New Curators Blog 1

The New Curators have the collaborative, collective identity of Alix, Amy, Bobby, Chris and Maddi as they join forces in curating an artwork/event for b-side’s 2021 Festival

Tuesday 9th

During our first meet up, we spoke of our interests in art and events, what areas we wanted to explore in curation, what curation could be and the potential possibilities of being a curator. We chatted around art in academia and the white cube gallery space and how b-side is a space for testing the boundaries of curation. We decided to explore Portland (socially distanced on Google Maps of course!) and all its common lands, private land, its boundaries and off limit areas to begin thinking and planning for our live event.

A focus within our discussion was how to curate a work that would purposely involve the community of Portland with inclusivity and connection for as many individuals as possible. We recognised a need to consider our actions and plans with both the limitations and advancements of curating an event within a pandemic. Whether it be physical, online or both simultaneously. From there, we began to think of wider issues in curation and how we can improve and implement actions of care and listening both as curators and amongst our participants. We are also conscious of providing accessible, safe spaces with an intent to listen to others.

To keep up to date with our progress, the New Curators blog posts can be found fortnightly on the b-side blog. We meet every other Tuesday to work on curating an experience for the festival later in the year. We hope you will enjoy what we’re doing!  We are supported by a goodly wage with thanks to the help of Art Fund and public funding from Arts Council England.

We have Bobby and Alix living on Portland, Chris in Weymouth, Maddi in Bournemouth and Amy in Bristol and for the time being our office is zoom. We each have a different creative background and all currently work whilst on this b-side training programme. We hope to create something that could inspire others and even make a change for Portland, something to be proud of that also challenges the wider art world. Our aim is to retell the stories of those who live on Portland, capturing its rich history and environment (we’re not a huge fan of carbon footprints). And, of course, we will be concentrating on Common Lands.