General Reflections

The trip gave me the opportunity to reflect on the CarriageWorks approach and its strategic plan. two things come up for me.

The first is that we have had to be much more like a performing arts centre than a centre for the development of contemporary arts. i have put this down to the level of funding being too low, mostly because we have the right approach in our strategic plan. But I do not want to let that be the excuse. I want to investigate how much we can focus on how much we can curate a program of activities that promote the core beliefs and vision of the centre rather than just take everyone hire that comes along. This does not mean a radical shift but rather to see how far we can move towards it given the funding that we do have.

Secondly the strategic plan needs to change slightly to accommodate a new understanding of hybridity and its relationship to what artists and audiences are looking for. Our program actually reflects it more than what is written in the document, but we also do not have enough of a focus on some core principles that I have outlined throughout the blog.

This adjustment to the program does not as I say radically change the direction, or vision but rather looks at them from a different direction. I am hoping that this refocus will actually help us define our work and our direction in the immediate future.

It might even give us a stronger position from which to go looking for sponsorship, and other support.

What is Hybridity

This is a fundamental part of what a space new and different from typical arts centres, particularly those presenting more traditional forms of work than CarriageWorks was designed for. For me Hybrid work is that which looks to engage audiences in a new way with the works presented.

So there is a different relationship between Arts, Audience and the Space.

The space might be a driving force for the creation of the work; or the audiences might interact in a new way - a way that is not just sitting in a darkened theatre on the receiving end of the performance; and the art may be non-traditional. However I do not think it has to be non-traditional. But if you think of the three elements (Arts, Audience and Space) as being an interrelated triangle then at the work has to be effected by the others. So you could present an orchestra for example, but the audience might sing with them; or the leader might have specific reason to work in the space.

Hybrid is therefore different from inter-disciplinary work, because that type of contemporary practice is bring different types of arts/practice together while hybridity must involve the audience and has a relationship to the space.

What is it that makes a new space for the arts?

What makes any space like CarriageWorks different from a regular performing arts centre?

It might be the style of work
It might be the resident organizations
It might be where the space is located – often in an area thought of as “bad”, given over to artists because people thought they would accept it and survive. Then they flourish and draw community and activity to them – the space and the artists flourish and then development follows and the area changes
It might be that contemporary artists are more willing to engage with the space that the traditional – in our case those organisations drove the form that was created

The phenomenon is that of space and place. They are in areas of dereliction, subject to potential urban renewal.
Why would it be that artistic practice would drive urban renewal without government support when it does not happen by pure market intervention?

The phenomenon is not about time in Australia particularly, if it is in Europe
It is not just of our time – these sorts of spaces have existed in Australia before. La Mama, The Pram Factory, Anthill
These spaces and artists were part of a counter-culture and while giving over the space to them is low risk, continuing to fund them is in some way more risky than to more traditional art forms and organizations.

The contradiction of supported art forms having to be self-supporting.
Why is that many of these spaces are then meant to be self-supporting, when the art forms and the artists do not have large audiences; do not have support structures around them
Is it just that the traditional organizations are more capable of advocating?

Now if you want big,,,

Centquatre (104) in Paris is BIG. At least twice the size of CarriageWorks. Probably similar in size if we had developed the whole of our building. 104 is named for its address in Rue d'Aubervilles in the 19th Arrondissement in Paris. It is an old "funeral parlour'. Well all the funerals and burials were once organised from one place in Paris, hearses, horses, carriages, etc. And this was the place. The building is two buildings with a joining courtyard. They are built from the marvellous Parisian sandstone and some brick, all of which have been lovingly restored. The back building also housed the stables for the horses and hearses.

The front building has 8 studios, four of them of the size of our two rehearsal rooms, and the other four in various sizes smaller than this. This also houses the administration offices, cafe, technical studios like IT creation spaces. These studios are set down each side of a wide cobblestone courtyard which allows for a wonderfully perspective view of the rear building.

The back building has two theatres, one of 400 seats (2/3 the size of bay 17) and a 200 seat space. They are both flat floor spaces with individual small, and bare foyers. Both have a decent height, possibly 10 metres. The acoustic treatments throughout are quite dry; it felt quite similar to Bay 17. Behind the theatres are a space which will be a 250-300 cover restaurant and also a 12 metre square but intimate meeting space. There is also am amazing and beautiful "children's space" This room is open to the public each day from1550-1800; has been designed by an architect/designer who works in the educational arena. The idea is that parents and children can come there and play anytime they like. They must be there together; and sometimes artists will come and make an intervention. It is not day-care. it is colourful and fun!

The stables are sub this floor and have the marvellous feeling of being underground and the really old world is present.

Finally they have three artist living quarters which I think were off site somewhere; and also an area called Cinq which is available to the amateurs of the area to hire at 2 euros per hour.

Palais de Tokyo

Another amazing museum dedicated to contemporary art is Palais do Tokyo. It is in an old derelict, or at least that is how they want it to look, palace close to the Chaillot. Right opposite in the other half of the building is the Museum of Modern Art. The Palais is rough and ready to accommodate the wild nature of the exhibits.
This another example of where the architecture has deliberately been conceived to allow the artist maximum freedom. It looks derelict from the outside and on the inside. Exposed ducting and ceilings, rough!
The gallery on the other hand has been restored to house a wonderful collection of 20th art and design.
Both have cafes which are clearly hangouts of the cool people, the Palais de Tokyo especially, which had two, one of which was totally full!
Must find out the history of the Palais.

Paris on 21 October

On a cold and wet day in Paris I visited the Musee de quai Branly. This is the relatively new museum under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
It is dedicated to Asian-pacific, African, north American indigenous peoples. There is a section to Australian indigenous people.
The collection is really impressive, but I found the architecture quite peculiar.
The space is clearly creating another world, as you enter, and as the experience inside.
You enter via a long, curving white pathway, with low ceilings ,d walls of the size that make for an oppressive feeling.
When you come to the collection, you enter a dark world with exterior light all but removed by screening attached to the window, and lighting reserved for the exhibits.
Low ceilings again and a meandering pathway through the different cultures all add to the feeling.
While I enjoyed the work on exhibit the environment did not do it for me.
Also of interest, all the work of Australia's indigenous people were of relatively contemporary artists, mostly from the Utopia area. There
Was an amazing wall of bark paintings, all done by a living artist.
Other countries' work was all ancient, or certainly several centuries old.

Hamburg

Hamburg is a very different city from Berlin. So different that it might not be the same country.
Hamburg is wealthy, with high price designer stores abounding and lots of department stores.
The harbour city must have all its wealth from years of trading. The harbour is vibrant and hard working.
The architecture in the areas I saw was reminiscent of Paris, and then by the harbour and in the downtown area there are canals like Venice.
There is large and beautiful lake in the centre of the city and I stayed in a hotel right opposite.
The Hamburg Kunsthalle has an amazing 20th century collection.
A entirely new city, Hafencity, is being built on the harbour, with a huge new concert hall.
It was cold, cold bit the second day it was sunny and cheery.