Well, our assessments are over and the vivas are past. I won’t know for certain how I did, but it feels ok. The vivas were not as stressful as I anticipated–more like review time at work done orally. Questions like “how do you think you have progressed over the semester,” “what would you do differently” and so forth. Perhaps I have just gotten better at immediate reflection and exposition over the year, but it felt conversational and I was not left feeling like I had no response.
Coming up, we have two (possibly three) shows. Two are confirmed in May and are our MFA final show at the Talbot Rice Gallery, a major Edinburgh gallery housed within the school, and an optional show at the Embassy Gallery, another Edinburgh gallery. The Embassy usually seems to host local artists, whereas the Talbot Rice hosts international artists, but both are top-notch galleries and should be good shows.
The show at Talbot Rice is called “Fair” and is part of the curriculum. We have been divided into six groups (our seminar groups from this semester) and will “curate” a space within the gallery. My group has chosen to create a space (called the “Trolley and Chips“) whose aesthetic is based on the refreshment tent or social area of a village Fair. The piece is an installation/performance piece where we will be serving drinks and have seating and entertainment that would be appropriate in a pub-style venue. We are currently sourcing materials and hope to find a sponsor to provide the drinks.
The Embassy show is more of a standard group show, where most everyone involved will be showing work they’ve created over the past year. I expect to show the three masks I created this semester, or possibly the elephant mask from last semester.
Finally, there is the Fleming Collection show. This is a juried show, so not all who entered will be selected, and we will not know their decision until mid April. The Fleming Collection will be showing selected works at the Frieze Art Fair in London come October. Since the Fleming Collection is comprised entirely of Scottish art, the theme for the exhibit is “identity,” something that can be interpreted in a broader, cultural sense or in a personal way. I did submit a piece for this show, but would rather wait a bit before I discuss it.
Next week we start our two week spring break, but fortunately, the school and the workshops will be open during that time. This means that we can continue to work on our upcoming shows if we want. I want.