Makers
Makers
Makers
Speed Dating
Artists Meeting Artists
At comet, we don't just want to put on traditional gallery openings, rather, we have a desire to create social situations where people can meet each other comfortably. We want to engage in a space where people have an equal opportunity to work collaboratively and generate connections with other creatives, organically.
This concept of speed dating is a response to the individualism rampant in our contemporary art world and explores how simple collaboration can build relationships.
Registered participants had an allocated time slot with each candidate and took turns asking a series of questions before the buzzer sounded. Every candidate then moved around so that everyone had a chance to meet and talk.
We predicted that, as with speed dating, this opportunity to meet and discover what others are working towards would generate creative partnerships. In order to discover whether the event was a success, we asked for feedback from participants. Rose Northey, a recent addition to the growing Comet Community, kindly shared her experience with us.
"No one found romance but there was a lot of passion going round
Not going to lie. When I first saw, “Speed dating - Artists Meeting Artists” being advertised I was confused. Why are these girls attempting to compete with tinder? And why are we encouraging artists to date other artists and kiss goodbye to a shot at financial stability?
I needn’t have worried. As I’m sure you all figured out, the intent behind event was to trial a new way to network with other artists. Alicia and Bobbie had done a beautiful job of making the comet space studio look the part with wee candles and an eclectic assortment of chairs (some of which were leather meaning that they created the most stunning sweat patches on such a sunny day). They supplied us with wine and tea and water. We were also given a sheet of conversation topics which all centered around our art.
Usually, strangers get phone calls or slowly sidestep away when I start talking about poetry. But at Speed Dating, people were actually listening and asking questions and even swapping ideas. The sheet of conversation topics was useful but we almost didn’t need it. People were talking about what they were passionate about so our only difficulty was in sticking to the 5-minute time limit. I made half a dozen great new connections that I might not otherwise have made. Not bad for an hour."
We hope that these connections can then be explored and perhaps developed into a collaboration or group show and could become part of Comet’s later 2019 programme.