Screw it, let's do it (in 6 Days)
Projekt Rattloch Number 24.
An art exhibition in 6 days? That’s madness.
Well, it happened, and I can’t tell you exactly why it happened, but I’ll try my best.
Friday: the idea lands in my noggin
It was a Friday, as I said above. I came home early from my dayjob after going in two hours earlier. The slight extra tiredness was worth the extra freedom.
I walked into Swindon town centre with my daughter to cash in a cheque. A random American cheque. A refund from Amazon Prime for fifty-dollars for not using three or more Prime benefits.
It felt like a bit of a hassle to do this. Who uses cheques in 2026? Was it a shrewd Bezos ploy, banking (pun intended) on a certain percentage of the great unwashed not bothering to cash it in? Perhaps. But I checked myself before I wrecked myself and made sure I was grateful for the unexpected money showing up in my life.
After filling in a long form, 5 hours later, or what felt like, and getting the cheque cashed, we walked back up the road past the shops, heading home, when a thought dropped into my head:
“Fika café exhibition!!!!”
Fika is a Swedish term, basically a coffee break with a bit of soul, and cakes, sounds great, right?. In Swindon (not Sweden), it’s also a local café with a proper community feel.
Three months earlier, local mixed-media artist Carmen B Norris had an exhibition there. Although I couldn’t experienece it in person, it looked fantastic. I’d messaged the café owner and said I’d pop in sometime. Life got in the way. Priorities got in the way. But I sent a messaged saying “Happy New Year, I haven’t forgotten you. I’ll pop in soon.” a few days before.
The outdated shy part of me nearly sent me straight home instead. It’s always easier to avoid the uncomfortable. But something bigger pulled me in to see Martin at Fika that day.
Then…the conversation that changed everything
I went in and ordered myself a coffee, juice for my daughter, and a tiny Cadbury’s chocolate bar for her. I introduced myself (a bit hastily), then sat down while Martin served other customers.
A kind old lady bought my daughter another chocolate bar. I caved and let her eat that one too. After all, it was a Friday.
Martin came over and sat with us a few minutes later. He was pleasant, kind-eyed, and he chatted to my toddler-age daughter, always a good sign in my book. He was trying to put her at ease, because of course, he was a stranger to her.
We talked about exhibitions, and then he mentioned something I hadn’t realised.
He may have to close down soon, due to extortionate costs and a lack of custom at the café.
That was the moment the idea stopped being a nice thought and became a small mission. I felt compelled to help. He had a couple of events coming up so there wasn’t much time to fit an exhibit in, and I found myself saying, “How about next Thursday?”
He agreed.
When the fire hits me belly 🔥
I was immediately fired up to get other artists involved. I’ve historically judged myself as a lazy person, maybe because that’s what I was told, but I’ll tell you this for nothing. When I get a fire in my belly, there’s no stopping me.
This was one of those occasions.
The idea of the exhibition sat right in the front of my prefrontal cortex, gnawing away at my attention for anything else. That evening I made an open call page, started contacting local artists, and posted on social media.
We got about ten people over that weekend. I also invited a few others I knew and had exhibited with before.
The idea was becoming a reality.
Once I had the artists and works ironed out, I set up a Facebook event. I ended up paying £20.30 for promotion, and about 100 people signed up as interested, so it seemingly worked very well. If I’d had more budget, perhaps I would’ve pushed it further.
Wednesday: setup night
Five days flew by. We had the Wednesday evening to set up the work, and it was looking fantastic. Huge thanks to Rahford Does Art, Jaksta, and Artformeat50 for helping out with the setup.
I love the alchemy of curation/creation. I don’t ever call myself a curator because not much “thought” goes into it, not in the metodical sense. It’s more of a feeling that unfolds in real time. I start with one piece and work around it.
It worked. We had a fantastic middle section that was all yellow-based work.
Oh and look at these Swedish cakes…mmmmmmmmm 🤤
Thursday: opening night
Then the day arrived.
I was excited. I didn’t know what to expect, but having experienced art openings before, made it much easier to feel prepared. We had a lovely vibe. I had my daughter with me. We were having our dinner on one of the tables. She was chilled. The music was chilled. DJ Dust did a fantastic job.
Everyone seemed happy and were enjoying the atmosphere. One piece of art sold that evening, which was amazing. It felt like a success (Another sold the day after).
A couple of local independent journalists were there too, and they started interviewing me on the spot. One was part of The Ink, right here on Substack. (Shoutout to The Ink)
What I learned
This experience made me realise something. We can fit things within whatever deadline we set. Of course there are exceptions, but still, it’s true.
When I set up Memento Vivere (September 2025), I had a year’s lead time, and that felt like too much. I could’ve done it in six months easily, maybe 3.
What would’ve made it a lot less stressful was improving the process around the exhibition.
A small example is artwork labels. You wouldn’t believe how much time that took. Not only that, but rushing around caused three misprints of the labels and one double-sided printout that wasn’t meant to be double-sided.
If we use a template in future, we can print onto labels that don’t need cutting out. Cutting out took ages too. These things may sound obvious to an organised, non-ADHD person, but they’re lessons artists learn by actually putting on exhibitions.
Next time, I want to do it faster and calmer, but without losing the spark.
Watch this space.
P.S: This is inspiring me no end, a 2029 vision for Swindon.
Inspo for days 💯
This is fantastic. Amazing--and yet totally makes sense. You are so right: we can do whatever we set our minds to do in whatever deadline we set. I get a keen sense of mission really helps you, and that you are an instinctive curator not a cerebral one--but you're so clearly a curator! And an organizer and you know from me that is high praise! I love your daughter's presence threaded through this and the collaborations you inspired, the conversations you had. Are you the force behind SWINdon 2029?