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

How will my participants benefit from my project?

I have been thinking about ideas for my final project and I have decided to base my project on the idea of the future. It will be a project that encourages art students to be motivated in the degree they are doing, visualize their future careers that may come from it, and feel appreciated as I feel that art students in the academic world are often not viewed in high regard. This will come from myself exposing them to the endless career opportunities there are that come from an arts degree and learning from their peers. I will be setting up a "taxi" using props in which I will ask arts students to come and sit in. This will be a creative space where I will ask them to draw or write down where they see themselves in the future, career-wise. I will then take all of the pieces of paper and display them as art in the black box studio. My hope is that students do benefit from this project. They will hopefully enjoy utilizing my taxi as a creative space and a creative outlet, and also be able to benefit from the project in terms of taking motivation and inspiration from it. I am aiming to inspire arts students like myself, and when visualizing their futures in my project I hope that they will feel more positive about their degree. Also, I hope that they will simply enjoy themselves and have a pleasant experience.

Who do I want to work with?

I am currently in the early stages of planning my project, but I have began to think about the target audience and the participants I want to work with. I have decided to work with students who are studying arts degrees at UEL. This includes Theatre Studies, Dance, Art and Music. This group of people will be both my target audience and my participants. I want to focus solely on this group because I fit in to this category and therefore am able to relate to them.

The Battle of Orgreave

The work that took place: This was a live re-enactment of the miners strike that took place in Orgreave in 1984. This was a "battle" between the miners and the police.

The context: This battle marked a turning point between the government and trade union movement. It was the most bitterly fought battle since 1926. Had major effects on the coal industry.

The participants: Over 800 people participated in the re-enactment. They were mostly former miners and former policemen who had witnessed the actual event.

The audience: The participants themselves and the viewers of the channel 4 documentary showing the project.

The art form: This project takes place in the art form of re-enactment.

Location: The project took place in Yorkshire on the original battle site from 1984.

Duration: The project took a year to carry out including interviews to find out information about the events of the original battles, research, rehearsals and filming.

Documentation: The re-enactment was filmed for a Channel 4 documentary.