OCA Photography Residential, Barnsley 2015
It’s the first time to Barnsley for me. John Umney, on the other hand, fellow organiser and OCASA President, has visited more times than he cares to remember. I’m wheeling my suitcase full of photo books down the hill from the Premier Inn, and it is starting to gather its own momentum. I blame Jeff Wall. But I am not alone. There are fourteen of us, all level two or three photography students, plus two tutors and all are negotiating their unruly suitcases up and down kerbs. I see the frontage of Barnsley Civic Centre, vaguely reminiscent of the angular blocks of De Stijl. Not at all how I imagined a Civic Centre to look. Up on the fourth floor of this modern building is a light and airy room. This will be our creative hub for a weekend of intense classroom activity.
In the spirit of ‘squeezing as much in as we can’, breaking in to a sweat after lugging suitcases, is no excuse for not moving proceedings quickly along to the much anticipated pechakucha session. Yes we’d never heard of it before either, but Jesse Alexander assures us of its merits. It’s basically a low-fat diet of powerpoint…each of us are restricted to 20 seconds per slide and there’s 20 slides each. It’s on auto-run so you can’t cheat either! They are the fastest seconds you will ever talk through. Certainly an effective ‘ice-breaker’. And well done Stan and Marie for winning a much coveted lollipop for theirs.
There is much to cover in a post like this and it is not that easy to do the weekend justice. It can soon become a ‘we did this, and then we did that’ type of account…which I don’t think really gets to the heart of it. I could tell you about the fourteen art crit sessions guided by tutors Jesse Alexander and Sharon Boothroyd; or the all-too-quick session on book-making; or the two diametrically opposed styles of presenting given by landscape photographer John Davies and Laura Pannack, a social documentary and portrait photographer.
I could tell you about how all delegates really got in to the spirit of things; or how enthused, inspired or nervous we were at times; or the fact that we were on our knees by the end. I could share with you some of the very few photos we photography students cumulatively took of the weekend, but again it fails to capture it…and by it I think I’m getting at friendship and community. Now I’m sounding ‘right-on’, but being amongst fellow students going through the same thing at the same time, in an informal relaxed environment, is it.
For Marie Aldridge, a level three student, this was her first residential:
“…great to meet everybody. Really enjoyed all of it. Even the bits I was nervous about. There were lots of new and worthwhile experiences for all of us. We were all left with lots to think about. The idea that I now know people on the same course is very reassuring.”
Karen Gregory, a level two student also found that:
“It was great to meet and connect with you all this weekend; it was enjoyable, educational, inspiring and also at times, a little nerve racking”
This isn’t the first ever photography residential. For those of you who have studied with OCA for a while, you may recall we held one at Leeds just over three years ago.
Shaun Clarke, a level three student who attended the first and flew over from Munich for this event:
“…I have renewed energy and a sense that it can only get better from here. It was so much fun meeting everyone and feeling as if I was part of a group all trying to achieve the same thing, rather than someone locked in their isolation trying to understand what to do and where to go”
And putting the academics, the learning and the serious stuff to one side for a moment…it’s the banter and camaraderie we all benefit from! Maybe Brian Cooney who flew in from Ireland encapsulates it:
“…I’m only disappointed that at the end of every evening we solved all the world’s problems but couldn’t remember the answers in the morning!”
Yep!
So there you have it.
Finally, it does need saying that OCA have been very supportive and helpful, so its not like John and I were left floundering with the weight of organising the event on our own. Eddie from the OCA…you are a star! Everybody has made a big effort. But we’re at level three now, so how many more residentials we’ll squeeze in before we graduate I’m not sure, but perhaps students from other disciplines and other levels might think about what they could do…it’s certainly worth a thought.
15 thoughts on “OCA Photography Residential, Barnsley 2015”
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Thanks, Penny, sums it up in just the right tone – fun, productive, collaborative, and kna****ing! And, just to be clear, Marie and I did get a lollipop each, we didn’t have to share!
It looks like it was a fruitful week-end for everybody! Congratulations Penny and John for organizing it and the Memory exhibition!
I would love to attend one of these residential in the next years and would be happy to help organize if the experience happens again next year. As an oversea student far from Europe, one of the problem for me is that it is hard to plan something like that less than 6 months before the date, so I wish that we could maybe next time announced it well in advance.
There are a few with experience who, in all likelihood, will still be around this time next year -including me – who would be happy to provide advice and guidance. OCASA should be a first port of call for students considering this type of event and also OCA HQ, perhaps particularly Eddie who really helped enormously to make this happen. There were three students at this residential who flew in to join up, so planning is vital as you say Stephanie, but the links that are built are equally so.
Dear John, I hope that you didn’t think I was criticizing the organization. I am really grateful for more advanced students like you and Penny putting so much effort and thinking into organizing new things like this residential and making them work. It was apparently a success and I think that it is wonderful! I also perfectly understand that you cannot take into account the whole range of constraints met by all the students at the OCA. But as a student willing to participate to such events in the future, and living on another continent (not the same thing as living in Europe and flying to UK) I just wanted to formulate what could be a constraint for me and other students with the same profile, that’s it.
Thanks again for working so hard at making the Photography section such a dynamic place, it is inspiring and energizing even when we cannot participate, and I sincerely mean it!
Hi Stephanie,
I did not read your comments in a negative light and can say that as a fellow student on a different continent I too would like to attend but find it difficult to justify (financially) and coordinate with regard to possible travel. I look forward to a future event that I can attend.
You are quite right that the cohort that have been active organising such events benefit us too. Reading their feedback is helpful and the fact that they have paved the road for the future is a huge plus.
John & Penny – week done for putting together an event that seems to have been a great success.
Stephanie, no not at all.
Although my travel was long, it was only from Munich to Manchester and then train to Barnsley, so cannot compare to an intercontinental trip. However, I can say that as a remote student this was even more important for me. I am not able to regularly attend gallery visits or regional group meetings, so I value any time with other students and tutors so much more. This weekend and Leeds before it really provided me with a needed lift in spirits and added a social element to what can become a very lonely study. It is a hard thing to justify, but so so valuable.
I feel transformed, just looking at other students work and comparing to mine, is sparking new ideas and I have a renewed desire to get on and complete the degree – and have fun doing it. I hope we do this again, but appreciate the immense amount of effort needed to organize. Many thanks to Penny and John.
It’s good to get a snapshot of the weekend you all had and I’m hoping that those who attended will add their blogpost links here so we can get some more views of the weekend.
What about you Penny? What did you gain from it and do you think there is a difference between a veritable cohort of students and an ‘eclectic’ mix of students getting together in this way?
Enjoyed reading this evocative resume of the weekend. This post sums up my thoughts of the weekend https://umneybow.wordpress.com/2015/06/23/a-busy-time/ and this the personal reflection regarding my work: https://umneybow.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/lessons-from-barnsley/ . Thanks to all the students and tutors, but especially Penny.
I’d love to come if anyone gets a contemporary art , drawing or painting one together.
count me in too for something in that vein.
It was a really worthwhile weekend and I personally got a lot out of it. Its a bit of trek for me too coming from the west of Ireland but nothing compared to intercontinental travel. Its worth noting though that there is a strong cohort of us that meet every two weeks on a google hangout. I have found this great and its easy to organise between people on the same course or level. It might suit people who are constrained by distance.
My blog post is here https://bowwowwow3.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/level-3-residential-in-barnsley/
It would be wonderful if opportunities like this were available across all the courses. I know that there is an appetite amongst students for a drawing skills weekend or something similar. However, I have been involved in both setting up a student event and trying to facilitate others doing that though OCASA. It is an immense amount of work. Also, I suspect, this format works best with a limited number of students who are well on in their studies.
Steve, the first one I was involved was at Leeds three years ago – students across all ‘year-groups’, so I’m not sure about the need for students who are ‘well on with their studies’. The most valuable aspect is the generation of a opportunity of a cohort and the space to talk and discuss ‘Art’ – though of course we called it something else at the time!
I have attached the link to my blog post re this weekend.
http://redsquirrel7.blogspot.com/2015/07/l3-residential-course-barnsley-20-21.html