The original brief that went out to artists far and wide was relatively open, with a few pointers from our existing work and particular objectives from funders. We believed that this would elicit the most varied responses from artists - we weren't wrong and at the beginning of September a small group sat down to draw up a shortlist of three who we would ask to develop their idea and run a community workshop later in the month as their interview.
The conversations inspired by the proposals were fascinating as we explored ideas of what art is and could be, what might work in the area and which proposals were the most inspiring. A conversation about whether one proposal was suitable for Tate Modern and not SW Burnley stayed with me throughout the process and I was particularly excited when Fi asked 'Why not? Why can't we have something good enough for Tate Modern?' We shortlisted to three artists - a theatre company from Liverpool specialising in working class theatre, a visual artist proposing an idea based on encouraging bees in the area through activities, wildflower meadows and art, and artists proposing a temporary light installation.
Later in the month fifteen people, including members of the craft group, local volunteers and the Ground UP core team spent a day with the shortlisted artists. We were really pleased that so many people turned up, giving a day of their time to the project and engaging so fully in the process, particularly at a time when two of the group were working on the film project all week.
Each of the artists who came and facilitated an activity brought something unique to the day and potentially to the commission, and the quality of the conversations as we made our decision reflected the investment that the group had in the process.
What I found most inspiring was that the selected artists were those who had proposed a temporary light installation for the area, the artists whose proposal had resulted in the conversation about whether it was more suited to Tate Modern than South West Burnley and the proposal that was the least tangible. Chris and Sarah showed the group a video of 'Liminal' an 8m diameter projection from a recent project and as you can see (below), we were entranced. http://www.helsonandjackets.com/index.php/liminal
The reason their proposal was chosen, which would be inspired by Liminal but site-specific for SW Burnley, was because of the magic it would bring, a word that was used several times in the discussions. We were excited by the fact that the technology proposed in the process and product would be something new, something that we couldn't do without the artists and the group felt it would interest younger people, also having the potential to attract lots of different people to the area to see the final piece.
There was a real desire to give SW Burnley some profile, giving the media positive reasons to write about the area and to bring people from outside Burnley in to experience something unique.
The group talked about wanting to create an art work that people would travel from Manchester to see, as well as creating something for local people to be proud of. We also wanted local people, who might not normally go into the next estate or who might never have a reason to come into SW Burnley to have a chance to meet up and have a magical experience together, hopefully breaking down some boundaries. When someone asked what the legacy of this project would be, it was clear that the memories and stories arising from the process and product were seen as a significant and valuable legacy for SW Burnley.
So, look out for Chris and Sarah around and about this week. They are also going to be blogging about their research and developments in advance of the final event which has been scheduled for the end of January 2014.
Cath
