Event documentation for Mantle Gardens

Mantle gardens, Studio 11, Plymouth College of Art, Photography by Gem Ward

Mantle gardens, Studio 11, Plymouth College of Art, Photography by Gem Ward

Mantle gardens, Studio 11, Plymouth College of Art, Photography by Gem Ward

Mantle gardens, Studio 11, Plymouth College of Art, Photography by Gem Ward

Mantle gardens, Studio 11, Plymouth College of Art, Photography by Gem Ward

Mantle gardens, Studio 11, Plymouth College of Art, Photography by Gem Ward

Mantle gardens, Studio 11, Plymouth College of Art, Photography by Gem Ward

Mantle gardens, Studio 11, Plymouth College of Art, Photography by Gem Ward

Reflection of Mantle Gardens exhibition

Jem, Reiss and I decided to reflect on the exhibition collaboratively.

What worked well…

– Selection process enabled for a strong body of work to be exhibited and keep the curation of the work simple and subtle.
– We hung the pieces on a horizontal line at the same level throughout the space which linked the various different projects together and worked effectively in a relatively small square space. This worked well aesthetically and also operated almost as a timeline of events in Barne Barton.
– Due to our good time management and organisation we had enough time to clean the space to exhibit the work more professionally, this made a difference to the overall look of the exhibition as we were not only representing ourselves but BBROOTS and PCA too.
– It was great to see members of the Barne Barton community visit the event and take a real interest in the work exhibited as well as asking lots of questions about studying at PCA – for some of these people it would have been the first time they had visited a Higher Education Institute.
– The curatorial team selected and curated this exhibition solely and thrived on the chance to exhibit the selected works in a white cube space after compromising some curatorial aspects at Barne Barton Loves Art.
– The exhibition ran on the day of the PCA Open Day which was really effective, not only as it gave us more visitors but was also a good chance for prospective students to see what is involved in the curatorial pathway on the course.

What could have been better…

– It would have been great if more members of the community had attended the event, perhaps through more marketing and encouragement – however this is difficult as we had not established a relationship with the community
– On both the day of the setup and the exhibition there were several members of the group who did not assist or show up at all, this was a shame as it was intended to be a collaborative project.

Curating

Throughout the weeks after the first exhibition the curatorial team looked after the artworks from the Barne Barton Loves Art exhibition, this allowed us the chance to take the work into the new space and select photographs from each of the stations of the previous exhibition to form the archival show.

The Curatorial Team, Mantle Gardens, Studi 11 Plymouth College of Art, Photographed by Gem Ward

The day before the exhibition the curatorial team cleared the space, and I further repainted some of the freestanding plinths whilst Tess and Reiss touched up the walls. This allowed us to lay out the images we had selected within the room to ensure it was how we had previously planned it to look. The collection of images displayed some of the community arts work that had happened within Barne Barton, we used the space to create a story/timeline of events. It was due to this choice we decided it would be best to hang each image on one level within the white cube gallery space. We also felt it important to include two pieces from the ‘Bonkers Bunting’ one of which was a top which we placed onto a mannequin next to the images, and the other a pillow on a lower plinth in the center of the room, this allowed us to curate the room and the way in which the public would view the work. When hanging the photographs we ensured consistency by using the same clear pins we had previously used in the Barne Barton Event.

Install Mantle Gardens, Studio 11 Plymouth College of Art, Photographed by Gem Ward

Install Mantle Gardens, Studio 11 Plymouth College of Art, Photographed by Gem Ward

Install Mantle Gardens, Studio 11 Plymouth College of Art, Photographed by Gem Ward

Install Mantle Gardens, Studio 11 Plymouth College of Art, Photographed by Gem Ward

The curation of Mantle Gardens was very different to how we had presented it within Tamar View, we were able to concisely show the development within Barne Barton through an archive cleanly presented, whereas the exhibition at Tamar View was much more complex. However, both were challenging and in the situations the curatorial team thrived. One element that worked very well was Will Danby’s Photo Booth images, we had given him the guidelines for 5 A3 Images, to which he selected. These images were an incentive for the community to come and see and were very well received.

 

Marketing

The flyer for the Mantle Gardens event had to be made pretty early due to us hoping to publicise this within our Barne Barton Loves Art event. When deciding how the flyer should look we discussed how it would be better for it to be more subtle, giving it a more professional feel as we were aiming to draw in the public from the college also.

When reviewing over images within the dropbox I found a picture of Take A Parts chalkboard sign, within each small black square there was writing describing different work that had already been done within Barne Barton, it was from here that I began to manipulate the image on photoshop, allowing it to be only slightly present int he background, selecting certain parts of the photograph. I was then able to remove most of the colour, and ultimately adding the text and the BBROOTS and PCA logo’s. This also allowed the flyer to appear more professional as it wasn’t covered in logo’s. The curatorial team discussed the design before sending to the printers. It was from this I was also able to easily create tickets, which we had printed and cut up ourself as an incentive for the community of Barne Barton to view the exhibition.

Mantle Garden Flyer

 

Mantle Garden Tickets

 

Organising

It was after the curatorial teams initial meetings with Gem and Kim that it was decided we would make a reflective exhibition within Plymouth College of Arts Studio 11. This was all confirmed with Edith Doove for the event to happen on the College’s open day, Saturday 8th March from 12pm-5pm. With regards to the archival exhibition it seemed important for Reiss, Tess and I to stay in our curatorial roles, as we had overlooked all processes within the Barne Barton Loves Art exhibition. This was really exciting for us as Gem and Kim said that they would take a further back seat in this exhibition and this allowed us to be more selective and display elements of the community arts in Barne Barton in a white gallery space ( the seminar room).

Mantle Gardens would also give the members of Barne Barton to see their work in a different context whilst visiting and learning more about a higher education institute. In hope to bring many members of the community we had set aside money from the budget and offered transport for members of the community to arrive at Regent street. To supervise this we made a Signup sheet which Tess and I manned throughout the duration of the exhibition at Tamar View. Although people seemed very interested many offered to make their own travel. This meant that Gem brought over the group that has signed up by paying their bus fare rather than us booking a coach as first planned.

Due to the exhibition having a different context within it’s new space, we decided to rename the exhibition. As i had previously been involved in researching some of the road names for the school work, I thought it would be nice to use one of these. I came across Mantle Gardens and put it across to Tess and Reiss and they agreed it suited well. This allowed the community to Barne Barton a connection however the name itself was professional for an art exhibition.