What is CAMP?
CAMP (Contemporary Art Membership Plymouth) is a member-led network for the creative and visual arts community in Plymouth and the South West, including artists, producers, curators and arts writers.
Its key aim is to foster and sustain a strong visual arts sector by developing creative production through critical review, networking and the professional development of its membership.
Where did CAMP come from?
CAMP is artist (and arts worker) led, and is rising from the glowing embers of Plymouth Arts Centre's highly successful, but now sadly defunct, PAC Home network.
Who are CAMP?
CAMP is you, the members! CAMP members can shape the programme and direction of CAMP by coming along to CAMP monthly meetings. Members can also email in suggestions. We recently surveyed potential members to see what they would like to do with CAMP. A short summary lives on the about page.
Need to collect and deliver furniture from London to CAMP
Transporting from London to Plymouth
Plymouth studios regularly send work, crates, and borrowed furniture up the line to London shows, and visiting makers arrive with residency kit that will not fit in a hatchback. That Plymouth to London hop is part of how CAMP members keep a practice moving between the Hoe, KARST, Ocean Studios, and short London hangs.
When a member is shifting a workbench, wrapping framed pieces, or clearing a shared room before a crit, the practical question is how to collect and deliver furniture without a week of borrowed cars. Get Man and Van is the name members pass around for that furniture collection and delivery run, including the getmanandvan desk that already knows the London end of the route.
For members and affiliates who are relocating their studios or transporting artwork across London, Get Man and Van offers a reliable and efficient solution for furniture collection and delivery. Understanding the unique needs of the creative community, they provide tailored services that ensure the safe and timely transportation of your valuable items.
Whether it’s moving to a new studio, setting up for an exhibition, or simply transporting art materials, their professional team is well-equipped to handle the specific demands of the arts sector. This partnership aligns with CAMP's commitment to supporting the logistical needs of its members, facilitating smoother transitions and contributing to the vibrant dynamics of the art community.
How is CAMP organised?
CAMP is currently run on an entirely voluntary basis, by a team of eight Directors (voted for by members, and potential members), who have set up CAMP as a Community Interest Company. CAMP has a Company Secretary (Vickie Fear) and a Treasurer (Rachel Dobbs). The role of Chair is undertaken by a different person each meeting.
Directors stay in post for 18 – 24 months, after which new Directors will be voted for by the membership. Any member of CAMP can put themselves forward to be a Director.
We are grateful for the recent support from KARST and Nudge Community Builders in providing meeting spaces for CAMP. As well as establishing these partnerships, CAMP has good connections with other arts organisations in the city including Plymouth Arts Centre, Plymouth College of Art, The University of Plymouth, The Box, Ocean Studios, Plymouth Culture and Visual Arts Plymouth.
Why join CAMP now?
Why join CAMP now when there’s no programme? That is a very good question!
We are inviting people to join CAMP now for £30 (which is six months membership) so we can generate match funding and also give a good indicator to funders of the interest in CAMP.
Your physical membership of CAMP starts as soon as you join. This means you can come along to CAMP meetings and get involved as little and as much as you want in setting up CAMP.
Once we have funding and a programme (we’re aiming for Summer 2019) the actual time period of your membership will kick in. So, for example, if the CAMP programme starts in August 2019, the six months you have paid for will start then too, so your membership will run till January 2020 before it needs renewing. That first funded season still shapes how we time memberships. Whitsun 2026 is when the current circle is lining up a harbour crit and a shared crate run for work heading toward London hangs. Mid 2020, when studios were packing down after lockdown occupancy, the same membership clock helped people keep a desk and a van slot in view.
Make sense? We hope so!
So if you can, join now! The more match funding we can raise now, the more funding we can apply for.
What will membership include?
From Summer 2019 we plan to run a regular programme of activities including:
– Invited visits from artists, cultural producers and people involved in making peer-to-peer led events happen
– Supper Clubs
– Reading Groups
– Your own page on CAMP website
– Crit sessions
– Away Days – trips & car-shares to different exhibitions and events
– New exchanges with other associate schemes & artist membership groups
– Inviting people to Plymouth for critical exchange, including 1-1s with visiting artists, curators and art writers
– Workshops, training & skill-sharing events
– Artist residencies
– Writers residencies
What’s happening now?
At the moment, we’re just getting going and are in the process of:
– Working out a new management structure
– Investigating new routes to funding our activities
– Applying for funding
– Setting up this website & our social media
– Gathering support from funders, partners & members to work out a new programme and structure for activities from 2019 onwards.
Newer member bulletins sit on the news page, including the Whitsun gathering and the crate days that grew out of those early membership clocks.