Recent Interviews

Picture: An OSN steering group meeting at Doncaster

How long have you been involved in SEOS?
Five years ago I received an Arts Council Newsletter which advertised a committee post on SEOS. The Publicity Officer was looking for an assistant. I joined the committee and spent three years on it. In the last year I was also appointed the representative for SEOS with the Open Studio Network (OSN for short), so quite a while.

Have you ever shown with SEOS?
Ah, no I haven’t! Mainly because of constraints on my time. At the beginning I was finishing a BA and then I set up a workshop-studio at home which as it was done on a shoestring took a long time (still awaiting finishing touches!). Now I am in the final year of a Fine Art MA.
I do feel positively about showing with SEOS though. I am looking forward to revisiting my earlier textile interests when I’ve completed the MA and may well show then.

What is your current practice then?
My MA studies have been very theory based which makes you examine your core concerns very closely.  For me, it’s been learning about ways of thinking.
This has broadened my practice and my present project is expressed through the moving image.  I describe that way, rather than ‘film’, because the work is abstract - it has no narrative and deals with Mortality and the passing of the present moment.  I am on the last stretch; our degree show is in September.

So even though you are so busy elsewhere you are still involved in the OSN?
Yes I am. When I took on the OSN representative post OSN was a brand new venture. A conference had been held in Sheffield to ascertain the viability of starting a network. Since then a funding group has accessed funding and the process to formalise OSN has reached the stage where it is now a limited company.
The launch conference at Warwick University in Coventry will be held this April. There are around 100 Open Studio events in England and we are hoping the majority will attend.
Open Studio organisations tend to have developed organically, and vary in size from local neighbourhoods to whole counties, like SEOS.  Not surprisingly, there’s no single template to refer.  But put them together and there is a massive resource of knowledge and experience within these organisations that can be shared.  The main aim of this conference will be to ensure that the network is tailored to meet the needs of Open Studios themselves. 

So SEOS was part of the original working group?
Yes.  At the moment, the steering group represents areas from Northumbria, the Midlands, the South West and the South East.  Quite a select group in one respect, but covering a full geographic spread.
I am really looking forward to seeing Open Studio organisations being able to access advice and information on administrative, legal and funding matters very soon. We are very hopeful that through OSN any new Open Studios will no longer feel they have to re-invent the wheel!


Many thanks to Helen for her time.

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