Dear friend,
I hope this finds you warm and well.
I am writing to invite you to take part in ‘The Waiting Place’, a collaborative project that I am curating in collaboration with artist Emily Godden and commissioned by The Art Station.
The project will combine mail art, a physical exhibition at The Art Station, an Instagram account and an online exhibition in a unique online environment called ‘The Waiting Place’ that will be designed by Emily (and will be very different from an ordinary website).
Contributors will include artists, writers, curators, actors, designers, musicians - creative practitioners from all fields. And though participants will be asked to send their responses on the back of the postcard provided, responses are not limited to visual art or 2D media such as painting, drawing and collage - writing as well as web links to film, video, music, animation or any other media are welcome (and encouraged!)
This is a project about waiting, made during a global pandemic, at a time when we are all collectively waiting in so many ways. Waiting for things to get back to normal, for things to change completely, waiting for a cure, waiting to get sick, waiting to get better. Waiting for news from loved ones, and news from government. Waiting for test results, waiting to find work, and waiting in particularly long socially distanced queues at the supermarket.
The poem on the postcard that will be provided is an extract from a children’s book called ’Oh, the Places You’ll Go!’ by Dr Seuss. If you haven’t read the book, I thoroughly recommend it, it’s brilliant. The book describes the journey of life, and was the last book published by Dr Seuss during his lifetime.
If you’d like to take part in the project, please let me know your postal address and I will send you a postcard onto which to make your response, a letter of invitation, a very short form to complete, and return postage.
About The Art Station:
The Art Station is a non-profit arts organisation, developing a new workspace for the creative industries in Saxmundham and as a base for an arts programme for the local community and coastal Suffolk. More information on can be found online at theartstation.uk
I hope that you will join us for this project bringing together a very large group of artists and creative practitioners together virtually, via post, and eventually (hopefully!) physically.
With thanks, and love, and very best wishes,
Ann Marie James