Dear Lynda

I was really happy to be a part of the exhibition Dear Lynda when it reached it's Dundee stretch of its international tour at Exhibitions DJCAD. It is a celebration of the life, work and ongoing activities of the curator and educator Lynda Morris.

It was really interesting watching and being a part of the install with the curators from DJCAD and Lynda. It was a really positive and informing experience because of their inclusivity of myself and my fellow Production Assistant Sinead Bligh and members of the DJCAD Student Curatorial Team in the process of dispaying the artefacts and information from her history, in the curved walls of The Cooper Gallery.

The Student Curatorial Team were entrusted with the task of installing the first parts of the exhibition the public come into contact with - Dispatches - which consists of chronologically ordered exhibition handouts for various projects Lynda has been involved with. These in themselves are collectors items, yet what is refreshing about Lynda's approach to the exhibiting of the archive of her life's work is that she is passionate about her archive living rather than being preserved for academics, letting the students nail the handouts to the walls for great visual impact. These walls signify Lynda's extensive contributions and working relationships with artists and this is instantly recognisable through the multiple documents. 

Lynda's archive communicates both her interest in politics and her zest for life. It reflects her no nonsense attitude, it traces the anthropological importance of the history of art and culture whilst giving a sense of the relationships, education, originality and entrepreneurialism that have contributed to her successful career. Lynda's driven yet personable attitude helped launch the careers of such artists as Jeremy Deller, Matthew Higgs, Hurvin Anderson and Karla Black - artists which she championed through the Norwich Biennale she produced - Eastinternational.

We ended the week with Lynda inviting the team and artists from Dundee for a drink in the local art school watering-hole. It was a fun and inspiring night with Lynda telling us that she thought we were ready to work for ourselves, rather than others and that we should concentrate on finding the means to do so. So.... N.O.R.W.I.C.H.