Sunday, October 17, 2010

Arts Exchange

At the Artrageous Art Extravaganza art auction, Sunday October 3rd 2010, Laura Martier, executive director of Dare County Arts Council, gave her public endorsement of our plans to make real arts contacts with our American twin town:

“We have some guests from Bideford England, Sadie and Dave Green. They're our guests of honour tonight and what happens with our guests of honour? We will just make them work. They've been working for us all weekend, working for us on First Friday and working with us tonight. And Bideford is our twin town in England so we're working on some cultural arts exchanges with the artists in Bideford and with the artists in Dare County, so hopefully we'll all get a trip to England out of it; so let me know if you want to get involved in that one!” - Laura Martier

Dare County Arts Council are very enthusiastic about undertaking some arts activity with artists in Bideford. Dave and I have had 2 very positive and productive meetings now. Laura Martier and Fay Davis Edwards are keen to work with Bideford Bay Creatives on a postcard project as a way of introducing the arts community to each other and also for the local community in both Manteo and Bideford to learn a little about the other town, through the arts. We have had it confirmed now that we are to have an exhibition of artist-made cards from both Manteo and Bideford (these will be made by artists from both towns who will make a duplicate one and send it to the other town) at the Arts Council's gallery at the beginning of June 2011 and the opening of it will coincide with the First Friday event in June, on June 3rd. At the same time Bideford Bay Creatives will stage an exhibition of postcards from Manteo and Bideford artists at Appledore Visual Arts Festival in June 2011. Both towns will also be working with an elementary/primary school and so children will also make and exchange postcards and have them exhibited.

We made email contact in Bideford with Ben and Kathryn (above) at Silver Bonsai Gallery and we have seen them a few times in Manteo. They are both excited about the possibility of an exchange programme and are really keen to get something going, possibly with using a building they have on site that, although isn't ready right now, could possibly be a studio space for a visiting artist. That sounds great, I need to see the space but could be perfect! Ben and Kat are also the right kind of characters to make things happen and I am sure we will keep in touch.

With both of these ventures I need to put some things in writing and have a plan to work to. Laura at the arts council has suggested we have a 3-year plan with the vision for the bigger picture as well as stages that can be achieved along the way. The postcard project being the first stage. This is something I can work on before we leave.

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