DIY: 2005 – The Recipe for Success

Mystery location, London

Saturday 25 June and Saturday 23 July 2005 (as well as self directed activity between workshop days)

Led by Helena Bryant

An invitation to artists to consider, challenge and examine the notion of ‘success’. Ten artists will seek out and prepare The Recipe for Success. The quest for the secret ingredients, the ingredients and the process of cooking become an allegory for the pursuit and attainment of success.

The Project

Success….I want it….but what is it? Does it elude you? Do you grasp it from time to time, only to have it slip out through your fingers? Do you spend more time in anxiety over failure than enjoying success? Do we even know when we are successful?

The project invites artists to consider, challenge and examine the nebulous notion of ‘success’. Ten artists will identify and then be sent on a mission to locate successful people, talk to them, and garner from them an ingredient to form The Recipe for Success. They are then asked to name an equivalent culinary ingredient or process to symbolically represent the ‘real’ ingredient. We will then get together, and, in the style of Ready Steady Cook, cook it. And taste it. Washed down with a beverage of choice. The project asks ‘what is success’. The quest for the secret ingredients, the ingredients and the process of cooking become an allegory for the pursuit and attainment of it.

Who are these successful people? There are many people around who seem to be successful, or more successful than we are. Maybe they are also artists or maybe they have success in other pursuits and ways of life. The purpose of this project is to contact some of these people, perhaps meet them, and to ask them questions. What does success mean to them? Do they feel they are successful? Will they share with us the secrets of their success?

What else will happen? When we meet we will present to each other the experiences and results of our quest in a kind of ‘show and tell’. It doesn’t matter if we have not been ‘successful’ in the quest, as this is part of the process. The project is a co-learning experience, and meeting together is also an opportunity to share personal thoughts and practical information.

Do I need to be successful to participate? We have all experienced success, and have the potential to succeed further. Do not feel than your own experience of success is too limited or too great for you to participate.

Do I need to be able to cook? No. No culinary sense is necessary. But I’m sure the other participants will be grateful of it, if you have it.

How much will it cost? Participation is free of charge. Workshop expenses, such as cooking ingredients, will be paid for. Some assistance may be available for travel costs, but this is limited.

Participants / Numbers / Selection Process

To apply, simply email Helena at [email protected] to register your interest. You will then be sent an informal questionnaire to complete and return. People at different stages of their careers are asked to apply, and a good balance of levels and experience is sought for the group as a whole. All that is needed is some experience of facing the hurdles of both failure and success, (at least a year out of college), and to be an artist whose practice delivers more fugitive outcomes than ‘traditional’ artforms such as painting, sculpture, theatre etc.  You must also have the time available to undertake the quest and attend the meeting and workshop. The closing date for return of the questionnaire will be Wednesday 8 June. Ten artists will be chosen. Selection will be based upon applicants’ genuine and imaginative engagement with the project, and how they would form part of a group that collectively offers a variety of approaches and experience. Notification of selection will be sent by Wednesday 15 June.

The Organiser

Helena Bryant has, during the last seven years of attempting to be a successful artist, encountered some success, but is also no stranger to failure. With dogged determination, she continues in her ‘career’, which has included solo and interactive performance work, research and participatory and educational projects. She has presented work at Home, London, HTBA, Duckie and ANTI festival, Finland, and has been awarded bursaries from Artsadmin and the Arts Council of England. She is based in London.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about The Recipe for Success, you may contact Helena via email [email protected]