We missed each other!

Hi Girls,

Ok so, no meeting today but not sure there was too much need anyway . . .

How does this sound:

• Ilia and I will speak today/tomorrow and decide a list of questions for the Slade lot.
• I will phone/email Slade and see if I can speak to someone and make an appointment.
• I will also phone/email my old boss at Londonart and see if I can pick his brains about how he set up the business/what it all cost/if he has any tips etc
• Maybe we could all sketch out a few ideas about how we think the site should look? Even just old fashioned paper + pencils - (I certainly don't have a clue about Photoshop, although, after today's session I may start to fiddle . . . ).
• And some suggestions for a site name?

Oh! We don't have a class next week. Do you both still want to meet up? I'm around and quite happy to do that - it might be nice if we could take some time to sit around a computer together and have a look at what else is out there.

Carly

xxx

Development/Technical

Hi Claire & Ilia,

Just a few thoughts . . .

On the technical front, we will have to have a standard format for users to submit their work. From previous experience, this would have to be a digital reproduction of the artwork with specific resolution and dimensions. If users are confident, (and if our site has a well designed interface!), this could be done completely remotely. If our users are creatively rather than technologically minded, they should be able to send the images to us in whatever form and we will manipulate it on their behalf. No doubt, we should have limitations on this; eg we don't really want them to send us the work itself as this would mean we would require scanners etc.

This is fine for traditional fine art but as we are including things like video, installation and so on - I'm afraid my technical knowledge dwindles!

The Development questions raised in the coursework brief aren't particularly relevant to our product so they will need to be adapted.

• Will new material need to be commissioned, or provided?

Well, provided obviously. It seems logical that, if we are targeting our product at recent graduates, there will be one big surge of new material deposited per year. Perhaps this has financial implications that are worth considering. And is there a way of evening this out over the duration of the year so that, 9 months after graduation we are aren't starving and penniless?!

I suppose this where our exhibitions idea would come into its own - it could be away of reinvigorating interest in the site and generating revenue.

• Will you need an editorial board/advisors?

Claire has already referred to this in her earlier post. But to elaborate, I think that the editorial role would, inevitably, mature and change over time and as we establish a reputation for ourselves. Starting out, we will be keen to get as many people signed up to our site as possible. As time goes by and we become a recognised and respected name in the industry (!), we can afford to be a wee bit more discerning in what we choose to accept. Or is that a bit capitalist and cruel?

• Who will they be, and how will you recruit them?

I think that, if we are going to have any credibility as an authoritative organisation, we are going to need to have someone - or at least be able to seek advice from someone - with an artistic background. A critic perhaps . . .

Or actually, thinking about it, the fact that the works on our site will be judged by other users, perhaps we don't need someone with specialist knowledge. How liberal and egalitarian is that?!

Ok, so the questions on the guidline sheet are actually quite relevant to our product.

Has anyone thought of a name yet? It has been brought to my attention that the Saatchi site has a subsiduary art student site called 'Stuart' - Stu-dent Art - get it? I like the idea in principle . . . sort of. But I think we could do better.

Carly

xxx

Cost and Promotion

Hi Girls,

I hope you're having a relaxing weekend and took advantage of the extra hour in bed!

I've written up a few brief ideas for "cost and promotion" that you might wanna have a look at - are we meeting for lunch tomorrow?

xx

What kind of costs will the product cause the publisher?

- Initial development of the website – need to decide whether to recruit a highly technical member of the team for the whole year, at considerable expense, or to use a website design company for the initial construction and then rely on a less qualified employee for maintenance.

- Staff costs – Technical, Editorial (for content), Management /Administration/ Finance, Communications and PR.

- Promotional costs

What kind of cost-recovery and pricing strategy will you apply to the product, and why?

- £80 a year to register – based on Carly’s experience at www.londonart.co.uk, this seems like a reasonable amount to ask of emerging artists.

- Commission – 5-10% on each transaction?

- Miscellaneous expenditure (just in case)

How will you promote the product?

- Advertise or feature in publications, relevant magazines, university magazines and newspapers

- Viral advertising on the internet – appeal to young creative artists

- Promotional stands at university fairs

- Hosting art-related events – exhibitions, competitions etc

- Affiliation with existing art institutions/universities

What features of it are key in persuading customers to buy it?

- Users not only create online portfolios, but also receive advice from their peers and prospective buyers, interact with others via the feedback and voting facilities and also keep abreast of upcoming events.

- Serves as a simple and effective gateway to opportunities, exposure, competitions, exhibitions and access to galleries

- Provides a hassle-free way of selling their artwork

- The website could be instrumental in organising events and promotions on behalf of the emerging artists

- Registered users will receive an electronic copy of a newsletter, comprising the following features: Artist of the week, new artist of the week, upcoming events/exhibitions, and general news in the art world

Slade information

Here are the contact details for Slade. I'm putting them on the blog to remind myself! It might be best it, after we've agreed on our list of questions, one of us - I'm happy to volunteer - email/phone to make an appointment with someone. Having tried to communicate with them purely via email previously, I think this would be the most productive way of dealing with them.


Contact Details
All enquiries should be addressed to:

The Slade School of Fine Art
UCL
Gower StreetLondon
WC1E 6BT

Telephone: +44 (020) 7679 2313 Facsimile: +44 (020) 7679 7801

Email: slade.enquiries@ucl.ac.uk

To order a prospectus, click here The Slade Office is open Monday to Friday, 10.00am - 1.00pm and 2.00pm - 5.00pm, except one week at Christmas and one week at Easter.

Sorry . . .

Sorry girls,

I had French cless and forgot I hadn't done my homework . . blablabla

Ok, I will see Ilia today anyway for Systems Management - can't wait (hmm).

I'm thinking this questionnaire will be a fairly short document. Probably start with a brief outline of our product and what we intend to do.

• Does this sound like a service you would use?
• What services would be useful to you/would you expect to be included?
• What are your biggest concerns about your professional future?
• Do you have or will you have a clear plan for when you graduate?
• How do you go about getting your work displayed at the moment?
• What, in your experience, is the best way of generating interest in your work?

Ok just a few ideas - I'm a bit rushed because I've just seen the time and I have to dry my hair.

Speak to you both soon,

Carly

SLADE questions

Hi Claire, hello Ilia,

I haven't forgotten about the art student question thing. I'm going to draft something up this afternoon if I have time and then I'll put it up on the blog.

How are your weeks going?

I went to the Staff/Student Committee meeting this afernoon and mentioned how inconveniet some of the cluster rooms are to have classes in and the unavailability of some books in the Library.

The next meeting isn't until February but if you have any issues please let me know - I am chairperson!

xxx

Claire Warwick

I don't know which you check first so I thought I might as well post a note on the blog. Email back from Claire Warwick basically says that our sample could be a simple website with one or two hyperlinks, or a mock up on Photoshop if we want. If there is anything to be digitized then an example of that might be a good idea.

We do the 3500 words all together and we don't have to do the individual learning review.

Happy days.

xxx

Report writing

There is a section on the SLAIS website specifically about report writing. I'm not sure if you've already had a look at it but it might be quite helpful:
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/Skills/pack/comms.html

Thanks for taking the minutes Ilia. Just to repeat myself, I've emailed Claire Warwick and I'll let you know what she says asap.

xxx

www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/

www.eyestorm.com

Sorry!

The first one is very important as it's quite new and set up by Charles Saatchi. Eyestorm is located on the Southbank near Tate Modern - you can visit it. It's also the major competitor to Londonart. The site has been updated since I last looked and I think it's quite nice.

All this does is reinforce what I've already said - there is a definite niche for naive young students who don't know where to start.

There are a lot of issues about displaying artwork online because obviously it's not the same as seeing it in real life. But it is a viable alternativ. On a website you can access more works than you can in a traditional gallery - you can search under specific criteria, eg abstract/watercolour etc. There are many other reasons which I will outline later - my hair is wet!

And some more . . .

I forgot about these ones:

www.artistri.co.uk

www.scottishartpaintings.co.uk

The first one is the one I thought would be particularly interesting as it focuses exclusively on recent graduates.

www.axisweb.org

This one is quite serious - it's really for professional artists - my godfather uses axis and londonart to display his artwork.

I've realised that I may be straying into the 'Competition' section rather than 'Justification' but they seem inevitably interlinked. There is a definite need and, I think, demand for a new way for artists to exhibit their work. In London especially it is increasingly difficult to get work ina traditional gallery. It's hard to know where to start, particularly for graduates (I really like Claire's idea of aiming specifically at this sector). So our site/portal could be the starting point for them. Not only could they display their work, they would also be able to search for events in their area, find studio spaces, learn about forthcoming exhibitions, be put in touch with other artists and seek advice. If we were able to set up exhibitions for the artists subscribed to the site, they would enjoy even greater exposure.

Maybe we could talk to some students from Slade (UCL's art school) and get their views. Do they think thy would use our service? Would it be helpful? What are their main concerns about their professional future? Would they be willing to pay for our service? What would they expect from us?

Ok, lots of ideas - time for tea!

And here are some more . . .

There are a lot of websites here - a few are part of the same Artquest site. I haven't looked at all of them in depth myself - some will be more relevant to our project than others, especially the gateway/portal sites - even if they are in different countries.

Anyway, what I'm basically getting at is that, although there are a lot of sites out there that cater for the artist market, there aren't many that do what we would do - and suprisingly few aimed at the young emerging market (as you referred to Claire). It might be a good idea to look at the website I (briefly) worked for as they do some of the same things that I think we would: www.londonart.co.uk especially the artist/user communication element. I can talk to you both a bit more about this tomorrow.

• 100 words
  http://www.100words.net

• ADAM : the gateway to art, design, architecture & media information on the Internet
  http://www.adam.ac.uk/

• Art California web portal
  http://www.well.com/user/jmalloy/blueskies/calartists4.html

• Art in flux
  http://www.boisestate.edu/art/artinflux/intro.html

• Art!aw
  http://www.artquest.org.uk/artlaw/

• Art-online : the fine art directory
  http://www.art-online.com/

• Artquest
  http://www.artquest.org.uk/

• Artrôute
  http://www.artquest.org.uk/artroute/

• Artslynx international arts resources
  http://www.artslynx.org/

• ArtSource
  http://www.ilpi.com/artsource/

• Cheshire County Council : the arts service
  http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/arts/

• Latest art : the UK's hippest art magazine
  http://www.latest-art.co.uk/

• Looking for good art
  http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/sep04/mattison.shtml

• RASCAL : research and special collections available locally (Northern Ireland)
  http://www.rascal.ac.uk/

• Toolkit
  http://www.thetoolkit.net/

• World wide arts resources
  http://wwar.com/

I'm experimenting

These are a few websites that I thought might be worth taking a look at in order to establish what is already out there. Some - like Mr Picassohead and the colourcube - are just for fun!

• Digital arts forum at Broadwayhttp://www.digitalartsforum.org.uk/

• Illustration Fridayhttp://www.illustrationfriday.com/

• Mr. Picassoheadhttp://www.mrpicassohead.com/

• Photoassist.co.ukhttp://www.photoassist.co.uk/

• SMART project spacehttp://www.smartprojectspace.net/

• http://www.colorcube.com/http://www.colorcube.com/

• YCN (Young Creatives Network)http://www.ycnonline.com/

Records supplied by Intute

Markets

Hi guys,

I've been thinking about the 'Market' section of the brief and have written up a few ideas. Let me know what you think. Great response from Claire Warwick by the way!

• What will the market be?

The target audience of the portal will primarily be un-established artists, possibly students, who wish to publicise and sell their work. It is probable that the facility for budding artists to display their work will be used predominantly, though not exclusively, by a relatively young crowd. According to research by Ofcom, 16-24 year olds spend more time online; young adults who use the internet do so for 21 more minutes per week than the UK average and at least 70% of them have used websites for keeping up contacts (against 41% of all adults).

However, as the website will publish listings and details of upcoming exhibitions, events and competitions, it has the potential to attract any member of the public with an interest in the visual arts, be it fashion, design, applied arts or performing arts.

From a commercial viewpoint, the portal will appeal to a variety of consumers who wish to purchase “fresh” and inexpensive pieces of artwork for a variety of purposes. This might range from professional art buyers, who are employed by individuals or institutions, to members of the general public who are interested in acquiring a new and interesting piece for their home. The latter segment of the market may be particularly attracted by the website’s facility for interactivity between the artist and the public. Work will be judged by means of user-reviews, thereby providing advice and guidance to the inexperienced art buyer.

The portal may also be used as a talent pool, which will be a focus for potential employers and institutions in the art industry. The website’s capability for providing feedback from fellow artists and the public will be particularly useful in serving this function.

• Will it be bought by individuals or institutions?

A number of possibilities present themselves when considering the party who might be interested in buying the website in question. As with “Stuart”, a website for students run by the Saatchi Gallery, the portal may well appeal to leading art institutions who wish to affiliate themselves with fresh new talent. In addition, art universities and colleges may wish to invest in such a venture in order to assist the careers of their students and therefore raise the profile of the establishment. However, there also exists a distinct possibility that the idea will be favoured by an individual who recognises the business potential of combining a social/business network for the art world.

• Can you estimate how large this market might be?

The potential market for the artist portal is immense. An idea of its size can be reached by calculating the number of past and present art students, art buyers and companies who are interested in employing artists. Then include any members of the general public who are interested in art, either in terms of buying or accessing listings of exhibitions, or both.

All go!

I've just emailed you both but I'm quite getting into the whole blog thing so I thought I might as well post a note on here as well.



I have received an email from Claire saying that our idea sounds grand - I think she liked the idea of developing a portal for artists . . .



So that's a good start.



Speak to you (via cyberspace probably) soon,



Carly



xxx

Headings and everything!

Hi Claire, hi Ilia - hope you've both had delightful weekends. The Masque of the Red Death on Friday was absolutely astounding - I have, honestly, never seen anything like it.

But back to work related matters, Monday lunch is fine by me.

See you both tomorrow,

Carly

x

Meeting on Monday?

Hi guys,

Apologies for not having been in touch sooner. I think the user-rated artist site is an excellent idea! How about we have a "lunch meeting" on Monday in between the two lectures to discuss the logistics of the project - ie. how we're going to divide the labour.

Look forward to seeing you both on Monday!

x

Ilia that sounds really interesting!

At the website I worked for, artists pay an annual fee to have their work exibited and the public place offers on works of art via the website. We organised exhibitions for the artists subscribed to the site. One was The Art of Love at the Oxo Tower . . .

So I can see that sort of thing really works.

I can't wait to hear more about what your friend set up.

How are you feeling now? Weekend in bed with tissues and hot drinks?

I am so excited about The Mask of the Red Death tonight - still not sure what to wear though . . .

If I don't speak to you before, I'll see you Monday - maybe we can arrange a meeting with Claire then.

xxx

It's Wednesday afternoon. I've been thinking about this EP project . . . going along with the art theme I mentioned - what about some kind of journal or portal that catalogued all the galleries and what they specialized in? It could be limited to a specific country or city/town . . . maybe list forthcoming exhibitions and generate an email/newsletter to subscribers?

I'm not sure if this is even along the right lines or not, just trying to throw a few ideas out so we can get started.

I think this blogging thing is much easier to use than the wiki site - what do you both think?

Carly

x

Ok, now it's up and running.

Apologies for the waffle before - I just wanted to see if it worked.

To Ilia and Claire - I believe I have sent you both invitations to join in my blog so do feel free!

Carly

x

This is my first blog.

It is a miserable day here in London - my feet were soaked by the time I had walked home from uni.

Tonight I will see my boyfriend.

I'm doing this, pretending it's work, instead of researching the global paperless information environment for my first piece of PCIT coursework.

I can't concentrate because I am simultaneously willing the phone to ring.