Tracy Simpson- Commissions and Artist in Residence Opportunities

Tracy Simpson is the co-director of ADDO which translates to give, bring, place, add, inspire, cause, join'
in Latin and 'to promise' in Welsh.
Tracy is based at the art school, her and her colleagues Curate and manage art projects.
She began giving us some background information about her career.
Tracy joined a studio group, immediately after finishing her Fine Art degree, which she strongly
recommends we do. She began freelancing in education, starting off as a practitioner and then to work
in workshops doing printmaking. Tracy then became an education officer at an arts centre, then the
director of Wrexham art centre, and started getting involved in programming public arts. She left
Wrexham to join SAVLA, but in 2008 they cut funding to SAVLA and made everyone redundant.
What ADDO do;
Curatorial, Project Management and
Consultancy Services
Strategy and Policy Development
Advocacy, Critical Dialogue, Training & Development

Basically they look at possibilities within a space, artists approach them to help manage their project,
and they act as the agent between the developer and the artist. Many consult them for planning
conditions. Whenever theres a development to mitigate against the fact that they are causing
disruption artists either have to create a piece of environmental work or a piece of art that benefits
people in some way.
She gave us an example of two residencies to
show us what they do. One rural residency they
did in South Wales called Corwen Air, they aimed
to build an artwork for the entrance of Corwen,
but they decided it was a bad idea to have it on
the motorway where people cant stop to look at
things. They wanted to extend the public railway
to Corwen but the problem is theres going to be
100 000 extra people on the train and Corwens
population is under 3000. Another problem is the
railway station is ugly, next to the back of some
buildings, a muddy field and a sewage plant.



They wrote a brief to solve their issues, and appointed Camp Little Hope, a group of five artists, four of
them American and one based in Norwich. This isnt a typical case of an artists residency. Its usually
about what the artist gets out of it, rather than how the work benefits the community.
They researched Corwen, talking to people in the community and working on 3 different strands;









Wayfinding was a problem as the signs
across Corwen didnt have the same styles.
Camp Little Hope liked the round green
signs, so they used it as a mini project, as
part of a walking festival they gave the signs
out to local businesses for them to put in
their shop window to advertise what was
happening in their businesses; this was also
a good way to get feedback and opinions on
Corwen. They also got members of the
public to write or draw what they like about
Corwen, and asked their opinions on what
they would like to be done with the field.








People in Corwen wanted a
museum, but that wasnt
achievable, so they decided to
rebrand the notice board as a
museum and did tours of the
museum every Saturday in their
red overalls, and talked to
members of the public to talk
about the exhibition and the
plans for the field.




Another major issue was the old, ugly,
vandalised toilets which is one of the first
things you see when you come into
Corwen. So they decided to refurbish the
toilets, and create an artists studio at the
front of the toilets, so youd have to walk
through the space to get to the toilets.
They also parked a van in front of the
toilets to start conversations with people,
doing different activities to attract people
and start a dialogue.



In the field there was a community orchard which was neglected, so they did work on it, and make pies
out of the fruit and sold them to start a conversation with the public. The trees were moved eventually
which turned out to be beneficial. They also did a project with school to find out what was growing
there, then designed places to rest for the elderly/disabled and climate change.






They are still
working on the
project. This is
their plan for
what they will
do





They are currently working on Other Residencies too;
Glandwr Cymru - Canal & River Trust in Wales
Cadw Segontium
St.Asaph Cathedral
Residencies as part of commissions
Commissions are different from residencies because residencies are about spending a distinct amount of
time with a set of people or space and extending practice, commissions are about a piece of work for a
fixed fee.
In Newtown in Cardiff bay, has been subject to renovation, they worked in tiger bay which has the
largest population of Somalian people. On one side is the renovated modern part, the other side is the
social housing part which is neglected and apparently fourth most deprived area in Wales.
They started working with the group looking at the building, doing an audit etc.
They did 3 public art projects, two of which were with Anna H Anna Heinrich and Leon Palmer.
On the proposal for the building already there was a glass cube and they wanted to make this more of a
feature, particularly at
night because it was in
the city centre and they
wanted to give people a
perception of safety,
the shape is based on
old camera bellows.


Another project was of a
massive panoramic
photograph from two tower
blocks. This developed into
another project with the
residents called Different
Stories, where they took
photographs from the views
from their flats.

The third piece of work was with an artist Janet Hodgeson, she asked people who lived in the area who
they would nominate to have a statue of them, and whether they had a photograph of that person. She
uploaded these photographs onto the internet to look for these people, then she cast those people or
people who looked like them. She then filmed casted people in the same pose and clothing as the
photographs.
There was also a group called best who offered employment opportunities and they did a Tiger bay mini
film festival which was successful.
Tracy reccommends we do a residency before we do a commissioned artwork for a community.
Where to look;
An - info blogs, if you subscribe theryll give you public liability insurance.
Axis Fee to join, have to be approved
ACW Arts council Wales, they have info on job, opportunities etc
IXIA publicartonline
Sell2Wales e-tendering.
Arts jobs England opportunities.
Re-title
Artquest
What to look for;
Advert Look for further info, be weary if no brief available, you need to know conditions.
Artists Brief
Where; When; How much; Studio; Sometimes a studio is provided, sometimes not.
Accommodation; Materials; whether they are included in price. Research the background; past
projects, aims
Site; The project aims; Partners; Management; Outcomes; The artist; Applicants info; deadline;
format;
Make sure the site suits you and your aims, its good to have a third party as relationships can turn sour
especially if there is no clear brief. Look at what they want from you and follow instructions.
What to look out for
ASSUMPTIONS
No fee
No travel
No accommodation
If something is not on there you want to know, ask. Never make assumptions.
EXPECTATIONS
Production of work A brief should specify the body of work. Look out for small print
Education sessions -
Applying
CV
Powerpoint/images/showreel
Referees/Letters of support, do it in plenty of time.
Letter of application use this to say why you meet the brief, sell yourself. You are scored on
suitability.
Proposal Dont be too specific, you should have room for dialogue.
Interview
Presentation based on a question similar to Describe how your practice makes you an ideal
candidate for this role Usually a presentation if youre a visual artist.
Series of questions based on the brief. Say why youre suitable.
Ask for feedback if they reject you.

Contact information;
North Office
School of Art & Design
Regent Street
Wrexham
LL11 1PF

M: 07890203218
E: tracy@addocreative.com
W: addocreative.com
T: addo_creative