22_05_2010

Tours!

Lead my first tour on Cockatoo Island today.  Boarded the ferry with the public at the Commissioner’s steps in front of the MCA, and arrived with ten minutes to spare before the tour started.  It was a small group, of about 8 people, a nice number for my first time out.  I was a bit nervous, but once I got rolling, everything was fine.  I mean, we have been attending seminars with Dougal and Nisa since November, learning about each of the artists and artworks on the Island, so it’s comforting that I’ve actually retained some of that information!  I started at the Brook Andrew work, then headed inside the Turbine Hall to the Cai Guo Qiang, Kadar Attia, Dale Frank, Peter Hennessey, Slave Pianos, and Robert MacPherson, then moved on to the Power House where the Hiroshi Sugimoto work is, and finally rounded things out at the AES+F installation at the back of the island.  It’s a 35-minute video, so it’s a great place to leave your tour group at the end of the hour.  I was able to make it around to all these artworks, without too much visitor fatigue setting in.  I am sure when the groups are larger I’ll have to make adjustments accordingly.  Doubt we’ll be able to make it around to as many artworks, since some of the time will be devoted to herding people!  Looking forward to mixing things up and taking groups around to different works, like the ones at the top of the island.  Also, realized, Cockatoo Island is a lot larger then you might think… may actually get some exercise out here too!

16_05_2010

Chairman’s farewell:

We did it; we survived Opening Week of BOS17!  It was a week of liaising with artists, curators, the public, and other BOS staff.  Intern initiation week is over, and we’ve proven that we can be depended on, in a wide variety of contexts.  Dougal’s technique, of throwing us into the deep end was successful, and we stepped up to the challenge.  This is what working for a small arts organization is about, it’s about being a flexible team player, and being adaptable to tasks that may not necessarily fall into your jurisdiction.  Nikki, Kate and I are the Public Programs and Education interns, but this week we helped in virtually every department, from Sponsorship and Benefaction to Marketing.  It’s one thing to read a job posting that says you need these skills to work for an organization like the Biennale and it’s entirely another to actually experience it first hand.  I think I’ve learned that I could thrive professionally in this kind of environment, if given the opportunity.  Tonight at the Chairman’s farewell, it was nice to just kick back and relax after a hectic week.  Penny Siopsis came up to me tonight, and thanked me again for picking her and her husband up at the airport.  She said she was really grateful for my helpful and pleasant demeanor at the airport – it was really lovely of her to say such kind things.   

Kate, Me, Alec, Alex and Nisa @ Chairman's Farewell

15_05_2010

More Artist Talks on Cockatoo:

Same responsibilities as a few days back, except different artists this time.  The artists that hosted talks today included: Roger Ballen, Richard Grayson, Peter Hennessey, Kate McMillan, Michaela Dwyer, Jonathan Barnbrook and Brook Andrew.  Nerves got the best of me today, and when I was introducing Brook Andrew I said “Please join me in welcoming Brook Andrew for a private chat with the audience”, when I was meaning to say “intimate conversation with the artist”!  God, I felt like such an imbecile, particularly since the artist took note, saying something about it when I handed him the microphone (pretty sure he was joking but nevertheless).  Oh well, these things are bound to happen; it is a learning experience after all (let’s hope at least)! I was trying not to beat myself up about it, since I had had such a great week.  I’m blaming it on fatigue, I mean it has been a week straight of endless running around!  Also, I was a bit awestruck by Brook Andrew I think.  I digress.  Here are some pictures:

Mikala Dwyer

Peter Hennessey

Mikala Dwyer

Mikala Dwyer

Peter Hennessey

Roger Ballen

Kate McMillan

Kate McMillan

Kate McMillan

Richard Grayson

Jonathan Barnbrook

Jonathan Barnbrook

Brook Andrew

Brook Andrew

Brook Andrew

Roger Ballen

14_05_2010

The first day, of a two-day forum at the AGNSW started today.  Mainly I helped check the RSVPs of people attending the forum, helped set up and pack down, took photos, helped facilitate the filming of the event and in between had the opportunity to listen to the panel discussions (which lasted the entire day).  Please see below, the event plan (for those of us involved with running the forum that day) and the synopsis and itinerary that were given to each person as they entered the event.

13_05_2010

Artist Talks on Cockatoo Island!

Today, I led the artist talks on Cockatoo Island. This involved dragging a PA around, wrangling visitors up for the talks, and introducing each artist and thanking them for being there.  The most challenging task today was having to lead the question and answer period.  The public was a bit timid about asking questions, so I had to facilitate many of them.  This definitely tested my knowledge about the artworks!  The artists that spoke were Jota Castro, Slave Pianos, Ola Kohlemeinan, and Tsang Kin-Wah.  I was particularly interested in Tsang Kin-Wah’s talk.  He spoke about how he was raised staunchly Christian, and his work is a visual representation of the confusing psychological state one experiences when they are sorting through the confusions of rejecting a religious life.  His work involves projections of stream-of-consciousness-like language across a ceiling that ultimately reaches a euphoric climax.  Every time I take in the work, I take note of some other message the artist is conveying.  It’s a involved work, so to hear the artist shed light on where he was coming from when he made it, makes the work a lot more accessible for the audience.  Artist talks are an excellent way to involve people in the exhibition in a more intimate manner.

12_05_2010

Curator Bus Tour!

Today, Kate and I joined Dougal Phillips (Public Programs and Education Manager at the Biennale of Sydney), as he toured a bus full of international curators around various galleries around Sydney.  We went to the Sherman Foundation, Anna Schwartz Gallery, The White Rabbit Gallery, and the Roslyn Oxley Gallery.  At each venue we were greeted by the owners/founders of the galleries, and given a short history on the institution etc.  It was great to be able to mingle with the curators, since some of them have 20-30 years experience curating in an international context.  We were permitted to mingle, and chat, and even enjoyed a lovely catered lunch at The White Rabbit and tea and coffee at RosOx with the curators.  It was a great experience, particularly since I had not been to 50% of the galleries we visited.  Can’t wait for the Artists’ and Supporters’ Party at Cockatoo Island tonight, I hear it’s L E G E N D A R Y (as Barney from How I Met Your Mother would say!). Ha!

Jackie, Dougal and Kate

10_05_2010

After picking up curators Axel Lapp and Adelaide Bannerman at the airport this morning, and dropping them at the Sofitel Hotel, I met artist Danica Dakic and hopped into a taxi and escorted her to Pier 2/3 for her media briefing and the Friend’s Briefing.  The Friend’s Briefing was a sneak peak for members/supporters of the Biennale.  For $199, members are given access to special events, and in this case, they had the privilege of hearing Dakic personally speak about her work Isola Bella (2007-2008) at Pier 2/3, and the opportunity to take in the other artworks at the venue before they opened to the public.  The other artists featured at Pier 2/3 include Newell Harry and Paul McCarthy.  From there, I went over to the Museum of Contemporary Art, where I was responsible for photographing the larrikitj ceremony.  The ceremonial opening for the 110 larrakitj memorial poles, by 41 Yolngu artists from Arnhem Land, involved traditional song and dance by a male collective of Aboriginal men.  A few Aboriginal elders were present for the spiritual ceremony too.  It was extremely moving, especially when there was mention of the recent passing of a number of artists that painted the poles, followed by a minute of silence by the audience.  The poles were traditionally used in funeral rituals, painted with specific clan designs from the deceased.  It was an honour to be involved in such a thing.  Following the ceremony, artist Barthelemy Toguo did his “guerrilla performance” Punishment on the front lawn of the MCA.  For it, Toguo stood in an oil barrel and labouriously drank a one litre bottle of water, over the span of twelve minutes.  The water bottled pointed to the sky, his arms out to the side like wings, as the sun set over the Sydney Opera House in the background, and reflected straight through the bottle, Toguo dramatically drew out the drinking of the water, so you too, as the audience felt his “punishment” as air bubbles rippled through the bottle.  Also, Kate and Nisa had to shoot out to Marrickville to get him the barrel, since he decided to change his performance just two hours before it was scheduled to happen!  I took snaps, and looked after whatever Toguo needed before, during and after the performance (with the other interns too of course).  Kate was also Tweeting the entire time.  The hectic day was rounded out by some well-deserved drinks at the Opera Bar, where Biennale staffers, artists, curators and all those involved with the Biennale (like interns!) enjoyed some champagne and time to mingle (and network I suspect!).  So awesome to be in the thick of it all!

Me and Danica Dakic

09_05_2010

Monday, once again, I found myself at the International terminal today.  This time, I was meeting South Africa artists Roger Ballen and Penny Siopsis with her husband academic Colin Richards (who will be speaking at the forum).  Siopsis is a painter, whose work explores ideas of vulnerability – “how an image can relate to power and repression”; similarly, Roger Ballen (although he was born in the United States, lives and practices in South Africa) explores themes of repression by controversially photographing people that live on the peripheries of South African society, in order to create powerful, abstract photography.  Was an honour to meet them both.  At least today’s pick-up was at 1:30pm! 

08_05_2010

First taste of airport pick-ups!

Wow, I am exhausted.  This morning, I was responsible for picking up Russian artist Olga Egorova at the airport.  So, at 5am I caught a taxi and headed out to the international terminal, where I stood in the queue with all the hired taxi drivers, holding a sign for Ms. Egorova.  Her flight was meant to arrive at 6am, but was delayed until close to 8am!  Needless-to-say, I was tired by the time she surfaced from customs.  Although, she was absolutely lovely, especially after having sat on a flight all the way from Russia, and was extremely patient when I advised her that we’d have to wait because now we were meant to be waiting for curator Tika Selman to arrive from the United States! Olga was supposed to already be in a taxi enroute to the Sofitel on Phillip Street in the CBD at this point, but there was no sense sending her off now, since Ms. Selman was going to be out of customs momentarily.  So, between me and the other intern Kate, we wrangled up Olga Egorova, Tika Selman, as well as artists Enrique Chagoya and Claudio Dicochea and hopped in taxis with them, escorting them all the way to the concierge desk at the Sofitel Hotel.  They really appreciated the personal efforts we made to welcome them to Sydney, as they all traveled here from all over the world (some for the first time)!  It was a real test to be welcoming and knowledgeable that early in the morning.  The artists were asking questions about their itineraries for the opening week, as well as general tourist questions, since they all intended to build in some sightseeing while in the city.  This was especially challenging for me, since I have only been living in Sydney for a year-and-a-half, but in the end, I think this actually helped me give them good advice, since I just did all the “touristy” things myself. It also really helped that the PPE interns were involved with drafting the artist’s itineraries – made answering their questions a lot easier. 

 PPE Interns: Me & Kate Jackson

07_05_2010

Opening Week!

Today I was in the office and the energy is electric!  Everyone is prepping for next week, which will be chocked full of events, parties, forums, artist talks and opening nights.  It’s going to be amazing!  Nisa asked me to draft up an event plan for the Keynote speaker address at City Recital Hall at Angel Place. This plan will be handed out to all staff helping to organize the event on the evening, to ensure that everyone is on the same page.  This evening, the other interns and I have been invited to the staff BBQ and Welcome on Cockatoo Island.  All BOS staff will be there, as well as some of the artists that are already in town.  It will be a great opportunity to get to know the people we’ll be working with in opening week.  We’ve been advised that everyone jumps on board during opening week, and helps where they are needed, which will also be a great opportunity to see how the Biennale functions outside of the Public Programs department. Have a look at the event plan I put together below:

30_04_2010_Part 2

Artist Interview:

Later in the same day, after the rest of the group had left the island,  Nisa, Dougal and I (with a videographer Alec) stayed behind to conduct an artist interview with Kadar Attia, about his work Kasbah.  This magnificent work, features rooftops the artist has collected from numerous shantytowns around the world.  With them, he has recreated the rooftops of these impoverished communities (like the favellas one might see in poorer parts of South America), but in an interesting inversion, has lowered them down to the ground.  He invites 1^st World visitors, to literally participate in the systems of economic disparity that exist our global world, and walk on the 3^rd World.  The work inspires consideration about many socio-political issues, things like, these countries remain oppressed because richer countries depend on their poverty for their prosperity.  In this work, Attia has installed 350 square metres of rooftop for visitors to traipse over and make such considerations.  The work in moving and interactive and as the artist calls it a “contemporary microcosm of reality”.

30_04_2010

First tour of Cockatoo Island!

Today, we met Nisa at an ungodly hour at Wharf 5 in Circular Quay to take our first tour of the artworks on Cockatoo Island, where we will be leading tours for the duration of the 17^th Biennale of Sydney. It was pouring rain, and probably the first real cold day we’ve had in Sydney this winter, so it was a bit challenging maintaining focus with these distractions, but we made the best of it. With the exhibition opening in just over a week, the energy on the island is frantic and exciting. The installation crew had their hands full, as many of the artworks were partially installed, if installed at all! Nevertheless, Nisa took us around to a few key works, like the Cai Guo Qiang “exploding cars”, Kader Attia’s Kasbah shanty town rooftops, Robert MacPherson’s road signs, Hiroshi Sugimoto’s electric charge photographic light boxes, and the AES+F nine-channel, 360 degree film installation, which features 75 000 still photographs animated into a film. It was great to actually get out to the island and walk around and get a sense for how the exhibition will feel when all the works have been installed. Furthermore, it became evident why Cockatoo Island was selected as a venue, as it lends much to the works that are responding directly to the space within which they are installed or the history of Cockatoo Island itself.

23_04_2010

Received this brief via email from Nisa Mackie today:

 

Kids Days and Kids Map Brief

Kids Map: 1 double sided A3 page, featuring the Cockatoo Island map and selected artworks, preferably themed alongside David Elliott’s (DE’s) concept.

Kid Map functions:

·       Kids Activity sheet with questions/games

·       Map

·       Audio tour guide

·       Interact with BoS Kids Days

Suggested elements:

·       Origami activity on one side

·       Survival map star system for Kids Days, get a sticker for completing activities?

·       Q&A’s to engage with works, answers upside down on alternate side

·       Mazes/puzzles/word games

·       Cockatoo Island Map as a dot-to-dot?

Kids Days: Three Saturdays of the exhibition period just for kids with craft stations and staff especially allocated to facilitate activities. Wake 

Kids Days held on:

Saturday, 3 July 10am–4pm

Saturday, 10 July 10am–4pm

Saturday, 17 July 10am–4pm

·       Craft stations (approx. 3–4)

·       Costumes for staff

·       Balloons and helium

Budgets:

2008 Budget for 2 Kids Days:

Costume hire	534
Helium	315
Craft Supplies	200
Balloon printing	Sponsored by other dept

 

2010 Proposed Budget for 3 Kids Days:

Costume hire	600	% decrease on 2008
Helium	500	% increase on 2008
Craft Supplies	400	% increase on 2008
Balloon printing 2008 Kid's Map:	TBC	n/a

 

The PPE interns – me, Kate and Nikki – were asked to head up this project.  It involves planning, from inception to completion, 3 “Kid’s Days” for the Biennale of Sydney.  This Project also involved creating a map for kids and parents to follow on the Kid’s Days, with games and activities and such.  So, the other interns and I (and two other students involved with the guiding course that are studying education) had a few meetings and came up with the concept “Escape from Prison Island” for the theme, and from there conceived of various games and activities to include on the map.  After the meeting, I offered to draw up a draft of the map, including all the components we discussed in our meetings.  It had been a while since I flexed my drawing abilities, but I must say, I am particularly proud of my “sleeping guard”.  Please see my sketch here:

15_04_2010

Published in BOS17 Student Newspaper!

Today we received our copies of the BOS17 Student Newspaper.  This publication is intended for students attending the exhibition, the content geared toward tertiary students and the educational syllabus.  We were assigned the task of researching numerous artists, some of which were ultimately selected for the publication.  The information we had to research was meant to give historical context to their practice, talk about the work they would be exhibiting for BOS17, some anecdotal information, along with pull-quotes.  Here is the artist I researched that was selected for the publication – Choi Jeong Hwa.  The content here is significantly less then that which I submitted, so clearly it was put through a vigorous editing process, probably to do with space and the attention span of the average teenager in mind!  Nevertheless, very exciting to see my own work in print, in a publication that will be distributed during the entire exhibition, to both students and the general public.

09_04_2010

This internship with the Biennale of Sydney was facilitated as part of an Education and Guiding course through COFA.  As such, one component of the course involved doing a presentation on three artists.  The artists that I was assigned were Robert Macpherson, Rodney Glick and Yang Fudong.  Two of three from the trifecta were of Australian background, interesting for me because I am from Canada and am always interested in learning about local artists, so I was thrilled by the challenge of researching these artists.  The presentation took place today, in front of 8 other COFA students that will also be giving tours to the public during the Biennale period, and Public Programs and Education Manager Dougal Phillips and the PPE Coordinator Nisa Mackie.  I should mention, that the point of the Education and Guiding Course is to learn about all the artists exhibiting works on Cockatoo Island (where we will be conducting tours), as well as acquire skills for both guiding tours and writing educational materials for the Biennale – similar to those one might be expected to write for any major arts institution in the industry.  Needless to say, the experience of writing educational materials and learning to speak knowledgeably about artworks is invaluable.  Furthermore, it has been really great to help boost confidence as an expert in the field of arts administration.

I was pretty nervous speaking about my artists at first, but loosened up as the presentation went on.  First I spoke about Robert MacPherson.  His practice involves recreating roadside signs, like those one might see along the highways in rural Australia, as a means of preserving the vernacular of small rural communities.  So, ultimately, he is interested in addressing the colloquial and distinctive aspects of Australian landscape and language.  He is drawn less to exact meanings of words and is more interested in the way written language conjures mental imagery for the viewer.  For BOS17, MacPherson will exhibit Chitters: A Wheelbarrow for Richard – 156 paintings/signs describing the roadside drive-by of terminology describing the landscape of regional Australia.  The second artist I spoke about was Rodney Glick.  Glick, like MacPherson, is Australian but he is fascinated with traditional Balinese sculpture.  Mixing the modern with the traditional, Glick (in collaboration with Balinese woodcarvers) created life-size versions of multi-armed Hindu Gods based on the likeness of Western figures, including himself!   Historically, this practice was reserved only for iconic divine figures.  This juxtaposition makes for interesting investigations regarding the social and political implications of such work.  For example, local Balinese families started requesting likenesses of themselves from a local carver after the Glick project.  The last artist I was assigned to speak about was Yang Fudong.  He is a Chinese artist that is interested in investigations about identity through myth, personal memory and lived experience.  His works are predominantly film works, of an existential nature, sublime, cinematic, avant-garde and shot with a film noir aesthetic.  For BOS17, he will display his work East of Que Village (2007), a fiercely personal work, where the artist takes us back to his home village, left dry and desolate and focuses on a pack of dogs struggling to survive in the arid landscape, while the human inhabitants are side figures that have been hypnotized by their own indifference.  This work is meant as a metaphour for the unforgiving experience of modernization in China, systematically extinguishing traditional rural lifestyles.

20_03_2010

Biennale of Sydney lecture with David Elliot and Invited Artists

In true collaborative fashion, on Saturday, March 20th and as part of Art Month, the Biennale of Sydney hosted a lecture with artistic director David Elliot and a select panel of artists, in donated venue Artspace. Wilkin Hill’s Windows impersonating other windows provided an interesting backdrop for the discussion, which featured Newell Harry, Michaela Dwyer, and Warren Fahey, in addition to Elliot. The artistic director of The Beauty of Distance: Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age kicked off the talk with a brief overview of his curatorial intention for the show. He explains that “The Beauty of Distance” means something different to everyone and that’s okay with him. It refers to critical and aesthetic distance, the output of the artist and their critical distance and proximity to their own work or the proximity of the viewer to the work etc. “Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age” speaks to the idea that all art is folk art, made by people, for people. He explains further that these considerations are important, particularly because of the cultural significance of indigenous art in Australia. He says he’s often asked why he is not showing “so-called indigenous art,” his deadpan retort is “all art is folk art” a brilliantly democratic approach to his focused curatorial direction. Elliot wastes no time introducing his panel and engaging in conversation with them. Newell Harry talked about his sculptural works, while Michaela Dwyer and Warren Fahey described their installation works that will be featured in the Biennale. Newell’s works uses vernacular in the form of anagrams, and wordplay, in order to produce multiple meanings. Combining ideas about topics as vast as trade roots of languages, issues of identity, exile and family. Dwyer will be exhibiting an installation that combines sculptural works made from sandstone with a sound installation, conjuring up the “ghostly” spirits of Cockatoo Island, while Fahey, similar to the William Kentridge installation from the last Biennale, will encapsulate an entire space with film projections that reference the history of Cockatoo Island. Both artists are embarking on socio-cultural investigations, using site-specific artworks. For the talk, we assisted Nisa Maskie in setting up seating for 70 guests, greeted guests at the door and checked RSVPs, liaised with the Artspace staff (in order to ensure that we were following protocol at the donated venue), answered questions as they arose and assisted in breaking everything down and helped to restore the gallery space to its original condition when the talk was finished. It was very exciting to participate, even if only on a cursory level to begin with, in a team endeavor and find a small place in the inner workings of one of Sydney’s foremost cultural institutions – the Biennale of Sydney. I am looking forward to more such opportunities to liaise with important contemporary artists and curatorial luminaries in the Sydney art scene. A great start, to an excellent internship opportunity with the Education and Public Programs department at BoS.