Exhausted....pulled into JFK at 6 in the morning...peak hour into town, then up 6 flights of stairs lugging my massive overweight suit case to my off siders great little apartment in the Lower East Side.
It was great to see her.......she had moved there 2 weeks before to get the ball rolling.
Then off to our fist meeting with Vallejo Gantner from PS 122 over a brilliant Mexican lunch, feeling like I had been up all night I had a midday Margarita that kinda hit the spot.
Vallejo was brilliant ( my off-sider and I commented how fabulous his mind was and good he looked for someone with such a hectic schedule) had lots of good advice around how to approach the project....... New York 5 boroughs, driven by an interactive web site with a major sponsor.
It was soon apparent how many layers there was to pulling this off- how much ground work that had to be done and how many levels we have to approaching it on, so many threads to weave together like making a big beautiful rug.
So we went home to follow up our new leads feeling a little clearer on the path, we were then confronted with news that we had not got the Australia Council grant to build the on-line interactive web site that would allow the communities we are engaging to nominate themselves and share content. This was not crucial but it really would have been so great to have had this financial backing at this point.
What do you bloody have to do to get some funding from your home town...... this is where I could really go on a tirade about who did they bloody well fund?? And why do the same people seem to get the money and the rest of us just got on and do it regardless.... maybe that's why we don't funded? But I won't go on and say all that.
Almost in the same moment we got a reply from Freedome Bradley who runs all the parks in New York saying he was interested in meeting with us on Monday.
Down a snake and up a ladder.
Could have easily sunk into a jet-lagged lull of overwhelm ness at the enormity of this task but we had to keep on truckin'
So down to Times Square we trundled to try and track down the contact for who curates the art down there...his name is no where to be seen on the web site.
Got the address and caught the lift to the 8th floor...
Now this is someone we have wanted to talk to 6 months and he has been impossible to find, and soon we find ourselves following his receptionist into his office. (I think she thought we were somebody else.)
It was like meeting the Wizard of Oz, behind the curtain of all magic of the bedazzling lights of times square we stubble into a very small modest office to come face to face with the man running the show.
Everyone was a little supprised and we all had laugh and he was very friendly and told us to send him an email then we would take it from there....... hilarious wasn't really how imagine it.
That night we went to art opening that had a line down the street and around the block, a two hour wait to get.... impressive the support fort the arts...imagine that in Australia!!
Met up with the incredibly hospital Andrzej Liguz a clever documentary photographer and installation artist who took great care of us made sure we had food, wine and a good time......helping over riding my jet lagg with such a warm welcome to the Big City.
Along with his gorgeous friend Dickie an artist from California we danced the night away in some funky lillte club until the wee hours..........in my lolly pink mini dress!
Today endless walls of ice cold rain, a ferry to Staten Island and three hours of New York City Council Cultural grants seminar...which my off-sider felt like she was in heaven and I felt like I was slowly sliding into hell.
It was great to see her.......she had moved there 2 weeks before to get the ball rolling.
Then off to our fist meeting with Vallejo Gantner from PS 122 over a brilliant Mexican lunch, feeling like I had been up all night I had a midday Margarita that kinda hit the spot.
Vallejo was brilliant ( my off-sider and I commented how fabulous his mind was and good he looked for someone with such a hectic schedule) had lots of good advice around how to approach the project....... New York 5 boroughs, driven by an interactive web site with a major sponsor.
It was soon apparent how many layers there was to pulling this off- how much ground work that had to be done and how many levels we have to approaching it on, so many threads to weave together like making a big beautiful rug.
So we went home to follow up our new leads feeling a little clearer on the path, we were then confronted with news that we had not got the Australia Council grant to build the on-line interactive web site that would allow the communities we are engaging to nominate themselves and share content. This was not crucial but it really would have been so great to have had this financial backing at this point.
What do you bloody have to do to get some funding from your home town...... this is where I could really go on a tirade about who did they bloody well fund?? And why do the same people seem to get the money and the rest of us just got on and do it regardless.... maybe that's why we don't funded? But I won't go on and say all that.
Almost in the same moment we got a reply from Freedome Bradley who runs all the parks in New York saying he was interested in meeting with us on Monday.
Down a snake and up a ladder.
Could have easily sunk into a jet-lagged lull of overwhelm ness at the enormity of this task but we had to keep on truckin'
So down to Times Square we trundled to try and track down the contact for who curates the art down there...his name is no where to be seen on the web site.
Got the address and caught the lift to the 8th floor...
Now this is someone we have wanted to talk to 6 months and he has been impossible to find, and soon we find ourselves following his receptionist into his office. (I think she thought we were somebody else.)
It was like meeting the Wizard of Oz, behind the curtain of all magic of the bedazzling lights of times square we stubble into a very small modest office to come face to face with the man running the show.
Everyone was a little supprised and we all had laugh and he was very friendly and told us to send him an email then we would take it from there....... hilarious wasn't really how imagine it.
That night we went to art opening that had a line down the street and around the block, a two hour wait to get.... impressive the support fort the arts...imagine that in Australia!!
Met up with the incredibly hospital Andrzej Liguz a clever documentary photographer and installation artist who took great care of us made sure we had food, wine and a good time......helping over riding my jet lagg with such a warm welcome to the Big City.
Along with his gorgeous friend Dickie an artist from California we danced the night away in some funky lillte club until the wee hours..........in my lolly pink mini dress!
Today endless walls of ice cold rain, a ferry to Staten Island and three hours of New York City Council Cultural grants seminar...which my off-sider felt like she was in heaven and I felt like I was slowly sliding into hell.
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