engage Scotland Conference 2008

Hello Engage people! I know many of you are based in Scotland - but I hope you'll come to London for the next 'Who Wants to Be...?'- the experimental democratic game-show I talked about at Engage '08. The event is on the 7th November at the Unicorn Theatre, London Bridge - more information on http://whowantstobe.co.uk I've also written up a draft text - based on the talk I gave at Engage '08, and I'd really value your comments on the draft. It's ... [read more]

It's great to see people carrying on conversations after the conference. The evaluation process is under way so feel free to email me at scotland@engage.org to let me know what you thought and what you'd like to see at future engage Scotland events.

Neil McGuire asked a question, and I think we as a panel left the technology half of the question to one side. So, this is what I would have said: It was interesting that nobody speaking yesterday said they were really into the technology - it seemed rather that new technology, in changing the way people relate to each other and to culture, is giving cultural workers a lot to think about. It may also be that social networking and so on is simply ... [read more]

Saul Albert: Hi Kirstie, Just got back to London... How nice to have this forum to continue the discussions from yesterday! I remember a discussion years ago - I think on the nettime mailing list - during which someone used the phrase 'the tool is the message'. W... [read more]

Neil McGuire: thanks kirstie for picking up this point. I agree with what you're saying, and in addition reckon sauls quote from bruno latour on a different thread (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actor-Network_Theory) could also go some way to addressing it. I'm int... [read more]

Amanda asked about the ethics of participation. One thing I ought to have mentioned in relation to the Vocal panel was that they said afterwards they had been proud of seeing their material displayed to an audience, but they were equally gratified that their input had driven the Vocal process, and beyond that they had had a clear impact on staff behaviour and Collective planning. They were not just being invited to have a nice experience 'on us',... [read more]

Saul Albert: When thinking about ethics in networks of participation, I often return to this quote from Bruno Latour about the ethics of 'Actor Network Theory': (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actor-Network_Theory) "By abandoning the dreams of epistemology, ANT is ... [read more]

So, between me you and the gatepost, I’ve never used a social networking site before in my life ( - please don’t tell anyone because I’m co-programming a conference about it). I’m really interested in what makes a site like this work or not. What does it take to make people feel comfortable enough to post stuff? How do you get a discussion going? How do you? I liked what you said Kirstie in one of your comments about how maybe the future of ‘inte... [read more]

Ben Spencer: social networking - I think it's a personality thing! My turn to confess... I came off Facebook, because I didn't see the point. If you want to contact someone send an email, pick up the 'phone, write a letter or pop round for a cup of coffee ... But... [read more]

Kirstie Skinner: I love the idea that you are getting drawn in in spite of yourself Ben. (I have also had mixed feelings about facebook - I have been on and off and on again!). According to Nina Simon's film (see Maureen's link), these things work well if there is a ... [read more]

Moira: Hello Crowdviners, look forward to seeing you tomorrow! I'm interested in what happens to content of that discussion, when users are not of a generation or social group comfortable with the protocols. The hierarchical world of my profession, journali... [read more]

Book your place for the outdoor film screening of 'Under Assured' by Kate Gray and staff from Scottish Widows in Edinburgh on Arthur's Seat on Thursday evening. Conference participants can take a free bus from Tramway to Edinburgh for the screening followed by music and a BBQ at the Sheeps Heid. The bus will return to Glasgow by 11.30pm. Visit www.engage.org/downloadsUnderAssuredflyer.pdf for more information. Book your place via jillbrown@collec... [read more]

I won't make the engage conference but, as promised Kate, here is the link to the notes of Charles Leadbetter's keynote address to the first ever Social Enterprise World Forum, hosted by Scotland last week in Edinburgh. http://www.senscot.net/docs/SocialEnterpriseandTheWithEconomy.pdf The Forum included many often very moving accounts of social enterprises from across the world tackling ingrained social problems using business means, but his addr... [read more]

Interpretations is an action research project investigating the role of interpretation in breaking down barriers to access to contemporary visual art. Four galleries across Scotland were involved in this exciting project. A report on the Interpretations project has been written by Maureen K Michael drawing on work by Kirstie Skinner (Collective Gallery), Sarah Derrick (Dundee Contemporary Arts), Carol Dunbar (Pier Arts Centre) and Zoë Fothergill ... [read more]

If you'ld like people to contribute to this site who aren't here, go to 'My Network' at the top of this page and then to 'invite friends' where you can put in the email address of who you please and invite them in. Although the site has been set up to share ideas and generate discussions in the context of the conference – the site is open to anyone else who is interested in participating. If you aren’t coming to the conference or are unsure what ... [read more]

So what’s the potential of a site like this? (To individuals /the cultural sector/ the world?) To be honest, I don’t know, cos I’m new to it – but I could make a guess…things about sharing information and ideas, making new links, ‘raising the bar’ through getting a better sense of the context (like flinging open the doors of lots of tiny sheds that contain individuals who are carefully perfecting their very own wheel…) But maybe the real value – ... [read more]

Ele Carpenter: http://blog.humlab.umu.se I think the value of this crowdvine site is an opportunity to explore the relationship between text, image, and related information online through forums, blogging, linking and tagging. This is influencing the museum and art... [read more]

DK: Like with most things in life, the value of something usually relates to the input - which relates directly with the great quote on happiness that made me feel all warm inside :-) Taking my cue from Ele, sites like this can be so much more dynamic th... [read more]

Looks a great event (thanks Kate for the heads-up) - shame I won't be able to attend as in Jersey delivering a keynote at another conference... I recently did a masterclass on uses of social media (with a focus on young people as that's our bag) up at the AMA conference: http://tinyurl.com/58xamd Looking through the agenda would be great to have more practical sessions breaking down the (sometimes) scary barriers in rhetoric around web 2.0 and so... [read more]

Kate Tregaskis: I love that quote, DK, somewhere along that link that you put up - the one taken from the 'BT 21st Century Life Index Report' that goes: "...the preferred method of communication is still face-to-face. In fact, this is even more popular (in 2008) wit... [read more]

DK: It's a good quote and we have another way of putting it laid out in our manifesto (mediasnackers.com/intro/manifesto): Real life has more bandwidth :-)

http://museumtwo.blogspot.com (Click on 'What is Museum 2.0?') Here's a link to a video by Nina Simon (no, not Simone) who started the Museum 2.0 blog a couple of years back. She begins with the core definitions of Web 2.0 explaining how it removes authority from the content provider and places it in the hands of the user and she gives great examples of projects where this has happened. It's also interesting for the purposes of the conference bec... [read more]

Kate Tregaskis: This video will be showing during the conference lunch time at Tramway on the 11th Sept - but take a look beforehand if you can. It's the business!

Kirstie Skinner: Wow, it's like this video should be 'required listening'! (It took me a minute to find it - the link to it is on the right of the page, under 'What is Museum 2.0', where it says 'click here'). As well as a fantastic intro to the issues, it is powered... [read more]

I’ve been reading a book about ‘Mindsets’ by Carol Dweck. I came across her via the Learning About Learning website (Learning and Teaching Scotland) where she’s mentioned by Brian Boyd in connection with her writing about ‘self-theories’. Her theory about mindsets goes something like this: there are two types of mindset – a ‘fixed mindset’ or a ‘growth mindset’. The ‘fixed mindset’ is about wanting to get the right answer. People with this mindse... [read more]

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Kate Tregaskis: Hi Kirstie, So on my way to picking up my little boy from school on the bike I was thinking some more about that bus...what if the guys in the back said lets give this thing wings, and then someone else says that's not exactly environmentally friendl... [read more]

Ben Spencer: OK I've been drawn into the discussion, because I'm really ambivalent about the voice of 'the people' on the web driving forward all our work. I hope, however, I have a growth mindset and indeed find myself writing a blog for the PAR+RS web site. So ... [read more]

Kirstie Skinner: I agree - this has got to be one of the most challenging aspects of all this, and it is a nightmare trying to explain to students that not all references are equal! On the one hand, they often yearn for the definitive book on something (which of cour... [read more]

http://www.metamute.org/en/All-Problems-of-Notation-Will-be-Solved-by-the-Masses Here's another link to a related article - All Problems of Notation Will be Solved by the Masses by Simon Yuill in Mute magazine

OK, so what 'tone' is right for a site like this? Relaxed? Casual? Engaging? Colloquial? Genuine? To the point? Isn't one of the joys of sites like this the fact that you circumnavigate the official language of a person's job (- the kind of language that acts like a uniform by obscuring as much as it illuminates)? Isn't it about finding out what someone genuinely thinks? (Or at least feeling like you are doing) I've been thinking about this. Most... [read more]

Kirstie Skinner: I agree completely. There are few things that make my heart sink as much as interpretation that begins by telling you how important such and such an artist is, and how much of a coup it is that the gallery is showing their work. I always think, isn't... [read more]

Here's one we prepared earlier: http://www.hi-arts.co.uk/may-2008-feature-virtual-dinner-party.htm

Kate Tregaskis: Hi Robert, The Virtual Dinner Party looks really interesting - another thing I didn't know about ! I wonder if being 'time limited' (you told me the Dinner Party was time limited) keeps the whole thing more vital and energised...this is our aspiratio... [read more]

So the conference is less than a week away. The title is 'What do We-Think? New approaches to interpreting art' and it's about interpretation - or at least it's supposed to be. I'm not sure that's the best title any more and after a few months 'co-programming' the event with Maureen Finn I'm not sure I'm any clearer about what 'interpretation' actually is. There's what looks like a great conference coming up at the V&A on 19, 20 annd 21 Nov this ... [read more]

Ele Carpenter: Re titles: I was wondering about 'Mis-interpretation'... as a term which embraces the complexity of meaning(s). Either as a purposeful (artistic / political) strategy or through mis-communication...

With out the social niceties possible with face to face contact - what will it take to get people talking? Maureen and I (co-programmers of this conference) decided we wanted to set up a CrowdVine site for the event after chatting to artist / curator Ele Carpenter. Actually, it was Ele's idea. (Thanks Ele. Are you out there? ) I'm really excited by the potential this site has to start the ball rolling in terms of ideas prior to the conference. Bu... [read more]