In the summer of 2008, Jason E Bowman, Curator of the Temporary Exhibitions Program at The Public gallery, West Bromwich commissioned me to assist him with the collation of materials relating to The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes, a performance art collective active between 1974-1981. It was Bowman’s intention to republish Elements of Performance Art, a seminal, out-of-print collection of exercises by Anthony Howell and Fiona Templeton, and to curate a retrospective of The Theatre of Mistakes’ practice in April 2009.

Proboscis is currently hosting three Diffusion residents:

• Alex Murdoch, founder and director of theatre company Cartoon de Salvo who is developing a series of eBooks re-presenting Hard-Hearted Hannah, a long-form improvisation show that toured for 53 performances in 2008. 
• Stewart Home, artist and writer, who is re-publishing out of print texts and new pieces.
• Marie-Anne Mancio writer and curator, who is creating an ‘encyclopedia’ of eBooks about 1970s experimental performance artists, The Theatre of Mistakes. 

Follow their publications in the Residencies Series.

Matt Huynh is a comic creator and illustrator based in Sydney, Australia. In August 2008 he visited London for a Diffusion residency at our studio in Clerkenwell. Matt worked on two Diffusion projects whilst on the residency; in his own words, “The eBook is a format developed for easy, viral distribution, so my challenge was to take it in the other direction to create a unique version of the eBook that would be difficult to reproduce and mass distribute.” The first project resulted in a single unique work adapted from the eBook folding format. Matt’s eBook, Anytime, contains an artist’s statement about the work and his process.

The second project, insideout, used the eBook as the format to create and distribute a free comic – “a playful 27 page comic-booklet about the contradictions of affection (with ghosts).”

“When it came to developing the ‘eBook’ format, I was inspired to reflect its encouragement of sharing creative processes and ideas in the comic book’s subject matter and style.

The comic’s aesthetic is almost completely created with soft pencils. In commercial comics processes, the penciling stage is one of the initial processes in creating a work’s visual aesthetic. Here, I’ve chosen pencils, sometimes with my construction lines even peeping through, as the final aesthetic to capture and showcase this project’s ambition to share process.

It was with the transparency of process at the forefront of my mind that I was inspired to have the protagonists of ‘insideout’ appear as ghosts, and it was with the aim of being open to embrace and share ideas and processes that I modeled the narrative to concern these ghosts’ conflicting attitudes towards demonstrating and receiving affection and their fear to venture outside the door of their haunted home.”

The eBooks
insideout
Anytime

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 570Kb

About : Anytime is an artist’s statement by illustrator Matt Huynh about his Diffusion Residency at Proboscis in August 2008.

Published September 2008

Matt Huynh is an artist and illustrator, and member of the artists collective Popperbox. www.matthuynh.com

Diffusion Residency with Proboscis, July 2008
Lisa Hunter
Collections Manager, Dundas Museum and Archives
Dundas, Ontario, Canada.

In my curatorial work with the Dundas Museum and Archives, I work with a local history collection, within the environment of a supportive local community, to produce exhibitions and related programming.  At the heart of my curatorial approach is the concept of storytelling, and most of my projects have been based on some form of information exchange with members of the community.  The primary goal of my residency with Proboscis was to explore ways in which I could build on the most successful aspects of these projects, and to develop additional and alternative approaches to the exchange and presentation of historical material.  Specifically, I wanted to learn how I might incorporate eBooks and StoryCubes into the work that I do at the museum, and to see how these tools might lead to new programs or projects.

The best approach for me was to begin by “jumping right in” and producing an eBook.  The technical and intellectual process of making my first eBook became a way of thinking through how I might use the eBooks (and StoryCubes) at the Dundas Museum.  Additionally, having the opportunity to speak at length with Giles, and other members of Proboscis, about the many innovative and creative ways in which the Generator has been used by others, was a very significant aspect of this residency.  Being in the studio, and being able to share ideas and to have an open exchange, was invaluable.  Further, having the opportunity to put some distance between myself and the museum allowed me to see things a bit more objectively, which is often difficult to do when you are in the thick of the day to day work.

I think the greatest benefit of this residency was that it resulted in a definite shift in my thinking about how a museum can interact with, and respond to, the community it serves.  My approach has always been to encourage dialogue between the museum and the public, but the tools for doing so in an informal yet elegant way have been missing.  Consequently, those efforts to facilitate exchange have been sporadic.  Those of us who work in smaller museums can often feel very limited in our ability to disseminate ideas, partly because of a longstanding tradition of thematically narrow, expensive and poorly distributed publishing ventures.  The Generator, conversely, allows for spontaneous, experimental, low cost initiatives that can be distributed more widely than was ever possible.  I think that our future success as a museum will depend on our ability to continue and deepen an ongoing exchange with our local community, and that the eBooks and StoryCubes are excellent tools for us in this regard.

Although the actual residency was for a one week period, I feel that my work with it is just beginning.  Not only have I spent quite a bit of time thinking about how past projects might have been enhanced or done differently with the utilization of the Generator tools, but I have also been developing a number of future initiatives, in consultation with other members of the museum staff.  While it seems that the eBooks and StoryCubes will need some time to become an automatic part of our curatorial “toolbox,” (i.e. to become a part of our organizational culture), there is a lot of enthusiasm and interest within the organization at this time.  There are currently two eBooks under development, and a plan in place to create a StoryCube set for a senior citizens’ education program in the coming weeks. Other uses are also being considered for future projects.

The residency with Proboscis was an extremely useful, thought-provoking, energizing experience, and I feel very privileged to have been invited to take part.  The new insights I gained are being shared with my colleagues at the museum, and I am hopeful that it will be the basis for a new, creative approach that will permeate our organization.  Working with Proboscis has been very inspiring, and has given me a fresh enthusiasm for pursing my curatorial goals.

The eBooks

Button Doll
Despair
Forget Me Not

This summer we have been delighted to host two international Diffusion residencies at Proboscis – one with curator Lisa Hunter from Dundas, Ontario Canada, and the other with Matt Huynh, an illustrator and cartoonist from Sydney Australia. The aim, as with our initial Case Study series last year, is to explore new uses and contexts for Diffusion (the Generator and eBook/StoryCube formats) by working closely with individuals from a wide range of practices in the studio. Sharing our experiences of Diffusion, knowledge of the formats (their potential and constraints) and tips for using the Generator, we are collaborating with the residents to realise new opportunities for creating and using Diffusion Shareables in different contexts and situations.

This year Proboscis is planning to commission a new series of Diffusion Shareables, Transformations, and to run a further programme of case studies with both UK and international participants.

The theme of the new series is Transformations – we are planning to commission 10 new titles (both eBooks and StoryCubes) which reflect on the construction of identity: how and why we are who we are. What changes or transformations have we made to become who we are, or who we wished to be? The contributors have been asked to consider the theme from either a personal or a more societal point of view. We aim to announce the list of contributors in April.

This year’s case studies are also themed around two key areas: schools/education and museums, libraries and archives. Over the next few months we will begin inviting participants from professions engaged in these areas (teachers, librarians, archivists, curators etc) to explore with us how the Diffusion ethos and tools can be harnessed to deliver innovative benefits for their communities.

The international case studies will form a key part of our forthcoming Human Echoes programme to create and share bodies of knowledge across cultures, geographies and communities about different attitudes and practices of looking after our human and social ecologies – environmental stewardship. What impact can the collection and sharing of these knowledges have, especially by people in developing countries or indigenous communities who have previously had limited access to publishing and sharing technology? Can this point to next practices in developing local dialogues around sustainability in a global setting? How can the Diffusion ethos of public authoring, cultures of listening and its hybrid digital/material tools effectively contribute to greater dialogue and understanding between global communities?

We are seeking funders/sponsors and partners for these projects – do please get in touch if you would like to support Diffusion or collaborate on the projects.

On Friday 30th November, an informal evaluation of the Diffusion Generator Case Study Residency programme took place at the Proboscis studio. Those who participated included Bev Carter, artist and community development consultant; Paul Goodwin, a writer, curator and urban researcher; Andrew Hunter, artist, writer and the Director/Curator of RENDER, University of Waterloo, Canada; Michelle Kasprzak, curator, writer, artist and the Programmes Director of New Media Scotland and finally Tony White, a writer – author of novels including Foxy-T (Faber and Faber), and the non-fiction work Another Fool in the Balkans (Cadogan). They were hosted by Karen Martin who facilitated the residency programme, Phil Ayres, an architect, programmer and lecturer at the Bartlett School of Architecture (programmer of the Generator), Giles Lane, Alice Angus, Orlagh Woods from Proboscis.

The day began with an informal look at the different approaches and processes taken by each of the participants in the residency programme, exploring and sharing how they each used the Diffusion Generator to create and publish eBooks (as well as the occasional StoryCube). These included two way communications between children in the UK and Nigeria, a way to collate research for a book creatively, as a means to document an exhibition and research programme, as a visual journey through the city, as a series of interviews with curators and as a storytelling device.

In the afternoon, several other people were invited to take part in a larger discussion to explore other ways the Generator could be used. Among our guests were Linda Doyle of Trinity College Dublin, Michael Bhaskar of Pan Macmillan, Ellie Smith and Charles Beckett of Arts Council England, London.

Some of the various ideas for future uses of the Shareables and Generator included:

• as an evaluation tool for conferences or events
• within galleries or museums as interpretation tools
• for community engagement projects
• for internal marketing within organisations
• as a brand consulting tool
• to collect conversations and feedback dialogues
• for a short story competition
• to promote emerging writers alongside mainstream first publications
• for sampling ideas
• for rapid publishing of poetry slams
• and as educational tools

A more detailed evaluation will be published as an eBook in the new year.

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 3.7Mb

Abstract : Second in a series of eBooks created by Bev Carter as part of Proboscis’ Generator Case Study Residencies. This eBook has been designed for students at the village school in Umologho to fill in, responding to questions asked about them and their lives by British schoolchildren who have previously encountered the paintings and stories of the ‘A Little Something About Me’ project. This eNotebook will, in turn, enable the children of Umologho to ask questions of British schoolchildren in a future eBook for the project, In this way we hope to establish an evolving dialogue across continents and cultures.

Published November 2007

Bev Carter has been developing an arts and communication project with students in Umologho village, Nigeria since December 2006. “I’m excited that there are many ways that the eBook can be used explore how people feel about and interpret the environment around them, using pictures and words. I like the idea that thoughts, on the run, can be captured.” Bev is finding ways to share this information between young people in Nigeria and England. Contact bevalittlesomething@hotmail.co.uk

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 3.7Mb

Abstract : The first in a series of eBooks created by Bev Carter as part of Proboscis’ Generator Case Study Residencies. This eBook contains paintings, pictures and information by the students of a local school in the village of Umologho, Imo state, Nigeria. The students were asked to write ‘a little something about me’ describing what learning meant to them, their hopes, fears, likes, dislikes etc. This eBook attempts to capture some of the richness of what they had to say and has been designed to open up a conversation with British schoolchildren, who have helped devise the questions in a second eBook to be sent out to Umologho in the new year.

Published November 2007

Bev Carter has been developing an arts and communication project with students in Umologho village, Nigeria since December 2006. “I’m excited that there are many ways that the eBook can be used explore how people feel about and interpret the environment around them, using pictures and words. I like the idea that thoughts, on the run, can be captured.” Bev is finding ways to share this information between young people in Nigeria and England. Contact bevalittlesomething@hotmail.co.uk

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 2.7Mb

About : Vanda took part in a Writing Workshop for young writers run by Proboscis in July/August 2007 as part of the Case Study Residencies. This eBook is a gothic tale of ghosts, prisoners, schoolkids and cannibalism!

Published November 2007

Vanda Rjechko is in Year 9 and lives in east London.

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 3.9Mb

About : Georgia took part in a Writing Workshop for young writers run by Proboscis in July/August 2007 as part of the Case Study Residencies. This eBook is a gothic tale of ghosts, prisoners, schoolkids and cannibalism!

Published November 2007

Georgia Hudson is in Year 9 and lives in east London.

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 196Kb

About : AyoOluwa took part in a Writing Workshop for young writers run by Proboscis in July/August 2007 as part of the Case Study Residencies. This eBook is a gothic tale of ghosts, prisoners, schoolkids and cannibalism!

Published November 2007

AyoOluwa Alao is in Year 9 and lives in east London.

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 1.7Mb

About : Part 4 of a series of eBooks containing notes and images from journals and diaries created by Alice Angus during the Artists in the Park residency in Ivvavik National Park, Yukon, July 2003.

Published November 2007

Alice Angus, co-director of Proboscis, is an artist inspired by rethinking concepts and perceptions of landscape and human relationships to the land. Over the last six years she has been creating a body of art work exploring concepts proximity and remoteness, technology and presence, against the lived experience and local knowledge of a place. In 2003, Alice was the only non-Canadian to participate in the first Artist in the Park residency in Ivvavik National Park in the Northern Yukon, organised by Parks Canada. This essay is inspired by the experience in Ivvavik and by her long term collaboration with artist and guide Joyce Majiski that began on the residency. Information on Ivvavik can be found at:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/yt/ivvavik/index_e.asp

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 1.7Mb

About : Part 3 of a series of eBooks containing notes and images from journals and diaries created by Alice Angus during the Artists in the Park residency in Ivvavik National Park, Yukon, July 2003.

Published November 2007

Alice Angus, co-director of Proboscis, is an artist inspired by rethinking concepts and perceptions of landscape and human relationships to the land. Over the last six years she has been creating a body of art work exploring concepts proximity and remoteness, technology and presence, against the lived experience and local knowledge of a place. In 2003, Alice was the only non-Canadian to participate in the first Artist in the Park residency in Ivvavik National Park in the Northern Yukon, organised by Parks Canada. This essay is inspired by the experience in Ivvavik and by her long term collaboration with artist and guide Joyce Majiski that began on the residency. Information on Ivvavik can be found at:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/yt/ivvavik/index_e.asp

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 2.8Mb

About : Part 2 of a series of eBooks containing notes and images from journals and diaries created by Alice Angus during the Artists in the Park residency in Ivvavik National Park, Yukon, July 2003.

Published November 2007

Alice Angus, co-director of Proboscis, is an artist inspired by rethinking concepts and perceptions of landscape and human relationships to the land. Over the last six years she has been creating a body of art work exploring concepts proximity and remoteness, technology and presence, against the lived experience and local knowledge of a place. In 2003, Alice was the only non-Canadian to participate in the first Artist in the Park residency in Ivvavik National Park in the Northern Yukon, organised by Parks Canada. This essay is inspired by the experience in Ivvavik and by her long term collaboration with artist and guide Joyce Majiski that began on the residency. Information on Ivvavik can be found at:
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/yt/ivvavik/index_e.asp

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 2.5Mb

About : Part 1 of a series of eBooks containing notes and images from journals and diaries created by Alice Angus during the Artists in the Park residency in Ivvavik National Park, Yukon, July 2003.

Published November 2007

Alice Angus, co-director of Proboscis, is an artist inspired by rethinking concepts and perceptions of landscape and human relationships to the land. Over the last six years she has been creating a body of art work exploring concepts proximity and remoteness, technology and presence, against the lived experience and local knowledge of a place. In 2003, Alice was the only non-Canadian to participate in the first Artist in the Park residency in Ivvavik National Park in the Northern Yukon, organised by Parks Canada. This essay is inspired by the experience in Ivvavik and by her long term collaboration with artist and guide Joyce Majiski that began on the residency. Information on Ivvavik can be found at
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/yt/ivvavik/index_e.asp

Bev Carter has been developing an arts and communication project with students in Umologho village, Nigeria since December 2006. “I’m excited that there are many ways that the eBook can be used explore how people feel about and interpret the environment around them, using pictures and words. I like the idea that thoughts, on the run, can be captured.” Bev is finding ways to share this information between young people in Nigeria and England. Contact bevalittlesomething@hotmail.co.uk

Paul Goodwin is a writer, curator and urban researcher. He is director of the Re-Visioning Black Urbanism Project based the Centre for Urban and Community Research, Goldsmiths, University of London. The project explores new modes of inhabiting, imagining and making cities from progressive black and culturally diverse perspectives by organising exhibitions, film screenings, lectures, seminars and publications. Paul is also a creative consultant for IniVA‘s (Institute for International Visual Arts) Mapping Project and a member of the Franco-British Council for whom he co-organised (with Bonnie Greer) an international symposium on the “Challenges of Cultural Diversity in the UK and France” in November, 2006. Paul is currently in the process of setting up a new strategic urban intervention office and think tank with the architect John Oduroe that will launch in London in 2008.

Andrew Hunter is the Director/Curator of RENDER, an interdisciplinary art based research, teaching, production and presentation centre at the University of Waterloo, Canada. Hunter also works as an independent artist, writer, and curator and has produced exhibitions, writings and publications for art galleries and museums across Canada, in the United States and Europe. He was a contributor to the Proboscis project Navigating History. For his Generator Case Study, Hunter will visit London in November of this year to develop a poetic, illustrated guidebook in collaboration with his 11 year old daughter Maggie.

Michelle Kasprzak is a curator, writer, and artist. Since winning the InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre Emerging Electronic Artist award early in her career, she has exhibited her work throughout North America and Europe, and has been featured in numerous publications and on radio and television broadcasts syndicated worldwide. She completed her MA in Visual and Media Arts from the Université du Québec à Montréal in spring of 2006, and later that year was awarded a curatorial research residency at the Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art (NIFCA) in Finland. She has published essays on art in CV Photo, Spacing, and Mute, and her most recent curatorial project was Otherworldly, a video programme that is currently touring urban screens around the globe. Michelle is currently based in Edinburgh, and is the Programmes Director of New Media Scotland. michelle.kasprzak.ca, www.mediascot.org, www.curating.info

Tony White is a writer. He is the author of novels including Foxy-T (Faber and Faber), and the non-fiction work Another Fool in the Balkans (Cadogan). Editor and co-editor of the fiction anthologies Britpulp (Sceptre) and Croatian Nights (Serpent’s Tail/VBZ). Tony White has edited and published the artists’ book imprint Piece of Paper Press since 1994 and contributed to numerous magazines and journals – he is also literary editor of the Idler magazine. Tony is currently working on another novel and undertaking research into creative writing in interdisciplinary and research contexts which is supported by Arts Council England through Grants for the Arts.

As part of the Case Study Residencies, Proboscis ran a writing workshop for 4 teenagers – Ayalouwa, Georgia, Eloise and Vanda – over 4 days in July and August.

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 340Kb

About : Eloise took part in a Writing Workshop for young writers run by Proboscis in July/August 2007. This eBook is part two of a gothic tale of ghosts, prisoners, schoolkids and cannibalism!

Published October 2007

Eloise Mitchell is studying for her GCSEs and lives in Cambridgeshire.

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 296Kb

About : Eloise took part in a Writing Workshop for young writers run by Proboscis in July/August 2007. This eBook is part one of a gothic tale of ghosts, prisoners, schoolkids and cannibalism!

Published October 2007

Eloise Mitchell is studying for her GCSEs and lives in Cambridgeshire.

During 2007 Proboscis is hosting a programme of short residencies enabling artists and writers to spend up to five days in Proboscis’ London studio exploring the potential of the DIFFUSION Generator for creating eBooks and StoryCubes. The participants include:

• Bev Carter – artist and community development consultant
• Tony White – novelist and writer
• Andrew Hunter – artist, curator and director of Render
• Paul Goodwin – writer, curator and social researcher at Goldsmiths College
• Michelle Kasprzak – artist, blogger and programme manager at New Media Scotland
• Ayooluwa, Georgia, Eloise & Vanda – a group of young aspiring writers and comic artists.

The results of the case studies will be published on DIFFUSION in the Generator Case Study category. We’ll announce some public events in late 2007 where case study participants will discuss using the Generator and the Shareables they have created with it.

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 556Kb

About : Part 2 of a journal kept by Alice Angus and Joyce Majiski during their residency at Klondike International Arts Centre, Dawson, Yukon, Canada (January-February 2005).

Published June 2007

Alice Angus is an artist and is Co-Director of Proboscis.

Joyce Majiski is an artist, biologist, naturalist and guide whose work with printmaking, installations, artists books and video focuses on the natural world and relationships between nature and humans. Her recent projects include the groundbreaking Three Rivers project where the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Service invited prominent artists, writers and journalists to join native people on three simultaneous journeys along the Snake, the Wind, and the Bonnet Plume rivers. www.joycemajiski.com

Download A4 | US Letter PDF 256Kb

About : Part 1 of a journal kept by Alice Angus and Joyce Majiski during their residency at Klondike International Arts Centre, Dawson, Yukon, Canada (January-February 2005).

Published June 2007

Alice Angus is an artist and is Co-Director of Proboscis.

Joyce Majiski is an artist, biologist, naturalist and guide whose work with printmaking, installations, artists books and video focuses on the natural world and relationships between nature and humans. Her recent projects include the groundbreaking Three Rivers project where the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Service invited prominent artists, writers and journalists to join native people on three simultaneous journeys along the Snake, the Wind, and the Bonnet Plume rivers. www.joycemajiski.com