nickibopp | All about mutantspace | November 1, 2010
Edison’s Last Words
I have a torn piece of newspaper that has been bluetacked beside my bedroom lightswitch for several years in different flats. It must have been published on an anniversary of Thomas Edison’s death (Jan 23rd 1981) and contains a few nuggets from this supremely inspiring mind which did alot more than just light up the world (as if that wasn’t enough!). I post it there to remind me of its last line, which quotes one of the last things the scientist said to his wife as he drifted in and out of consciousness in his final days - “It is very beautiful over there.”
Singing
It feels so good to make music right from the centre of your body – especially with other people when the sum of the parts is something none of us could achieve alone. I’ve sung in choirs all my life since I was 11 and am a proud member of the Cork Chamber Choir. We were founded in 2005 by my great friend Anne-Marie Curtin (who I met through singing), starting very informally in the sitting room of my flat on Grattan Street. Last year the choir entered the Choral Festival for the first time and romped home first in the church music competition (can you romp in a cathedral?! My granny would’ve said not I suspect). I was gutted to be in the audience instead of singing as I’d taken a year out for studies – it brought out a very bad side to me that I wasn’t very proud of! It feels good to be back now and I’m really looking forward to performing with them again, we have a concert of really gorgeous music coming up in November. Singing the words of Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson is much more fun than Latin stuff!
Sweet Honey in The Rock
Sweet Honey and the Rock are such a powerful group of women – flawless and heartled singers, pioneers and activists too. They were founded by the amazing Bernice Johnson Reagon in the seventies. I’m really excited that their arrangements are now being published and I am hugely excited to have just received 6 transcripts that have made their way out from the US to me. I’m all fired up after a weekend of singing workshops with Guillermo Rozenthuler at the jazz festival and met a couple of great singers so I am hoping to get him over to workshop some of Sweet Honey’s music with us early next year. Sweet Honey in Cork? Maybe!
Sin É
I’m not sure when I started frequenting this beloved pub but it is the place for me. It’s the first pub I have felt like a real regular. What keeps drawing me back is the combination of great live music (especially trad nights Friday and Sunday), good heads and short memory! I can be myself there and am rarely pulled up on it – love that!
That feeling
The feeling that everything is somehow working quietly underneath all the chaos, a self – organising choreography. That feeling of being part of some wonderful vast process that is furthered by positivity and creativity. I catch glimpses of the cogs in the rewards of chanciness and in the achievements of people who are motivated by a vision that aligns their personal goals with their ideal of a better world beyond themselves. I’m sure there are those who would be scornful of my kind of optimism in a world that seems to be rapidly worsening as much or more than it’s improving. I have been like that in the past myself. I would like to suggest though, in a very earnest and supportive way, that they go fuck themselves. I think getting in touch with your own body and the world within is probably the best place to start to find the most fulfilling path in this crazy dance if it hasn’t revealed itself already. I’m no expert at this, in fact I think I’m pretty behind – so I’ve just started a bit of yoga.
about nickibopp
Nicki ffrench Davis has written 2 posts in this blog.
I'm just going to quote myself from a recent application for a course if that's ok ...
Immediately on finishing my BMus in 1999 I began work in the craft sector, working for a small knitwear company, Dyed in the Wool. I fulfilled a number of roles including office administration, packaging, basic accounting, retail, wholesale sales representation (national and international) and product design, and was made a director. This gave me invaluable business experience.
In 2004 I returned to education for a Higher Diploma in Arts Administration. I went from there directly to work in Cork County Council’s Arts Office as Music Projects Administrator. The core of this role was to prepare and deliver a residency for the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland in Cork, which was primarily an education project (fundraising and logistics).
In the course of my work with Cork County Council I met Francis Humphrys of West Cork Music who runs an international chamber music festival. I have worked for this festival each year since, mostly in Stage Management and Front of House and also work for West Cork Music in various ad hoc capacities from time to time. (social, logistics)
In June 2005 I was engaged by Cork 2005: European Capital of Culture to start up and manage the programme’s Public Information Centre (social, research, management).
In 2006 I was employed by the East Cork Early Music Festival as their first professional administrator.
In September 2006 I began work for Civic Trust House as Building Administrator. This was a start-up project.
Starting in 2007 I have been sub-contracted by Cork City Council to provide administrative support to a number of Council-driven projects.
My work at Civic Trust House is essentially very practical and I work quite independently. I employed on a contract basis by the 8 arts organisations resident at Civic Trust House – each company has one representative member of the Management Committee which I answer to.
I am contracted to provide the following services:
1. All matters related to the initial set up of Civic Trust House for the use of the resident art groups (completed 2006).
2. Supervision and administration of shared space in the building.
3. Supervision and administration of the building’s utilities.
4. Liason with the landlord (Cork City Council), the building’s guardians (Cork Civic Trust) and other service organisations.
5. Receptionist duties, maintenance of financial records and accounts.
6. General administrative duties.
7. Support for the activities of the resident arts groups.
8. Monthly reports to the Management Committee.
9. Recording secretary at monthly Management Committee meetings.
10. Other duties necessary to ensure the successful carrying out of the terms of this contract as well as such duties as the Management Committee may from time to time direct.
In the course of my time here I have also taken on other roles.
- On a day-to-day basis I take care of practical house-keeping and waste management.
- I secured a €40,000 capital grant to improve our shared office facilities and provide film-making and editing equipment for the companies’ use. I built and maintain our website, www.civictrusthouse.ie .
- I arrange internal social events and in September 2008 managed our first public event for Cork’s first Culture Night (like Nuits Blanches).
- I keep a digital archive of any articles related to resident organizations that appear in our locally-produced national newspaper (in the absence of any other being available).
- In 2008 I conceived a delivered a new project for Civic Trust House: Culture Vouchers. This is a gift voucher which can be used in exchange for products and services provided by all the companies in the building. Culture Vouchers are presented in a gift pack which contains a 2009 Calendar/Diary full of high-quality images of previous productions and 2009 scheduled events marked in.
I approach my work from quite a defined ethical position which informs much of what I do, this means that I am strict about recycling, the products and services we use (fairly-traded and environmentally friendly whenever possible) and the suppliers I choose to provide them.
The next twelve months for us are quite crucial. One of the original resident companies had to finish up in 2008 due to lack of funding and one of the current resident companies are likely to have to finish in the coming months as their funding has been completely cut by the Arts Council. This means that we will have to try to find a replacement, which in today’s climate is a big challenge. I need to make having an office here in the house (which, with substantial overheads, is a considerable expense despite being rent-free). Our residency here is funded by Cork City Council and I do not feel that we should take it for granted that it will continue into the future come what may. Therefore I feel we need to look at providing extra value to the city in order to justify continued support. One way I see of doing this is to hold more public events, which can in turn raise the profile of our activities and attract more audiences – providing the double benefit of boosting box-office income.
