6. Facilitator

My Role
It is important to accept what my labels are too, within myself, the group and in wider work. As I begun this assignment, rapport and relationships with everyone is important; both to provide a safe a productive space, as well as building professional links.

One of my internal labels is that I provide ‘artistic opportunities’ for individuals. As a facilitator that is what you are providing; a chance for someone to connect with art and find within it what they need for their creative growth (Moore, 2003:167).

The facilitator can also be collaborator with individuals and group – both supporting each other’s creative practice.

My work

I have found that this project has done this for my own practice in different ways – both thematically but also through the strong imagery of cubes, hexagons, angles and cuboid shapes.

I particularly like the underlying theme of connection – even down to the shapes of the hexagons; with aesthetic connotations of bees and hives. This influenced my ideas and thinking on another project of my own about Co-operation and the Co-operative Wholesale Society for the International Year of the Co-operative.

Reflection

A key area to a facilitator’s role is reflecting. Influenced by Kolb’s (1984) reflective model as cited in Scales (2008;77-78), all different aspects of work are influenced by each other in a reciprocal way. These areas influence and develop together:

My Research – Understanding and knowledge

My reflections – assessing how work has gone and finding areas I would like to develop.

My development - Exploring my learning and development through my own reflections, as well as feedback by others and questionnaires in the group.

My Journey and Learning – Sharing wither others may also enable me to determine any blind-spots in my thinking.

As well as have an understanding of teaching, it is important to also have a working knowledge of my own work and practice as well as a healthy balance between the two that feeds both spheres (Erikson, 2003).

Greater Than the Sum

Through this project I have gained a great deal about working with groups and how to develop ideas into a curated show.

During the same year I had also curated two other exhibitions, including an open exhibition. From these experiences I learnt to listen to my inner voice – the answers and aesthetic decisions that I ‘already knew’ but was finding it hard to connect with before. This experience was quite liberating and my confidence grew with reaffirming what in some ways I already knew.

The development has been to challenge members into new territories with their art and as a group, while still providing a safe space for everyone. I feel this was achieved and some of the group have gone on volunteer at exhibitions and other groups, as well as one member doing their own solo exhibition in the gallery which the whole group including myself are really excited about.

There are potential plans for the future to have another exhibition in September 2013 again. I am hoping to build further on the group’s interactions with more group pieces and user-led decisions and hopefully some professional collaborations myself with creative writers and singers etc.

My own work has been influenced and is continuing to be by the work of the participants. This whole assignment as well has been inspired by the project – with square and hexagons a reoccurring theme. It has been so fulfilling as all my ideas and the group’s ideas have come together – all underpinned by this notion of things being greater than the sum of their parts.

Next...The Process