On Sat 17 September, members from the Creative Stars Curation and Documentation teams visited their first artist studio in Manchester! Here’s Mike’s account of the visit:
We visited the Suite Studio group in Salford and the art there was diverse and unique. The Curation Team and me the Documenter were introduced to some of the artists on arrival and were warmly greeted in from the rain with hot drinks and biscuits! Soon after the refreshments though, it was time to view the artists’ studios. Throughout the day, we met six artists and saw their work. We saw a plethora of different kinds of art including sculptures, paintings, models, audio recordings, sketches and photography. Also evident was the different sizes and styles of the artist’s studios. There was also a nice little dog who pottered around with a little tennis ball.
The atmosphere of the day, despite being laid back and rather relaxed, was still met rather tentatively by the Creative Stars as this was their first venture out to a studio, but after listening to, and interrogating the first artist (in a good way), the curators seemed to become more at ease for the next five. I followed the curators, as I was the documenter, and took note of both what the curators were doing and also the art that was on show, I also did a few mini vox pops with some of the artists, asking them about their work and asking them to reiterate on some of the questions the curators had asked them earlier on in the day.
I think, for a first visit, the curators did a good job in their task, and the friendly and homely atmosphere that the artists of the studio created for us was ideal for such a daunting day out for the Creative Stars. The day gave the curators a lot to think about, and with bigger and much more overwhelming studios on the horizon, the Suite Studio was a beneficial experience for the curation and documentation teams.
Written by Creative Star, Mike Nickson (September 2011)