Wednesday 27th January 2010, day four.

The second run of Junto:Mentor draws to an end.

Following warm-ups, some more critical feedback sessions and lunch, all meet for a let’s-not-call-it-evaluation session, to discuss what has been memorable, what has been of benefit, and how some of what has happened can continue on outside of Junto:Mentor.

Here is a selection of their feedback:

“I’ve really enjoyed the sort of group-therapy style!”

“It’s when you’re at Uni, there’s still an element that you’re going to get a mark isn’t there. And when you work professionally, there’s an element where people could judge it either way or you get a review, but there’s something about this setting that isn’t any of those remits. And that’s actually extremely nice because you really truly feel like you’re taking a look into [your work], or into other peoples’ work without there being any other loaded reasons underneath it. That’s actually quite special – I don’t think there are many opportunities for artists to have that kind of crit.”

“I liked that bit when I got to talk about my work a lot, because I don’t think there are a lot of opportunities for that. If you go to a show or something and you might talk about what you do but in a brief way because no one’s going to stand there and let you describe every little detail. So it’s nice to be able to talk about your work and have it discussed without feeling like you’re talking to much.”

“I like how it spilt into the eating time and after sessions going to the pub and more and more…”

“This has been like a little special haven. Things are quite mad outside, like in proper life, but here at least it feels as though one thing is being looked after […] for me, it’s given me something to do to keep going and not lose heart…”

“I loved the warm-ups at the start of each session […] all the eye contact games, it really connects everyone,  they really made everyone feel comfortable to discuss things…”

“I really liked Phillip’s crit, and I just kept telling everyone about your work for the rest of the week..”

“It’s good seeing everyone’s projects and how they develop […] you just feel like there’s a group of people that know what you are doing, and you can keep going ‘ah this week I have done this’…”

“I remember being greeted so warmly by Emma and Chloe who I think I saw first, and Phoebe when I walked in, and I had so many expectations and pre-conceived ideas of what is this to be and how this was going to work, and instantly feeling very relaxed, which was a really lovely thing to enter so thanks very much”

Participants and mentors split into pairs and discussed what they think has happened over the course of Junto:Mentor. They then fed back to the group on behalf of their partner. Here is a selection:

“Joe has had lots of interesting ideas and met lots of people. He is less scared to take himself seriously as an artist now.” – Chloe

“We were talking about the differences for Jieun in the mentoring; this time we had a theme which gave it a focus. We also talked about there wasn’t really a hierarchy, and I think both ways this was nice because as an artist you don’t feel too shy or too inhibited to express anything, and in the same way the mentors are learning from the mentees […] an equal exchange which is somehow more productive” – Janie

“Janie has the confidence to broaden her practice in the way she had hoped […] and now has a good idea about how to combine two disciplines, and with Chloe’s enthusiastic help” – Jieun

“Chloe’s enthusiasm made me feel [my idea is] not so mad” - Janie

“Louisa thought that this one gave her more confidence in leading workshops. And we were talking about the warm-ups and how people loosen up” – Sadie

“Sadie found her crit really useful and through that has been able to identify the main points of what her work is about” –Louisa

“James realised he was feeling quite isolated and it was good to hang out with a group of artists and see that everyone has key concerns and everyone has their own projects as well. He realised he should stop destroying his work, and is questioning how useful it is to see professional shows as a benchmark and realised its actually ok to be just starting out. And he got better knowledge about funding.” – Daniel

“Daniel has got more confidence talking to people, not worrying whether it is right or wrong, just the confidence of saying what he felt. Hanging out made him more enthusiastic about making work, and being able to speak more about what he does” – James

“Red Eggs and Spam really enjoyed the whole process of being able to talk about everything, and through that and all the discussions, managed to get a firmer grasp of their practice as a whole. They would like to do it all again!” – Phillip

“We were talking about your crit, and how you enjoyed it and found it works much better when people ask you questions about his work so you can react to it. And we were disagreeing about the Liz [Lerman Critical Response Process] because I said no to that and he was all up for it. And then we were talking about how to set something up after this and maybe having a session once a month…” – Red Eggs and Spam

“Phoebe found that through watching our critical processes and the mentoring its sort of unearthed questions about her reasons for making her work […] and questions about where she wants to show her work. […]. She’s loved the peer mentoring experience because even though primarily she is facilitating and giving, you learn just as much through that process about your work…and headlines being like motivation for having your finger on the pulse of what you are doing… ” – Maddie

“Maddie said she has become more assertive and confident talking about her work and is not as shy about showing her past work. There are a couple of questions that haven’t been answered such as where she could show her photography[…] but she is definite about where she wants her performance work to go and she feels confident that it can be like marmite – people either love it or hate it, and that’s ok” – Phoebe

“Emma has felt like this group has been a particularly cohesive one, and that has led the mentors in her personal feelings to be more confident about what they do. The cohesiveness has also allowed for a comfortable atmosphere and even though there has been quite a linear structure, it has allowed the content of it to evolve naturally. Sessions have run over time, but that has been a positive thing as it has shown how comfortable everyone has been in each others’ presence.” – Tiffany

“Tiffany really found the crit earlier helpful; she has learned about how that piece can be developed. And she has had crits on the same piece before, but without the same outcome. She enjoyed using the structure and the Liz Lerman technique and the way that it incurred random thoughts and she feels she now has some ammunition take the piece in a new direction.” - Emma