Life's a Pitch - Meeting with Shearlait

After discussing with the group ideeas for the project me, Rosie and Zoe went to talk to Shearlait at her studio.

- wanting to get a clear picture about what it is we're going to do

- see what is possible with real life restraints 

first Monday of month - open space for other people to do boring shit
- website, emails

bringing people together for crit

meeting room - the tetley?

contact other places with meeting rooms

EAST STREET ARTS
- negotiates short term leases, exhibitions/talks
- good for the council to have people in the buildings
- open spaces?
- contact them

- Sharon (?) Leeds Arts (organises residencies for East Street Arts)

Workshops idea

Co-working (but fun)

Air(e?) Place studios (Kirkstall Road) (near temple)
- do events to bring people together
- more casual and affordable

Needs to have another benefit if people aren't paying to use the services

Space seats up to 16 max - 10 -12 ideal
- one day a month/every two weeks
- needs to be under the guise of a running event
- ticketed

Set a theme for the crits?
- let whoever wants to respond
- professional or personal

Organising
- we do the organising
- branding
- costing, etc
- doesn't feel like the branding needs to fit with her own existing branding/marketing

Event rather than the venue

Either charges commission or hourly rate

Contacts people/they contact her, wants to become more collaborative

Wants to start collaborating with Leeds Arts University

Make the location a vital part of the branding

Branding for her?
- start simple, build up

Aire Street Dark Rooms (photography)

What to do next:
 - The opportunity for us to host a regular monthly or fortnightly event in Shearlait's studio is there, she said she'd be happy for us to organise something like that.
 - She gave us a lot further insight into places in Leeds which potentially have spaces for us to use, or have a similar mentality about wanting to create affordable spaces for creatives in Leeds. With these organisations we could potentially develop a more idealistic situation as well as a doable one.