Metal

3 Minute Wonders:  28 artists, 10 slides, 20 seconds.

Venue: TAP Studios, North Road Westcliff on Sea SS0 7AB

Metal offered 28 practising artists / creative practitioners the opportunity to work on presentation skills in a five-week programme.  Each participating artist was asked over the course of the five weeks to create their perfect 3 minute presentation to convey the essence of their work or a particular idea or piece.  Peer support, food and drink, fantastic networking and a friendly atmosphere was included to take away the usual fear of public speaking.

The format was inspired the popular Pecha Kucha events. Pecha Kucha was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of "chit chat", the format is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds.

Each participating artist / creative practitioner was asked to choose 10 images X 20 seconds resulting in a three minute presentation. It's a format that makes presentations concise and keeps things moving at a rapid pace. Peer support is vital, therefore the audience was made up of the 28 presenting artists. Each week special guest speakers, after making their presentation, were available to offer practical advice followed by a Q&A session.  

The programme ran from Tues 23 March 2010 – 20 April 2010 with guest speakers each week.

23.03.10 – Week one:    Introductions
30.03.10 – Week two:    First 7 artists' presentations. 
Guest speaker Mario Borza / Artist
06.04.10 – Week three:  Second 7 artists' presentations.
Guest speakers Pat And Trevor / Artists
13.04.10 – Week four:   Third 7 artists' presentations.
Guest speaker Lucy Harrison / Artist
20.04.10 – Week five:    Fourth 7 artiists presentations.
Guest speaker Hugh Dichmont / Tether Artists collective

Those who took part learnt how to capture the attention of the audience and put across the essence of their practice in an engaging and precise manner. 3 Minute Wonders attracted artistically diverse participants – (visual, theatre, film, graphic and lighting) – some of whom travelled from relatively afar, Surrey, Suffolk, London, to what is now becoming increasingly recognised as a cultural hub of activity, Southend on Sea.

What initially started out as a learning activity, soon turned into a support group with working relationships developed in the process. Feedback indicates that this has been a great opportunity to step out of a comfort zone and hone some new skills.

Many thanks to all those who took part. In no particular order they were:-

Sophia Simensky; Nikki Durbridge; Leezac Robinson; Lee Sullivan; Kristina Simenski; Jonathan Kipps; Katy Scott; Joanna Hartle; Ian Hurd; Tanya Knight; Hayley Lock; Gordon Flemons; Gerald Curtis; David Watkins; Andy Barak-Smith; Amy McKenny; Dan Davies; Deborah D’auria; Nastassja Simensky.