Big Ideas 2011
On 21st January we had the first Critical Practice Meeting of 2011. After working through the Agenda 21st January, 2011 we decamped to Pizza Express where we discussed the Big Ideas already posted on the Big Ideas 2011 Primer page and shared more Big Ideas for 2011 and beyond. Neil took the minutes on napkins.
Here are some of the Big Ideas 2011
Learning and sharing in the Community - Sharon Bennett
Through my personal practice I have been attempting to define the criteria that an artwork of a participatory nature needs to meet to be able to have the potential to create possibility for change and to have an effect on Everyday Life. At the moment I have the following thoughts:
- encouraging awareness through the interruption of routines
- collaboration with individuals or a diverse group of people
- working outside of a gallery environment preferably in a local community
- include an element of generosity
- being a "sociable expert" through the passing on of knowledge and skills
- using techniques learned through the making of objects to practice and improve our relationships with others
I have been working on The Learning Project for just over a year. I decided to learn new skills from the people in my life and document myself learning. I wanted to explore the idea of craftsmanship, learning, community and everyday life. By taking notice of our environment and the people in it I think that we could be encouraged to take care of that environment and the people.
More recently I have been thinking about expanding this idea and moving away from my immediate community and more into my local community where I live. I propose that we go out into our individual communities, get to know the local people and find people who could teach us things. A number of outcomes could develop from this activity through documentation and exhibition of the results/activities.
For example, a centralised exhibition in a relevant location where we could exhibit documentation and/or the objects made through the learning. We could make a documentary film of the experiences. We could host a gathering or fair where all the 'teachers' come together to meet each other, share experiences and create a new community. We could teach each other our new found skills.
Key to this idea are the following:
- the nature of learning - the nature of teaching and sharing - the nature of craft and skill and what is considered to be a 'valuable skill'
What I'm hoping to uncover is that skills and craftsmanship have a value that connects us to bigger ideas and bigger human values that we hold dear. These local craftsmen might be outside of the commercial and materialistic world (art world?) and they don't necessarily feature in the mass media. They aren't big news but I'm interested in rediscovering the value that they have in our lives.
How about reading both wikis? Mining the archive? Reviewing/reactivating/renovating all the info and knowledge pooled in these resources? We could do it over a couple of days or it could be a once-in-a-while thing. Why not grow what's already seeded?!
Check out Big Ideas 2008 or visit the Big Ideas 2011 Primer page - or return to Main Page
