The Mothership was a curatorial project inspired by the cosmic loneliness of rural skies alongside the domestic sphere, and the idea to invite chance encounters into this unlikely location, ‘in the middle of nowhere’, a home and studio at the edge of a wood.
Started in 2016 and Over 3 years The Mothership invited over 60 contemporary artists, mostly from the UK, and including the USA, Georgia and Finland, to be resident in the studio in rural West Dorset. Resident artists are invited to write a post for the Mothership blog during their stay or just after leaving.
The project offered time and space for artists, without pressure to produce anything particular. It is a social art project, exploring exchange between host, community and guest, and an experiment in how to operate a residency with minimum means. Residents had access to farmland, woodland, and the coast. There was potential for collaboration or exchange about practice with artists based locally.
Location
It is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is located on the edge of semi ancient woodland, 1 mile from the village of Powerstock (pop. 300 with primary school and pub) and 5 miles from Bridport (pop. 14,000), 6 miles from the sea (West Bay, Chesil Beach). There are families animals and pets on site. What happens is agriculture, forestry, care work, tourism, fishing, food and drink, painting and crafts.
You could say the Mothership is in the “middle of nowhere” or “a cultural desert”. The Mothership residency was an act of patronage and an endeavour in sustainability. It operated as an exchange, with residents covering all their costs, and the space being rent free. There was no public arts or community funding. This enabled freedom from funders agendas and for the focus to be on the artists process, on speculative research and methods. There were no expectations of a result or product. Our interest was in supporting the thinking/working process of artists. We were interested in practices that engage with contemporary issues in an experimental, thought provoking and critical manner.
The Mothership welcomed artists with the following media and approaches:
- visual art / audio / writing / live art / moving image / socially engaged / music / theatre / dance
The project started to build relationships between visiting and locally based artists, connections developed through talks and screenings with organisations such as Force 8, Seafair, and the AA at Hooke Park.
Archive
a-n, the artists information company 2019 article about Mothership in
https://force8.annabest.info/blog/
Aknowledgements
Tessa Bide for production assistance at unincorporated collaborations
Sally Lemsford + Megan Durnford
Delphine Jones Design for logo
The Arts Development Company Culture Plus
Force 8 , Angie Porter, Hester Schofield