As Contemporary art exhibitions develop towards a multiplicity of practises and genres, many are being used for urban regeneration and environmental projects. In this new landscape I wish to lead on initiatives to re-shape the urban landscape to incorporate art projects. This opportunity to network and improve my leadership skills to deliver complex multi-disciplinary projects builds upon my past experience as an environmental engineer. I have set-out below where I currently stand in relation to my artistic practise and how I plan to develop those skills to enable me to realise my goals and for its future expansion into off-site projects and educational programmes to satisfy new audiences.
Project Management:
Over the last ten years I have changed careers to focus on the implementation of gallery based, external and site-specific contemporary art projects. In my role as a Project Engineer I was responsible for the design and construction of over 500 projects in a career spanning 15 years comprising the installation of innovative civil and mechanical installations. In 1998 I was invited to lead the development of ‘team working’ workshops to restructure design teams and deliver a change programme for business re-engineering and design new work quality systems. In particular I was responsible for the introduction of partnership working and preparing project plans to implement renewable energy and water quality initiatives. This desire to work in creative teams was rewarded by joining the Management Development Programme and led in 2000 to being awarded a place at Goldsmiths College to pursue a long held passion to study contemporary fine arts practise and art history.
Professional Development:
In my studies I was drawn to art in the expanded field particularly land art, site-specific sculpture, ecological arts practises and architecture. As the programme developed I was drawn to post-modern artistic and curatorial processes, particularly the complexities of authorship. In my first and second year I participated in the Council for International Educational Exchange programme based in New York and San Francisco fulfilling temporary work programmes and researching visual culture at Columbia University. Completing my studies under the ‘Documenta 11’ curator Sarat Maharaj I completed a dissertation into ‘Postmodern Artistic Processes’ examining the techniques and technologies of contemporary practise. Ultimately my goal at Goldsmiths was to reconcile ‘Art and Engineering’ to ensure a strong grounding in the theories and concepts of contemporary art but above all the knowledge to comprehend the techniques, logistics and specifications behind the work. In the last two years I have been researching the ‘Art of Climate Change’ its social and cultural functioning and adopting a phenomenonoligal approach to its physical manifestation.
Organising and Managing Art Programmes:
In 2005 I put the academic and practical experience to good use, invited to jointly curate an exhibition at Hå gamle prestegaard Gallery in Southwestern Norway exploring ‘freedom’ and ‘play’ in the postwelfare state. The project involved devising the thematics for the exhibition and the selection of 10 contemporary artists from Europe and Scandinavia. In the first instance I utilised a ‘cultural strategic dialogue’ to ensure the delivery of differing art practises that represented conceptual, performance, architectural and video art forms but also included a playful ‘residency programme to encourage new experimental work. In May 2006 the programme was presented to a Norwegian milieu including works by Turner prize winner Martin Creed, which I had personally secured, shipped and installed, alongside new works by the emerging artist Svein Møxvold who was named one of the best graduating artists in 2008 by the ‘Sunday Times’’. Adopting a cultural strategic dialogue ensured the project remained flexible and responded effectively with the local Kommune system for the delivery of artistic projects.
Building Stakeholder Relationships:
By working closely with my Norwegian peers and the British Council in Oslo I adopted the ‘architect’ model for the implementation of art programmes preferred in the Nordic cultural collaboration. Additionally the team met with the Director for Stavanger ‘City of Culture’ securing two further artist projects for ‘On the Edge” and ‘Developing Youth’ in Rogaland County. I rapidly gained the trust and respect of the artistic community. The exhibition received critical acclaim in the Norwegian press and developed a working relationship with the Art Critic Trond Borgen encouraging a dialogue on the role of contemporary art in the rural landscape. I enjoyed the challenge of developing new concepts, whilst having to communicate in other languages, managing day to day operational issues such as budget control, artist and agent liason, damaged items, exhibition design and contract negotiation. Throughout I maintained a good working relationship with arts shippers and agents along with being invited too Sweden to work with artist and activist Kjartan Slettemark.
Leadership and Practise
In the last two years I have been focussing on my own artistic practise and researching artists working in the city particularly architectural and ecological arts practises. Through practise I believe you can change the ‘ecosophy’ of individuals and groups to build stronger and more cohesive communities. I am particular fascinated by the filmworks of James Benning and of course the Danish Artist Olafur Elliason. Therefore I am now seeking to consolidate my position in the contemporary arts and to develop networks and work on new international commissions leading at the cutting-edge of contemporary art. The opportunity to specialise and work independantly would be the culmination of over 8 years of hard work in the transition from Engineering to Contemporary art. In particular to utilise the extensive programming and delivery expertise that comes from an engineering and technical career that anticipates developments of a more complex architecture into the exhibition environment. If given this leadership opportunity to train with the CLP, you will rapidly see an improvement in my ability to lead more effectively and translate some of my ideas into new artworks.
©Alan Yates
As Contemporary art exhibitions develop towards a multiplicity of practises and genres, many are being used for urban regeneration and environmental projects. In this new landscape I wish to lead on initiatives to re-shape the urban landscape to incorporate art projects. This opportunity to network and improve my leadership skills to deliver complex multi-disciplinary projects builds upon my past experience as an environmental engineer. I have set-out below where I currently stand in relation to my artistic practise and how I plan to develop those skills to enable me to realise my goals and for its future expansion into off-site projects and educational programmes to satisfy new audiences.
Project Management:
Over the last ten years I have changed careers to focus on the implementation of gallery based, external and site-specific contemporary art projects. In my role as a Project Engineer I was responsible for the design and construction of over 500 projects in a career spanning 15 years comprising the installation of innovative civil and mechanical installations. In 1998 I was invited to lead the development of ‘team working’ workshops to restructure design teams and deliver a change programme for business re-engineering and design new work quality systems. In particular I was responsible for the introduction of partnership working and preparing project plans to implement renewable energy and water quality initiatives. This desire to work in creative teams was rewarded by joining the Management Development Programme and led in 2000 to being awarded a place at Goldsmiths College to pursue a long held passion to study contemporary fine arts practise and art history.
Professional Development:
In my studies I was drawn to art in the expanded field particularly land art, site-specific sculpture, ecological arts practises and architecture. As the programme developed I was drawn to post-modern artistic and curatorial processes, particularly the complexities of authorship. In my first and second year I participated in the Council for International Educational Exchange programme based in New York and San Francisco fulfilling temporary work programmes and researching visual culture at Columbia University. Completing my studies under the ‘Documenta 11’ curator Sarat Maharaj I completed a dissertation into ‘Postmodern Artistic Processes’ examining the techniques and technologies of contemporary practise. Ultimately my goal at Goldsmiths was to reconcile ‘Art and Engineering’ to ensure a strong grounding in the theories and concepts of contemporary art but above all the knowledge to comprehend the techniques, logistics and specifications behind the work. In the last two years I have been researching the ‘Art of Climate Change’ its social and cultural functioning and adopting a phenomenonoligal approach to its physical manifestation.
Organising and Managing Art Programmes:
In 2005 I put the academic and practical experience to good use, invited to jointly curate an exhibition at Hå gamle prestegaard Gallery in Southwestern Norway exploring ‘freedom’ and ‘play’ in the postwelfare state. The project involved devising the thematics for the exhibition and the selection of 10 contemporary artists from Europe and Scandinavia. In the first instance I utilised a ‘cultural strategic dialogue’ to ensure the delivery of differing art practises that represented conceptual, performance, architectural and video art forms but also included a playful ‘residency programme to encourage new experimental work. In May 2006 the programme was presented to a Norwegian milieu including works by Turner prize winner Martin Creed, which I had personally secured, shipped and installed, alongside new works by the emerging artist Svein Møxvold who was named one of the best graduating artists in 2008 by the ‘Sunday Times’’. Adopting a cultural strategic dialogue ensured the project remained flexible and responded effectively with the local Kommune system for the delivery of artistic projects.
Building Stakeholder Relationships:
By working closely with my Norwegian peers and the British Council in Oslo I adopted the ‘architect’ model for the implementation of art programmes preferred in the Nordic cultural collaboration. Additionally the team met with the Director for Stavanger ‘City of Culture’ securing two further artist projects for ‘On the Edge” and ‘Developing Youth’ in Rogaland County. I rapidly gained the trust and respect of the artistic community. The exhibition received critical acclaim in the Norwegian press and developed a working relationship with the Art Critic Trond Borgen encouraging a dialogue on the role of contemporary art in the rural landscape. I enjoyed the challenge of developing new concepts, whilst having to communicate in other languages, managing day to day operational issues such as budget control, artist and agent liason, damaged items, exhibition design and contract negotiation. Throughout I maintained a good working relationship with arts shippers and agents along with being invited too Sweden to work with artist and activist Kjartan Slettemark.
Leadership and Practise
In the last two years I have been focussing on my own artistic practise and researching artists working in the city particularly architectural and ecological arts practises. Through practise I believe you can change the ‘ecosophy’ of individuals and groups to build stronger and more cohesive communities. I am particular fascinated by the filmworks of James Benning and of course the Danish Artist Olafur Elliason. Therefore I am now seeking to consolidate my position in the contemporary arts and to develop networks and work on new international commissions leading at the cutting-edge of contemporary art. The opportunity to specialise and work independantly would be the culmination of over 8 years of hard work in the transition from Engineering to Contemporary art. In particular to utilise the extensive programming and delivery expertise that comes from an engineering and technical career that anticipates developments of a more complex architecture into the exhibition environment. If given this leadership opportunity to train with the CLP, you will rapidly see an improvement in my ability to lead more effectively and translate some of my ideas into new artworks.
©Alan Yates