1/10 Here's my thread on running a 'blended' artist lab in #Coventry with @NewArtWestMids @Coventry2021 @newartgallery - did it work and what were the challenges? @CraigoAshley @roddy_hunter @CovBiennial @SusanJonesArts @MarcusRomer @robynwoolston @closeandremote - read thread_>

2/10 Logistics with #COVIDー19 & people being displaced was tricky. It meant more organisation & planning. So, we went for this 1|2|2. 3 Zoom days & 2 physical days. The presentations on day 1 went very well & the artists presented their work, guest talk by @MarcusRomer

3/10 Mtg in Coventry for real was amazing for all of us, for many their first adventure out. Some ppl had been impacted by Covid. We went in search of the River Sherbourne that lies beneath Cov. Outdoor talk by @ryanhughes2 @CovBiennial totally worked alongside watercolours...

4/10 Day three was full on with LIDAR, mobile LIDAR & auditing the underpass space nr Cov University...artists really like 'hands on' & there was a palpable sense of doing something outside...followed by...

5/10 A close up look at Hololens 2 (augmented reality headset), very impressive & some discussion on remapping and overlaying spaces. Note laptop on the floor is Zoom for a remote participant...more on that...next thread...

6/10 Two participants worked remotely for the whole period. This was fine for Zoom stuff obvs. However remediating outdoor work is not possible on 4g tethered devices (zoom didnt work), so they missed these sections. I wouldnt do this again, I would have everybody doing the same.

7/10 Next day we taught people the basics of #ARJS (ar) online using @CodePen & a simple step thru workshop. It worked. The artists would have gained more from having us in the room, we could have played more...scan the marker below on your phone from a desktop screen (AR in QR)

8/10 Then the artists were given play time at home to cook up some ideas. Things were harder. Normally, I would have a team of ppl to support ideas but this was Zoom only. We had some fantastic mobile LIDAR assets online but this needed more support but we could visualise...

9/10 On the final day artists presented to 30 ppl from all over & @CraigoAshley did a great job of reaching out to people. This I would do again, it meant that the artists got to show their working ideas to a wide range of people commissioning new work...

10/10 Overall, it was a good experience for artists & the feedback was strong. I learned a lot about just how much more prep is involved & I would caution ppl against seeing online, digital & zoom as easier. Thanks again to @MatthewUsher @TonyGuillan @CraigoAshley @closeandremote