Friday, May 8, 2009

Proposal

For a while now we have been discussing options for what exactly we can do with all the varied work we have amassed on the Travelogue. I have a suggestion, and I would like to hear all of your thoughts on the idea, as well as whether or not you would be interested in participating.

I would like to create what I will call an "exhibition" for lack of a better term, in which we can showcase and share the many forms of work we have done; be it visual art or writing, or perhaps even music. This could be either work we have already completed, or new work which can premier at this event. What I am envisioning is a cross-disciplinary exhibition which would feature poetry readings, as well as a gallery space for displaying visual art, perhaps a space for musical performances/projects, which, despite the breadth of content/artistic disciplines, would still feel coherent.

Of course, we would need to acquire a space for this event to take place. I have discussed with Ben the possibility of using a space in the house he will be moving into to do something similar to this idea. While I do think that this is certainly an option we should keep in mind, I am worried that things could get a bit crowded and out of hand in this type of space. I have attended an event similar to this in a house space, and though I was interested in some the work I saw, its impact was diminished by the fact that there were a lot of distractions in the house and the presentation of the work was somewhat haphazard. I think that the quality of the work which I have seen from all of you warrants at least an attempt at acquiring a more suitable space and presentation which is as professional as possible.

I know that some of you are familiar with Bucketworks; we have played a few shows there in the past. For those of you who are not, it's an organization which helps its members to facilitate a wide variety of endeavors; they seem open to just about anything you could think of. Their facility is located just north of Downtown on the intersection of 6th and McKinley.This is their website: http://bucketworks.org/. I read some info regarding renting space at Bucketworks for an event, and they seem open to any type of event, as well as willing to work with renters to find a price that fits their budget. If I remember correctly, they charged about $200 at one of the shows we played at. Assuming the price was similar to this, it could be very manageable if we split the cost between everyone who would be participating.

I realize that this is an ambitious idea, but I don't think it's out of reach. Seeing as how many of us are planning on practicing an art form of some kind, this idea is certainly conducive to the things we will do once we are out of school. I don't see any reason we couldn't start now though; I think it would be beneficial to have this kind of experience before we get out into the "real" world.

Please let me know what you think. Let's get together once we are all home again and discuss this and other options for what we can do with our work.

-James

1 comment:

  1. You can safely assume I am and have been all for this idea. I think it's been talked about in one form or another for the past school year and I think James is absolutely right, this summer is the perfect opportunity to put a show together. We should get working almost immediately on a zine and some other collaborative pieces for the show, while also developing a selection of individual works. With the increase in gallery spaces all over milwaukee in the past 5 years, I don't think it will be that be a challenge finding a place to have the exhibition. Bucketworks sounds great and two hundred is super reasonable. Also I think having it at our house this summer would be a little chaotic. I think we should really figure out who's on board with this idea, who can put in the time and effort to collaborate and collect finished work for the show.

    This is a very exciting endeavor and when we are all home we should have a couple meetings regarding Milwaukee Travelogue. We can set some goals for this summer and start organizing various projects.

    I feel like I'm restating a lot of what James said, but I'm just really psyched about getting something together and collaborating after what I've seen all school year on this blog. Good work friends.

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