Arts Council England evaluation report.

Heath Bunting <heathbunting@irational.org>; http://irational.org/heath/

40 Rosebery Ave, St Werburghs, Bristol, BS2 9TN
Tel: 0117 9553780

Application to:

Developing and realising visual arts project, Grant for artists:

Funding awarded for:

Project: Do It Yourself Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid Day (DIY DNA DAY).

1. Exhibition: Art of the Biotech Era, Adelaide, Australia.

This was a publicly popular and successful show.

I enjoyed the fact that most of the artists actually turned up and
were able to hang-out, which makes doing gallery shows worth the
effort.

I made good contact with Foam and was invited, together with Kayle
Brandon, to contribute to their tension workshop.
Some reading:

It was also very good to get to know the staff and the history of 
The Experimental Art Foundation. While I was there we talked about
the possibility of a solo show there in 2005.

2. Art of the Biotech Era Symposium, Adelaide, Australia.

As ever, its good to have a chance to show off and flirt, but
such sessions only really function as an introduction to the
presenters and their projects. No real exchanges or developments
seem to ever take place as such formal gatherings, unless augmented
with social occasions such as dinners, parties and physical
adventures.

3. Art of the Biotech Era Workshop, Adelaide, Australia.

This was a great event and should be as overly repeated as
Photoshop workshops.

We were thrown into what felt like the deep end, but was probably only
really everyday high school. None the less, we were all excited and
inspired.

Performing practical processes unknowingly, but guided by theoretical
learned tutors was a great way to learn. Each day started in personal
ignorance, but by the end everything made fell into the right places
with the added benefit that you had actually accomplished something
practical.

There were some ethical and aesthetic discussions also thrown in, but
these were mostly a frustration to my practical enthusiasm.

Adelaide has a great sk8 park, in which I learnt to do axle
stalls.

4. R&D for ART+SURF event, Byron Bay, Australia.

I am currently considering organising an art surf event in Byron
Bay January 2005.

I spent a week there after Adelaide conducting research.

5. DIY DNA DAY, Cube, Bristol.

bristol

DIY DNA DAY was publicised as:

An afternoon for budding biotech hobbyists at the 
CUBE microplex, Bristol, UK.

Bring your kit and caboodle for display, exchange
and experimentation (Discovery Kids DNA Explorer welcome.

I was intending to structure the event as a craft/ hobbyist fair, 
but it quickly turned into a workshop led by Julia from PowerFarm.
Participants wanted safe hands on step by step guidance from Julia.

I had publicised the event widely and was hoping for a broad range
of public, but only art practitioners attended apart from 
some media interest, who where conducting research for future 
television programmes.

I had also planned it to last only a few hours, but it ended up
lasting several days with people roaming the streets of Bristol 
making biotech interventions.
biotech for the people sticker graffiti street art st agnes bristol

tree patent fly poster notice bristol

dnaxchange glory hole poster cube cinema bin bristol

There is a clear desire and need for a week long practical and 
creative workshop.

Whether as an artist you support or oppose, or believe biotech is on
the advance or the retreat, its still worth getting educated in
practice, ethic and theory.