“2020”…the new statement to explain why things have not gone to plan?
Well hello there, you fabulous bunch!
I am sure I am not alone in my astonishment that it is Day 99, even though, like you, I understand how calendars and the passage of days work in reality. I feel like I am living in a skewed reality where time has sped up, productivity has gone down, and my plans of being a super keen 100 Days blogger have gone startlingly array.
“2020 eh?” seems to have become a standard response for why things have not gone to plan, and I am not going to beat myself up for not managing to follow through on my wonderful plans for you all. There are things which are sacrosanct in relation to the 100 Days Project Scotland though; the Daily Count which the wonderful Solii has been running, with the amazing help of our community of number hunters (thanks all!), and the Edinburgh exhibition which brings me so much joy (even though it takes so much work to produce).
#dailycount2020
Check out the Community Gallery section of this website to see all the numbers which have been submitted for this years project, by our wonderful community.
Plans for the exhibition have been happening in the background and I don’t want anyone getting to Day 100 and thinking that’s it (whether that’s Sunday, or a later date if you started later, or have lost some time). I want us all to be able to collectively celebrate our achievements.
Edinburgh Exhibition
Those of you who have managed to come to our Zoom meet ups over the past couple of weeks will have heard me talk about this already, but I have taken advantage of working at Edinburgh College of Art over the past 3 years and have always, very early on in the project, had a space booked at ECA so plans can begin. Since the lockdown, the Uni has not been accepting events booking due to the uncertainty around meeting in groups and the order and timings in which buildings will reopen. As such it has been impossible to plan a physical exhibition.
Spring 2021 Exhibition Plans are afoot, in the hope that we will know more and be better placed to book physical space; so watch this space in relation to that.
Online Exhibition
Knowing that a physical exhibition would be unlikely in 2020, I have been looking into software which will allow us to digitally exhibit, and bring participants work together in one place to celebrate the process and share the efforts of our 100 Days Projects with each other. There is a platform which will allow us to exhibit in a ‘gallery space’ online, with one piece of work each. This would mean combining the 100 Days work into one ‘digital piece’.
There are monetary implications to using the software (I will have to pay for a professional subscription to the site which would allow up to 500 pieces of work to be uploaded and exhibited) and I am exploring funding routes, as my intention is always to keep the cost as low as possible (if not free) for the participants, so the exhibition is as inclusive as possible.
There is also the acknowledgement that many may not have the digital tools or skills to be able to combine your works into one piece without support. Again, the funding I am looking for will hopefully be able to support a team of people to assist; through the creative of support materials (“How tos” and toolkits) and production team (who can create simple grids of images, video/slideshow compilations, catalogues etc.).
Online Exhibition
I am currently experimenting with the service to see what is required in relation to file types, sizes, media types (for those working with sound/videos etc.)
Donations, participation fees, and nominal ticket fees
Though I always aim to keep costs to a minimum there is normally a chip in fee for the exhibition, and the amount of people wanting to take part often impacts the cost of this (i.e. the more people the more distributed the costs).
We also got feedback last year from attendees that they would happily have paid a nominal entrance fee, or donated to the project, if there was the facility; so I am also looking into this as an option.
Tell me all about it!
We have had over 275 participants this year which still amazes and delights me when I write that down or say it out loud! Having never taken a tally of how many people have taken part before, I have no fixed numbers to tell me how many of you have taken part previously, or how our audience has grown.
One of the key elements to funding applications is being able to show data in relation to the project; how has this grown, how many people were positively impacted, how many new people has the project engaged, how many returning participants engaged? And so on…
As such, I will be asking all of you, who gave me permission to get in touch with you when you signed-up, to complete a kind of exit questionnaire. I will also be asking for volunteers to meet with me (online) and tell me more conversationally and openly, about your experience, so I can create some case studies, find out how to improve the project, and how I can help develop this in the future. I will announce the questionnaire on social media, will have links on the website, and will pop a wee email directly to participants after Day 100.
Stay involved
I am keen to keep the community going beyond the 100 days, and will be posting, and meeting online after Day 100, and would love to meet as many of you as I can, and hear your stories, and find out about your work. So please let me know any suggestions for how you think I can do this.
You can do it!
For those of you who have only 3 days to go…wooohooooooo! Bravo, brava, well done, congratulations!!
For those of us who have fallen a bit behind in posting (for whatever reason), do not fret, you are not alone, keep going, change the rules, be kind to yourselves and remember that reaching day 100 is not the only measure of success – have you learned something new? Have you reacquainted yourself with a material or technique? Have you realised that 5 minutes of creativity a day is better than none? Have you been inspired? Has it made you happy?
I am in deep awe of all the amazing things I have seen from this community, and I know I have not seen everyone’s work yet, and that discovery will continue to delight me over the coming weeks and months; and for this I thank you all for being involved and for sharing.
Watch this space for exhibition news, and of course, as always, find me on social media or through the website, or via email (100daysprojoectscotland@gmail.com) should you wish to chat, comment, make suggestions, provide feedback, say hello, or get involved.
Ooh and don’t forget there’s a Zoom meet up at 12 noon on Day 100 (Sunday 23rd), come and say hi!
