Forest of Dean Sculpture Trust
"LightShift"

Evaluation

Introduction

This evaluation is as a result of a Forest of Dean Sculpture Trust trustees, with contributions gleaned from Forest Regeneration Partnership representatives, Sam Wilkinson, the "LightShift" curator, and sample responses from artists and members of the public who wrote, called or verbally responded to the event.

Post Foot & Mouth Regeneration Issues

Lighting up the Forest of Dean was never conceived as a pure economic regeneration initiative.None of the participants in the initiative, including the Forestry Commission, the Sculpture Trust (FoDST), the Forest Regeneration Partnership (FRP) and the Forest of Dean District Council (FoDDC) saw the event as a way to increase revenue or 'make money'.The problems created by Foot and Mouth never warranted "quick-fix" solutions but long term and layered strategies.It was agreed that an event was needed which brought a "feel-good" factor into the Forest, put the Dean back on the map, and helped, psychologically, to uplift local confidence. The idea was to signal that the Forest was now open, to bring back people to the Forest, and to extend the tourist season which had been lost throughout the whole year. The event was centrally about local people, about helping them feel good again about their Forest and their community, and reinforcing a local cultural sense of the Forest being special. Incidentally the event did give the Beechenhurst cafe franchise the opportunity to profit but they were involved in feeding the production team and not resourced in the end to cope with the sheer number of people who did come.

Initially some argued against using an arts-based illumination project. They suggested that it would only appeal to a limited group of 'arty' people and artists. They were proved wrong.As an artists’ initiative, its originality and innovative use of light was something which, linked with the very special excitement of the Forest being opened up at night, engaged and inspired people.The fact that this kind of event had never been done in a Forest setting before in the UK (nor we believe in Europe) gave real meaning to local people. As many said, it was a privilege to go to something in the Forest which was unique, and extraordinarily distinctive and special.

The Audience

"LightShift"'s audience of 40,000 plus, clearly appealed to the whole spectrum of the public, from tiny babies carried in on back-packs or in buggies, to the very elderly people walking in on sticks or wheeled in chairs. It appealed to children, teenagers, young couples, whole families, the middle-aged, the elderly, and, from observation, appeared to transcend class, gender and race.

The event was not publicised very widely and it became quickly clear to the invigilators that most of the people who came were local. Of the 40,000 audience, a sample survey by Forest Education Business Partnership indicated that 75% of visitors lived or worked in the Forest of Dean. "Local" has rather a special meaning in the Forest. One elderly woman, when asked if she was local, said "I'm not sure, dear. I'm from Cinderford" (a town only 1 mile from the Sculpture Trail). There has been a lot of feedback asking for the project to 'be extended' and many requests for it to happen again.

Many visitors had not been to Beechenhurst or the Sculpture Trail before. Many had not revisited since a first visit made a decade previously.Clearly "LightShift" has presented a unique opportunity for the Sculpture Trust to develop new audiences, and it is essential that the Trust capitalises on the interest of these new audiences in 2002-3.

The feedback from visitors has been universally positive.Attendants at the event reported innumerable requests for it to happen again, next year, or to become a regular fixture.They also reported overwhelming praise for the organisation, the opportunity to visit the Forest at night, and many questioned why we had not charged for the event. (In response to that question a donations bucket was set up for the last four nights and £4000 collected which was divided between the Sculpture Trust and the Dilke Hospital which had treated an artist who got burned). Few attendants would argue that the most used word from visitors was "brilliant".

Art & Artists

The key commissioning issue was the formidable timetable set for the delivery of a highly ambitious project.The 'go-ahead' was given only six weeks before the first night.This necessitated an approach based on very high confidence levels in both management and artists.Lesley Greene had seen "The Charge of the Light Brigade" light event organised by Sam Wilkinson in Wolverhampton a year previously and it was agreed from the start that artists who had worked on that project and had therefore got huge experience of working light technology publicly should be targeted. A team was created (virtually immediately) from this starting point, with Robin Blackledge and BlissBody central to it.Over 30 projects were brain-stormed, selecting down to 25 after consultation and discussion with the Trust and the Forest Regeneration Partnership.All the projects had some built in reference to Foot and Mouth even if they were not necessarily all original to "LightShift" in conception.

The artist appointments and contractual agreements, drafted by Sam Wilkinson from previous event-type contracts, did not have time to be formally approved by the Trust's legal advisors. It is recommended that the Trust draft three types of different contacts which can be approved and therefore will be 'ready to go' in the future.

The flat fee for each artist was £3000.This is a very low fee. It is not a fee which the Trust under normal circumstances would offer an artist for the work involved (planning, working, running and refining a highly sophisticated and potentially dangerous outdoor project for 6 intensive weeks, all hours).It is a great tribute to all the artists that they agreed the fee recognising the aims of the project and the interest in developing their work in such an usual setting. The Trust needs to recognise that the fee was also only possible because of the goodwill the artists clearly felt towards Sam Wilkinson, with whom most had worked before, and the empathy they felt towards the catastrophe the Forest and its community had suffered.It becomes even more difficult for the Trust to
justify the low fee when the publicity generated turned out not to be national.

It was very difficult to find cheap accommodation for the artists. Help in this had been offered by Forest of Dean District Council (FoDDC), but their officer became sick so the onus of finding inexpensive accommodation fell back onto Sam Wilkinson and Andy Fryers (Forestry Commission).The budget for accommodation was therefore exceeded even though the student support team slept in the Beechenhurst loft.

The artists are to be congratulated not only on creating a spectacular project but in working together as a strong and well-knit team alongside Sam Wilkinson and Andy Fryers.

The aesthetic impact was excellent. Local artists have commented on the high quality of the works created. A "Go and See" artists 'training' visit funded by Gloucestershire County Council as part of their Public Art development programme was arranged by Stroud Valleys Artspace. Their response was that the project was "excellent" (the detailed questionnaire is available if required).

Some equipment remains in the ownership of the FRP. How this is supported and released for the future is still to be discussed.

Management

The success of the project depended on the expertise of the team which was created by Sam Wilkinson and their ability to deal with the schedule.The whole project was managed 'in crisis'. Although this created the essential buzz factor which carried the team through, it also created a high-risk context which is not ideal.The management team was very tight - essentially two people - as delegation was not possible because there was
no time to delegate.In addition "LightShift" knew from the beginning it was under budgeted for the impact it set out to achieve.The budget projected by Sam Wilkinson was £80,000.£52,000 was awarded by the Partnership and a further £5000 raised from South West Arts and the South West Media Development Agency.Up to £15,000 worth of equipment was loaned to the project through goodwill and Sam Wilkinson's contacts.Donations from the public (raised in the last four nights) contributed a further £2000.Much of the rest of the equipment was supplied at discounted rates. Even the glow sticks sold to the public were negotiated down by Sam Wilkinson from £1.20 pre-sale charge to 64p.The overspend by the Trust was £1,500, in large part due to the success of the project. This is a small overspend given the success of the project but will create financial problems for the Sculpture Trust.It is clear from this that the original costing was accurate.

Insurance was extremely difficult. The artists all carried (indeed had to carry) their own Personal Indemnities.Students became "volunteers on a conservation project" which was the only way they could be covered against accidents. The Trust had assumed that insurance of the equipment would be made by FoDDC, but it turned out that at the last minute their insurers would not insure any unsupervised equipment became critical and Sam Wilkinson spent a full day trying to insure the equipment, finally achieving success with the NFU Insurance.

The project would not have happened without the labour, materials and support of the Forestry Commission.  Neither would it have happened without a very large number of volunteers who had to be rallied to warden the event because of the unexpectedly high visitor numbers.

Classic management issues were raised once the project was rolling. Neither the FoDST nor the Forest Regeneration Partnership had insurance requirements in place to address needs of the project, nor could they react swiftly enough to handle them. It was some time before it was recognised that the FRP was only a steering group, and not a working group. Key officers who had offered important support at FoDDC went off sick.

On the other hand would the Sculpture Trust have given its go-ahead for the substantial infrastructure required for this unique project had things been 'normal'?Was not the very spontaneity of management and handling the very thing that made it great and made it special, and, most importantly, got it done? FoDDC, FRP and FoDST trusted Sam Wilkinson and Andy Fryers implicitly, and that released them to work with confidence.The FoDD Council had been warned that it was a very'high-risk' project. It is to the credit of the Leader of Council (Anne Martin) that she endorsed the decision to take that
risk. The Sculpture Trust too knew it was a high-risk project but was willing to go with it to lend support to the Forest community, stir its own commissioning programme up, widen its audiences and be adventurous.

Risk Assessment

Risk assessment for the whole event, as well as for each installation, was made by Forest Enterprise with the artists. Precautions were taken to protect the public, so a lot of fire fighting equipment was installed and made available along the whole trail, and St. John's Ambulance were in attendance at all at times.However it was not anticipated just how many people would come and it was something short of a miracle that there were only two very minor accidents, only one of which was to a member of the public - a sprained ankle due to tripping over a tree root. The other was an accident with an artist installing one of the works. She was taken to the local Dilke Hospital where she received excellent and prompt treatment. For the scale and nature of the vent this record is good.

Media and Publicity

There was some hit and miss local publicity of the "LightShift". There were 9 cuttings, 7 of them pre-event. One of the post-event cuttings was a letter of appreciation to the Western Daily Press. Only one article in 'The Citizen' actually reviewed the event. There was a TV Central Channel broadcast in regional news initiated by the Forestry Commission press office. There was no national publicity which is especially disappointing for the artists and Trust.However, 'word of mouth' achieved visitor
success. Of the 40,000 visitors most came from the Forest we believe. There were many from Bristol, Plymouth, Birmingham.

We are slowly becoming aware that the event is, over time, achieving a national profile. We are aware that it has created a high level of supportive interest within the Forestry Commission for artistsevents.

Some further comments

In hindsight the timing of the evening start could have been earlier. The public were turning up - by the last evening - over an hour early to see 'LightShift'.This would have spread the impact and made invigilation easier.The information about days off was poor and many turned up on the 'off-' nights. The event should have run consistently for ease of information.In hindsight it should not have been on the night of the Speech House bonfire because people were confused.

The Future

The event was a clear success and fulfilled the regeneration agenda. However, only ingenious and thrifty management, huge support from Forestry Commission staff and volunteer assistance, ensured that the Trust is now not in deficit.The Trust has received a further Countryside Agency Rural Recovery grant to help publish a new leaflet, flyer and commission a banner from a local artist Lisa Gough-Daniels, all of which will hopefully help sustain the profile of the Trust's work.

Some equipment will remain in the Forest, care of Forest of Dean District Council, for local groups to use.

The Forest of Dean Trustees have initiated a strong relationship with the Forest volunteer guides to take walks around the sculpture trail as a result of their involvement in "LightShift" and are exploring the possibility of setting up a "Friends" organisation again as a result of the many letters from the public which poured in throughout and after the event offering congratulations and help.

Despite calls from the public, the high cost of special equipment, the vulnerability of equipment to theft and damage, huge health and safety issues, but most of all the sheer brilliance of a unique event of extraordinary power, the initial response of the Trust is, with its limited financial and administrative capacity, that "LightShift" can only be a
one-off event. As artist Robin Blackledge put it, an event"which will remain in the folklore of the Forest and its community". However, there is a recognition that an artists' temporary event, after dark and late in the season, can make a valuable contribution to the Forest community and give artists a very different opportunity to make new work in a unique environment. The Trust is therefore beginning to explore the possibilities of another 'shift' for the autumn of 2003.

Lesley Greene
Chair, Forest of Dean Sculpture Trust
(revised 28.4.02)