With B+B I decided to co-produce an artists conference at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. It was a pivotal gathering. Lots of people came, lots of talking and writing notes collectively. Structured as Open Space with Suzy Adderley. Organised chaos in a good way.
In 2001, this already seemed like a swansong for the conversational gathering, or a bit like a too long party. But in 2004 when the Arts Council produced a series of 5 conferences around socially engaged art – Interrupt – it seemed to me like a sanitised version of something I needed to leave behind because it had changed beyond recognition. I made an intervention in response to a commission – Free Lunch – transcribing and exhibiting one to one ‘casual’ conversations.
Aknowledegements
B+B Sophie Hope and Sarah Carrington
Vicky Lewis, Baltic
Suzy Addderley
Viv Reiss
Archive
Audio and transcripts