Inspiration - Jessie Brennan
Inside the Green Backyard (Opportunity Area) 2015-16, installation (cyanotypes and oral recordings), dimensions variable, 56:14 minutes.
This project is a collaboration between Jessie Brennan and the people who use and care for The Green Backyard, a ‘community growing project’ in Peterborough that for years was threatened with a proposed development by its owner, the City Council. It questions the capitalist logic of a proposed development and intends to offer alternative evidence in the form of a visual and audio archive – over 100 cyanotypes and more than 100 oral recordings contributed by visitors and volunteers of the site – for the current social use and value of the land. A selection of cyanotypes and voices are presented here.
This work is really interesting as a community project turned into artworks and https://aabookshop.net/?wpsc-product=re-development-voices-cyanotypes-writings-from-the-green-backyard
(See also https://lilyannaforbes.wixsite.com/graphics/blog/jessie-brennan)
Community publication ?
- Similar to art licks, showcasing the work done in peabody community centres around the city.
- Include a forward from Jeffrey, who runs the art programs to explain how important it is
- Include the golden girls and their knitting
- Provide links/destinations of where to find other classes and activities being run at the centres.
- Create an identity for the magazine which will create more of a unity Instagram account for the magazine which will unify the branding, publication and showing off these people’s work.
- Staple bound, recycled paper.. cheap and easily reproducible
After visiting Darwin Court and attending the art class, I had to think about how I'd like to represent these individuals and the importance of the work they do within the Peabody centres. As I enjoyed the previous editorial project so much, I'd like to create print media to celebrate the community centres. I realised that so many of the centres have plenty of creative output - the work from art clubs, knitting, cooking and activities are all being created. Therefore I decided I could put together a publication celebrating all of this - to show people and hopefully encourage a wider range of people to use the centres. To quote the brief,
Help us to create a sense of identity for our community spaces that makes them stand out from the crowd, instantly recognisable. We want you to help us move beyond the ‘brand’ or simple visual identity and come up with an idea that feels bigger.
I feel that a publication showcasing the creative work being made in the community centres would full-fill this well. This will show people the potential and opportunities that these centres create for a wide range of people, from young to old.
I've decided to design my publication as a newspaper as I think this seems to fit in the norm of the community centres - sitting down with a cuppa and reading the newspaper. The immediacy and reproducibility of the newspaper is another good feature - meaning the publication has easy potential for multiple issues.
References -
NDSM Open newspaper
Whilst in Amsterdam I visited NDSM, a neighbourhood of artists studios, bars and venues. I picked up a free newspaper called NDSM Open 2017/18 while there. The publication showcases works from studios - really well designed and simple, one side English and one side Dutch.
NDSM is a non-profit foundation that works to promote Art City, a large cluster of studios inhabited by artists, artisans and other creative businesses at the NDSM-wharf, a former shipyard on the waterfront in the north of Amsterdam. Between 2013 and 2017 we produced the annual event NDSM OPEN, and an accompanying publication with the same name. The newspaper tells the story of this very special location, and showcases some of the work made by the 175+ artists and creative workers based here.
https://issuu.com/artcityndsm/docs/krant_artcity2017_en
ARTHOUSE Unlimited
ARTHOUSE Unlimited is a collective of artists living with complex epilepsy and learning disabilities all of whom require varying levels of support. The collective produce original artworks, prints, cards and other products for sale all over London. The works are gorgeous, humorous and I've bought the cards for birthdays and other events ever since.
The artists work alongside instructors to create artworks which are developed into designer products for sale. All artwork derives from the skills each artist brings to the enterprise and every contribution holds real value. Offering a sense of purpose lies at the heart of ARTHOUSE Unlimited’s philosophy in line with our belief that feeling truly respected improves health and well-being. We strive to challenge perceptions and to create better acceptance and inclusion for all people living with disabilities.
Chatsworth Road Magazine
I Love Chatsworth is a non-profit community magazine. It's an unique photographic documentation of the neighbourhood around Chatsworth Road in Hackney, London, hoping to be a valuable archive for the future of a place going through rapid changes.
Beautifully, yet accessibly designed, this magazine was a recommendation from a friend for research. Also such a great way to represent a community, and I'd hope my newspaper holds a similar, community style feel to it. I really like the social media application also, to show the magazine can be represented on more than one platform.
PRINTING
Rabbits Road Press
Rabbits Road Press is a community Risograph print studio and publishing press founded and run by OOMK. The project was commissioned by Create London and is based at Old Manor Park Library. The small-scale publishing press provides printing and book binding services for artists and community groups in Newham and beyond.
Using a community print service for my newspaper on community centres would be a great idea - keeping the work as cyclical as possible and working with people at every stage of the production. Relating to costs for Rabbits Road, I'd have to calculate the job cost on top of the £50 studio fee - so it would turn out being quite expensive doing a medium to large sized print run. Also only printing with a few colours limits the full colour images I could include - which also involves splitting the layers of colours etc.
Newspaper Club
As I'd like to print a newspaper, it only makes sense to use Newspaper Club - the company specifically designed to print newspapers, from runs of 10 to 10,000.
We believe that reports of print’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Paper is a timelessly accessible and versatile medium and we believe in the power of newspapers to tell stories, in a way that's tactile and human. We aim to bring the tradition of newsprint into the digital age and take it forward, by giving people the tools to turn whatever they want into newsprint - quickly and easily.
This 'tactile and human' quality mentioned above is exactly what I'd like to convey in my newspaper. In terms of pricing for newspaper club, around £50-£100 depending on how many I'd like to print. I ordered some free samples of their newspapers to see size, colour, papers and type weights and the samples look lovely, really high quality printing yet still with the accessibility of the newsprint paper.
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