Had a tutorial on 25^th Oct with Roxane Permar who is leading the course on Art and Social Practice. We were talking about the plan for our mini-project. ‘Tiree in Your Words’ aims to collect 5 words from as many folk as we can on Tiree with the aim of discovering what people feel about Tiree. Or at least what words they come up with when asked ‘please say what Tiree means to you in five words’

Roxane is brilliant and left us feeling challenged and feeling the need to look at the project with fresh eyes. The main sense I was left with is that we are not really challenging ourselves do something different. We are using a familiar mechanism to collect information, through familiar channels using skills that we are comfortable with. Our main point of contact with people will be at arms length, through the ‘glove’ of a leaflet.

Action points for us following the meeting

To think about how the projects is explained and to have different levels of information available – a longer article in An Tirisdeach (the fortnightly Tiree Newsletter) may help this.
To consider the explanation of why we are doing this
To formally test the leaflet and how we explain the project to a group of people before the leaflet is finalised. Do they find it boring, difficult, easy, too abstract, too corporate?
To ensure that the collaboration with Sam (and Sophie) is clearly defined.
To be vigilant in making opportunities for engagement as the project evolves.
To consider holding events like the box making and the box opening
To keep asking is the project meeting our aims?
Being aware that we have chosen not to look at a social issue as such.
To think about asking people if it is okay to display the tear off slips.
Timescales may need to slip a little to allow us to respond to these points.

It was also good to identify what bits of the project are going well:

Despite reservations about lack of focus and over ambition we remain excited by the project and feel that lack of focus allows a simplicity and openness that is a strength.
Working with Fiona and getting to know each other along the way
Thinking carefully about how the project is designed, how it may perceived and working to reach a wider audience
Level social engagement we will achieve is unknown, but our plan includes actions for face-to-face contact and reaching people through others.
Working with Sam, and implementing an idea that came from a conversation to get ideas!
Considering the aspect of exchange.
We are making progress against actions we agreed in the plan.
Awareness of the limitations of our project due partly to time constraints and existing commitments.