exhibition planning

The Old Print Works

The Building is named after the Print works company that was there before. Today it is a unique collaborated space used by various artists. It has a café that is open in the morning till late. It offers rentable spaces for artist and runs workshops and courses. It is mainly funded by the Lottery fund. Its location is just outside form the city centre. Situated on the main road there are many buses from the city that are just by the building. The main being the number 50 buses, which are very regular.

Parking is an issue around The Old Print Works, some side road are very congested around the building, visitors may have to park a little further and walk up the exhibition, this would be a maximam 10 minute walk.

The Old print works was chosen for being the closest and cheapest place for our exhibition. It fit a lot of the criteria and cost was mainly the most important. We are a group of twenty students, and the spaces that we looked at would not accommodate such a large group. After the negoctions with the Print works, we decided that we would have the upper floor. The place dose not have disabled access to the first floor, after a discussion with the class we were all asked if immediate family of friends that would be invited would find it difficult to reach the exhibition. We were all happy to go ahead with this in mind.

Health and safty at the venue:

·      No disabled access to the first floor, there is a ramp on the entrance.

·      Stairs have bannisters but are narrow

·      Floor in the gallery is uneven

·      Work will be double checked so that it is secure on the walls (use correct fixings)

·      As food and drinks will be served it will important to be ready for any spills (mop and broom/rubbish bags)

·      Guests will be using glass bottles, there maybe breakages

·      Freestanding boards will be secured around the mental post in the gallery

·      Other stairs will not be in use and gate will be shut, as children will also be attending

·      We will be serving cakes on the day; some may have nuts in them. A sign should be placed around food letting guest know. (Veg/meat/nuts)

To make the exhibition run smoothly the plan is to:

·      For all student to arrive on time at 5pm

·      Take turns to welcome guest at the front door and show them the stairs up

·      The food and drink table will be at the front as soon as the enter, so that they can help themselves before moving into the exhibition (food table will be supervised by the HND first year students)

·      First year student will also be serving drinks, collecting empty bottles and food plates

·      Music will be on a playlist and running throughout the night

 Displaying work

Thursday 5^th June

Emma told everyone we all needed to be at ORT at 10 am to hang our work. I had my husband, Sheraz who was helping me to hang my work. The frames were ready. We packed:

·      Spirit level

·      Cordless drill

·      Wall plugs/screws

·      Pencil

·      Tape measure

My space was bigger then what we had been told; we found the centre and started to hang the pictures. We were first to finish. I know that my work was going to be hung onto plasterboards, so we brought  suitable fixings for them before coming. This was good as we were well prepared and had already planned how the frames were going to be hung. This meant that we finished quickly. The problems that the group faced, that were using the wall space was that that they needed to be drilled. We thought that they could have used nails but that was impossible. Sheraz then helped Sam B, Amy, Zoe, Andrew, Nos and Erica hang their work up. I went home to get more powerful drill this really saved time as we  

My contribution to the end of year, Twenty14 exhibition was a series called, “A very British Veil”. This was a series of 5 images that showed women wearing the face veil in public places with a Portrait of her in the centre. My work challenged the sterotypes and the questioned the relationsip of being a Muslim and being British. My work combined the two, showing that they are possible.

The group’s works are very all very different with the type of photography that they are interested in.

My work was displayed in the documentary section of the exhibition, this was decided for us, this made the work flow better around the gallery.

The purpose of any exhibition is to self promote. This is very beneficial for my work, as it has to be seen to be understood.

The main benefits are that this could lead to jobs and further work in the future. We all had our business cards and catalogues with our details in so that we could be contacted in the future.

We made sure that we contacted and invited local photographers and photography groups. This could lead to awareness that as students we are now coming to the end of our college course and will be available to work.

The private view started at 6 till 8 o’clock. The group decided that we would give our presents at 7pm to Emma when everyone was present to show our appreciation of her hard work. During the show food had to be checked and drinks had to be topped up also. This was very important that we all worked together as it was such a big event.

The exhibition had given me invaluable experience from the start to finish. I have learnt how to research exhibition spaces and what to look for when finding a space. The question that need to be asked are is there easy access to the venue also the way that photographs can be hung.  I have also learnt that the promotion side of the organization is equally as important. If the event is not promoted then we will have no one at the event.  The right people have to be contacted to increase future work and self-promotion. I have also found that some smaller venues such as local café can be used, not only art galleries.

I have learnt how to plan my work on the wall and what would be most effective way to present them using different frames.

I think that I have played an important role in the organization of the exhibition. I have contributed by knowing about the ORT gallery. I also contacted Jude to make the first appointment and I negotiated the price with her also. I kept contact with Jude through text messages and email. I also contacted local magazines called "The Balsall Heathen", "Moseley magazine" and the "Hall green Art forum", I sent them email invitations. I also  brought food and deserts for the night, and had it cooked for the event. I contributed to cleaning and painting the gallery and helped hang other student work up. Other things that I did were:

·      Hanging up posters in Moseley Village

·      Keeping regular updates on my facebook page.

As a group of student I think we worked very well organizing this event. We all had different strengths that were put to use in the most effective way. Sam H put together the website and designed the posters for our group because he already has designed a website before. Michal and myself with the group came up with the name. Sam B, was in charge of the Instagram site which he uses regular himself and was the best person to the continue feeds on there. Sophie was in charge of the Facebook page of the event. Jade was in charge of the drinks and did the research where to find the best priced drinks from. I had access to a catering kitchen and took on the food responsibilities. I found the best priced food for the event. We needed finger food and nibble that people could eat while talking and standing. All the students helped with the painting and decorating of the gallery and putting their work up.

However I few thing that didn’t go right, we had expected the year one pupils to help us on the night which they couldn’t do. This left us without any organization of the food table. We had help from some other previous pupils. I think as a large group of 20 pupils we should have divided our time over the food table, but this couldn’t be planned so last minute n the night. Another option could have been getting outside help from friends and family on the night.

We also forgot a comments book for the private view; this has left us without feedback from the people that viewed our work. This would have been a very valuable to be able to know what the public think of our work.

The private view was for friends and family, and other photographers that were invited from photography group were also present. The problem was that we didn’t know them by face; it would have been an idea if we could spot them. This could have been done by handing them a different catalogue, that the students would know that they could be potential employers. Also I felt that I had to spend a lot of time with friends and family, which was very nice, but I didn’t get to talk to many other people. I wasn’t sure If I was meant to approach people looking at my work or wait for them to ask me anything. I think that if I have to opportunity to exhibit may work again I would like to spend more time talking to different people. This also a good advantage of having an exhibition or visiting one, we can meet and talk to other photographers.