La Machine, Liverpool 2008. Photo Matthew Andrews
With outdoor arts at the forefront of our minds we recently attended the ‘Along came a Spider…’ conference on the Wed 6th May at the Bluecoat in Liverpool.
Arriving at 9.30 for the opening there was an air of anticipation about what the day will hold. Helen Marriage and Nicky Webb from Artichoke were introduced by Phil Redmond giving a comprehensive background of their relationship and the set up of the Artichoke pre-Sultan’s Elephant, and the experience of a new commission for Liverpool as Capital of Culture.
Followed by a series of breakout sessions, I chose Weaving a Web which explored the communication strategy for La Machine providing insight into partnerships with local and national media, choices for print and online and the importance of word of mouth (or as it became clear word-of-mobiles).
Outdoor Arts in Context saw Fiona Gasper from Liverpool 08, Stella Hall from Culture10, and Bill Gee from Bill Gee Associates talk about the current context for Outdoor Arts based on their experiences and organisations. Fiona dynamically talked about the importance of the strand of the outdoor work in the Liverpool 08 programme and the importance of one-off spectacles such as La Machine for the Capital of Culture.
Stella drew from her personal experience and looked specifically at her role within Culture10 in Newcastle-Gateshead, giving her approach to programming and funding outdoor work, “fewer, bigger, better” and “Great artists in great locations”, but not forgoing the new cultural economy in recession, urging us to continue to support and encourage innovative and inspirational practice.
Bill Gee, our friend, talked about his experience of producing Inside Out in the beautiful setting of Dorset and linking rural and urban activities, and emphasising the importance of partnerships.
Questions included themes such as artistic quality, the rural agenda, audiences, sustenance and legacy.
The closing plenary saw the introduction of the Impacts08 research by Dr. Beatriz Garcia, the opportunities arising with 2012 and the Paralympics from Bill Morris and Mick Elliot, Director of Culture from DCMS.
It was an interesting day with a range of delegates from peers in the sector, funders and individuals that opened up the processes of bringing the Spider to Liverpool and sharing lessons learned from a new commission with peers, a clear model for best practice.
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