LEARN SOMETHING NEW!

Badger Press at Bishops Waltham are now taking bookings for their new programme of workshops.  So if you are interested in printing, drypoint, wood engraving and more, see details below or visit their website:

CONTEMPORARY DRYPOINT 5 & 6 February

A weekend workshop offering an opportunity to experiment with modern materials and traditional drypoint techniques to create intaglio prints. Using purpose made acrylic plates, images can be easily transferred and then developed using line and tone.
Fee: £110 Tutor: Mary Stephens

PRINT AND POSSIBILITIES Saturday 12 March

Kirstie Larsen invites you to join her on a wild exploration of print techniques and illustration. Ever drawn a smell, painted a sound, printed puns and poems, created your own font and used it instead of comic sans?  A shot in the arm for your artistic practice and the perfect antidote to serious art. Bring sketchbooks, peculiar objects, cake and a sense of humour.
Fee: £35 Tutor: Kirstie Larsen

WOOD ENGRAVING 19 & 20 March

Enjoy a weekend relief printing using end-grain hardwood blocks in the company of the brilliant Kate Dicker. Exploring work in black line, white line and the creative handling of mid-tone areas. The variety of tools can create multi-textured marks, delicate tones and graphic contrasts and these are unique to this medium. Suitable for beginners and those wishing to expand on their previous experience.
Fee: £110 Tutor: Kate Dicker

Visit www.badgerpress.org for further information.

FOUR YEARS IN VIENNA!

How does four years in Vienna studying for a PhD at the Academy of Fine Arts sound to you?  Well, if you meet the criteria and can put together a written project proposal by  18 March you could find yourself in this beautiful city by the end of the year!

More details follow:

The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna is offering a doctoral program for research in and as artistic practice. The PhD in Practice is intended to give participants an opportunity to realize their individual art and research projects in a cooperative environment with a decidedly trans-disciplinary and international bent.

In societies increasingly based on economies of 'knowledge', it is crucial for contemporary visual artists to discuss and transform their own respective positions as producers, agents, designers, archivists, and conveyors of those economies, and the politics, aesthetics and affects related to them. The program critically focuses on the consequences of the shifting social role of art and artists by allowing artists in knowledge-based societies to engage in research into these issues. A deliberate emphasis on the epistemological and methodological foundations and prospects of the fine arts, its practitioners, and its audiences is a distinguishing feature of the PhD in Practice program, as is a particular interest in addressing the question of how art practices are and can be related to important issues of contemporary politics and culture.

The PhD in Practice program is designed for a four year duration (240 ECTS credits). Participants should be prepared to take part in seminars and communal meetings in Vienna for at least one week per month during the semester. Over the course of the four years the participants will develop and implement their projects analytically and experimentally in coordination with the academic and artistic team of co-participants and faculty. Trans-disciplinary modes of art production and research are fostered. An annual thematic research focus provides a common platform of discussion and organization. Importantly, the ability to write academic texts, and to conceive, organize, document, and carry out independent research will be developed by supporting participants in a networked, international and trans-disciplinary environment (The Center for Art/Knowledge/CAK).

The PhD in Practice participants have access to the facilities and resources of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and to the institutions and people that form the broader and expanding network of the Center for Art/Knowledge and the future Doctoral School of the Academy. Participants will be given the means to pursue and develop dissertation work resulting in an artistic project and a written component displaying a strong emphasis on methodological reflexivity and documentation. Moreover, participants are expected to take an active part in organizing the program (coordinating workshops, guest lectures, conferences, exhibitions, screenings, etc.).

Entry requirements

Requirements for admission to the PhD in Practice program are: a degree (Magister, MA or diploma) from a recognized University or Academy, and the submission of a portfolio and a written project proposal. Applicants who are already engaged in an artistic or academic career are encouraged to apply.

The application is online only. Applications (to be written in English) must be received by March 18, 2011, following the online application procedure explained on the website of the program (http://www.cak.akbild.ac.at), and should be sent to: phd-in-practice@akbild.ac.at

Further information can be found at http://www.cak.akbild.ac.at

The results of the application process will be published by mid-May 2011.

Admitted candidates will embark on the PhD in Practice program in October 2011.

PARKS FOR PEOPLE PROJECT - CALL FOR ARTISTS

Bracknell Forest Council have put out a call for expressions of interest in the "Parks for People' project at South Hill Park in Bracknell, Berkshire.  There are opportunities for sculpture, signage, logo/image design and waymarking.  

The deadline is Monday 21 February - just 3 weeks away - so if you are interested, follow the instructions below to let them know!

Bracknell Forest Council: Call for expressions of interest: South Hill Park ‘Parks for People’ – sculpture, signage, logo/image design and waymarking

We are looking to commission an artist/artist group to design and develop artistic elements of the restoration of the historic grounds at South Hill Park in Bracknell, Berkshire. The park is in receipt of a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and we are currently undertaking major restoration works which include new footpath systems, stone and iron work, ornamental gardens and tree and shrub management.

As part of this exciting project, artworks or designs are sought for a new image/logo for the park, site specific waymarking system, entrance signage and a sculpture or installation to be set around the grounds.  The total budget is £68,000.  Interested artists/designers are invited to submit proposals to deliver all or any combination of the components of the design brief.

The project is located at:
South Hill Park Arts Centre, Ringmead, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 7PA
To download briefing and application information, please follow the link to
http://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/shprestoration
Otherwise contact Richard Scrivener, Project Manager
Tel no: 01344 354124, email:  shp.restoration@bracknell-forest.gov.uk

The closing date for receipt of expressions of interest is 21 February 2011.

NEW WRITER'S HUB IN PORTSMOUTH

The creative writers among you may interested to know that New Writing South has just launched a series of Writer Hubs - a network of regular meetings for members and other creative writers in venues throughout the South East region. The first one will open at the New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth on Monday 24 January from 6.30pm until 8.30pm - all writers are welcome to attend, and it's free!

This first event will be hosted by Chris Tayor, Director, New Writing South, Caroline Sharman, Director, New Theatre Royal and Dominic Kippin, Literature Development Officer, Portsmouth City Council. 

Future Writer Hubs will take place the last Monday of every month and future guests booked for Portsmouth include: author Simon Brett and television writer Carole Hayman.

The Portsmouth Writer’s Hub offers the chance to informally meet other writers, listen and meet with guest writers, and once established, allows the ability for each hub to plan and curate their own events supported by New Writing South, the New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth and Portsmouth City Council. 

Find out more at:

http://www.newtheatreroyal.com/index.php/take-part/projects/writers-hub

Top Ten Art Blogs

If you are not already an avid reader of blogs, take a look at these art blogs which have just been selected by Arts Media Contacts for their award of Top Art Blog of 2010 - you will soon be hooked!  They may even inspire you to start blogging yourself.

To be selected bloggers had to have something to contribute to the debate on art and have carried out genuine and independent research on their subject.  Just as important was first-rate writing, regular postings, interesting graphics and images and an interactive community or readership. 

From a huge number of entries, they selected the following top ten:

1. VANDALOG
Top Art Blog of the Year

blog.vandalog.com

Elfo's road sign for an underground robber

A perfect blog. Regular and interesting postings about street art across the world have created a genuine international community interested in this art form. To date there are just under 4000 followers, who are active in debating and posting and it is all very nicely brought together by its editor, RJ Rushmore. If you are looking to set up a blog to promote a specialist art form, then use this one as a model.

2. ARTS JOURNAL
Art News Blog of the Year
www.artsjournal.com

With its daily digest of the art news, seventeen highly qualified bloggers and a huge following, Arts Journal wins a top prize here. The sections are divided into clear sections such as: architecture, issues, art, music, culture, ideas, and the bloggers include leading figures in the academic and art world. The content is intelligent and the debate real. A guaranteed good read every day.

3. JONATHAN JONES ON ART
Art Blogger of the Year
www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog

Jonathan's short blogs fuel your brain and tell you exactly what you should go and see. We particularly liked his recent piece 'The streets have stolen a march on modern art'. Working for The Guardian, his brief must be to feature events of 'national interest', but he manages to weave into this an eclectic mix of shows across the country in all sorts of places and not just the big names and brands. Other journos on the nationals should follow suit. We had many votes for Jonathan sent in to us, and the number of daily comments on his site shows that he a serious community of followers.

4. THE ART NEWSPAPER - FAIRS
Art Magazine Blog of the Year
www.theartnewspaper.com/fairs

If you did not received The Art Newspaper's Daily bulletins from this year's art fairs then you have missed out. The well-designed and up-to-the-minute newsletters drop into your inbox feeding you with news, opinion and gossip on the daily events at Frieze and Miami. For a moment in your morning you too are under canvas rubbing shoulders with oligarchs and celebrity collectors.

5. CATHEDRAL OF SHIT
Art Polemic Blog of the Year
cathedralofshit.wordpress.com

If you like a bitter rant against the art establishment with lots of expletives, then this blog is for you. It is very active, with plenty of anonymous researchers on the ground picking holes in government policy and exposing in-fighting, hypocrisy and nepotism in the art world. Examples are favourable reviews by national art critics of work by their personal friends. The design is pretty basic but the comment notable.

6. 1000 WORDSPHOTOGRAPHY
Photography Blog of the Year
1000wordsphotographymagazine.blogspot.com

This photography blogs highlights a sensational array of photographers, many of whom are relatively unknown. The blog, written mostly by Tim Clark, offers a mixture of well-written book and exhibition reviews, advice to photographers and news of fairs and competitions. The organisation also runs events in places such as Fez. Truly international.

7. SELF SELECTOR
New Art Blogger of the Year
selfselector.co.uk

Absolutely loads of people put forward Lorena Muñoz-Alonso for art blogger of the year. She clearly has a passionate group of followers. Lorena reviews exhibitions in such a way that you feel that you have been there. She asks enough questions about the art to challenge it, but she is not deliberately controversial or egotistical. She draws together exhibitions from public, commercial and alternative spaces, in a thematic way that makes you look at wider cultural issues.

8. ARMAGHOCLOCK
Artist's Blog of the Year
armaghoclock.wordpress.com

There are so many good artists' blogs that this is very difficult to choose. We were very careful not to select any artist that we represent or know as we don't want to be outed in 'Cathedral of Shit'. We have a preference here for the artist blogs that simply bring you behind the scenes as we are not artists ourselves. This blog was put forward by a subscriber and is an excellent example of an artist writing a journal on the development of a project. It brings you into the making of the work over the course of a year with clever use of images and sound. Unpretentious, clearly written and interesting.

9. ART RABBIT
Art Listings Blog of the Year
www.artrabbit.com

So many listings sites let us down because the searches don't work or give you too much information or the content is out-of-date. This one doesn't. It is beautifully designed and works perfectly - commendations to the graphic and software designers as well as the editors. The opinion pieces are nicely-written and the email blogs give you exactly the information you want on your selection of exhibitions opening or closing across the globe. A big thank you to Art Rabbit for bringing so many visitors into galleries and museums this year.

10. ART FAG CITY
Urban Art Blog of the Year
www.artfagcity.com

Curator, lecturer and journalist Paddy Johnson goes around New York's galleries and events and reports on art in the city with a fair amount of gossip and news too.

Visit artsmediacontacts.co.uk to see an extended list of the Top Arts Blogs 2010

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A SOCIALLY ENGAGED ARTIST IN ANOTHER CULTURAL CONTEXT?

For those of you in the Oxford area, there is an opportunity next week to consider what it means to be a socially engaged artist in another cultural context when Emma Smith and Oliver Sumner, of art collective Delta Arts, consider this and other questions addressed by their recent Golden Threads programme.

Golden Threads: Beirut, Copenhagen, London

Thursday 27 January, 7pm to 9pm

Modern Art Oxford

30 Pembroke Street, Oxford OX1 1BP 

Though increasingly familiar in the UK, what does it mean to be a socially engaged artist in another cultural context? Emma Smith and Oliver Sumner, of art collective Delta Arts, unpack this and other questions addressed by their recent Golden Threads programme of artist research fellowships between London, Beirut and Copenhagen.

They will be joined by artists involved in the professional development programme in 2010, including Norwich-based collaborative duo Townley and Bradby, who completed a fellowship to Denmark and Lebanese artist/designer Samar Maakaron, based in London since 2008.

This event is organised by Delta Arts in partnership with ARC.

 http://www.modernartoxford.org.uk/whats-on/golden-threads-beirut-copenhagen-london/about/

MOTIVATING AND BRAVE!

Our workshop last night was a resounding success - even if I do say so myself - thanks to a great presentation by Jonathan and contributions from a lovely group of people.  Comments received include: "Valuable overview with great tips.  Motivating and brave" "Great to have the perspective of the selectors" "Really well presented with humour".

Jonathan led the group through a checklist for making more successful applications, covering a range of topics.  This is just a flavour of what was covered:

Strategies

Set your strategy and decide how many applications you are going to make per year or how many you can afford to make - as entry fees for competitions or open exhibitions can be expensive.  It may seem a chore, but each application is an opportunity to get your work seen by selectors.

Eligibility

Check the criteria.  Don’t waste your time or money applying for something if you are not eligible or don’t meet the criteria.  And continue to check the criteria as you put your application together to make sure everything you are sending meets the requirements.

Documentation

Lots of information was covered here as this is the most important part of your application.  This is how you demonstrate what your practice is to someone who doesn’t know you or your work.  It should give a sense of your practice as a whole – tailored to meet the requirements of whatever opportunity you are applying for.  And you should only be submitting new or recent work!

Of particular importance are the images you submit – this is an art in itself as your images are likely to be viewed by selectors for just a few seconds.  In fact this is such an important issue that we are planning another workshop on photographing your work! Make sure you follow the guidelines though and if they have asked for 3 images, only send 3!  And if you are sending them on a disc do check the disc and make sure it opens.  Files which can’t be opened will just be discarded and all your hard work will have been in vain.

Selection

Your statement is also important as it could be what sways the decision from a maybe to a yes or no.  In the selection process most applications will be maybe's with just a few definite yes’s and no’s.  To make a decision when the selectors are not in agreement they will often look at the artist’s statement.  So your statement needs to be clear, concise and specifically tailored to the opportunity – if they say 200 words, they mean it!  Aim to show critical engagement but most importantly be sincere and give the story of your own research practice.  Judging by the comments we received, writing a good statement seems to be something that lots of artists find challenging so look out for future arc events when we hope to cover how to write about your work.  

Your CV is not as critical in the selection process, as it will probably only be reviewed once the selection has been made.  However, make sure yours is kept up to date and then tailor it to each opportunity.

Outlook

Be realistic -  a hit rate of 1 success in 10 is good!   So its important that you give yourself plenty of time to prepare your application and improve  your chances of success.  And don’t take rejection personally!  You may not have been selected for one opportunity but there could be another one just around the corner that’s just right for you.

And don’t forget, if you are struggling with any aspect of this process, you can always book a one to one surgery and review your documentation with Jonathan.

Just email arc@aspex.

 Phyl

PS:  For further tips and information on making applications a-n's Knowledge Bank has a  range of practical guides: http://www.a-n.co.uk/knowledge_bank/topic/77173
and ArtQuest has a section on Presentation and Documentation:
http://www.artquest.org.uk/showing-and-selling/presentation-documentation.htm

MAKING MORE SUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS

Photograph by Jodie Price, ARC Volunteer Photographer

We have a few places left for our workshop next Wednesday, when Jonathan Parsons, arc lead artist, will cover the ‘do’s and don’ts’, of making applications for a wide range of scenarios, including residencies, open exhibitions and competitions - for all of us who have made new year resolutions to make the most of all those opportunities!

Jonathan will be using his recent experience of sitting on selection panels to help artists create an all purpose checklist and will offer advice on strategies, eligibility, meeting the criteria and presenting work for the selectors.  There will be opportunities to ask questions during the evening, a handout will be provided for notes and we will be offering suggestions for further reading.

Unfortunately as there will be between 20 and 30 people in the audience, Jonathan will not be able to help with specific applications so if you have something you would like to discuss on a one to one basis, don't forget you can book yourself a surgery with Jonathan. You can do this by emailing a copy of your CV, your artist's statement, 4-5 jpeg images of your work and a paragraph or two about what you would like to discuss to arc@aspex.org.uk.



 CHECKLIST FOR MAKING APPLICATIONS
Wednesday, 19 January, 6.30 to 8.30 pm, aspex

Booking is essential so email arc@aspex.org.uk or call 023 9277 8080 to reserve your place before they are all gone!
arc-home.org.uk