Article Magazine

Papergirl Leeds have had a mention in Article Magazine here. It's only a mention, but I'm going to get in contact to see if they want to do a feature on us.

4 tweets! 7 facebook like! oooo!

I have submitted an interview about PGL to The Low Culture blog too, which is part of the Vice Magazine network of blogs. Can't wait to see it - written by Lauren Potts.

They're already done a feature on the exhibition space - TestSpace.

I've already been in contact with Emma from The Culture Vulture regarding a blog entry - unfortunately with the workload of college it's been difficult to get people to have time to do an insight. I've offered the task to the PGL facebook group so hopefully there are some willing bloggers out there.

I now need to contact The Guardian (apparently they like to know about local project around the country) and The Leeds Guide. See if I can get some more coverage.

I think it would be a good idea to invite people from each organisation to come down to the opening night of the exhibition and review - which terrifies me! argh!

Here's my interview for Low Culture:

Name: Laura Jordan

Age: 25

From: Leeds

How I got involved with Papergirl: I took part in Papergirl Manchester in October 2010. Cycling around Manchester giving out bundles of art – It was really fun! I though that it was a brilliant project and that it was just what Leeds needed.

1) Tell us a little about Paper Girl- what it is, where it's come from and where it's going.

Aisha Ronniger started the Papergirl project in Berlin in 2006. It was a response to the changing laws regarding graffiti. A law was passed that classed wheat-pasted artwork in public space as the same illegal penalty as spray-painting. Many artists in Berlin faced fines if they displayed their work as so Aisha, being the creative genius that she is, began to conjure up ideas of how to get artists’ work “out there”. Inspired by the idea of American papergirls and paperboys, she began the steps to start up a new project: the result being Papergirl.

Now five years on, Papergirl has spread around the globe. The idea of giving the art away seems to be something that has struck many people as something wonderful. I can only imagine that Papergirl projects will continue to crop up in new places.

2) What inspired you to get involved and what's your role as ambassador for Leeds Paper Girl?

After taking part in Papergirl Manchester, I felt inspired. In a way it seemed like everything just clicked into place. As a student and visual artist myself, the time seemed right for me to take on a big project. I can’t speak for anyone else that started a Papergirl project in their own city, but I felt like I related to the project and I believed in the ethics. I felt like I would do it justice and of course, as a Leodian (someone from Leeds), I wanted a platform for this city to show everyone just what we can do.

3) Why should people be excited about the project?

Papergirl Leeds is a great opportunity to get your work seen – every submission is included in the exhibition! There’s no element of choosing work and there’s no element of choosing the recipient when we hand it out. Being on a bicycle when distributing, speeds up the process and there’s little time to select a person – it’s just being in the right place, at the right time. I think that’s what is special about Papergirl.

4) Who are you hoping to get interested and how can people get involved?

Anyone! Papergirl Leeds is for anyone that wants to get involved – the more the merrier! Like I say, every submission will be included in the exhibition, so I think that it will especially interest students that perhaps haven’t had much work on display as yet. Submitting your work into a project or a competition is quite a scary prospect in the beginning, so Papergirl Leeds makes sure that there’s no doubt that your work will be seen.

As well as exhibiting the artwork, we will be making as much use of the space as possible by having activities during the exhibition. There will be various drop-in workshops and a few “bookable” sessions. I love how there have been so many ideas generated on the facebook group and twitter page regarding skill sharing workshops. It’s exciting to see such sparks of creativity generated by the project. We’re always open to suggestions and the best ideas come from when something excites you.

5) What's your favourite part of the project?

The reactions of people! The response to Papergirl Leeds has been astonishing. Since I began working on Papergirl Leeds, there have been so many people, artists and organisations wanting to get involved – it seems that the ethics of Papergirl are something that a lot of people relate to. I like the idea of “creating a creative community” and I think that with project like Papergirl Leeds, we can do just that.

The exhibition opens on the 8^th April and runs until the 17^th April – Everyone is welcome.