Is there anybody out there?
It is OK to ‘think’ you have a fantastic idea for a project; the problem is communicating that enthusiasm to others! I encountered this problem in Rochford. I have been lucky (spoilt?) in the past, in that I have not had to populate any of the art projects that I have been involved with. My position has always been that volunteers should not be cajoled into participation - they are VOLUNTEERS after all. I still believe this, and set about my endeavour with the same attitude. I began by writing to various groups in Rochford, asking if they would be interested in participating in the design of A Secret Sculpture. Pretty soon after, the council received a call asking if my project was a joke . . .
Hmm, I had to think of another tactic.
Perhaps my own scintillating personality and charisma would help? So, I decided to leaflet the Rochford Christmas Fair on Saturday 2nd December. ALL of Rochford was there (if you saw me, I was the one handing out the green leaflets). There were lots of events going on: a performance by a local children’s theatre group, Military Band, Morris Dancing and a modernised Town Crier (John Shrubb from Billericay) who was reading from an email hidden inside his scroll. I met loads of people and told them about the project - if this wasn’t going to work as a recruitment exercise, I hoped it would at least start to instigate rumours around the project.
