Thanks very much to everyone who contributed in public discussions and off-list, I think there are some very clear and achievable ways forward from here.
This project has been really enjoyable and I’ve learned a lot so far, so thanks very much to Amanda, Mark, the TPSE steering group, digital working party and all the attendees of the visioning event on the 18th.
If you have comments, please do add them here or on the mailing list.
I’ve decided to publish a draft version of the TPSE Network Visioning report on the wiki, and to ask you to tell me whether I’m missing something, before writing up the final report and publishing it on the 30th June.
To put it succinctly, it looks like TPSE wants a flexible, always up-to-date database of visual arts in the region, that can be delivered in various media and formats, and power differently targeted audience development campaigns, and can also link to national and global visual arts debates, and evolve into a local resource for critical discourse about artistic practice, with bells on.
One of the hottest discussions around the table on the 18th May was the regional vs. cultural identity debate, summed up very neatly by Stephen Foster from the John Hansard Gallery in the video clip above.
The consensus that emerged to guide the development of tpse.org was that it should start with a distinct regional/cultural identity, as a way to get people informed and enthusiastic about their locality, but people should be able to use it to find out about world-wide visual arts activity based on themes, genres and ideas as well.
As Simon points out in his email to the group, it is possible to have a ‘back end’ database of regional, national and international visual arts information, that we could provide a ’snapshot’ of, specifically showcasing work in the South East.
But beyond that, ‘can you show me visual arts activity within a 10 mile radius?’ is more a geographical than cultural question. Perhaps there are also ways of using tpse.org to promote the more creative and imaginative aspects of regional identity that Stephen talked about on the 18th.
At the Visioning Event on the 18th, there was a great discussion about what the ‘South East’ bit in Turning Point South East really meant.
On a practical level, most people agreed that something simple and regionally focused – like an online map of the visual arts in the region – would be a great starting point, which could develop nationally and globally through being ‘open at the edges’, and allowing people to find information by topic (eg. ‘performance art’) rather than imposing geographical or bureaucratic boundaries.
Ideas for this online event calendar and visual arts map included:
Creating a site that allows people to get updates (via email/sms/RSS etc…) of “visual art within a 10 mile radius of me”.
Allowing both geographical and topic-based updates for example: “performance art near me”
Creating editorial or a ‘curated’ mail-out (like e-flux) from the site.
And there were some great ideas about how to do this:
Bringing together existing initiatives, online tools and networks rather than building new things,
Gathering or ‘aggregating’ information from existing websites, rather than forcing everyone to update the site manually
Developing a consistent brand identity for all network members to use to grow the network,
There were also great ideas about trying to share market research and audience attendance data to help TPSE members improve what they do, and get a shared sense of what audiences want and respond to in the region.
But there are still lots of questions that need fleshing out!
What is already out there? Sites? Organisations? Initiatives? Individuals with lots of fresh visual arts data?
How do we already collect audience data, and are their privacy issues in sharing it?
What are the barriers to participation for organisations/individuals?
Are we going to rebrand TPSE? If so – how?
What are the funding/financial resources available to support this kind of network long term? What is it’s business model?
Once some of these questions are discussed on the TPSE google group, we can start sketching out some potential technologies and processes, but until then, let the discussion begin!
Starting a network is an exciting and difficult process. Everyone wants to go in a thousand directions at once, there is so much to be achieved, and not yet a real sense of what the capacity of the network is to achieve anything.
The challenge for the first meeting of the Turning Point South East network, held on the 18th May at the Lighthouse Digital Media Studio in Brighton, was to gather all that energy and all those ideas, and to try to get some sense of priorities.
20 people, with widely varying opinions and agendas came to discuss how they, as a network, could support the development of visual arts in the region.
Ideas ranged from high-tech projects (using a region-wide bluetooth or sms network to reach new audiences) to the simplest possible solutions (a shared email mailing list). But there was an overwhelming sense that this network had huge potential to cultivate new audiences by organising as a network, sharing information and resources, and working together regionally, nationally and globally to promote the world-class visual arts happening in the South East.
Over the next few weeks, this blog will be summarising key elements of that discussion, and opening them up for further comment on the TPSE google group that was set up after the workshop.
To get involved in the discussions – you can subscribe to the group on the right – or leave comments here if you prefer.
By mid-June, all the feedback will be written up as a roadmap for the technical and social development of the TPSE network.
Dear All, As some of you will already know, yesterday Arts Council England published their consultation paper; Achieving great art for everyone. [link] . The outcome of this consultation will form the Arts Council's strategic […]
Amanda I have found it really useful being informed of the latest developments. 'Glad of the updates. Kind regards, Clinton Sent from my iPhone On 26 Nov 2009, at 17:33, "Amanda King" wrote: […]
Dear All, The Visual Arts department at the Art Council England's National office have partnered with Creative and Cultural Skills to develop a Visual Arts Blueprint which aims to provide the sector with an action plan for the support of its 'workforce' . After a period of consultation, the final […]
Thanks Amanda, I'll be moving my blog to a dedicated Turning Point Network web space very soon! Simon Simon Zimmerman National Coordinator, Turning Point Arts Council England Email: simon.zimmer...@artscouncil.or g.uk Direct Line: +44(0)207 9793 6885 Mobile: +44(0)7834 070 040 Follow me on twitter: [link] […]
Dear All, The new communication strategy is clearly working - Julianne from Blast Theory has helpfully pointed out the error in the link to Simon Zimmerman's blog which currently hosts information on the national Turning Point network. It should be: [link] […]
Dear All, Welcome to those of you who have recently signed up to the TPSE google group. We hope that this will serve us as an interim tool for effective communication amongst the membership, sharing information and views on current projects, events and general updates, whilst we develop something […]
Dear TPSE Members, The TPSE Network Vision report is now online! You can download it here: [link] The report is a summary of findings, recommendation and analysis of what you said you wanted the TPSE online tool to do, and in what order. The next phases of the development process are mapped out in the report, […]
Thanks Matt, That was a *really* useful insight into your various approaches, and this is a great question to end on. Even if it can be difficult for TPSE network members to answer who their audience are, having a hit-list of 'would like to meet' audiences would be a great starting point because it will enable us to […]
Hi everybody I'd thought I'd chip with a few thoughts about audiences. In Blast Theory we have always been extremely concerned with who are audiences are, how they find the work and how they respond to it. Because so much of our work is a conversation with our audience (or even, as in Rider Spoke, between audience members) they are very […]
Dear TPSE people, Since discussions on the mailing list have been a bit slow, I thought I'd switch things around a bit, and publish the report first, *then* try to solicit more discussion. So, here is what I know about what you want so far: To put it as briefly as possible, what you want is a flexible, always […]
Hello again, I'm hearing loud and clear that there is a desire for a culturally specific 'front end' to the TPSE network - something more attuned to contemporary visual arts, and also something more regionally focused than Culture 24, for example. In this video clip that I've posted to the blog, Stephen sums it up: […]
Hi Julianne, Mark, All, Thanks for the reminder Julianne! I think this list was reflected in the priorities that came out on the 18th very clearly. I know it might seem like we're delving into everything in this discussion, but to try to figure out how to develop the communication tool, we need to discuss how to best achieve points 2 and 3, so ther […]
I think concentrating on a site as a tool for us all is key - and I think we all agree? There may be existing sites of information, but this can all be drawn into the site as Simon suggests with aggregators or other tools. Does everyone feel happy with moving forward with a website for […]
Hi Mark, all, Mark suggested that a live TPSE chat would be a useful thing. I agree - it's more immediate and interactive than email sometimes. So - may I introduce the experimental TPSE live chat: [link] Skype and Instant Messenger are probably a bit too complicated for many people to use (requires sign-up, login, knowing other members), so I […]
The Turning Point South East Network vision report is finally finished!
