they want printing by lulu or blurb it would be a good chance to check out the quality of their publications.

And most importantly, we all need to wear something red.


Minutes by Paul Mendez and Charley Peters

Thursday 22 April 2010

TBC Minutes, Whitechapel Gallery, April 15, 2010

Attendees: Beverley Bennett, Laura Davidson, Susannah King, Paul Mendez, Charley Peters, James Tuitt

At another landmark meeting, we acknowledged the fact that the operating TBC blog, 12-Pages, is not being adequately utilised. It was suggested that it should document minutes for each meeting, review shows that we visit either as a group or as individuals, and be used by individual members to show their work, either finished, or in progress and at a stage to be debated. It will contain a link bar to the other blogs and websites of members, and so all members should submit their web and blog addresses for inclusion. The blog is a fantastic resource for artists as a means to archive and present their work in progress, and encourage debate, which should help improve the work, which, as has been previously expressed, is the core reason for TBC; it should be thought of as an extension to the meetings.

The Blog, Blogazine, Website and Magazine

The magazine will launch to coincide with the exhibition
A website, or ‘blogazine’ can be launched in advance, as a PDF, or to utilise print-on-demand technology, as a precursor to the print version
The blog will serve as an archive for meetings; individual members may post work or links to their own blogs as and when they wish, but with the exhibition just five months away, it is important that we all commit to filling the blog with content – the more we get used to this the more likely we will identify key themes and common interests
The next meeting, TUESDAY 27 APRIL, 6PM, will be used as a blogging session, and a discussion of how the blog can be supplanted by, or work alongside, a website
Think of the blog as an unedited, dynamic archive, and the website as a fixed capsule of TBC philosophy
Indexhibit and Webley to be explored as potential access tools for a website

The Exhibition

Charley graciously prepared information packs for the attendees regarding the space at The Crypt and a list of rules and regulations pertaining to our application for its use. She pointed out that, as a member of AN, she is in reception of Public Liability Insurance, which should cover the building in which she exhibits her work against any unlikely event, and may be something for us all to consider.

It is becoming a pertinent issue that we finalise the number of exhibitors, as we have now been invoiced by the venue. It has been suggested that the fee – of just £350 – should be divided equally between the eight-or-so core members, who attend most meetings and have thus proved themselves committed and reliable.

The exhibition will open to the public on October 27, on the evening of which our Private View will take place, and remain open for five days, with the de-installation on November 1. We have the two days prior in which to install but exhibitors should prepare their work mindful of the fact that the building is listed and very tight hanging restrictions are in place. The space is considerable and does not have to be used in its entirety; certain areas can be cordoned off but the potential volume of exhibitors, amongst other variables, will have to be considered when allocating space.

Jobs have to be delegated, and we are in agreement that only those who are prepared to put in the work will be invited to show. There was a suggestion, which will have to be discussed further, of whether there should be an open call for submissions, to be debated, eliminated and curated by the core members. We have already allocated Saturday 21 August for a curatorial meeting, possibly at the venue, and Friday 27 August as deadline day for submissions, to end with a viewing by the group. Could a member open their studio for this purpose? The final pre-exhibition meeting will take place on 22 October.

Tasks

Flash advertising – Gagosian gallery, The Big Draw, Frieze Art Fair, Zoo Art Fair (could we exhibit and sell work and prints, tote bags, T-shirts, a TBC 12-Pages calendar for 2011, Stupendous accessories, etc., at Zoo, or on a stall in Brick Lane Market, or somewhere, to raise funds and awareness for the Crypt show?)
Gallery liaison (Bebe and Charley); branding (Jamesy); print liaison (Susi); budget (Laura)
Publicity and marketing needs to commence at least three months in advance of the show; adverts could be placed in AN, Time Out, The Guardian Guide, Frieze, New Exhibitions, Art Rabbit, Art Monthly, Art Review
Thursday 27 May – branding meeting – concepts, marketing, themes, exhibition and magazine content. Everyone should create a proposal of what they feel the exhibition should be, having seen the space
Visit the space during one of their private views
Invigilation, sponsorship, logistics, catering, transportation of works, music and catalogue all need to be discussed

Other issues – future meetings

Tuesday 27 April – blogging session, (venue to be confirmed)
Wednesday 12 May – Guest speaker Louise McKinney, Head of Development at Serpentine Gallery (to be confirmed)
Thursday 27 May – branding meeting. All attendees to submit a proposal for their vision of the exhibition; titles and themes to be discussed in full
Wednesday 15 September – Susi’s graduation show, University of Middlesex