24th February 2007
The ARTS Open WORK Space


Janey Hunt: Welcome to Transition Town Totnes ARTS Open (WORK) Space day. I am one of the facilitators of the Arts Group along with Stormsmith Nomi.

Nomi Stormsmith: We’ve had a few meetings now talking about the idea of TTT and our various Arts practices and what we could contribute. The range of ideas has been terrific:

• New Tradition/Celebration – (will be working with the Heart and Soul Group)
• Creative Hub (TTT @ Red Wizard, 1st and third Monday already set up)
• Walks – relearning locality
• Youth project (link with TTT Great Story Telling project)
• PR ‘Trojan Horse’ project - to get TTT noticed
• Market Square events
• River Routes – revaluing river links
• Alternative Art School (summer)
• Communal scrap book – history in the making
• Umbrella a portable, small, responsive exhibition/performance space

JH: So today we are focussing on two areas to

• Find out what we want and the Totnes community wants from TTT Arts
• Generate projects, match people and skills and get doing…

The open Space groups that came forward:

Viv: eco-films with comedy
Improvisation, video workshop. With the aim of getting a group of people together to work on this further.

Nomi: The Big Bag Project, conversations
Nomi spoke to nearly everybody individually about her Big Bag Project. A new local industry to replace carrier bags? This could involve both a politically motivated campaign and personal creative actions such as the creation of individual shopping bags. A number of suggestions came out of these conversations.

People meeting together say once a month, in each other’s houses, bringing materials and lunch to share. Creating a bag making community which would also be a lot of fun and an opportunity for information and skills exchange.

Conversations led to suggested contacts who may be interested in being part of a small campaigning team. The Totnes Festival could provide a platform for the Big Bag Project with a bag-making workshop, perhaps linking up with Bob Stephenson’s TTT@ Totnes Festival.

Lizi: Celebration and ritual
Didn’t run

Richenda: Eco-makers
Natalie Elder and Richenda Macgregor put forward a proposal to start a groups for makers in the Totnes areas who are interested in making their practice more sustainable. Looking at how materials are sourced, the energy used during making and product distribution. They also floated the idea of a sustainable makers/craft centre.

Really encouraged by the people interested in the idea of a sustainable/environmentally aware makers centre. Knowing where the product was made, who made it, how and what it was made with, where the materials where sourced. Good marketing ideas/systems to promote this.

Dartington Cider Press is an established though failing business and could be a useful link-up. Funding from business-start-up schemes would preclude links with established businesses.

Other possible buildings could be industrial estate, Brook House, Watermill on Dartington Road.

Idea for future environmentally aware makers livelihood: Train from the South-west taking makers to London, picking up makers along the way.

Send out questionnaire to makers and creative individuals to generate interest; organise next meeting of people interested.

Michael Rose: conversations
A sub-group suggested looking at the philosophy behind sustainable artist/designer activity. Possible exhibition of sustainable craft at the Totnes Festival.

Janey Hunt: Umbrella
Display of a proposed portable, responsive , collective arts exhibition and perforamce space emcompassing visuals, films, theatre, comedy, music, spoken and written word and play. Anyone who wishes to participate is invited to submit images of their work (size and material) or propasal for use. Umbrella will be curated by Janey Hunt

Summing up the day
What did people get from it?

Thanks for the day, some good contacts to take the eco filmmaking forward.
The energy today seemed a little flat, but thanks to Janey and Nomi. I like doing things…
I feel very energised, partly because I took part in Viv’s group, which catapulted the rest of the day.
Hearing people talk – I learn so much just by listening, communicating and networking and solutions will come out.
Great to have talked to most of you. It seems like a philosophy of sustainability is coming out here, very rewarding and inspiring.
Glad to meet some like-minded people.
This day has worked out differently from other OS days, but still very satisfying, a day of results.
Talking to people through ideas. Thanks to everyone for coming together, as disparate artists and contributing together.
I appreciate the networking element with like-minded people. The support is essential.

Where do we go from here:

Practioners forum: Practitioners from different disciplines get together and people take turns focalising and offering activities.
Big Bag Project suggested that it meets one Sunday a month
Specific days with targeted project activity
Still feel we need to meet together to allow other things to happen and other people to come forward
Groups take a while to develop. More open space days, use smaller venues.
Asking people to bring food to share rather than food to buy
Evening meetings

• Craft group (Richenda MacGregor, chendie@hotmail.com)

• Documentary film making – to communicate with comedy (Viv Goodings, vivgoodings@hotmail.com)

• Totnes festival participation (Bob Stephenson, totnesbob@yahoo.co.uk) Proposal for T.T.T. @ Totnes arts festival in September. Bob needs help to organize this, please contact him.

• The Big Bag Project – (Stormsmith Nomi, s.nomi@dartington.ac.uk)

• Umbrella – (Janey Hunt, janeyhunt@excite.com) portable, responsive collective arts exhibition and performance space encompassing visuals, film, theatre, comedy, music, spoken & written word & play. Submissions by images of work or proposal for use.