Method Conversations 1

Cornford & Cross, ‘The Abolition of Work’, Exchange gallery, Penzance 2007 – Artists’ fee and production budget in one penny coins laid on gallery floor

At the kick-off event for Method, an artist/practitioner leadership development scheme supported by the Cultural Leadership Programme, we sought to give our participants space to investigate their ideas about and goals for leadership in their practice.  David Cross and Paul Heritage addressed the topic with examples from their careers followed by a discussion with the Method cohort.  David Cross questions the meaning and circumstances of leadership and how it is affected by institutions.  Paul Heritage, Artistic Director of People’s Palace Projects, through his work in Brazilian favelas, discusses artists’ role in a society where leadership and violence are intimately linked.  Listen in on the debate:

‘We ought to take back some of the power which, by default, we give over to people who purport to lead us.  Let us not lead – let us instead seize some autonomy and share it in a way which is not fixed and settled or structured, but which is continually being remade and open.’

–David Cross

‘…if you have no structures in young people’s lives, you have to have an art work that’s structured, that’s one of the things we have to be responsible for.  If we are going to make art with people whose lives are fragmented and have been destroyed…whatever those structures may be that we make …we have to be clear about them, that’s part of our responsibility, working within those communities, whether it’s in prisons or in favelas.’

–Paul Heritage (on his experience in Brazil)

Click here for discussion with David Cross. (11:35)

Click here for discussion with Paul Heritage.  (16:36)

Click here for Q&A with Method cohort, Tim Eastop moderates. (35:13)

A workshop with AfroReggae, a Brazilian organisation working in partnership with People’s Palace Projects

Artists and leadership

Cornford & Cross, ‘The Abolition of Work’, Exchange gallery, Penzance 2007 – Artists’ fee and production budget in one penny coins laid on gallery floor

At the kick-off event for Method, an ‘artist-practitioner leadership development scheme’ supported by the Cultural Leadership Programme, we sought to give our participants space to investigate their ideas about and goals for leadership in their practice.  David Cross and Paul Heritage addressed the topic with examples from their careers followed by a discussion with the Method cohort.  David  Cross questions the meaning and circumstances of leadership and how it is affected by institutions.  Paul Heritage, Artistic Director of People’s Palace Projects, through his work in Brazilian favelas, discusses artists’ role in a society where leadership and violence are intimately linked.  Listen in on the debate here.

‘We ought to take back some of the power which, by default, we give over to people who purport to lead us.  Let us not lead – let us instead seize some autonomy and share it in a way which is not fixed and settled or structured, but which is continually being remade and open.’
– David Cross

 

David_Cross.mp3

‘…if you have no structures in young people’s lives, you have to have an art work that’s structured, that’s one of the things we have to be responsible for.  If we are going to make art with people whose lives are fragmented and have been destroyed…whatever those structures may be that we make …we have to be clear about them, that’s part of our responsibility, working within those communities, whether it’s in prisons or in favelas.’
– Paul Heritage (on his experience in Brazil)

Paul_Heritage.mp3

And, if you want more, here are the Q&As that followed with the project’s cohort, as moderated by Tim Eastop.

Cross_Heritage_QA.mp3

 

Method – launch event

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Yesterday we convened the first event of Method, our pilot initiative exploring what leadership means, and how it might be developed, among artists and practitioners. A exciting mix of 20 creatives, drawn from across the country, and working across a range of disciplines, gathered at Chelsea School of Art & Design to meet each other, find out about and get to grips with the programme.

It was a day stuffed with content, kicking off with a provocative address from Chris Wainwright (artist and Head of Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon Colleges of Art, as part of University of the Arts). Each cohort member introduced themselves with an image of ‘where they work from’; in the afternoon we explored Action Learning and how it might be used as a group-based development tool.

Throughout the day the ‘L’ word loomed large: what does ‘leadership’ mean, and what can it be made to mean, from the point of view of an independent artist/practitioner, working outside of organisations?
Can the term be customised – or should it be contested? What meaning does it have outside of hierarchies and institutions? A lively debate began between us that we’re hoping to flesh out, map and offer a dynamic set of insights into, as each Method participant goes on their journey between now and mid September.

We concluded in the evening with presentations from David Cross, one half of public/installation artist duo Cornford + Cross, and Paul Heritage, Artistic Director of People’s Palace Projects. Their exchange on what leadership means in an artistic context became elcitrifying, touching on activism, mutability, provocation and why, perhaps, would-be artist leaders in the UK might have much to learn from young Brazilian cultural ‘warriors’…..

We’ll be loading up this site shortly with more infomation about Method and its people. The programme now moves forward over the next 4 months, offering one-to-one coaching sessions, mentorships and ongoing support from our core team, and well as (we hope) harnessing the collective insights of the cohort to enable collaborative learning and peer-to-peer support.