Postgraduate Presentation

Today I did a presentation for a group of Postgraduate students at Glasgow School of Art. I was asked by Lesley Black to discuss how I use market research in my art practice.

I began by discussing Glasgow International Artists Bookfair; how Harald and I had the idea when we were participating in the Contemporary Artist Bookfair in Leeds, 2007 and realised that there was no event of this kind in Scotland.



We did a lot of market research that weekend, talking to other artists participating in the bookfair to assess their interest in our idea, and asking advice from the organisers.



I then talked about the market research we did when back in Scotland, and how we put a lot of thought into how we would make GIAB different from other artists bookfairs.





We felt there were things missing from other artist bookfairs:

- People exhibiting on their own do not get a break - provide volunteers who could relieve artists for a while to allow them to have a lunch break

- The artists don’t get a chance to look at the work of other artists - have an hour before the bookfair opens to the public for the artists to look at each others work

- No real opportunity to see any of the city in which the bookfair is taking place - organise a day trip for the day after the bookfair

- What if artists cannot attend in person? - offer a service whereby a volunteer would set up, supervise and then pack up the books ready to be posted back to the artist

I then discussed who we have collaborated with



and how we consider the climate in which we are operating in



The second half of my presentation was focused on my approach to market research when making my own work





Who do I want to view the work?

How do they encounter the work?



GALLERIES - look at which artists they represent, whose work they exhibit, what are the aims of the gallery?, does your work suit the gallery?

FUNDING - read the guidelines, is the opportunity suitable for you? Who has received funding in the past?





The presentation went down well, and some great questions were asked. It was also really good to meet Janine Matheson again. Janine co curates Sierra Metro gallery in Edniburgh, works at the Cultural Enterprise and is also working on a new project soon to be launched.