-Are you encouraging flatter items?

Not necessarily. There have been some great sculptural pieces in previous swaps, and I find that three-dimensional work really opens the possibility of a wide range of media...

-Are there any other rules?

Only basic sorts of things about not sending anything particularly caustic or explosive or otherwise dangerous.

-Will we ever aim for themes?

Maybe, though the new rolling admissions model makes this much more complicated.

-When can we start sending?

Probably around the end of September, early October. I'll send an announcement to the mailing list.

-Will there be critiques?

It's not something I've given much thought to, but if people are interested, I think that we could use this tribe.net functionality to facilitate discussion of specific works - but only at the request of the creator, I think.


-How would past swappers rate their experience?

The feedback I've had to date: slower than expected, but really fun. Other people should chime in (maybe we should have started a new thread for this?)

-What have past swappers done with their art?

I have 20 Things art all over my apartment. My friend Carol made a great clothesline display for hanging hers. My friend Lance keeps his in a box.

-How do you work out shipping costs?

Artists in the US send me a large padded self-addressed stamped envelope with $5.00 postage when they submit their work. Artists outside the US generally trade me something of equivalent value to the postage - generally about $10 US.

-Do we need to send along donations as well?

Not at all, though of course I would not turn down donations (via paypal, to info@20things.org) to help pay for site hosting. But really, this is not at all required and barely even encouraged in any official way.

-Have you ever refused any art?

No, though I think I need to explicitly reserve the right to do so. Part of the goal of the project is to make the structures of art exchange and display accessible to more people, unlike more traditional galleries or museums, and the history of mail/postal art is an inclusive one where everyone gets to play. Still, I have my biases about the kind of art I'd like to see...