CALLING ALL ARTS PRACTITIONERS IN PORTSMOUTH

Outreach at The New Theatre Royal are working with Portsmouth City Council to compile a comprehensive list of all arts practitioners in the city.  To coincide with their major refurbishment programme their plan is to create a cultural hub with the aim of getting everyone networking and collaborating.  The list of practitioners, which will include singers, choirs, writers, actors, dancers etc, will form the basis of an interactive database that will be accessible from their new website.
Considering the number and diversity of practitioners in Portsmouth this is an ambitious project but if everyone gets behind them this could be amazing!
To be part of this project and get your details on the list, send the following information to
Nicola Williams at outreach@newtheatreroyal.com:
Name
Email address
Contact phone number
Discipline
Age group you cater towards
100 words about yourself (inc images if you wish).
Good luck Nicola!

http://www.newtheatreroyal.com

ARC WORKSHOP: THE ART OF SELF PROMOTION

Alison Baverstock

Are you doing all you can to get your work seen by those people who can advance your career - the curators, gallerists, critics and other relevant media - as well as potential buyers?  Perhaps you have a website, maybe a blog and you exhibit as much as you can.  But could you be doing more?

In our next free arc workshop, Alison Baverstock will examine the many ways you can bring your work to the attention of the right people - without having to spend a fortune.  She will discuss how to spot opportunities and get into the right frame of mind to take advantage of them; how to evaluate the vast array of online mechanisms that can be used to promote and sell work and how to develop a strategy that is right for you.  Can you afford to miss it?

ALISON BAVERSTOCK
After a degree in History and History of Art at St Andrews, Alison Baverstock went into marketing. She worked in publishing for several years before embarking on a freelance career marketing everything from reader development schemes for three county councils to art. She has written and published widely about creativity and marketing, and is an enthusiast for exhibitions and galleries, with a particular passion for seeing work in the location for which it was commissioned (anything from altarpieces to portraits in grand houses). She has been on the board of AN for twelve years and been proud to see the organisation develop in interesting ways. Her most recent book is 'Thirteen British artists children should know' (Prestel). She and her husband have four children and live in Hampshire.

www.alisonbaverstock.com

Thursday 29 September
6.30 to 8.30 pm, aspex
Free, but booking is essential as places are limited.
To book:    T: 023 9277 8080    E: arc@aspex.org.uk

THE AMAZING AFFORDABLE ASPEX ART FAIR

Nikki McBride

Some of the best artists from Portsmouth & Southsea and across the South East region will be taking part in the first aspex Art Fair next weekend, 3 - 4 September.  An amazing event that's been organised right from selecting the artists through to hanging the work by a dedicated team of aspex volunteers. So if you're looking to buy yourself a piece of art - at an affordable price and direct from the artist - then this is the place to do it. There will be a range of styles and mediums with prices from £5 to £500 so there's really something to suit everyone.

It's also a chance to see inside the new aspex building - The Lighthouse - where work by each of the artists will be displayed 'salon style' on the main wall.  As this building is easily accessible - just across the bridge from the Spinnaker Tower - we're hoping it will attract Gunwharf visitors and shoppers as well as the usual visitors to the gallery.  There will also be work in the main aspex building where the artists will be available to chat about their work and practice.

Adrian Mundy

The artists taking part in the fair include:  Adrian Mundy, Alex Ings, Anne Shaw, Ashley John, Caroline Hall, Emma Seymour, James Weaver, Jenny Lee, Jessica Foyle, Jodie Silsby, Kingsley Nebechi, Laura Wolfram, Melanie Rose, Nikki McBride, Roo Abrook, Simon Whitcomb, Tristan Savage and Victoria Iles. Some of them are recent graduates and early career artists, so we hope the art fair will not only get their work seen by a wide audience but also make them a bit of cash!  For this event, all the money from the sales goes direct to the artist with no commission being taken by aspex.

The volunteer team -  Maxine Dennis, Christiane Hofmann, Elizabeth Nicholls, Lisa White and Jo Willoughby - have organised the art fair as part of their volunteer training and they've put an enormous amount of time and effort into it.  So to recognise all their work we need as big an audience as possible, so please bring along your family and tell all your friends!

Alex Ings

More information on the art fair and the participating artists can be found at:
aspexartfair.wordpress.com

aspex Art Fair
3 & 4 September, aspex Lighthouse and aspex
Vulcan Building
Gunwharf Quays
Portsmouth
PO1 3BF
T 023 9277 8080
E info@aspex.org.uk
www.aspex.org.uk

KYE WILSON - ARTIST'S TALK - 17 AUGUST, ASPEX

ARC is pleased to be hosting a talk by Portsmouth based artist, and regular ARC contributor,  Kye Wilson to coincide with his solo exhibition Entrapment of the o/Other at the Round Tower, Old Portsmouth.  
Kye will be discussing his Unsettled-Beautiful video which was commissioned by the Madrid Festival of Contemporary Audio-Visual Arts after he won their Best Video Artwork award in 2009.  
The video was filmed on location in Madrid and exhibited as a site-specific video installation at the 2010 festival.
Having premiered the work in Spain, Kye is now taking it to a number of other venues in the UK, reworking it for each space.  The Round Tower, a fortification built in the fifteenth century in Old Portsmouth, is the first of these locations. The work includes a self choreographed live performance by artist Helena Eflerová which Kye has filmed in High Definition Video format and will be showing in the exact spot where the ‘performance to camera’ took place.
Kye's work was inspired by a recurring dream and the connection of that dream with the treatment of suffrage prisoners. Thematically it questions the notions of absence, presence, embodiment, gender, self and the Other by merging the real and imagined. Through strategic - and highly accurate - positioning of the projected image of the female performer Kye is able to create the illusion of a live performance in the architectural space - a video trompe l'oeil.  The image of the figure is therefore seemingly present and yet absent.


Artist's Talk - Kye Wilson: Wednesday 17 August, 6.30 to 8.30 pm, aspex, Portsmouth.
Free but places limited.  Email arc@aspex.org.uk to reserve your place.

Exhibition: 12-19 August 2011 by appointment

Private View: Friday 12 August, 7-10pm, everyone welcome

Venue: The Round Tower, Broad Street, Old Portsmouth, PO1 2JE

‘Entrapment of the o/Other’ is a site-specific, video and sound installation that aims to give the viewer an emotive experience through a form of sensory engagement in an interesting and challenging historical space.  

‘Entrapment of the o/Other’ is funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and sponsored by the Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries CCi SPACE Offsite Programme and Portsmouth City Council.

TWISTED - A FRESH ENCOUNTER WITH CONTEMPORARY CRAFT, PHOENIX, BRIGHTON

Kay Aplin, a regular contributor to arc events is currently taking part in Twisted, an exhibition featuring the work of seven artists who use the materials and techniques of textiles and ceramics.  However, as the title indicates, these artists 'twist' and manipulate their materials to produce a range of unexpected forms including wall pieces and installations that you can walk through and explore.  Kay, a successful public artist, has created a new wall relief (pictured) which she is showing alongside work by Rosalind Davis, Rosie James, Marion Mitchell, Karin Schosser, Isobel Smith and Alice Walton. The exhibition runs until Sunday 21 August and associated events include a Twist & Make Market on Saturday 13 August with over 20 market stalls selling fine craft and offering drop in taster workshops.
Also, not to be missed - there is a panel discussion on whether the growth of Information Technology in the arts has led to a decline in traditional workshop facilities and training.  A diverse panel - Peter Seddon, Deputy Head of School of Arts and Media, University of Brighton; Rosalind Davis, Manager Core Gallery, Deptford; Cliver Goodyer, Illustrator and FE Lecturer; Neil Lemaire, sculptor; Annie Ascroft, art student; and Paul Bunkham, FabLab Project Leader - will discuss the long term effects of this policy and offer practical strategies for artists.  The discussion - INSIGHT: The Haptic Arts - What Future? - is free and will take place at 7pm on Thursday 18 August.  Advance booking is required through info@phoenixbrighton.org.
Phoenix also have a programme of specialist art courses which they are launching in August so take a look at their website for all the details.
www.phoenixbrighton.org 

 

WORKING TITLE - THE EXPERIMENT BEGINS!

The collection has started for this exciting aspex project - Working Title - with a weird and wonderful range of objects having already been donated.  We have bicycle wheels, an ab cruncher, dartboard, saucepan, coffee pot, lampshades, loads of wood, boxes, toaster, television, chairs, record player, umbrella and more!   And there's still plenty of opportunity for you to add to the collection, just drop off any unwanted domestic objects at the gallery tomorrow, or any day next week when artists Will Cruickshank and Paul Matosic will be working in the gallery.  

In fact, there will be at least eleven artists working in the main gallery space from now until 25 September.  As well as Will and Paul there will be Nicola Dale, Thomas Davis, Lode Geens, Amy Twigger Holroyd, Charlie Hurcombe, Beata Kozlowska, Andy Parker, Tamara Van San and Jason Taylor.  They will each spend up to two-weeks over the course of the experiment working with your unwanted objects and turning them into something potentially beautiful and definitely different.  Visitors will also be welcome to observe and talk to the artists and there is even an interactive family area so you can turn your hand at making something yourself.

To keep up to date with developments in the project, follow the Working Title blog -

http://workingtitleexhibition.wordpress.com  

or follow @WorkingTitle1 on Twitter - and of course drop into the gallery any time you are in the area.

Working Title

9 July – 25 September 2011

aspex, The Vulcan Building, Gunwharf Quays

www.aspex.org.uk

PARALLAX AF - SHOWCASE ART FAIR

A showcase art fair - Parallax AF - is taking place at La Galleria in London from 1 July and I'm pleased to say that one of our volunteers, Rosina Godwin, and a regular at our crit group, Chris Ivory have both been selected - with an image of Rosina's work being used for the invitation.

The fair involves two exhibitions of work by established and emerging contemporary artists taking place from 1-3 and 8-10 July, guest curated by Gayane Umerova, Senior Curator at the Art Gallery of Uzbekistan, Tashkent.
  
Parallax AF offer a serious platform for international and national artists to present their work to dealers and collectors without the usual commission charges and in the form of a curated exhibition.   This allows the artists to experiment and show work which may not usually be considered 'commercial'.  The aim of  Parallax AF is both to help artists promote and sell their work and to develop their career and practice.  


You can find more information about Parallax AF at:

http://www.barlowfinedrawings.com/parallaxaf.html

NATIONAL OPEN ART COMPETITION

Registration for the National Open Art Competition is now open - so I thought I'd let you know now while there are still 83 days to go until the deadline! That gives you plenty of time to think about your entry and the £40,000 worth of prizes.  

£5,000 will be awarded to the best artist in show plus there are prizes for young artists, regional artists and art photography.  The 120 best works will be showcased at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester from 3 to 15 January 2012 and will also feature in the online gallery.

This year's judges are Gavin Turk, artist; Catherine Lampert, independent curator and art historian; Lisa Wright, artist: and Francis Hodgson, the photography critic for the Financial Times and former Head of Photographs at Sotheby's, London.

Artists from around the UK can submit up to 6 works which can be drawings, paintings, original prints, art photography and wall hung installations.  So what's stopping you?

Entries can be made online and you have until midnight on Sunday 18 September to send in your images and application form.

For full details see
www.thenationalopenartcompetition.com

TOWNER ARTIST'S TALK

Installation View: Shell, 2006, Pallant House, Chichester

I'm hoping to get along to the talk coming up on Saturday 2 July at Towner by artist Susie MacMurray. I've been an admirer of her work for some time so it will be good to hear her talk about her practice.  If you're unfamilar with her work, there are some great images on her website as well as some interesting essays and reviews of her exhibitions.   

MacMurray is a Manchester based artist and it's her intuitive response to historic buildings that I particularly admire, such as her work Stratum currently on show at Islington Mill where she has filled the space with 80kg of feather down.  It was at Pallant House in 2006 that I first experienced her work when she covered the walls of the stairwell with red velvet and over 20,000 mussell shells (pictured).  Also that year, her work Echo saw the medieval church, York St Mary’s, filled with 10,000 hairnets containing strands of violin bow-hair.  The importance of materials and process to MacMurray is evident in all these labour intensive works.  There is a huge investment of time and making and so its not surprising that MacMurray is one of the six sculptors in the Compulsive, Obsessive, Repetitive exhibition which also opens on 2 July at Towner.  Another good reason as far as I'm concerned to spend the day in Eastbourne.

www.susiemacmurray.co.uk 

Towner Artist Talk: SUSIE MACMURRAY
Saturday 2 July at 1pm: £4/£3 concessions – booking is advisable as numbers are limited.
Towner
College Road
Eastbourne
BN21 4JJ
T: +44 (0)1323 434 683
F: +44 (0)1323 434 699

NEW WORK BY MIKE MARSHALL AT ARTSWAY

Mike Marshall, Controlled Burn (Video Still), 2011

Having been part of ArtSway’s New Forest Pavilion at the Venice Biennale artist Mike Marshall now has a new solo exhibition coming up at the gallery. The exhibition will feature two new video works – It Rained and Controlled Burn – and a series of new photographic works from the project A Prism Splits Light. These works continue to develop Marshall’s investigation of conditions relating to thinking, sensing and activity.

The preview on Saturday, 25 June, will also include a free gallery talk with the artist in conversation with Dan Howard-Birt (Assistant Curator, Stour Valley Arts) and Peter Bonnell (ArtSway Curator). Marshall will discuss the genesis of his project with ArtSway and Stour Valley Arts, and his exploration of the two sites of the New Forest (home to ArtSway), and King's Wood (home to Stour Valley Arts).

Mike Marshall’s new work is a co-commission between ArtSway and Stour Valley Arts, with support from the Barker-Mill Foundation.

ArtSway, Station Road, Sway, New Forest, Hampshire SO41 6BA

Preview and Artist's Talk: Saturday 25 June 2011, 2pm - 5pm (Artist Talk: 3pm) 

FREE: All Welcome

Further information can be found at www.artsway.org.uk

MA FINE ART WORK ON SHOW AT GASP

It is of course the time of year for the degree shows to take place and this week there is an exhibition of selected works from the University of Portsmouth's MA in Fine Art at GASP - Gallery Art Space Portsmouth.  The exhibition opens today and runs until Saturday 2 July, with a reception on Friday, 24 June.

Exhibition: 21 June - 2 July 2011
Preview: Friday 24 June, 6.00 - 8.00pm
GASP, Art Space Portsmouth, 27 Brougham Road, Southsea, Portsmouth, Hants. PO5 4PA
ALL OTHER TIMES BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
Contact Emma Seymour on 07745 950581 or e-mail: tattybird@hotmail.co.uk

A SAD GOODBYE TO SPACE GALLERY

Codling's residency at SPACE, 2010

In the last exhibition in its current location, the SPACE gallery is playing host to the international artist Pete Codling who is creating a giant charcoal drawing directly onto the gallery wall. A fitting end, as this building, which will be demolished in the summer along with his artwork, was actually Codling’s old studio space when he was a student at Portsmouth College of Art in the late 1980’s.
This ‘charcoal epitaph ’ is therefore a personal way for the artist to say goodbye to the building and also a way of celebrating the creativity of many artists, designers and musicians who have used this space over the last fifty years.
Codling's drawing on the main wall will be nearly ten metres by five meters with other smaller walls being included in the composition. It is inspired by classical mythology from his recent travels in the Mediterranean and will refer to Portsmouth and the history of the building. 
Codling will be working in the SPACE gallery on Winston Churchill Avenue all this week - until Friday 24 June - so why not drop in and meet him.
After this residency is complete, SPACE will continue in a variety of forms in onsite and offsite projects, until its brand new building is ready in Summer 2013. For news of what's coming up and opportunities to get involved see the website and facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/universityofportsmouthcci
http://www.port.ac.uk/cci

EMERGENCY5 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

 

aspex is seeking artists for EMERGENCY⁵ -  the biennial open submission programme now in its fifth year which specifically aims to promote the work of emerging artists to a wider audience.  So if you're at an early stage in your career as an artist or perhaps in the final year of your studies then why not consider entering?  There's no theme, you can be working in any medium and you have until Monday 1 August to apply.  The lucky winner will be offered a solo exhibition at aspex with a £1000 fee plus a £1000 production budget.  

This year's selection panel is made up of: Ivan Morison, artist; Julia Alvarez, Director, Bearspace; Margot Heller, Director, South London Gallery and Joanne Bushnell, Director, aspex.  They will select up to 12 artists for a group show in September and then from this shortlist they will choose the overall winner.  Previous winners have been Karin Kihlberg & Reuben Henry, 2010; Cathy Ward & Eric Wright, 2008; Tim Machin, 2006; and Susan Collis, 2004.

So what are you waiting for?  Download all the information you need at www.aspex.org.uk and good luck!

Deadline for submissions: Monday 1 August 2011

Exhibition: 22 October 2011 – 8 January 2012

 

DIALOGUE ON LANDSCAPE AND CONSTABLE

Jonathan Parsons: Three Landscapes (detail) 2011

ARC Lead Artist, Jonathan Parsons is exhibiting this month with Abigail Reynolds in A Dialogue on Landscape and Constable at Salisbury Arts Centre. The exhibition which opens on Wednesday 22 June is a contemporary response to landscape and coincides with Constable and Salisbury, the major Constable exhibition currently on show at the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum.  The exhibition is curated by Judy Adam and features newly commissioned works by the artists exploring the constructed nature of landscape images, the poetics of composition and the relationships between sculptural and painterly form. The exhibition includes an ‘ambulatory’ wall piece that changes as you move past it and ‘For John Constable’, an outdoor dot-matrix text installation in Harnham Water Meadows.

To mark the launch of the exhibition, the artists will be in conversation with Timothy Wilcox, the curator of Constable and Salisbury, and will discuss their contemporary approach to landscape in the context of the Constable exhibition.

All attending the discussion are invited to stay on for the exhibition preview immediately afterwards.

Timothy Wilcox in conversation with Abigail Reynolds and Jonathan Parsons:  
Wednesday 22 June, 6.15pm.
Tickets: £5 BOOK NOW

A Dialogue on Landscape and Constable
Preview:  Wednesday 22 June, 7.30 to 8.30pm
Exhibition: Thursday 23 June - Saturday 30 July
Salisbury Arts Centre

Open Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 4pm depending on performance times


Exhibition tours are available for groups: call 01722 343020 or e-mail info@salisburyarts.co.uk
For further information, see www.salisburyartscentre.co.uk

SIGN UP NOW FOR THE FUTURE SKILLS FESTIVAL, PORTSMOUTH

Sinead MacManus, one of the speakers.

Have you got your tickets yet for the Future Skills Festival?  It's all about the skills creative people will need to succeed in the future and it's taking place during June and July in Portsmouth. The programme looks great and my only problem is deciding which events to attend!  I'm definitely signing up for The Art of Blogging and Social Media and I like the look of Build Your Digital Toolkit and The Art of Freeranging too!  The programme has been developed specifically for artists and creative people working in the arts, culture and creative industries and each event is being delivered by an industry expert.  They also offer great networking opportunities. 
The Festival - the first of its kind - is presented by Cibas, the creative industries business and skills development agency based at the University of Portsmouth and the fee for each event is not only highly subsidised but includes all course materials and refreshments, so it's great value for money.
Tickets for all of the events can be purchased via the University of Portsmouth Online Store at http://onlinestore.port.ac.uk/browse/product.asp?catid=30&modid=2&compid=1.

For further information and announcements, see the Future Skills Festival Tumblr at http://futureskillsfestival.tumblr.com/ and follow Cibas on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cibastweets.

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YARD SALE AT AIRSPACE GALLERY

If you are not in the Portsmouth area - when you will of course be coming along to the Austerity Carnival at aspex - then how about going along to the 'Kiss Me Quick' Yard Sale at AirsSpace Gallery in Stoke on Trent.

YARD SALE: Saturday, 11 June 12-6pm
AirSpace Gallery, 4 Broad Street, Hanley

This is a chance to get your hands on some astoundingly priced fantastic limited edition art works by Stoke-on-Trent based artists. Join the artists for yard games and cakes, and lots to see and do. This is a not to be missed event which is being organised in order to raise funds for the exhibition 'Kiss Me Quick' which will take place in Margate Harbour Arm Gallery at the beginning of July.

There will be limited edition artists prints and one off artworks, the 'kiss me quick' zine will launch and there will be a fantastic selection of postcards available. You can also take this opportunity to get your hands on the 'Common Ground' publication, which was last year's Studio Show.

Art works on sale by David Bethell, Andrew Branscombe, Michael Branthwaite, Bernard Charnley, Anna Francis, Janine Goldsworthy, Brian Holdcroft, Kate Lynch, Behjat Omer Abdulla, Phil Rawle, Katie Shipley and Glen Stoker
www.airspacegallery.org

30TH BIRTHDAY CARNIVAL AT ASPEX

Despite these bleak economic times (including over 50% cut in our funding) aspex is determined to mark our 30th birthday on Saturday 11 June with an Austerity Carnival.
The fun will begin with the official opening by the Lord Mayor at 11am.  There will then be a range of competitions and activities which we hope will also raise some cash to go towards our programme of children's and artists' workshops and events.  There will be an opportunity for children (and adults) to create party outfits and decorate the gallery with bunting and at 2pm there will be a parade of everyone in their costumes.  arc - the artists' resource centre - will be filled with hot air for the day (not such an unusual occurrence, but this time it will be in balloons!), The Pompey Pluckers ukelele band will be performing at 1.30pm, there will be birthday cake and at the end of the day there will be aspex party bags to take home! 
We really hope you will all come along to have some fun and donate your spare change!  And if anyone would like to help out, then just let me know - email phyl@aspex.org.uk.
www.aspex.org.uk

COASTAL CURRENTS 2011

Coastal Currents is currently inviting artists from the UK and beyond to develop a series of events, artists' interventions, exhibitions and community projects that challenge, engage and inspire their audience.  

This year's festival aims to highlight key locations, histories and new cultural developments around the characterful, creative and resilient towns of Hastings and St Leonards.

In its 12th year Coastal Currents provides an exciting platform for artists, residents and visitors to explore and celebrate the town's thriving creative communities.

This year's festival begins on the evening of Saturday 27 August with Spotlight a bold launch event encompassing a wide range of performances, interventions, projections, interactive events and an illuminated procession - so why not get involved?

There are several options - you could submit a proposal to the open submission competition SPOTLIGHT:OPEN, take part in the popular Open Studios programme, register an event or exhibition during September for inclusion in the festival brochure or just simply lend a hand.

Deadline 3 June 5pm

Submission forms available to download from www.coastalcurrents.org.uk or email Creative Coast on info@coastalcurrents.org.uk.

The festival is managed by Creative Coast (Sarah Yates and Lorna Crabbe) on behalf of Hastings borough Council.

ART SPACE PORTSMOUTH OPEN STUDIOS

Art Space Portsmouth's 'Open Studios Weekend' is coming up soon, with work from over 40 members on display to the public. 
On the weekend of 21 and 22 May visitors will be invited into over twenty permanent artists' studios and workshops and will be able to view artworks on display in the GASP (Gallery Art Space Portsmouth) exhibition space and around the building.
A series of unique artist's postcards, commissioned by Art Space will also be available to purchase for just £20 each and there will be a special selection of original artworks featured on an affordable 'selling wall' for under £150.
Visitors will also be able to meet this year's Sponsored Studio Award Winner, Fareham-based artist, Alannah Barker, and enjoy refreshments in the Art Space ‘urban garden'.

Art Space has managed studios for artists at the converted chapel on Brougham Road in Portsmouth for over 30 years. Each year, the building is opened to the public who are invited to meet the artists, to see and hear about their work and buy directly from them.

ART SPACE PORTSMOUTH
Open Studios Weekend 2011
Saturday 21st May - Sunday 22nd May
at Art Space Portsmouth, 27 Brougham Road, Southsea, Hants. PO5 4PA

OPENING TIMES:
1.30pm - 4.30pm daily

PHOTOGRAPHS TO IMPRESS - A FEW WORKSHOP PLACES STILL AVAILABLE!

Lin Cheung, Sugar Cube, 2008, Detail

In an open submission you could have just a few seconds to impress the selectors with an image of your work - so are you sure the photographs you submit are up to the job?  Will they leave the selectors wanting to know more about your practice? Or will they result in rejection at the first round?  If you want to give yourself the best possible chance of success you need to be able to produce high quality photos of your work and arc can help you - but you will have to be quick!

Places for our workshop - Photographing Objects: A Maker's Perspective are going fast, but you could still get one if you book now.  The workshop is part of our Essential Skills series and we are really pleased to have successful jewellery artist, Lin Cheung, leading the discussions.  If you take a look at Lin's website you will see that not only does she produce some incredible jewellery, but she also takes some brilliant photographs of it.  She is therefore well placed to talk to us about the subject!  Lin will be discussing the issues of taking photographs of three-dimensional objects from her perspective as a maker. She will explain her approach to image making through her own work and give hints and tips on a range of issues from simple art direction through to printing of images.  So don't miss out, reserve your place today!

We are also offering the opportunity to review your images in a follow up workshop with Jonathan Parsons on Wednesday 1 June at aspex.  We have six appointments available throughout the day for artists to bring along the ten best images of their work.  You will then work with Jonathan to select five of those images and go through the formatting of them in different sizes using PhotoShop (this opportunity is only open to attendees of the workshop with Lin Cheung).  Bookings will be made on a first come, first served basis - so make sure you are one of the lucky six by emailing today.

Lin Cheung, Woman, 2000

PHOTOGRAPHING OBJECTS: A MAKER'S PERSPECTIVE
Wednesday 25 May, 6.30 to 8.30 pm
aspex
To book:    T: 023 9277 8080    E: arc@aspex.org.uk

Lin Cheung is a jewellery artist.  She has a profound interest in human nature. She explores the social and personal issues that shape our lives and our relationships with the objects we own, cherish and wear. Her observations inspire a need within her practice to further understand them through the act of making.
Lin was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, in 1971. She lives and works in London and is also a Senior Lecturer in Jewellery Design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London. Lin has exhibited her work nationally and internationally and has gained acclaim for her conceptual approach to designing and making.

www.lincheung.co.uk

TALENTED PERFORMERS NEEDED!

We are looking forward to performances from Stella Mandella and Markus Lloyd - plus more of our regulars - at next week's Aspex After Hours - AHH.  This is the first in our new series of aspex late night events which will take place on the first Thursday of the month throughout the summer.  These eclectic evenings of poetry, sound, performance, spoken word and comedy are scheduled for 5 May, 2 June, 7 July and 4 August - so make sure the dates are in your diary.
We still have places for performers next week - so email me if you would like to take part - phyl@aspex.org.uk!  Otherwise just come along and join us for a drink in our cafe bar.
www.aspex.org.uk

CURATORS AS JESTERS?

To what extent does the curator need to be a responsible storyteller?  That's the question posed by The Jester-Curator Symposium taking place at UCA Canterbury on Friday 20 May.

Tom Morton, Co-curator of the 2010 British Art Show 7 will lead a panel in a day of presentations and discussions which address the ideas of playfulness and responsibility in curatorial practice - the notion of the curator as jester!
To find out more and book your place, see www.trifariousprojects.com.

THE JESTER-CURATOR SYMPOSIUM
CHAIRED BY:
Tom Morton, Co-curator of the 2010 British Art Show 7
PAPERS FROM:
TJ Demos, Critic and author, The Exiles of Marcel Duchamp
Dave Beech, Critic and co-author, The Philistine Controversy; member of the art collective Freee
PANEL:
Pablo Leon de la Barra, Artist and curator; editor, Centre for the Aesthetic Revolution
Sally O'Reilly, Author, The Body in Contemporary Art
Matthew Poole, Curator and writer, Programme Director of the Centre for Curatorial Studies at the University of Essex
Gilda Williams, Lecturer, MA Curating, Goldsmiths College, London correspondent for Artforum magazine
PERFORMANCE FROM:
Richard Layzell, Artist and researcher with ResCen

Admission: £17.50 full price, £12 concessions

MEET THE ARTIST AT ASPEX

There's an opportunity this Saturday to meet artist Adam Bridgland and hear him talk about the ideas and influences behind his work.  Adam will be at aspex where his exibition, Be My Guide Tonight, features a selection of new work in a wide range of media, including prints, embroidered patches and an enamel plaque alongside sculptures, neon and vinyl wall murals.
There's no need to book, just come along.

Since graduating from his Masters in Fine Art at the Royal College of Art in 2006, Adam has lived and worked as an artist in London and exhibited widely in the UK and internationally. In July 2009 he was awarded his first major public art commission by Futures Community College in Southend and Commissions East and has recently completed a special pop up exhibition for the Courtauld Institute of Art, London.

Saturday 30 April, 2pm
aspex

OPPORTUNITY FOR MAKERS OF CONTEMPORARY CRAFT

Phoenix Brighton are offering a great opportunity for artists and makers working in textiles, jewellery, ceramics, and other media to take part in their summer exhibition, Twisted.  The exhibition will focus on work using the materials and techniques of traditional crafts in interesting and unusual ways.  They are looking for artists and makers who have broken away from conventional formats to present their work in installations and experimental arrangements which exploit the three-dimensional gallery space.

The opportunity is open to all uk based artists and makers and the exhibition will showcase the work of up to eight artists, each presenting a body of work. 

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 26 April and full information on how to apply can be found on the Phoenix website: http://www.phoenixbrighton.org/opportunities.html
 
ABOUT PHOENIX BRIGHTON:
Phoenix Brighton is an independent visual arts organisation based in central Brighton. It houses 100+ artists’ studios, arts courses and activities, and a contemporary art gallery.

TWISTED
A fresh encounter with contemporary craft
July 23 – August 21, 2011

TIPS ON PHOTOGRAPHING 3D WORK

The next arc event, coming up on Wednesday 25 May, will be 'Photographing Your Work, Part 1: A Maker’s Perspective' with successful jewellery artist, Lin Cheung.

This event is part of our series of essential skills workshops, and will look at techniques for obtaining high quality photographs of your work.  An ‘essential skill’ of course if you want your work to stand out in any selection process.

Lin will discuss the issues of taking photographs of three-dimensional objects from her perspective as a maker. She will explain her approach to image making through her own work and give hints and tips on a range of issues from simple art direction through to printing of images. 

Wednesday 25 May, 6.30 to 8.30 pm
aspex
To book:    T: 023 9277 8080    E: arc@aspex.org.uk

Lin Cheung is a jewellery artist.  She has a profound interest in human nature. She explores the social and personal issues that shape our lives and our relationships with the objects we own, cherish and wear. Her observations inspire a need within her practice to further understand them through the act of making.

Lin was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, in 1971. She lives and works in London and is also a Senior Lecturer in Jewellery Design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London. Lin has exhibited her work nationally and internationally and has gained acclaim for her conceptual approach to designing and making.

www.lincheung.co.uk

ASPEX PREVIEW THIS SATURDAY - AFTERIMAGE, KIHLBERG & HENRY

This Saturday at aspex is the opening of Afterimage - an exhibition of newly commissioned work by Karin Kihlberg and Reuben Henry, the winners of the aspex biennial open submission competition EMERGENCY4. 

Through video and installation, Kihlberg and Henry investigate the history of 'viewership' and explore what it might be like to view the 'after image' of history in our present surroundings. As a framework for this exploration, Kihlberg & Henry have tracked down the many cinemas in operation on Portsea Island between the turn of the 20th century and their post-war decline, searching not for the images projected into the frames of the cinema’s screens, but for the physical locations that housed them and their audiences.  These sites now reflect aspects of contemporary life such as shopping, eating, and accommodation that have not only taken over the physical space that was once occupied by the cinema but also its place in our culture.  However within these images there is the ghost of a history which the artists re-frame as a two-dimensional image in the gallery and through this work suggest a new condition of 'viewership" where parallel embodiments of both time and place collide.

Karin Kihlberg and Reuben Henry have been collaborating since 2004. For the past two years they have worked as researchers in the Fine Art Department at the Jan van Eyck Academy. Their work has been screened at Tate Modern and they took part in the 100 Ideas Festival at Hayward Gallery in 2007. They have presented solo exhibitions at Le Mois de la Photo in Montreal, Vivid in Birmingham and Danielle Arnaud in London. This autumn they will be resident artists at the Institute of Beyond at Wysing Art Centre. Kihlberg & Henry are represented by Danielle Arnaud.

Karin Kihlberg & Reuben Henry
Afterimage
Preview: Saturday 9 April, 2pm.
Exhibition continues to 26 June.
aspex
The Vulcan Building, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth PO1 3BF

www.aspex.org.uk
 

THE THREADNEEDLE PRIZE

Last year's winning entry by Patricia Cain

Registration is now open for this year's Threadneedle Prize for representational art. 

The £25,000 Prize showcases paintings and sculptures that promote the practice of representational art but at the same time, challenge its "language and assumptions".

Both experienced and emerging artists are invited to submit work that is strong and topical in its observations on the world. There is over £40,000 of prize money to be won which makes this one of the largest prizes in the UK.

All the work selected for the exhibition in September - approximately 65 pieces - will be sourced through the open competition.  The winner of the £25,000 will be chosen by a panel of selectors from a shortlist of seven works and each of the six runners up will receive £1,000.  All works in the exhibition will also be eligible to win the £10,000 Visitors’ Choice prize.

Work in a variety of media - paintings, sculptures, original prints and drawings, mixed media constructions, reliefs and other figurative installations - will be accepted and each artist can submit up to three works.  Photography and video is only acceptable within other mixed media installations.
For full details, see The Threadneedle Prize website.

ARTISTS WORKING IN RELAY

An interesting arts project - RELAY 2011 - is taking place over the next six weeks in conjunction with Rules and Regs, Quay Arts (IOW) and A Space (Southampton).  A group of artists are responding to a random object - using it as both inspiration and medium - transforming it and then passing it on to the next artist to create a 'chain reaction'. 

Two Relays are running concurrently, one curated by Daniel Crow, A Space Director, and the other by Georgia Newman, Quay Arts Exhibitions Organiser.  Both Relays will be exhibited side by side in the Learning Curve Gallery at Quay Arts and documentation of how the objects have been altered will be shown alongside.  The artists have just 48 hours to respond to the object which is then put on display before being passed on to the next artist. 

Lisa Traxler is the second artist in the Quay Arts Relay and her 'response', Soul's Release was installed this morning in the Learning Curve Gallery.  The original 'object' was a set of chess pieces which had gone through a radical transformation by artist Tim Johnson before being passed on to Lisa.  Lisa's response is pictured above.

If by now all this seems as clear as mud!  then you can read all about it at www.rulesandregs.org/relay11.html
and find more information about the individual artist responses in their blog http://rulesandregsrelay.wordpress.com.

TAKE PART IN THE VENICE BIENNALE

The venue is in Campo San Polo, Venice

There is only one week before the deadline - apologies for that but have only just received the notification - but if you would like the chance to have some work in the 54th Venice Biennale, then WW Gallery are calling for submissions of works on paper for a collateral exhibition as part of the 'UK at the Venice Biennale' programme.  Further details follow, and take a look at their website.

Call for Submissions
WW Gallery at the 54th
Venice Biennale
Deadline 31st March

There is nothing more exhilarating than the buzz and atmosphere of the opening week of the Venice Biennale. As the longest-running, most prestigious international art biennial in the world, the Venice Biennale of Art is the biggest event in the art calendar.

WW Gallery participated in the 53rd Venice Biennale and this year, for the 54th Biennale, invites artists to submit works on paper for a two week exhibition in the heart of Venice.

Submissions must be 2D and no larger than A3 size. Work should not be framed, glazed or mounted. Media can include drawing, collage, printmaking, painting, digital, photography and mixed media. There is no set theme; work should be representative of each artist's practice or process.

The exhibition is selected and curated by Debra Wilson and Chiara Williams. Wilson and Williams, known collectively as WW, have a proven track record for spotting and nurturing talent and curating inspired and subversive exhibitions from their gallery base in Hackney, East London.


http://www.wilsonwilliamsgallery.com/opencall2011.htm?utm

OMEGA PRINTMAKERS ANNUAL SHOW

Tomorrow the Omega Printmakers open their third annual show of original prints at GASP (Gallery Art Space Portsmouth). The group was created to give printmakers access to the excellent printmaking facilities at The Omega Centre in Portsmouth and this event is a fantastic showcase for the work they produce.  This year the show will feature work by the following artists:
Jan Blemmings, Jenny Bullen, Angela Elsom, Jon Everett, Jean Flack Munday, Des Kilfeather, Hanae Hanamo, Gillian Hawkins, Jessica Lay, Diane Longbottom, Andrew Mcconnach, Amanda Morris, Tony Munford, Pam Newick, Joan Newitt, Eloise Parrack, David Peduzzi, Deborah Richards, Jane Shepherd, Jon Spencer, Mary Stephens, Sarah Tunaley and Mark Willenbruch.
For more information, including a gallery of artists' work, see www.omegaprintmakers.co.uk.


Preview Friday 25 March 6 to 8 pm
Exhibition continues to Saturday 2 April 
Open to the public: Daily 2 to 5 pm (closed Sunday)
GASP
Gallery Art Space Portsmouth
27 Brougham Road, Southsea, Portsmouth PO5 4PA
www.artspace.co.uk

Image: The Albion Press at Omega Printmakers

SUSAN 1 - PRE-SENSE - CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Emerging and established artists are invited to submit work for a group exhibition responding to or challenging the idea of intuition and the experience of ‘just knowing,’ apparently before or without sensory clues.  Is it a pre-sensory experience, an experience of presence, an awareness of ‘inner time’ or something else?

Work made in the last two years (2009 onwards) - in painting, drawing, digital and new media, performance to camera and small to medium scale 3-D work - that engages in some way with the theme of the project is eligible.  

Susan 1 will be installed in three large empty rooms in a modern house in Headington, Oxford, previewing on Friday 6 May with the exhibition continuing on 7 and 8 May.

For further information and details of how to submit your work, see:

http://web.me.com/mariusvb/susanprojects/susan_1.html

or for further enquiries email susanprojects11@gmail.com

MAKER OPPORTUNITY

If you are looking for an outlet for your craft, then South Hill Park have extended the application deadline for their annual craft fair to Thursday 31 March.  So if you are a painter, textile artist, jeweller, silversmith, woodturner, printmaker, ceramicist or glassmaker (etc!) there is still time to apply for your own stall. A curatorial committee - made up of staff and SHP resident artists - will view the applications in April. 
Stall prices vary between £185 and £245 depending on size and location but they do accept joint applications so you could lower your costs by sharing with a colleague and the good news is no commission is taken from artists' sales.  Makers are also provided with promotional leaflets and entry into the catalogue so it could be a good investment of your money.
South Hill Park offer over 80 stall positions in their Georgian mansion and modern theatre and gallery space at their craft fair which has established a reputation for high quality craftsmanship and a welcoming atmosphere over the past 25 years.
For an idea of what to expect, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QRoNWSSYIk
Application packs are available at www.southhillpark.org.uk or for more information email craftfair@southhillpark.org.uk. 

MASTERING THE ARTIST'S STATEMENT

We are pleased to announce the next instalment in our series of essential skills workshops: Mastering the Artist’s Statement with artist, Emilia Telese.  Using a range of writing techniques, exercises and mindmapping, Emilia will coach you in the art of writing an effective introduction to your work in 200 words. 

Judging by the number of requests we’ve had to cover this topic, we are expecting this workshop to be popular and places are limited, so reserve yours now by sending an email to arc@aspex.org.uk.

Emilia Telese is an Italian-born crossover artist based in Brighton.  She studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence and moved to the UK in 1997. Alongside her art practice Emilia is Regional Council Member at Arts Council South East, a freelance writer and specialist in artists’ professional practice, and a visiting lecturer at more than ten art colleges in the UK and Italy.  http://www.emiliatelese.com

Image by Jodielee Pike, arc volunteer photographer

THE ROUND TOWER

It's not long now until Old Portsmouth's Round Tower is launched as a gallery space with an exhibition on the theme of ‘Strong Island’.
‘Strong Island’is a local website created and managed by Paul Gonella and Tristan Savage designed to promote, showcase and inform people about Portsmouth and Southsea’s scene.
Over 30 local creatives have been invited to participate in the exhibition and you can see who they are and follow the progress of preparing for opening night at www.theroundtower.co.uk.  Paul Gonella is also making a documentary of the preparations which will be made available to view on the website. The image shown is a recent photograph of the Round Tower by Jon Snape, using his Medium format Mamiya and hand printed in his kitchen darkroom. Jon is hoping to produce some solar plates especially for the strong-island exhibition.
The local printmaking studio, Badger Press, will also be participating in the exhibition and there is still time for their artists to submit work to be sold in the shop.  Full details can be found here.


Launch Night: Friday 15 April, 6pm
Open to the Public 16 April to 1 May.  Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 3pm.