Island Blog No.1

by ginny hutchison, 17 Apr 2011

In March of this year I became involved with the WISP art commissions, to contribute to one of the five new schools currently being built across the Outer Hebrides. The artistic context for the projects is the production of site-specific artworks, which will enhance the teaching environment and infrastructure of an area of the development. Confident in the ethos of the project I was also encouraged that the design and development team, comprising of Edinburgh architecture firm 3DReid, members of An Lanntair, and Local Council representatives, had not asked for unpaid designs as part of any application or interview procedures…I wouldn’t have applied if they had.

Shortly after verbally accepting the commission to work with Balivanich primary school in Benbecula, through 3DReid, I received a brief email from one of the many organisations involved in the project, requesting the work to be completed and installed by July 2011. At this point alarm bells started tinkling. Firstly, it’s so easy to misinterpret the tone and content of emails, secondly there were so many things to put in place before the project could start, and thirdly I didn’t know who this person was. Rather than get things off to a confusing start, I gave the architects a call and arranged a face-to-face meeting with them.

This was a relief in so many ways, and having got myself into difficult situations in cyberspace before, I have vowed, 1. to keep my own emails short, to the point and unemotional, and 2. to avoid emails as much as possible where face-to-face, or failing that voice-to-voice, communications are feasible… (Interestingly enough I cut a holiday short to attend the initial interview even though they had offered me the chance to attend via conference call. I felt that unless you have someone who is on hand to set up the software and offer user instruction, and unless you yourself know how to interact with a screen of interview panelists, it cannot compare to being able to perform, read and respond to people face to face).

Although there are five schools being built, the majority of them are not due for completion until 2012. Balivanich school however, is due for completion in August 2011, and as such I’m the first artist to engage with the project. So armed with a list of to do’s, questions and rough timescales I set off for Edinburgh in my cleanest jacket and my best architect trousers (there were lots of sharp angles)..

As it transpired quite quickly through conversation with the architect team, this was in fact one of the first commissioning experiences not just for them, but for the Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council), which again was a relief to hear, for at least from this point we were able to have a very comfortable and frank conversation about how we were going to proceed.

Rather than induce stifled yawns (a mate spent an evening recently stifling yawns at me, which dusnae do much for the belief in ones narrative skills) with further lengthy accounts of the dialogue between the design team and myself, I’ve decided to channel the power of the bullet (and may also use this on my friend if he continues to stifle at me).

• Who is involved with the project, and who do I co-ordinate with? There are at least 6 parties with interests in delivering the project. The Council are responsible ultimately for funding the whole project, but they have employed an SPV (special purpose vehicle) who they own, to managed the delivery. There is also the construction company, who will are responsible for installing the artwork and handing over the build upon completion to a ‘lifecycle maintenance contractor’. And although fully supported by the Council, it is the architects who have designed the brief to include the input of visual artists. I therefore requested that there is one person with whom I can liaise with throughout the project, preferably one of the architects.

• Contracts… No one had contracts and so I offered to send a template from a previous project, with key issues addressed, such as budgets, timescales, maintenance, responsibilities, ownership amongst other things. In retrospect and in conversation with another friend to whom I had sent the contract to for his own use, I have decided that this contract, supplied to me via another local authority, although thorough, very much protects the commissioner (almost) at the expense of the artist. I have edited it slightly but am still concerned and may post the contract template here for interest…(and perhaps the subject of another blog). I also made it very clear to the architects that I would need to be in receipt of signed contracts and the first agreed installation (one of three) of the budget before the project commenced.

• Timescale… Luckily the design team agreed that a project of this nature and of this scale could not be completed within the timescale if it was at the expense of the quality of the work and quality of the experience for the school, community and the artist. The reason for the original completion date was the requirement for the contractor to install the work before they handed it over to the ‘lifecyle maintenance company’. The very fantastic and open teaching staff at the school also agreed and are happy to extend the project deadline so long as the construction company know in advance what foundations or plans they may have to accommodate before this.

We tie up the conversation feeling quite optimistic about the project with promises to share and confirm information via cyberspace and to meet up on the island for a site visit. Communications will be through the architects and all is right with the world. My trousers aren’t even creased.

Causatum

I am writing this blog from the comfort of the only available B&B in Benbecula at short notice. I have bought my flights, hired a car, paid a deposit, bought two maps, a bag of apples and a packet of oatcakes, which I have being living off….okay with a few hand picked crabs and a couple of bottles of beer thrown in. I have met the local teaching staff who, having been pre-prepped, seem happy to give me a fairly free reign conceptually so long as they can be involved in the project as much as possible. I’ve given a talk to the kids, said a few things in Gaelic and conducted quite an exciting tour of the new school site (very glad I saw it before it was finished). I have a perma-grin because people keep waving at me, even when I’m not driving, and am in danger of feeling too close to the community already. (It’s very easy to fall in love with this part of the Hebrides…they’re very open, very generous, very into their own culture and the arts in general. I do have to keep my business head on though and remember not to get too emotionally involved ….well maybe just a bit …on Saturday night …).

However… I still have not received a contract and have not been paid. The architects, upon my request, re-emailed the Council two weeks ago, who promised that it was in the ‘In tray’…and then they went silent. I am wary about bombarding folk with demands and impatiently toned emails, and am confident that it will happen soon (am meeting the architects on Tuesday)….but cannae help but feel the need to slap myself about for getting this far in without contractual and financial assurances. Oh well, I hear that in Scots Law verbal agreements stand for a lot… Please post any food aid bags C/o me @ Stinky Bay Beach, Benbecula…

You can also follow some of the journey through Benbecula on twitter…..