Anna Francis will be talking with Ania Bas, collaborative artist and developer of art projects. The conversation will develop over the month – so be sure to check back periodically to see how it goes.

THE CONVERSATION

AF: Your work really involves people and places, so I was wondering what your experience might be in terms of creating dialogues with the public, and how you might go about instigating that and in particular how location might have an impact on how well those go – and also if in your experience places have people types in anyway, if you see what I mean…

AB: yes, I predominantly work within ‘real places’ and with ‘everyday people’. I like exposing art and art processes to environments where art is vulnerable.

I enjoy working in the markets a lot  – ideal space for exchange and communication (this is something that I like seeing happening a bit more between people). Markets are amazing spaces within towns, one of the very few spaces in my opinion that are still chain shops-free, specialised and relying on returning customers as well as good relationships between people.
I like becoming a sales person, selling something people would normally not consider buying i.e. language (Special Offer project) Or providing free services that people would never consider getting from a stranger i.e. pat on the back or a shoulder to cry on. (Performance Market, Plymouth).

Both projects were prepared for market environments and came out as a result of the research in these spaces, so i wasn’t parachuting my ideas on the space, i worked with the space, or at least i hoped i did.
Markets are great because people who go there are in the ’shopping mood’ and they are more approachable, they are already searching for something, they are easier to stop and give few minutes of their time to something weird, new, different. I definitely take advantage of it.

I took once Special Offer project to the restaurant – it was a disaster, no one wanted to buy or sell language, people wanted to buy food. The only people who bought languages where arty people, who knew about the project and came to specially see it. This toughed me a lot. There is this push to sustain your practise, to i.e. ‘tour’ your work but I have learnt that I rely too much on the context and it is not suitable to uproot the work from the location and simply take it places.

Another [of the] spaces I am going to work with next is cafes. I have already had an extensive experience of serving tea and home made cake as part of one of my previous projects. But I do not think I have exhausted the subject yet. So cafes are next! And I think it links again to markets as cafes are also spaces where exchange and communication takes place.

I was wondering if you have an experience of ‘touring’, taking work developed in one location to another and what experiences were like. I am not sure if sustainability within arts practice is something you wish to discuss as part of this conversation, but I think it is part of the city landscape too.

AF: I think it is an interesting point to make that a work made in one place cannot necessarily be transplanted and recreated in another context. It is not always appropriate, and cannot always work. I find, like you, that an approach which responds to a particular site can work very well and a lot of what I do comes from a direct research activity on the given site. It would not be appropriate to transplant that work to a new place or situation. (Funny really as this point is something being discussed in the conversation with Rich White, and is in line with his approach too.) I have on occasion made work which is designed to be translated to another place – the art building exchange between AirSpace Gallery Stoke-on-Trent and Window 204 Bristol involved explorations of sites which were then swapped over and exhibited in the other place – but that was always the intention. So not exactly what you are asking about. The project ‘There is Beauty in the City’ started in one place, and was a personal thing – I would walk around and place my little magnet signs wherever something of interest or beauty could be found. This project has grown over the years into a participatory project – people from all over the world have requested the magnet, and placed it in a spot in their city. This then is a project which allows the specific location to change – it can really be transplanted anywhere – it allows the participant to reframe and look at a site differently. I like the diplomacy of it – and feel it is forming some kind of consensus on the beauty to be found in cities.

I like the idea of bringing cake and tea into practice – and I try to involve cake in life as much a spossible – but seriously, it offers a point of exchange, which is also, I believe, important when making dialogical works. I think cafes could be  great locations to explore – particularly as we lose more and more of our greasy spoons to swanky coffee shops charging £2.20 for a coffee. It is another example of the homogenisation of the high street you mentioned before.

When you mention sustainability Ania, what is it in particular you are thinking of? You have asked this for a reason, so, is it something that you are concerned with at the moment?

AB: I am aware of your ‘There is Beauty in the City’ project. And I think there is a bit of connection between it and the project I worked on in Five Ways in Birmingham a while ago. But Framedalism was framing places of potential or real vandalism of places and people. Five ways was a very depressing place by night and quite a lively spot by day despite majority of shops being closed down.

I placed frames around this site and they all were taken away/stolen/smashed/removed within 24 hours. It was a moment when i discovered for myself that i do not mind the work having so short life. I actually from this moment onwards started creating more work that has very short best before date. I started enjoying making ephemeral pieces that survive only thanks to memory (and documentation!).

So yes, cafes next – can’t imagine anything having shorter best before date as hot cup of coffee and a piece of cake – best enjoyed fresh, best enjoyed now. And as you said it is a brilliant starting point for a dialogue. There is something very comforting in hot drinks and sweet foods. I am still exploring the ways I am going to engage within this context and it looks like i will pursue the idea to become an art waitress in residence in a cafe that does not have this sort of service. And oh yes, i aim for a cafe that does not charge 2,20 for a coffee.

I have asked you about sustainability as it’s been a key word for a while now and I am observing how it is affecting arts projects, ways of disseminating the work. I think that i.e. pushing site-specific/context-specific/live work to go on ‘tour’ is part of this ’sustainable thinking’ as well as looking into introducing site/context/live work to a commercial market, looking for ways to sell it, enter high street enviornment as another product for sale rather then something that makes you think/explore/challenge/reflect on etc.

Sustainability is a big question for cities too, and homogenisation of the city scape is definitely not helping to achieve it.

AF: So in a way, you are talking about art as a commodity, like any other? It is interesting – what will separate you as an art waitress from any other waitress. This is something I sometimes wonder within my own work – If my practice takes the form of doing a job (city tour guide) what is the difference between me and a tour guide – I am not sure of the answer, but I think it is something to do with intention.

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TALKING CITY is Anna Francis’ Longhouse Guest Editor project, for March 2010.

Click here to go to the project page.