Alexa Cox—Personal Practice Plan

New series of work – by July 2015

At the close of the MA show, the first phase of the Trace Dance series of work will have culminated in exhibition and feedback from viewers. This seems to be a natural pause in the work and I will be able to evaluate the outcome of the show, and use feedback I receive to develop a plan for the next stage. I will use work from stage 1 to enter into competitions as this will be a resolved body of work, meaning that I can really experiment with the notion of line, gesture and storytelling to create a gallery of potential work.

Exploring printmaking – By September 2015

I want to explore a range of experimental printmaking techniques to produce new work. I have put this to one side over the last year to focus on the qualities of paint and drawing but would like to explore printmaking processes for their connection with line and drawing. This may also provide me with a small scale body of work which can be more easily transported to exhibition than my current paintings.

Exhibitions – ongoing

I have found it difficult to get my work into exhibitions over the last few years. I think the main barrier to this has been time and the fact that I resent paying admin fees. Post the MA I am going to put time aside to specifically research and apply for open exhibitions and competitions. This will involve me putting aside some money each month to pay for admin fees. I will look for painting exhibitions and investigate local gallery opportunities through attending events and networking with other local artists and curators. There are possibilities for displaying my work in more creative ways than I have previously and this will be the year that Cat Forward and I exhibit together.

Build online presence – ongoing

I want to maintain and build my website, online portfolio and continue with my blog. The focus of my blog will remain the same – to document and reflect on work progress, as this is something I have had an extremely positive response to. I have synced my ‘branding’ – Alexa Cox Studio – and have set up my twitter and WordPress to feed to Facebook so I get maximum coverage on my posts. I am beginning to build my followers on Twitter and use this as a forum for networking with other artists, galleries and curators. Through maintaining these forums and directing viewers to them electronically and through business cards, I hope to gain more exposure and find exhibition and sale opportunities. Through linking my online platforms, I hope to broaden my audience and network locally across Oxfordshire and Bucks e.g. through OVADA, http://www.oldfirestation.org.uk/, Visual Images Group.

Education Opportunities – by summer 2015

I will be renewing my visiting moderator contract for Pearson again this year. Professionally, this was fantastic for me and gave me greater confidence in my own teaching. I also had the opportunity to visit other centres to how whole Art Departments work and deliver course material. For my own practice this is very positive as I am able to talk to other Art teachers about their own practice and how they develop work alongside their teaching profession. I am a member of Oxford Art Teach (OAT) which is a network of teachers in Oxfordshire – another professional networking opportunity where I can introduce my practice to other local artist teachers. In addition, my work with local primaries (as visiting teacher and artist) and arts events (Winter Lights Festival and Cowley Road Carnival) provide the potential for networking and meeting arts officers who may provide ways into the local arts cultural opportunities.

PhD Research Proposal – by December 2015

In the future, I want to complete a practice based PhD. I will need to be in the right place in terms of work to either take sabbatical time or (if I can secure funding) research full time. Having a vehicle for developing my own research through painting would be extremely positive and in line with the recent direction that my work has taken. During the final unit, I have reversed my making process so that it is driven by theory and intentions, and writing my contextual study has given me a greater sense of how I want my practice to move forward. In order to do this I will need to develop a research proposal and question which is ready for the short time frame turnaround for applications. I will need to identify a supervisor who would be appropriate for my chosen area of research and make links with the institution where they are based. I will look for advertised studentships on arts jobs, a-n and institution websites.