Contol Point: A Temporary Facility

Control Point: A Temporary Facility

START
Welcome to Control Point: A Temporary Facility, a project created by artists Sovay Berriman and
Steven Paige with Plymouth Arts Centre.

This exhibition is a facility that is activated by the Operatives who work within it. Artists, writers and curators either working or living in the city of Plymouth responded to an open call to be part of Control Point, a project that offers an opportunity to consider and examine how to accomplish significance and equip oneself with skills for artistic survival. Throughout the exhibition Operatives will realise projects, attend talks and workshops, take part in residencies and engage in dialogues. Audiences alike are invited to join the discussion, engage with the Operatives and use the resource material of the facility.

Contributing organisations include Alias, An Endless Supply, Back Lane West, Bristol Diving School, Low Profile, Performance Re-Enactment Society, The Royal Standard, Spike Associates, The Western Alliance, Visiting Arts and X-Panel.

OPERATIVES
For this exhibition Plymouth-based artists, writers and curators become Operatives with tasks, missions, goals and outcomes. They have two tiers:

AGENTS
Agents are responsible for research gathering. They will be active in the gallery and beyond, extending networks and their own practices. Agents are willing to travel and are happy to discuss their work and practice in public and group critique situations.

An Agent has use of the Production space in the upper gallery for the period of the exhibition to develop their practice. This space functions as a working artists’ studio for the duration of the exhibition; a space to share, collaborate and debate.

STEWARDS
Stewards manage and support the activities throughout the exhibition; they work in partnership with the Agents and visiting artists to timetable meetings, initiate research and facilitate presentations in the Contextualisation space. Operatives are also the public

interface of Control Point; they can guide you, the audience, around the space and introduce you to the resources of which you can make use.

ZONES
The gallery has been articulated to represent the various aspects of the activity embodied in the career of an artist, using particular spaces to contain specific activities and information.

The spaces allocated in the gallery are:

ORIENTATION
This is the baseline of information for Control Point. Here you will find information regarding each Operative, visiting artist and contributing organisation. In addition, residing in this space is the growing resource of intelligence collected by the Operatives through the residencies and research trips they make during the exhibition. In the Orientation space you may also discover the movements of the Operatives on reconnaissance, which will be tracked and monitored in this space.
CONTEXTUALISATION
This space provides a platform to explore the reference material for Control Point, the breadth of which includes early 20th century science fiction, artist-led initiatives, agencies for creative professionals, pedagogical theory and visual art practice. Operatives assist in the programming of this space where talks, screenings, workshops and performances will be delivered. The schedule for the Contextualisation space will be posted each week in the foyer.

PRODUCTION
This is where the Agents make and produce work. The space also plays host to visiting artists from across the UK. This space can be a traditional studio, but can also act as a repository for the Agents’ work. Natural and relaxed interaction and collaboration is encouraged between all Operatives and visiting artists.

Whilst the Production space is not regularly open to the audience publicly viewable critiques will take place each Friday afternoon. All other interaction with working Agents is facilitated by the Operative located in the Reflection space, please see below.
REFLECTION
This space provides an opportunity for display and public testing of works produced by Agents. A reception point in the space will be staffed by an Operative throughout the exhibition who will act as gatekeeper to the production space; interaction with the Agents working in this space is facilitated, please ask an Operative for further details.

In addition to the above the exhibition will embed itself in the working art life of Plymouth, becoming a temporal hub operating and active in this city. The importance of artists’ activity is that it responds to change, being flexible enough to adapt and react to dominant political or cultural trends (whether for or against it). Control Point: A Temporary Facility makes visible the thoughts, methods and procedures of this dynamic activity, challenging both audience and participant, encouraging enterprise, change and rigour. The legacy of Control Point will live on in the activities of the Operatives.

Operatives
Will Amery, Lauren Bishop, Lucy Brennen, Ryan Curtis
Scott Daniels, Elise darlow, Ali Donkin, Rebekah Gibbons, Frances Greenough, Beth Helliwell, Mikey Hey, Donna Howard, David Johns, Gemma Kaye, Ben Langworthy, Beth Richards, Jonathan Russell

CURATORS
Steven Paige is an exhibiting UK-based artist, whose work encompasses video, installation, publishing and performance. As part of his practice he also co-runs an artist-led space, Back Lane West, in the South West. He has recently completed a digital commission, Bibliophile, for The Reading Room at Arnolfini, Bristol.

Sovay Berriman’s studio practice incorporates
objects, drawings and texts and an interest in
science fiction, gothic literature, and survival. Sovay is also involved in the curation of collaborative projects such as Art + Writing, a programme of
seminars at Spike Island, Bristol.

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