TASKS

Programming & Touring

• Maintaining gallery archive: Inputting exhibition materials and media coverage regarding the 23 Days at Sea Residency into Access’ archives
• Research on potential touring sites: Conducting research on potential international art galleries/spaces for the summational touring exhibition for the 23 Days at Sea residency
• Research on potential contributors to the summational publication for the 23 Days at Sea residency program

Auction Fundraiser

• Writing artist bios: Performing research on the 25 artists/writers/thinkers who contributed to the “Message in a Bottle” feature and summarizing information into short artist bios to accompany the work during the auction
• Research on artist connections: Searching archives to find artists contributing work to the auction who have previously exhibited at Access, compiling this information into a document
• Creating artwork labels: Using Adobe Illustrator to create labels indicating the artist, title, and medium for the works up for auction
• Preparation of materials for auction night and restoring post-auction: Preparing supplies (glassware, liquor, clipboards, plinths, ice coolers, etc) for set up and making decorations, then moving supplies and artwork back into storage post-auction
• Managing coat check during the auction
• Following up with winning bidders: Conducting phone calls to follow up with winning bidders of artwork that had to be picked up
• Wrapping artwork post-auction to be ready for storage/transportation
• Assembling post-auction mail: Sending out thank you notes/tax receipts to artists who contributed to the auction

Administrative/Miscellaneous

• Gallery sitting: Opening, supervising, and closing gallery and providing information about the gallery/current exhibition to guests
• Updating membership list: Inputting names, contact information, and membership status in the member spreadsheet

I spent 4-5 hours at Access Gallery every Wednesday, initially focusing on research and archiving, eventually shifting focus to the fundraiser auction as the date became closer, then follow-up/administrative/misc tasks once the auction was over and preparation for the next exhibition began. Additional time was spent at Access during the night of the auction fundraiser on November 19 (~7-8 hrs) as well as gallery sitting during which I did research-related tasks/archiving on October 15 (5 hrs). I also spend approximately 5 hours (collectively) outside of the gallery working on my research/writing tasks.

PROGRESSION OF MY ROLE & SUMMARY

My role as the “Programming and Touring Intern” initially started out with a focus on potential programming regarding the 23 Days at Sea residency. A significant aspect of my role was dependent on organizational skills as well as research & writing skills, something that is both a pre-existing and continually developing skill of mine as I utilize it throughout my academics. Although my role did eventually somewhat shift as time went on, being able to effectively research and organize information remained quite constant. Through doing research in the context of my experience at Access, it reminded me of the recurrent nature of art—the way we rely and build upon the past and how it shapes the current contemporary trajectory.

As the date of their annual auction fundraiser loomed closer, I eventually shifted focus to assisting with preparing for the event, event production, and support the night of. Being their biggest event of the year, with this year being particularly significant as it marked Access’ 25th birthday, this became the priority. Even after the night of the event, there were follow-up tasks that needed to be done to wrap up the auction and move forward with the installation of the following exhibition. I consider myself a very adaptable and flexible person, so I was happy to provide support in any way that was needed. I think adaptability is an inevitable aspect of being a part of an artistic community in a contemporary context. The auction ended with extreme success, and I found great joy that I had a role in this, as well as Access’ future presence as a an artist-run centre in Vancouver.

My overall experience at Access was extremely insightful. I learned a lot about the functioning of an artist-run centre and self-initiated nature of a smaller organization like Access. Their mandate is something that resonates with me, so it was meaningful that I was able to contribute to something that I personally support. It was interesting to gain insight on the administrative and behind-the-scenes aspect of an artist-run centre, with many seemingly little, tedious tasks that are ultimately so collectively vital for the operation of the space. Witnessing the amount of work put forth by Kim, her curatorial assistant Jenn, and the Board of Directors, and seeing my (as well as Natasha’s) position relative in this system of functioning, fundamentally to support a space and platform for art, was very eye-opening. I have previously considered getting involved in working within some type of art space in the future, and my experience with Access has further enticed my interest in this direction. Access’ particular focus on emerging artists/practices prompted me to consider my own potential presence as an artist in a community as well. Ultimately, the understanding and knowledge I have gained as a product of my time with Access has become invaluable to me.

RESUME

Intern, September 2016 – December 2016

Access Gallery, Vancouver, BC

Conducted and disseminated research on artists and art spaces for future programming

Assisted in event production for the annual auction fundraiser including set up of materials and administering coat check

Maintained, organized, and updated gallery archive and membership list

During our placement with Access Gallery, a large portion of our work was focused on assisting with the preparation, production, and conclusion of XXV: Access Gallery Annual Auction Fundraiser. The auction held particular significance this year as it marked Access’ 25th birthday. In addition to the 60+ works donated by emerging artists, a highlight of XXV was “Message in a Bottle,” a collection of 25 glass bottles containing a contribution from a variety of artists, writers, and thinkers. They considered the question: “With only the slightest of space in which to communicate, what is the message you’d most want to send?” Each bottle contained a unique, interpretive response to this question, the identity of the creator only to be revealed upon breaking the seal of the bottle. This special feature of XXV alluded to Access’ Twenty-Three Days at Sea residency program, playing on the notion of bodies of water and ideas navigating through them. For our creative response, we created a “message in a bottle” of our own that pays tribute to our time with Access and also to the auction specifically. The bottle contains a miniature version of party tassels (decorations) that we made in a larger scale for the auction night. XXV was significant to us because it gave us first-hand insight into the work and dedication that goes into such an event. Beyond our involvement, simply being at the auction and witnessing the community that gathered to support Access, Vancouver’s artistic community, and artist-run culture was inspiring and meaningful.

Access Gallery Internship

My role as intern at Access was characterised primarily in my assistance with preparing for their annual auction fundraiser which took place this year on Nov 19. There is an incredible amount of collective preparation required to ensure the success of this kind of event and my help was needed in tending to a variety of communications oriented tasks.

These include:

Digital Communications: development and continual upkeep of Access’s XXV Auction website (insert link)

• Collating and publishing fundraiser promotional material (ie: details of work on auction, value of work, artist bios, images of the work). This information was gathered from artists and organized in shared google doc files that myself and other administrative members worked from.
• Updating the website with all information/images required weekly communication between admin and myself as artist’s gradually provided all content necessary to publish them online.
• The auction website was generated through Tumblr which I was well equipped at navigating through previous use.
• I was occasionally required to use Photoshop and Illustrator to prepare/edit images for the website as well.

Manual Communication:

• A lot of physical communications via mail needed to be tended to during my internship. I found this a humorous but necessary part of my responsibilities in that physical mail is somewhat of a rarity these days, but the physical tediousness of it is actually quite effective in sending a more personal extension of gratitude from the gallery .
• Personal Invites were written and sent out to the artist’s who contributed prior to the auction.
• Individual tax receipts and Thank-You’s were then sent out again post-auction.

Preview + Auction Night

• My role during the actual evening of the auction as well as the preview night prior was setting up and hosting the bar throughout the evening.
• Liquor inventory was brought up from storage as well as glasses, ice buckets, tablecloths etc to ensure the bar ran gracefully.
• I have extensive experience as a server in the food and beverage industry so I found myself well suited in this role and being able to interact with guests.
• I enjoyed immensely the social aspect of the auction night and had a wonderful time throwing the party alongside board members + volunteers and being in the company all the incredible people who attended.
• Even cleaning wine glasses and helping with the takedown of the event was strangely enjoyable because of the jovial atmosphere of the evening.

Misc tasks:

• Moving and organizing artworks for install and storage.
• Wrapping and labeling works post-auction
• De-installation: patching walls, peeling vinyl
• Assembling auction supplies: plinths, clipboards, labels, alcohol, drink tickets, glassware, making decorations!
• Membership updates (in spreadsheet)
• Writing tax receipts for artists who donated work.

Breakdown of Hours:

-My involvement at Access required me to spend approx. 5 hrs every Wednesday in the gallery, with additional hours being allotted for the Preview and Auction Nights which took place on Nov 15th & 19^th.

-Within the 5 hr span at the gallery I was typically presented with a constellation of different tasks of which to tend to. The first of these was usually doing my habitual update of the website. The other portion of my time went towards a variety of things that changed depending on what part of the timeline we were on regarding the auction.

My involvement at Access ultimately supported the success of this year’s Auction fundraiser and the future funding of the gallery’s experimental programming and support of emergent art practices.

Before my partnership at Access I really had no idea what ‘Arts Admin’ actually entailed. There is so much tedious and attentive work that is required in organising the dissemination of art to an audience, especially in the context of an Artist Run Centre where you are dealing with board members, perpetual grant writing, annual fundraising and so much volunteer contribution from your staff, artists and the general community. So many spreadsheets, emails, phone calls, and physical labour combust in the background of a gallery in order to provide that sacred space where art can live and be considered. I think I found myself overwhelmed by the scope of this all during my time at Access, not in that these tasks for organizing were difficult for me to contribute and help with, but I definitely understand clearly now that my energy and passion is better suited and finds continuous renewal in the actual making of art/exhibtion.  I think I found myself a bit internally frustrated in being a creative person and not being able to have that much authorship over the project I was helping support. I think what Access is and does is so so great and I learned a lot through observation at my time here but I realized I’m most suited to looser creative formations and collective engagements.

Resume:

Access Gallery, Vancouver BC

Communications Intern Sept-Dec 2016

Key assisting role in general arts administration for the gallery, working primarily in the support of Access’s 25th Anniversary Annual Auction Fundraiser.

-Tasks included auction website development and habitual editing and publishing of content + images.

-Key assistance in fundraising preparation: organising guest invitations, gallery installation, event support and bar hosting.

-Administrative support post-fundraiser: deinstallation, organizing and labelling of works for pick up, sending of tax receipts to donors.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/114w0ma68qHDuHNNdkiPmghudr8qo0DCJhEvPSEi28bE/edit?usp=sharing

Link to Access Gallery Handout

My partnership with Access Gallery will mainly focus on conducting research surrounding the 23 Days at Sea Residency and the resulting exhibition. As the residency is a three year initiative, the plan is to have a culminating exhibition that will potentially tour across various locations in Canada, the USA, Europe, Asia, and Australia. My main task, working alongside director/curator Kimberly Phillips, is to research potential sites in these locations for the exhibition. I am to assist in compiling a list of art spaces that would be suitable for this exhibition both physically/spatially and conceptually, i.e. critical contemporary galleries, perhaps with a specific focus on emergent art practices and artists like Access. The exhibition is potentially eligible for a grant (due November 30), and thus, establishing a concrete pitch for touring sites that align with Access’ vision and mandate is vital. I think this will provide excellent insight on how grants work. It will also allow me to learn more about art galleries and spaces on an international scope.

Another one of my main initial tasks is to update the archives, specifically relating to the recent media coverage of the 23 Days at Sea Residency. This will allow me to utilize my organizational skills while giving me experience in the methodology of archiving in an artist run centre.

My plan is to be at Access once a week, although research-related duties may be completed remotely. Kimberly is not at Access every day, but we have established a clear approach to communication/organization through email and Google Docs.

As the date of their Annual Auction Fundraiser approaches (November 19), their biggest event, I will also provide support when needed.

The main thing I will be focusing on in the first portion of my time at Access will be their Annual Auction Fundraiser. This is one of the gallery’s biggest events and their most important fundraiser of the year. It’s Access’ 25th anniversary this year and the auction will feature donated works by nearly 70 established and emerging artists, all of which will be displayed at the gallery between Nov 14-19th, with the main Auction event taking place on the evening of the 19th. I will have varying roles of assistance in the extensive preparation required to organize this event, as well as being present and providing support the night of the main event. I will primarily working alongside Access’ Kimberly Phillips as well as her assistant Jennifer Dickieson, maintaining communication via e-mail but also through working in tandem at the gallery office.

Some of the tasks discussed include:

-Helping in the development of the auction website (I’ve already begun inputting artist’s works/bios to advertise who will be participating in the auction)

http://accessauction.tumblr.com/

-Photographing artist works as they arrive at the gallery in the coming weeks.

-Helping in properly storing and labelling all artist work’s in Access storage space.

-Assisting Kimberly in writing/sending personal invites for the auction

-Exhibition installation. This will mean organizing and consolidating all works based on Kimberly’s curation layout, as well as helping with basic installation needs such as painting

-The night of the event I will likely be assisting with the bar and providing assistance with auction inquiries

These are details discussed in my first week with Access but other needs will likely come up organically as the project develops!

My current schedule to see out the project will involve working in the gallery office once a week for approx 3-5 hours. Closer to the event I can expect increased involvement and participation at the gallery. Some technical work (ie: website upkeep) can be done on my own time outside the office if I see fit.