In Hindsight of Project A

Project A has been an interesting learning experience for me. On reflection, having organized two film festivals myself, I would use the curating an exhibition on a website differently. Now my suggestions relate to films since I am explaining what is involved in organizing a film festival.This can also be translated into the exhibition of music, photos, paintings, writing etc.

1. Search the internet for content you feel would be great for your exhibition (whether it is films, photos, music, paintings etc).

2. Subscribe to RSS feeds (that's where Yahoo Pipes is a useful tool) that relate to the content you would like to display in your online exhibition

3. Keep up to date with the RSS feeds on articles relating to competitions, exhibitions of the artists and the content you are looking for.

4. Keep a record of contact names, emails, websites etc mentioned in the RSS feeds.

5. Check the contacts website, get a feel of what they are into and saying with their art.

6. Contacting the producer/directors of the films (artist) and extend a personalized invitation to exhibit their work in your internet exhibition.

7. Get permission from the producer/director (artist) to show their films in your online film festival (exhibition).

8. Provide application forms on your blog or website, which includes copyright tick boxes confirming the producer/director (artist) has permission from copyright owners in regards to music, photos or any other media used in the film production (artistic content) and that the filmmaker (artist) gives permission for you to exhibit their work in your online film festival (exhibition).

9. That the producer/director (artist) gives permission for you to edit or alter segments of the production (work/content) for promotional purposes to promote the film festival (exhibition).

This will provide a means to over come copyright issues and gather content for your exhibition with permission from the artist.

From experience it will take 1-3 months to receive permission to display and finally exhibit the content you wish to display/screen in your online exhibition.

Creative people be they filmmakers, musicians, writers, painters etc are procrastinators. I am saying this from experience. You can't push them, but you can prompt them with a deadline. One thing you must take into account is to allow deadline of up to 3 months to allow the artists to wake up, smell the coffee and realize 'Oh.. Um.. that exhibition.. Better do it now'. They always leave it to the last minute. I know this because I am an artist and I have the same problem.

I hope this has been helpful for your future online exhibitions and that you can use these suggestions in developing your style or method of social networking.