I’ve spent a good part of today preparing a mailing promoting a new exhibition to potential venues in the region. The cynic in me has difficulty in putting out of mind the phrase “triumph of hope over experience”. If I look back over my CV, however, I am compelled to realise that none of the events in which I have participated would have taken place without that first, tentative approach.
They are a mixed bag of letters I’ve been sending, varying from a first-name approach to somebody I know, who I have reason to believe might be personally interested in the topic, to an institution located in a place I believe ought (in theory) to be interested, but which I have had to address as “Dear Curator”.*
I’m asking the same question of this blog. On a day in which the British political system appears to be falling apart dramatically, I wonder how many people will actually drag themselves away from their TVs in order to read today’s entry? Actually, since around a half of my regular readers are located outside the UK I suppose that not everybody in the world is mesmerised, as my wife is, by the question of the future of Liz Truss. As with my approaches to galleries, I know that not all of these institutions work the same way, and there are always some surprises. Let’s just live in hope!
*Why is it so difficult to find the names of people who occupy official positions? Any proposed improvements on this anonymous form of address will be welcome.