Arts base awards

Torbay ArtsBase Awards 2009

Due to the difficulties arising from collecting in the last of the nominations over the summer holidays when many people are concentrating on time away and the need to spend some time re-invigorating the Awards process and ceremony Torbay ArtsBase has decided to postpone the Awards from October this year until Easter next year. By then we hope to have finalized the preparations for what will be the best Awards Ceremony yet which this time will be held in the Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey.

As part of the preparation for what will be a revamped ceremony, we are holding meetings where we will be inviting like-minded creatives to gather together to help us decide who should be shortlisted for an award. For example, we are inviting all Visual Artists to a meeting where we will ask for volunteers/suggestions for membership of a small panel that will evaluate all the nominations for the Visual Arts Award. This panel will look at the list of nominations in the category, short-list down to around 4-6 finalists and then decide on the winning person(s). This may take a series of 2 or 3 meetings which would take place during the second half of March and early April. Similar gatherings will look at Music, Literature, Theatre, Design and so on. By structuring the Awards decision-making process in this way - ie by using peer-group evaluation - we hope that the Torbay ArtsBase Awards will be valued and treasured by all recipients.

The first gathering will be for the Visual Arts and Crafts, on Thursday 10th September, 7:00pm at The Blue Walnut Café, Walnut Road, Chelston - so all with an interest in the visual arts and/or crafts should come along to share their ideas. We will, at this meeting endeavour to form the panel that will work on the Visual Art and Craft Awards. Anyone who would like to be involved in this process should contact Torbay ArtsBase via their directory page in the CreativeTorbay.com website.

Online nomination forms are still available though the link from http://creativetorbay.com/knowledge-hub/awards. The deadline for nominations will now be the middle of March 2010 - and please be assured that all nominations received so far will be carried forward into the lists for Easter 2010.

This is the reply I sent to Russell B (Vienna Cycle) on creativetorbay .com

Hi. Sorry about delay in answering - I have just returned from 2 weeks away on holiday, so was not being rude, just not around! Anyway - point of receiving an award? Much like winning any award I suppose - it is the recognition of work done. A group of people saying to an individual (or duo in your case) that they acknowledge the standard of your creativity and wish to publicly acknowledge it. Hopefully more than just a private pat on the back - the award trophy is a symbol that has a message behind it of 'well done, we seriously rate and like what you do.'
Hope this helps,
Kevin Alexander
Chair, Torbay ArtsBase

Every year I read the generic emails asking for our support and nominations but I'm just left wondering... what for? what is the benefit for the artists themselves? I have asked Artsbase directly, they have declined to even respond, which I find a bit odd, and rude.

Benefits? Anyone? The nomination is the best bit as far as I'm concerned.

Does anyone else feel like the people at Artsbase don't really care very much at all?

Agree with most of what Gerry wrote - except that I'd like to add that we do have a Torquay postcode, so whilst we don't live right in the Bay itself we are pretty local!

Best wishes,
Teddy
Le Chat Noir

I've been along with several mates to the last few arts base awards and though I haven't a clue about whether the artists, poets, whatever etc deserve the various awards the music awards haven't been too far wrong (I don't think). Theyve certainly not been dished out soley to Council cronies.

This year:

Le Chat Noir win the group award (beating Memo and Weaver twins) - arguable, as they're not Torbay, but a top quality rock act nevertheless.

Nicky Swann wins solo act. Seems to be everywhere but that's no fault of hers - more power to her "marketing elbow"

Ryan's Bar wins the venue award - can't see much argument here. Torbay's a wasteland for venues supporting original music.

Emily Howard won some other award ("young person"?) - certainly her jam nights have been beneficial all round.

The previous year was Memo, Brixham's Hannah Martin (without Colin) and venue was Bit On The Side - so pretty reasonable there I think.

Year before was Sellors and The Scientists and Dan Fisher (can't remember venue winner) - again, okay with me.

I don't believe in conspiracy theories from Kennedy assassination to 9/11 detonations to artsbase award fixes. My experience is that committees can't organise p*ss ups in breweries never mind sort out complex cons involving lots of people.

I think a committee of part-timers would struggle to manufacture a practical joke on one person never mind convince me that there decisons on music awards in Torbay are pretty reasonable (if not exactly to my taste) over the last three years.

Probably flawed but don't think there winners are enbarrassingly wrong.

Gerry

"only paid up ‘members’ of the council or those who had some relation (by that I mean paid / of beneficial interest) to Artsbase won."

Excuse me?

You might want to choose your words a bit more carefully before throwing such statements around, Roger. I know you're angry, but try channeling that anger in a more positive way, or you might end up alienating people who are on the same side as you.

As someone who won an award on the night and didn't even know of Artsbase's existence prior to our nomination, I resent being labelled in this way by you. We are a hard working band who have worked our socks off to support music in the Torbay area, and were proud to be recognised for our efforts - even though subsequent events have soured our impression of the event in question.

Whatever you feel about Artsbase, or the way the security handled the guy from The Weaver Twins, there is no need to start tarring everyone else who was in that room with the same brush, thank you.

For the record, what happened to him was an abomination and we have been doing everything we can to bring attention to it and hopefully justice will be done in due course.

Teddy
Le Chat Noir

i have no opinion about the art base awards i would just like to clarify a point.if you are going to make an 'example Roger' you really should do your homework. the internet is a very powerful tool and certain people (Roger) seem to assume they can write anything they damn well please, even if its not true (Roger) the fact is nicky swann doesn't have a manager. freedom of speech is one thing, but to just manufacture 'facts' is something entirely more sinister

What needs to be noted is that a lot of people go to the Artsbase awards in the hope that one year it will actually become what it seeks to be. ArtsBase is supposed to be a group of creatives (although using that word alone, is enough to suggest at its prentension) working together for the creative future of Torbay. What you actually have is a group of people who are either council employees or are so blinkered they are still of the old school where they genuinally believe the only way to get credibility is to work with officialdom.
The Artsbase awards this year reflected this, only paid up 'members' of the council or those who had some relation (by that I mean paid / of beneficial interest) to Artsbase won. For example Nicky Swann won best singer songer writer, whilst she is a very talented woman, it has to also be recognised that her manager is a member of the Artsbase Committee. Open Spaces won art in the community, the community as the Council portray it, not the one that is the poorest community in Devon where art for sale in shop windows is as useful as an electricity key with no credit.
What happened to the young man who was removed by security is an abomination. He was, from memory only small compaired to the steriod enhanced giants the council had felt it necessary to employ, bouncers, who felt it necessary to punch his girlfriend in the face, what man would not be riled by such an action? The Mayor it would seem, as I notice he has yet to step in and defend his 'subjects' right to free speech.
The real low point of the evening was overhearing it said that someone had got their award as they had had an awful year, no mention of their astounding creativity or talent.
It goes without saying this is definitive, Artsbase is not about doing it well and using art to challenge perception and encourage new audiences but about tokenism and rewarding the art the council would have us accept.

Hey Gwen,
good point. We really were going to boycott it, but at the eleventh hour, we went along basically for a laugh and a drink.
Rest assured, I paid a pretty heavy price for that decision and I rather doubt i'll be going again. I know it's hard to get behind my point because I was there and that must seem rather hypocritical, but society has shown me the error of my ways. I'll let you see my cuts and bruises if you want.

If this guy was so anti the awards ceremony it rather begs the question, why was he there?