Update 5: Text for the day

I have decided to create a a page of text that I will place on the chairs of the taxi on the day, which briefly explains the project and it's aims. Since I will be having a maximum four people at a time in the taxi it may become difficult to explain to each individual. A copy of the text I will be using is listed below

Fellow Arts Students

Lacking motivation? Don't know what to do with your life? Sick of being looked down on as an arts student in the academic world? In this taxi I ask you "Where do you want to go?". Please use the paper and pens available to draw or write where you see yourself going in the future with your degree. Be as creative as you'd like. Then, feel free to browse the art of your peers, you might find some inspiration. Let's show the academic world that they should respect the wonderful field of arts!

Update 4: The Taxi and the Art Display

Now I have carried out all the neccessary research I need to think about the actual presentation of my project. I have now obtained a costume that I can wear on the day as per one students useful suggestion. It is a yellow hat that says "Taxi" on it, and I will be wearing a formal outfit which will most probably be all black. Hopefully the costume element will attract attention and encourage people to participate. In terms of the actual taxi I have been thinking of ways in which I can create it. I was going to possibly use some bike wheels I have at home for the wheels of the taxi but these would be too difficult to bring in to uni with me so I have decided to draw some wheels, cut them out in a circular shape and use them instead. The body of the taxi will be six chairs, two where the driver would be and four for the main part of the taxi. This allows for four people to participate at a time which benefits the efficiency of my project. I will also set up a small table inside the "taxi" where I will put all the drawing/writing materials such as pens and paper. In order for the art to be displayed I will be using two large mirrors that we have in class. I feel that these are a good size to display all the art on, and I will be sticking on each piece of paper with blue-tac. I think that this "set" I am creating is quite interesting and hopefully people will be attracted to it and participate in the project.

Update 3: Test

This week I have decided to test my project by getting some drawings from arts students. This has not only benefited me in that I already have some art to display when my project begins which hopefully will grab peoples attention, but it has also given me a chance to see how students respond to the task of drawing or writing their hopes and aspirations for the future.

Update 2: Reaching out to my target group

I have decided that the best way to meet arts students besides my classmates from theatre studies who I talk to on a daily basis is on the third floor of the building where most arts degree classes take place. In my spare time I have walked around the third floor and talked to some students to find out what degree they are studying, and what their initial ideas are about my project. This is a test to see if my idea proves successful among my target group and whether they think there any limitations I need to overcome. I also asked that they offer any constructive criticism. I carried out a few short, informal interviews with the students. I wrote down briefly what they said and I have listed my findings below

Name: Rajita Kuhnal

Degree: Fine Arts

What do you think of my project?: I think it's great. As an artist I love to draw. Most people don't know fine arts exists at UEL so I would definitely like for more people to see it's importance and learn more about it. Any suggestions/improvements/critique? : No.

Name: Oliver Whedon

Degree: Music

What do you think of my project? I like the Taxi idea, you should see if you can get some kind of costume to attract people. It's very creative and I would like to participate.

Any suggestions/improvements/critique? I think you should tell people they don't have to draw, they can write things down too. I am not much of a drawer so that aspect would put me off. If people know they can write also, maybe more people will participate.

Name: Sujit Lehron

Degree: Music

What do you think of my project? I am glad somebody is trying to prove that arts degrees are as good as any other. Not many people care about us as a degree. I have especially found that with music. Any suggestions/improvements/critique? No.

Name: Rebecca Spencer

Degree: Dance

What do you think of my project? I like it. I sometimes wonder what I will do in the future because if i fail as a professional dancer there's not much else my degree offers. I would like to see some more possibilities I could consider as back up.

Any suggestions/improvements/critique? No.

All in all I have had a positive response from the students I have spoken to. Now I feel confident in carrying out this project and will be talking again with students this week to gain further research.

Update 1: Research

For the initial stages of research I have began looking at the different UEL arts degree pages to see what the listed career options are for each degree. This should give me some perspective on the types of careers available to students. It will allow me to assist students if they should need, and offer them some creative ideas about their future options. Below I have listed career options for Theatre Studies, Dance (Urban practice), Fine art and Music.

Theatre studies careers: Acting, teaching, TV/radio journalism, law, advertising, marketing, broadcasting, technical work, design, music, arts administration, community performance and outreach, publicity, scriptwriting, film-making or further training in drama-related fields.

Dance (Urban practice) careers: Teaching, dancing, advertising, marketing, technical work, design, arts administration, choreographers, dance artists, dance practitioners, workshop deliverers, collaborative dance artists or further training in dance-related fields

Fine art: study at post-graduate institutions, set up studios and develop careers as artists, pursue careers in teaching, galleries or in arts administration, develop the self motivation and entrepreneurial skills they have developed at University to build various businesses and careers

Music (Popular performance):Studio/session artist, Performing artist, Theatre musician, Commercial arranger / composer (song, film, TV, radio, jingles etc),Teacher, Postgraduate student, Publishing and journalism, Music business management

Project proposal

Name(s): Katie Evans (u1145775)

Contact Email: Kt_evans_07@hotmail.co.uk

Contact Phone Number: 07791694449

Title of your project: Where do you want to go?

Summary of proposal (approx. 50 words): I plan to create and display a piece of art based on the arts degrees here at UEL. I will ask students to come and sit in a “taxi” and think about where they want to go in the future in terms of their career. I will then ask them to draw or write what they visualize on a piece of paper. These pieces of paper will be displayed as art for students to enjoy and take inspiration from.

Detailed Proposal. How are you planning to combine the 7 elements artist, context, audience, form, location, duration, documentation. (700 words max): In terms of artists, I have taken inspiration from a few practitioners I have researched independently in my own time. One particular practitioner named Sophie Calle carried out a “telephone booth” project where she used a public telephone booth as a place for participants to sit and think. It allowed for reflection as well as satisfaction for the participants as she set it up with food and drinks. She created this piece as art, and I liked the element of using a public place to allow participants to simply be alone with their thoughts. This is what inspired me for the taxi idea. Although my taxi is not a real taxi, it is an artificial one, I still want it to be a place where my participants can quietly come to think and imagine. My taxi will also be used as a creative outlet as this is where people will visualize their futures and draw pictures of what they see. I have also been inspired by a group of practitioners named the Guerilla Gardeneres. These practitioners cleaned up downtrodden areas of London, and took pictures which they displayed the art. I liked the idea of using the community to create art, and to simply allow the art to speak for itself; to be appreciated. In terms of context I will be focusing on education in relation to art as my focus will be particular degree programs at UEL and what they offer to students. I will be creating art utilizing this theme. My audience will be students of arts degrees at UEL. They will be the participants as well as the predominant spectators. There may also be teachers of arts degrees at UEL who spectate. Being passionate about the degree they teach, I hope that this project will also be enjoyable and interesting for them. In terms of the form I will use for my project, it will be a collaborative process in which students from different arts degrees come together as a community to create a piece of interesting art. It will be somewhat experimental, and I plan to deliver it as a calming and relaxing experience in which students can think about their futures without distractions. The taxi I am using will be the vessel that transports them to this tranquil place of visualization. The project doesn’t necessarily have a rigid form in terms of structure. It will simply be an opportunity for students to come and go as they please. They may participate if they wish, or simply enjoy the art displayed for them. The location will be the black box studio at UEL, which is the heart of arts degrees within the university. Most students will be familiar with this space already. I have not yet decided the duration of this project. I will not be presenting students with a time limit because I feel that it may stifle their creative experience. I simply want to allow them to take what time they need to engage in this project. The art produced during this experiment alone is a form of documentation of the process. However I will also be taking photos of the process, both while students are in the taxi drawing, and of the art displayed afterwards. In order to gain another perspective on this project and gain some constructive feedback, I will also be asking some of my colleagues to document the project by writing a short review of their observations and experience.

Please tell us about your target group (community). Who are they? What are your motives for working with them? How are you planning to approach them? How will they benefit from taking part in this project? (300 words max): The target group I will be working with will be arts students at UEL. As a theatre student myself I have noticed that sometimes a career in arts is hard to visualize. It is a competitive and difficult business and people sometimes fail to realize that although this is the case, there is much more you can do with this type of degree than simply to become an “actor” or a “dancer”. I want to encourage students not only to think about creating a path to their future in a positive way, but also to gain inspiration from the goals of other students. I will approach students by setting up a fake “taxi” using chairs and cardboard cut outs of wheels to allow them to be creative and use their imaginations. The taxi represents the route to their future. I hope that this idea will prove as interesting and unique to students therefore encouraging them to participate. They will benefit from participating not only from experiencing a sense of community and companionship that is not always prominent in a university environment, but also to set goals for themselves, take inspiration from others goals, and enjoy using my project as a creative outlet for their thoughts, hopes and dreams.

Please tell us when and where you propose to present your work (location/venue/time): I plan to present my work on Tuesday 6th May in the black box studio. This is because it is a large open space where I can easily set up this project, and the art can be displayed. I also feel the black box studio is fitting to the theme of the project because it is the room where students spend most of their time, and may see it as a creative and freeing space.

Please provide a project timetable detailing key targets and actions to be taken between now and the project delivery e.g. permissions, materials, health and safety checks: I have already tested out this project with several friends (UEL students) on my course, and collected art from them. I will be displaying these pictures as inspiration for other students who will participate on the day. By Monday 28th April, I plan to have all the equipment ready that I will be using to create the “taxi”. This includes pieces of cardboard to use as the wheels and the “taxi” sign, four chairs, and pens and paper for students to use during the project. I will also need to make sure that I can use two large mirrors that are kept in the black box studio, to display all of the art on. I already have blue tac to stick all of the art on to the mirrors.

Please list the equipment and materials that you will need to deliver your project: I already have all the equipment necessary to create the art such as pens and pencils. From the university, I will need two large mirrors from the black box studio and four chairs.

Please describe the evaluation process that you will undertake during and following your project delivery: As I have already begun to experiment with this project by collecting pictures from my fellow students, I have been able to evaluate their experience in drawing and writing the art. Every student who participated had a positive experience and enjoyed the process. However I have not yet tested out the taxi idea. This is something I will have to evaluate during and after the project. I will be asking students during the project how they feel about sitting in the taxi for creative inspiration. I will also get feedback from them afterwards so I can remember this for future projects.

Audience suitability: Is there anything in your work that we may need to make audiences aware of e.g. swearing, nudity, flashing lights etc: No.

Please state how are you planning to present yourself and your project to your participants. I plan to introduce myself with my name and the course I’m studying, and explain briefly to students my thoughts about the field of arts and its many possibilities. I may also ask students to contribute their thoughts on the subject. I will then allow students to peruse the art display so they can get a feel for the project and it’s aims and perhaps gain some inspiration. I will then instruct them to sit inside the “taxi” and create their own art. I will be answering any questions the students may have during the project.

A letter to my target group

Dear Target Group

My name is Katie and I am a second year Theatre Studies student. I am inviting you to participate in my project which will be entitled "Where do you want to go?". Do you lack motivation? Do you worry about the future? Not sure what else you can do with your life besides come an actor? a performer? My project aims to shed light on the vast array of career possibilities that are available for arts students. We should all feel positive and motivated to succeed in our degrees, and others in the academic world should see us in just as high regard as they would see for example a law or a business degree. I want all arts students to come together in one creative space, which will be a Taxi of which I will be the driver. In this creative space you may draw or write your future plans. Where do you see yourself in the future? What do you want out of this degree? In this creative space there is no judgement. No image of someones future will be looked down upon or mocked. Everyone's contributions will be displayed as art. Feel free to browse the art when you step in to the taxi, perhaps you will find more motivation than you thought.

Best Wishes

Katie