I went to a creative sector ‘Triple Crunch’ meeting last night. The ‘Crunch’ is the combination of peak oil crisis, financial crunch and global warming. The art sector is trying to mobilise in order to respond to the loss of support and funding that will probably be coming in response to the Government’s heavy subsidy of the banking sector.
Representatives from artists’ studios, the performance arts, photography, design activism, sound recoding studios, public art agencies etc. were all there and some interesting resolutions were made. There was a strong concern that people coming into the creative arts industry in the near future would not have a very supportive environment within which to set up practice. Therefore the sector needs to protect its own and in order to do this will set up networks of professionals who will look to evolve supportive structures for existing and incoming practitioners. These networks will consist of ‘skill sharing’ cooperatives, that initially will be concerned to provide a bartering service based on a skills exchange, but will eventually evolve into a multi faceted loose structure that may eventually provide support in terms of housing, workshops, fund raising etc etc for those within the sector. Essentially the sector was asked if individuals within it could be generous enough to give time and skills to others who were perhaps finding the new climate difficult. It was interesting to see people debating the need for rhizomatic structures to be evolved. Deleuze and Guattari’s work was cited several times. I will keep posting information on this, as it sits squarely within the audiences agenda. In particular who is the arts for? If in times of economic downturn the arts are the first area to feel the pinch, does this mean audiences are fickle or that people don’t recognise the importance of the arts?

A couple of other bits and bobs. I have started to research new hanging mechanisms for paper based work. One area that the printing industry is developing is magnetised fixings. For magnetic signage products, used for posters etc see: http://www.anchormagnets.com/page74/Products/MagneticSheetRange
For magnets http://neotexx.com/?gclid=COOEyOH9ypkCFQO5GgodmTjctQ
Or http://www.shawmagnets.com/

One private view tonight with free wine. Wed 31st March
INVITATION TO PRIVATE VIEWN CND From 5.00 - 8.00
Holy Trinity Church,Boar Lane, Leeds
A sound installation of abstract field recordings The result will be a resonating collage of audio that relates yet contrasts to the theological setting.