A Nice Talk (30/04/24)

That was the day I was supposed to show Lisa the first draft of my workshop plan. Admittedly the plan was not as satisfying as I thought due to my poor time management. Still, Lisa looked at the positive aspects of the proposal and gave me quite a few useful suggestions. We scheduled to meet again in June, and by that time I’ll give her the completed proposal. We also looked back my experience working on the project at Changing Relations together. While answering her various questions, I suddenly realised how much I had gained in the placement. What I appreciated even more was that, based on her observations of me during this placement, Lisa discussed with me my personal potential and possible future paths in the cultural sector. She warmly introduced me to a creative producer she knew so that I could have a conversation with her and know more about the job and the industry. I am truly blessed to have met someone as thoughtful and considerate as Lisa, and I hope this organisation can keep going well after my leaving.

Photographing Day (09/04/24)

Lisa was on her break, so it was only Queenie and me taking pictures of the objects at Oriental Museum, in Ivy’s company! However, it was such an embarrassment that none of us knew how to use the camera provided properly. We tried so hard but still didn’t figure it out, so we had to take pictures with the camera in an imperfect state. We were so worried about the quality of the photos that Queenie was even thinking about walking home to get her own camera. Thanks to the friend we had lunch with, who was also an experienced camera user, the technical issues were finally resolved. One can never imagine how excited we were when we took the first CLEAR picture. Later on, although we have been working on issues such as lighting and backgrounds, the overall progress of photographing was a lot smoother. I’m so glad we ended up with good pictures!

This picture was an accident🤣

Moving objects📦 Moving stories😢

Lisa and I made the final decision on which objects would be used for the workshop and which would be sold. Afterwards, we took the objects to be photographed from Lisa’s office to Oriental Museum with Queenie, and we discussed the date for doing the photography with Alix. We then found a place to sit down and chat, where I finally had a chance to ask Lisa more about this organisation.

Honestly speaking I didn’t phrase my questions very clearly, but Lisa understood my questions very well. She broke them down into smaller ones and patiently gave answers to each of them. She is really a good listener and a good person to talk to! I was deeply moved after hearing all the stories of Lisa’s journey from founding to running the organisation. I admire and respect her courage to jump into her career with little knowledge about the difficulty she might face. Also, although Lisa does not create artworks herself, she is always trying to pass on awareness through those artworks, which is pretty close to what I want to do – that’s why her story inspires me to a large extent. I hope that in the remaining time of this placement, I can bring her valuable help in designing a workshop proposal to her satisfaction.

Getting Closer

It’s been a long time since I last met Lisa. In our meeting this Tuesday, I shared my thoughts gained from the discussion with Ross about handling collections earlier this month, and pointed out the difference between the Oriental Museum’s projects and ours, which respectively focus on historical objects and contemporary ones. Then, we discussed the next stage of our project. Next month, we will photograph the objects for documentation, which requires me to contact Alix from the Oriental Museum in advance. I will also work independently to organise information about the collections, including how they relate to the necessary themes and the various poetries and statistics related to those themes, which will be the points to provoke discussion and reflection among the students during the actual workshops. In other words, I’m finally getting started on the key part of this project that will practise my ability to integrate information and creativity, exciting!

As it will pretty much be a busy time for both Lisa and me next month, we decided to take our time rather than to rush, so that we can calmly move forward with the project. This may lead me to postpone the writing of my report, but I’m glad to participate in this project more attentively and completely, as well as to have met such a kind and responsible supervisor as Lisa.

Here’s the picture of cookies Lisa baked herself, and she gave some to Queenie and me. (Actually tastes good!)

Actual examples of handling collections

On Tuesday 30 January, I went to Ushaw with Queenie. We didn’t actually get any work done, but rather Lisa handed over some important materials to us. We encountered various problems with the transfer of files, but luckily the USB stick I had brought along out of habit helped us solve some of them. While those that were not solved could only be dealt with at the next meeting.

Two days later, I went to the Oriental Museum to discuss handling collection with Ross, and he enthusiastically showed me several examples of their workshops and answered everything I asked. The conversation helped me a lot, as I managed to get clearer ideas about how a handling collection works and open up my mind! Whether it’s by direct observations and speculations about objects, or by using and experiencing them in person, it’s all about forming your own theories and engaging with the objects in a meaningful way.

I will then apply what I’ve learnt so far to my design of the handling collection. I hope that with Lisa’s help, I can use my creativity to make this workshop both fun and educational!

More boxes got recycled!

I went to Ushaw with Queenie on Tuesday 23rd February. Even though I couldn’t get to the Oriental Museum in advance as I mentioned in the last blog due to scheduling issues, it was still a productive day! I organised and documented some essential information about the objects that will be used in the handling collections.

Besides measuring their sizes, I also referred to the various poems and statistics provided by Lisa and tried to find out how the objects related to them, which was undoubtedly an important preparation for designing the workshop. As we had limited time in the office, I finished the rest of my work in the library the next day.

Like the last time, before we left the office we took some more waste cardboard boxes to be recycled – this time there were three of us, which pushed this task forward a fair bit more!

First Day

It's finally my first day at work, so long as literally working inside my brain counts. Still, I felt so excited and fulfilled to get to take a closer look at all these collections and think carefully about how they could provoke more people to reflect on gender stereotypes, masculinity, and honour/shame – In the process, I found my own mind opened up as well!

After work, Lisa and I took plies of waste cardboard boxes in the office to be recycled, and even then there was still a lot left over, seems the recycling is also going to be a long-term job for us.

The weather was so good on the way back to the college and I felt greatly refreshed. Before my next visit, I should go to the Oriental Museum to learn more about how to make a handling collection and also to continue developing my thoughts on the topics.