DIY: 2005

Professional Development BY artists FOR artists

DIY 3:2005 built on the success of the first two years of DIY and offered London and South East based artists working in Live Art the chance to conceive and run professional development projects for other artists.

The DIY 3:2005 projects covered practical and conceptual issues and took in new approaches to live and wireless video; city journeys; considerations of risk in performance; dialogues around self and performance; personalising understandings of success; and unblocking and reinvigorating the creative spirit.

Our Call for Participants is now closed.

Our Call for Proposals to lead a project has now closed.

Documentation from DIY 3: 2005.

More info about DIY.

DIY 3:2005 report

DIY 3:2005 projects took place between May and July 2005 at a range of locations in London and the South East.

DIY 3:2005 benefited the artistic and professional development of the participating artists and contributed to the skills and experiences of the artists who lead the projects.

Sixty artists took part in the seven unique projects.  The responses from the project leaders and the participants was that DIY 3:2005's emphasis on peer training:

• empowered artists by allowing them to manage their own professional development.
• enabled artists to develop creative approaches directly relevant to the needs of their practice.
• encouraged artists to perceive their artistic output and professional development as inter-related and mutually beneficial components of a 'complete' practice.
• facilitated networking between like minded artists.
• inspired artists to take risks and think differently.

DIY 3:2005 again demonstrated that artists are extremely well equipped to conceive and manage complex and often demanding professional development initiatives.  The role of the host organisations (Live Art Development Agency, Artsadmin and New Work Network) in DIY 3:2005 was therefore to facilitate and advise rather than to control.

Each DIY 3:2005 lead artist conceived their project, submitted an application detailing their idea, contributed to a group meeting at which they met the other lead artists, prepared publicity copy, managed recruitment of participants, handled all relevant participation fees, booked all necessary venues, facilitated their training day(s), and wrote an appraisal report.

Each lead artist received £1,000, which covered their fee and all direct project costs including venue hire, travel, materials and hospitality.  Some artists chose to seek a small fee from participants which further contributed to their project costs.

The Live Art Advisory Network financed and secured additional funding for the initiative, distributed a Call for Proposals via email, selected the lead artists through an open submission process, advised lead artists about the logistical and conceptual focus of their project, led a group meeting which enabled all lead artists to meet and share project information, publicised the five projects under the DIY 3:2005 umbrella through a Call for Participants, organised a final networking DINNER for all participants, and collated this summary report.

DIY future
Like the first two DIY programmes, DIY 3:2005 proved to be a very successful and cost effective initiative that almost demands to be continued.  DIY 3:2005 was the first time that projects had been offered outside of London and the success of the South East projects indicates that a national programme would be highly effective.  Future development and refinement could include:

• An expanded programme offering more artists opportunities to initiate and manage projects.
• A national initiative managed in collaboration with regional and local partners.
• Access to more tailored advice and guidance for the lead artists (if and when assistance is required)
• A higher-profile evaluation of the projects, possibly through an event and/or publication that facilitates the sharing of outcomes and discussion of best practice.
• A more generous financial base that provides artists' fees commensurate with the amount of time required to initiate, manage and evaluate a project, and remuneration for the host organisations.

DIY 3:2005 focused on the professional development within the Live Art sector.  It is clear that the principles and form would successfully translate to other artform practices.

DIY 3:2005 credits
DIY 3:2005 was an initiative of the Live Art Advisory Network. The Live Art Development Agency, Artsadmin, and New Work Network have joined together to create the Live Art Advisory Network. Together we are partners in Creative Capital which is working to help artists to identify, prioritise and implement professional development activities.

For more information about our separate organisations visit our websites:

www.artsadmin.co.uk
www.thisisLiveArt.co.uk
www.newworknetwork.org.uk.
www.creative-capital.org.uk

DIY 3:2005 was financially supported by the Live Art Development Agency and Artsadmin.  Projects for South East artists were funded by Arts Council England, South East.