Aaron Williams’ The Man Who Fell to Archway. Right: Dima Mabsout’s TakeAway Laughter

Published 1 June, 2012

BUSINESSES and community groups in Archway are to be offered the opportunity  to employ artists in an effort to inject some  extra “vitality” into their activities under an extraordinary new scheme revealed this week.

The scheme, A Million Minutes, is supported by the Arts Council and paid out of a £200,000 Islington Council regeneration fund.

It will be run by Archway Investigations and Responses (AIR), an arts organisation that commissions fine artists to explore and produce work in and around Archway.

Anna Hart, who runs AIR, based at Byam Shaw School of Art, part of Central St Martins College of Art and Design, is organiser of the scheme. She said the idea is for writers, musicians, performers, fine artists, craftspeople and others to be paid to spend time with a business or organisation on a part-time basis for four months to create a piece of work that reflects their activity.

“The artist might go along to the organisation about once a week or more depending on the kind of project,” she said.

“We’ve already had a lot of interest from community groups but there is no reason why businesses can’t take part.”
Examples could include a writer working with staff at a local café, a dancer going to a health clinic or an artist painting members of a community group.

The scheme, which will also take in Finsbury Park, will show the different ways that creative activity can happen in the north of the borough, which is not as thriving as the south, and relatively neglected in terms of arts.

The deadline is 10am Thursday June 14.

• Visit www.amillionminutes.org