Report from new member Linda Mattock. ‘The benefits of the visit for me have been twofold. As a new participant of the group I greatly valued the opportunity to get to know the other members and to learn about their individual approaches to making work.

One of the group concerns is to consider how to build a vibrant artist led community in a rural environment. Birmingham has developed an exciting creative hub over the last 4-5 years so it was particularly relevant to explore how this is being brought about so successfully albeit in an urban environment.

Over the 2 days we visited various art spaces and galleries. The focus was not to specifically look at ‘exhibitions of art’ but to engender discussion on how to relate the various curatorial practices and studio working conditions we saw to give us direction of how we might move forward as a collaborative group of very disparate artists and craftsmen living and working at some distance from each other.

The dynamics of walking across Birmingham city centre over the 2 days made the greatest impact on my thought processes. I appreciated the evident willingness of a city to continuously evolve and accept rapid change without looking back or trying to imitate. The eclectic mix of industrial architecture; monumental buildings constructed at the pinnacle of industrial wealth: the power of using new materials and technologies to construct new buildings, rebuild and reuse old premises was inspirational. The new is built upon the heritage of the old. The mixing of ideas and ideals giving a harmony that isn’t aesthetic but creates an environment that reflects the unfixed, uncertain and flexible needs of the world we live in today. This is such a contrast to the rural countryside I now live and work in that changes subtly and slowly.

All the galleries and spaces visited shared a collective enthusiasm to work together to make Birmingham a functional and exciting community for artists and curators and a stimulating place for the people who live there. This was proudly summarised by Eastside projects that have a clearly defined vision of where they fit in Birmingham and the broader art scene.

This collective passion and clear vision to ‘make it happen’ was also demonstrated by Trevor ? at A3 [?] Studios. I particularly connected to his approach to the curatorial role as his art practice. His energy to move on, never stay fixed, always take the lead within a group endeavour gives his projects a very clear directive. He is also practical, balancing the functional commercial side of the undertaking with his creative aspirations. A joint role of producer and director I can relate to.

In summary, it has been a very worthwhile and enjoyable visit. Along the way I also saw some very interesting artwork! There’s no doubt that it will inspire and influence what I do and how I approach doing it. Most valuable, I feel privileged to have been part of the group and to have made new friends’.