I think video is a great way to open up this subject. I keep thinking about the art 21 videos, and how conversational and easy to understand they were. For people to understand how this will change the community, I think they first have to understand what types of feelings and ideas can be opened up through contemporary art.

The questions and people you mentioned are extremely important. But if you are asking these people, who are very knowledgable about art, they may speak more about the institutional and community level. Will this turn off the "regular viewers", who may not feel like they have much say in the subject, since they have no opinion at the beginning?

Of course, we don't know how these people will reply, but I think a range of questions is key to what kind of content we want to get.

If we are trying to get the word out to eeeeeveryone that this is a cool, we need to talk to them in a way that makes them feel like they already know enough to come.

What if we don't mention art or education at all? What if we just ask these people...

What is your favorite thing to do in Raleigh?
What is a perfect day to you?
What really gets you fired up in the news lately?
How do you spend your saturdays?
Why do you go downtown?
Who do you like to talk to most?
What do you read and watch on tv?

And what if we just ask people we happen to see during the day, who aren't connected to cam yet? Then we could wrap it up by showing how these normal things DO apply to contemporary art.

Because WE know that art and education can be in everything, but not everyone else does. We have to go slowly and not scare them off!

i like your more ... abstract questions (more intuitive?)

do you have any ideas about who - or what "kinds of people" to add to the list? i think that these questions raised are certainly to the audience listed, but that they also begin to speak to a larger audience... i'd like to develop this concept as large as possible, semester long production+discourse.

people who visit galleries and museums, people who don't visit galleries and museums, design students, non-design students, people new to Raleigh, people who have lived here their entire life, random people of the streets, the EVERYDAY people...

The cool thing about video is being able to have a real person speaking (if necessary) and still have the typographic voice as well.

I think what type of language develop in the print and web pieces will be important in how we look at the interviews. Maybe using the "cam language" typographically will give a chance to tie together different viewpoints. I think anyone can be interviewed, like colleen said, we will just have to think of what types of questions will open them up. Their different vocabularies and ways of talking that may make the group seem more inclusive. Then through editing and type we can show how it makes sense that they all come together.

Hillman Curtis does it again

I agree with Colleen. CAM is all about reacting out to the everyday person, so I feel as though the video interviews should feature everyday people. If I were someone who wasn't familiar with the art museum culture, I would like to hear the opinions of people that are in a similar position.

i think everyday people should be included as well

it's (relatively) easy to set up interviews with the initial list of people though - how can we get video interview with the more general populace of the triangle? can you guys that have posted be thinking of a list of people that you know who would be more representative of the everyday?

we should talk more in/after studio tomorrow, but we need to get this rolling asap! :)

I think this is a fabulous idea!!!!! It may also be interesting to interview some kids...

Since CAM has recently facilitated the programming and building charrette focus groups we can pull a couple names from those lists too. I will send you some names/people to consider.

One thing I REALLY loved about the Art on Call program at the Walker was hearing the different voices, AND the conversational format was casual enough to keep me engaged in what they were saying... but I did wish that I could hear people's reaction to the artworks in addition to the artist and curators.

I agree with all of the above. It makes sense to interview some people involved with CAM directly, people in the local arts, people in the cmmunity in general with both questions about art and CAM and general questions. Nicole can give you some good names from the charrette and also from our focus groups. I'd urge (as I always do) framing CAM as a Triangle entity, not just a Raleigh entity. Great ideas, guys! Kaola

I like Caroline's questions: simple, direct, to encourage lots of differents types of people to open up and talk about contemporary art and creativity, even though they may not realize it. I'd also be interested in hearing about people's favorite experiences in museums in other cities.

Have you guys watched Current TV? (Ch 122 on T-W, I think.) They present very hip, short docu-segments with voice overs, on-camera voices and graphics that are very engaging.

Intermixing questions about ART and the Everyday is great because it reveals CAM's mission and is sure to reveal how the two intermix.(As Linda said, above). Can you intercut voices with shots of art, architecture, everyday designed objects - a car, a shoe, a kitchen tool, a toothbrush (then a John Chamberlain crunched car piece, an art shoe, a kitchen tool and a toothbrush being used for artmaking)...I can see a collage of faces, art, objects, sounds, etc. Is this too obvious?

Please keep in mind that we are eager to learn about people's response and reaction to CAM's mission and program platform to help us further define/hone our vision and our programming. Also -- keep in mind that people are far more comfortable talking about their own experiences and opinions than about 1)directly responding to our "musuem speak" or 2) trying to develop and articulate new ideas on the spot.

Given that, I would ask questions that spark discussion around our idea of "the role of creativity in every day life."
* How do you express your creativity?
* What role does creativity play in your child's education and development?
* Does creativity play a role in your workplace?

Rhonda Peters, Director, CAM-ICD