First day in residence

February 21st 2007
185 car miles
Carbon Footprint = 52kg

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6.30 am

Driving east into the sunrise. Crossed into Tipperary at Killaloe/Ballina, over Lough Derg. Reached Nenagh by 8 am. Looked for Ordnance Survey maps of North Tipp; none available [sold out]. Drove every route out of Nenagh and back in again, to get my bearings. 2 articles in Tipperary Voice re; residency, radio interview on Tipp FM the previous evening. Checked out coffee shops [nothing open before 9], second hand shops to see what people discard [not much wool there] and camera shops [nothing open before 10] and various gift/newsagent shops for Leprechaun items.Small shop for rent called New Amsterda(m) . Must check out the cost.

11 am; North Tipp Civic Offices - meeting with Martina Finn, acting Arts Officer. Discussion about aims and objectives of residency, followed by negotations around contract; these took up the whole day.
We agreed the following aims, objectives and indicators;

Aims
1. To research and develop my work practice in response to the context of North Tipp.
2. To work in a transparent and accountable way.
3. To generate a sustainable element or activity through the residency, something that can be built on post-project.
4. To generate discussion about the future of art in rural contexts, with particular reference to North Tipperary.
5. Create ongoing opportunities for the community to encounter and develop an understanding of the work practices of a contemporary visual artist.

Objectives
Develop a body of work comprising images, texts, photographs, drawings, found imagery, objects etc.
Maintain a public record of the process through a web journal on the Shifting Ground website
Connect with research being generated by Jay Koh/CityArts through the Research/Thesaurus/Process project [Shifting Ground is a research partner in that project].
Make connections with local artists with a view to sharing ideas and experience.
Open discussions with local rural organizations on cultural development as an aspect of rural development.

Indicators
Media coverage of residency and related aspects
Attendance at public events/discussions generated through the residency
Public feedback via e-mail and discussions
Development of work through the residency
‘Outcome’ of the residency whatever form that takes
Post-residency developments

Martina mentioned that various departments in the council have different kinds of maps of the county; I would really like to get copies of all of the different types of maps.evening; drove to the Source Arts Centre in Thurles to give the first talk in the Visual Dialogues series. Very windy road, raining, dark. Difficult to negotiate all those lights and bollards along the road - I find it visually very confusing.No-one came to the talk! This raises interesting issues around the existing culture of artist interaction etc.

2 1/4 hours drive home - very, very tired.