Coventry is my home town, its where I grew up, and I am very fond of it but haven’t often experienced much of the creative industries there. So, when I heard about #PKNCOV I knew I had to go. I was super intrigued by the format of this event – Nine presentations each consisting of 20 images, each displayed for 20 seconds and advancing automatically. The trick was to talk along with the images, some people overran, other finished short but it was a great dynamic that worked really well. In brief:
Adam Steiner talked about his project for Artspace – deconstructing and remaking, exploring the regeneration of the city. ‘Look up and see what's around you’
Julia O'Connell is collecting details she sees in the city and printing them onto textiles. She plans to make a ‘City Skirt’ that is a wearable artwork that is a reminder of her everyday journey.
Hayhoe & Haworth seemed bit sarcastic to me, they are creating a walking trail round the city. ‘We come in as artists from outside & allow people to see their city through our eyes’. I felt uncomfortable as they didn’t seem to appreciate that some of us are proud of Cov, even the ugly bits.
Steve Weir, Creature Lab Records was an advocate for the DIY music scene. The 3 things you need to put a gig on are booze, toilets & friendly management. So many opportunities here to get things going - take them!
Adrian Baynes, designer of my absolute favourite building in Coventry – Browns (well, it’s called Drapers now, but will always be Browns to me). Adrian talked about ‘High Rise’ a public art experience where scissor lifts will be used to change the viewpoints , so people can look at the sculptures in Coventry in a different way.
Carolyn Deby invited people to take part in a collaborative project that looked at the choreography of the city - the energy, movement and happenings that surround us.
Ryan Hughes talked about artist led initiatives.
Dom Russell showed photos from the Blitz on Coventry and London. He said shared culture and responsibility is what helps people pull together and carry on in extreme circumstances. In many ways keeping going is the most important - Doing your job is a great and noble thing!
Mark Hancock talked us through his thoughts on time travel - If someone is always on time for everything, suspect they are a time traveller… You can read what he said here: http://www.memecortex.net/blog/?p=1212
It was a super way to spend an evening – it was positive and heart-warming to know there is so much creative energy buzzing around this city.