I met with Kimberly Phillips (Access Gallery) and Barbara Cole (Other Sights) on Tuesday, September 27. Some of the tasks they have in mind are:

• Update the website for The Foreshore project
• Help with research related to the project
• Attend the weekly/bi-weekly Tuesday meetings (4-6pm) for Other Sights
• Assist with events (typically on Tuesdays, after their regularly scheduled meeting)

The tasks are broad and aside from the weekly meetings, there are no set office hours or long-term scheduled work. Rather, they would like to have this position adapt and grow as the weeks progress. A such, they don’t have many set duties for me yet. (This suits me just fine, as I prefer the challenge inherent in remaining flexible and changing to the needs of each project.) Consequently, a detailed project schedule is not available; however, I will be checking in with Barbara and Kimberly, as well as other members of Other Sights at their meetings and giving email updates weekly/bi-weekly to receive feedback and maintain a clear line of communication with everyone involved.

I believe that my tasks will function to serve the emerging series of workshops, talks, and events for The Foreshore project as it evolves and becomes part of the large roster of public projects by Other Sights. This falls in line with my own personal objectives quite well. More than any technical skill set, what I really want to learn is what is happening in the discourses around public art, site-specific art, and public space. What does it mean to create works on contested land? How do artists address issues of property, environment, and history? What are the surface tensions inherent in the making of public work? How do they function with architecture, land, and identity and how do we begin discussing these ideas in terms of both local and globalizing questions of being? These are some of the thoughts that I hope to work through as I progress through this partnership.

As this project moves forward, I will be continuing my personal readings and research on public art, as well as adding to them with research related to their own interests which include environmental sustainability, non-art professionals and scholars addressing issues of public space, and other related topics.