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Well, that is it for the moment at least.  Peter, Kate and I took the photographs down at the beginning of the week.  We packed them away as carefully as possible with labels.  We ensured the walls were as much as they were before we put the work up.  Watch this space as the display may go on to another venue some time soon which will be a lovely bonus!  It was sad saying goodbye as it has been an enjoyable experience.  Whilst taking the work down I was able to look again at peoples work and realise just how much had gone into the project.  So after a last sweep round for rubbish that was it and time to go!! 

  So thanks to Signal Films and Rebecca I had a good time! Plus thanks to the team at Artgene too for being so welcoming!  By the way I don't know if anyone got a chance to check out the Design Cafe when at Artgene but I reckon it looks interesting and fun and they have some cool activities coming up for any budding artist out there!  Check out the website.

I have found the whole experience very rewarding. I am sure that
everyone in my group would agree, we learnt such a lot, in such a
short time, and met some like minded people. It was a fabulous
opportunity, and we all benefited greatly from Rebeccas expertise. Its
true the 2wks were intense, tiring, and occasionally fraught but I
think the benefits far outweighed any negatives.
Since the course I have started saving for a new camera to allow me to
continue experimenting with digital photography.

The open evening, was very successful, with lots of people visiting
the exhibition. My friends and family certainly gave lots of positive
and constructive feedback. The work created was so varied and it was
brilliant opportunity to see everyones photographs.

I'd like to thank Rebecca, and Signal, for giving me this experience,
and being such a supportive bunch, thanks. x

Jasmine

Here's how the exhibition looked yesterday evening before everyone arrived.

The event was a massive success and everyone found Mishka Henner's talk really interesting - there were strangely lots of parallels between the places he'd documented previously and the area of barrow-in-Furness.

The exhibition will be up for a week at the 'Art Gene' gallery in Barrow.  

Last night was a success for all concerned.  Many people took the trouble to come along and see the work done by the contributing artists.  Wine and finger food flowed with alot of networking.  The talk given by Mishka Henner was well attended and very interesting.  A surprise for my friend sat next to me, who is from Manchester to see work done in that area by the artist.  I enjoyed talking to people about the processes and narrative of my own work too.  Now we have a week to encourage people to visit the gallery and see Barrow through different eyes.

   

The work is up and ready to view. Amazingly we're on schedule and so only have a few finishing touches to make before tonight's opening. With thanks to everyone who's been available to help over the last couple of days we've been working pretty efficiently - it's pretty unusual to be in this position at this type of event!

 

Tonight the exhibition will open at 6pm and will include a masterclass from Photographer, Mishka Henner at 7pm. Mishka often works with his partner Liz Lock:

"Their practice makes use of environmental portraiture, landscape studies and local archives to represent the lives of post-industrial towns and communities still reeling from sustained industrial decline. Many of their projects are long-term, involving close collaboration with their subjects, and often involving workshops, curating personal and public photographic archives, and gathering oral histories and testimonies."

 

 http://mishkahenner.photoshelter.com/index 

*Photo above by Liz Lock and Mishka Henner 

The prints are back (and thankfully not too many issues to deal with). The groups are currently finishing their Artists' statements in preparation for their exhibition. I'll be returning to Barrow on Wednesday to see how the work looks and we'll be putting the work up at Art Gene.

Today I've helped Helen to publish a book of her work using http://www.lulu.com

Speaking for myself, the prospect of exhibiting my work at the end of
the course was an enticing one. I suppose despite all my intentions, I
must have a bit of the show-off in me. Also, a (large) bit of the
optimist.

I always picture a smooth, simple and enjoyable route towards a
fantastic end result. At least in reality it has been enjoyable.

My project has a great deal to do with 'routine', and the thing with
routines, especially those of other people, is that they tend not to
be all that flexible. As such, the people and their routines and their
regular engagements are somewhat dictating the progress of my work.
ie. Holding the whole thing up!

Of course, I should have seen it coming, I suppose, and maybe I should
have gone for something I had more control over. But I know myself too
well to think that if I had, things would have been any simpler.

I'm mega excited for the rest of the project - it's going to be loads
of fun and probably a little bit stressful, but I wouldn't have it any
other way.

Having seen some of the other work in my group - I can at least be
sure that my display will be in amongst some awesome stuff. I guess
that could be worrying for some, but as I said, I'm an optimist...

Ben

The group have nearly finished shooting for their exhibition pieces and now that ideas are developing everyone's individual styles and personalities are beginning to show within the work. We've got a really broad range of images and so far everyone's approaches have been refreshingly unique.