(c). The agency model
From NodelWiki
Summary: NODE.London becomes an agency supporting the development of media arts in London, working to raise their visibility, advocating on behalf of the sector, maintaining a resource base, stimulating critical discourse and brokering strategic developments. It doesn't directly commission artistic projects though it will put its name to initiatives that its members support. It also publishes critical texts, online and as hard copy publications; it provides professional development opportunities for artists, producers and curators working in the field, and it might be a means to sell work on artists' behalf.
Within this version NODE.London might become an equivalent to the Live Arts Development Agency; employing staff (in full or part-time roles, depending on scale) to maintain the agency and its activities.
It would aim to built upon its existing credibility to become well-networked, particularly at the macro-strategic level where significant funds might exist, and it would argue for funds to be allocated to develop media arts practice.
It would take the lead from its members - perhaps a management committee which is appointed by them - and enter into partnerships with other agencies/strategic partners, so creating a context for artist to make work in new spaces, such as public arts, that they might lack the capacity to reach on their own.
It would build up learning materials and expertise particularly around areas that we have acknowledged NODE.London has, to date, been weaker on including marketing/PR and audience development. It will offer this learning and support free to all its members (who joined for free, probably, though we could charge larger institutions an organisational joining fee, perhaps?). It would offer funding surgeries, other professional development opportunities, regular networking events, and access to an open knowledge library of media arts history.
As a voice for media arts in London, NODE.London would do its research so it had an up-to-date, honest picture about the media arts scene: where it's effective, where it's failing, what the opportunities and problems are at any point. It can provide an over-arching snapshot that can then be drilled down into for more info.
The NODE.London website might offer the facility to members to load up personal/organisational profiles, calendarise events etc., on an ongoing basis, so making its role as a gateway to the media arts scene in London sturdier, maintained and ongoing.
Its 'shop' sells NODE.London Readers: the successor volumes to 'Media Mutandis' (which is still selling steadily, one volume every fortnight or so). It might also gather together artist content on DVD editions, for instance, and sell these commercially. So perhaps it's in a social enterprise model - a mixture of commercial and non-commercial activity, owned by its members.
As with LADA, this version of NODE.London might market itself to the Education sector, offering seminars, case studies etc to students in Higher Education environments. It could offer graduates a good grounding in issues currently facing the sector, and it could invite its members to provide the content for this strand, generating additional income for them in the process.
