EVENT: MONTHLY FRIEND

We were told to expect, “quiet explosions and saccharine melodies, onomatopoeic palindromes and your gruff but charming grandfather.” Umm, what? We weren’t quite sure either, but our curiosity was piqued. So we went in search of the creative forces behind upcoming arty get-together, Monthly Friend …

What is Monthly Friend?
Monthly Friend is an (almost) monthly event that provides a platform for young and emerging artists – generally working in sound, video, installation or performance, to show their works and works-in-progress. It’s about making space for people to show work, and promoting sustainable practice by making sure that (even though it’s generally not a lot) artists get paid for the work they present. It came out of a group formed called Bake Sale For Art that was conceived generally as an organisation that would help assist emerging artists, through sourcing funding, admin support and by creating opportunities for showing and talking about work. We only started out this year, so apart from a few good old fashioned bake sales, Monthly Friend has been our biggest project.

This is the fourth event this year – what have the past three been like?
 They have all been really different. MF is ‘nomadic’, moving from venue to venue, and each one has a different theme. Our first was an afternoon do at Red Rattler, themed ficto-critico and we had a big discussion about the works at the end. Next was amiss, awry, askew which was more of a performance ‘variety night’ at Bill and George, and Dead or Alive at PACT Theatre was co-presented by Quarterbred, so it sat alongside another event, and was quite a different dynamic altogether. It’s amazing what a difference even the time and day has. This is our Friday night, so hopefully we can own it.

How do you choose artists?

We have an ongoing open call-out and we also approach artists we’re interested in.  Each event is curated on a theme, and our programming is often informed by the venue. This one at Serial Space is our first foray into sound and music – we’re actually not programming any performances that aren’t sound or music based, and we’ve got some video works to show too. We’re trying to expand our horizons and create the best contexts for artists to show their work (that isn’t an exhibition or formal performance/gig).
You mention a zine-gram. What will this look like?

Ah yes, undoubtedly it will be photocopied last minute at some undisclosed location. Also, this is part of our attempt to create critical dialogue around the works and ideas being presented. A Monthly Friend zine-gram will usually include a curatorial statement, short bios and or statements from the artists, a recipe, some fiction, poetry, and lots of pretty pictures.
What is inspiring you about the Sydney arts scene at the moment?

Collaboration. Especially cross-discipline. There are so many examples of people working together artistically to produce great works, but also to create the artist-run organisations and spaces that are sustaining the Sydney arts scene. We’re particularly excited about a particular collaboration between film-maker/ performer Emmanuela Prigioni and Luke Tipene, whose background is in drawing and architecture, who will present a work together at this Monthly Friend. 

Fri Nov 20, 8pm, Serial Space, 33 Wellington St Chippendale, $10, bakesaleforart.blogspot.com/