Image credit: Andy Ford
Over a year in planning and development, Jamboree is finally here – and we are so excited to welcome 150 artists and curators to sunny Dartington! I’ll be reporting on site each day, and full reports from our team of observers – Fine Art students from our partners Plymouth College of Art – will be sharing follow up reports from their perspectives. Please do follow us on Instagram @artistsjamboree where we’ll be sharing a lot more documentation and behind the scenes shots too.
Image credit: Andy Ford
Yesterday (Thursday 28th June) began with artists and curators arriving from all over the country, from Newcastle to Newlyn, and pitching their tents on the beautiful Dartington campsite. Early arrivals explored the Dartington grounds, viewed artists moving image curated by Video Social Club, and dropped off multiples and editions to sell in the camp shop, and small works to display in the miniatures exhibition.
Image: ‘Westward Ho! (Maquette)’ by Stuart Robinson
Artists LOW PROFILE welcomed the participants by sharing some ideas around Jamboree 2018, and the history of Jamboree 2015. You can read some of the Jamboree 2015 participants’ reports via a-n blogs at: https://www.a-n.co.uk/blogs/jamboree
We then heard from Hannah Pierce who explained why a-n decided to partner with LOW PROFILE on Jamboree, and how it is an example of how artists can come up with exciting solutions to their own creative and professional development needs. Keep it #artistledtilimartistdead!
The final presentations were from Friday’s seminar speakers, who gave a brief introduction to their artistic and curatorial practices and raised some of the provocations they would be exploring on the following day. We are lucky enough to have a diverse and fascinating group of practitioners to lead the seminar sessions: curator Alistair Hudson of Manchester Art Gallery and the Whitworth, who asked, ‘If we truly want to democratise art, should we abandon exhibitions for good?’ Curator Simon Morrissey of Foreground introduced the idea of dichotomies of centres versus peripheries in the art world. Artist Sonya Dyer used the philosophy of Franko Beradi as a position to ask: ‘how are we going to live with each other in the future?’. Curator Lucy Day of A Woman’s Place (and Jamboree project supporter and critical friend) questioned: ‘Is separation the best way to tell marginalised stories?’. And finally curator Ingrid Swenson of PEER interrogated what is meant by socially engaged practice.
For further information about the seminar leaders visit our seminar webpage at https://artistsjamboree.uk/programme/seminars-by-invited-curators
Image credit: Andy Ford
The evening finished with delicious food from The Real Junk Food Project, a brilliant organisation that saves food waste, screenings from BEEF (Bristol Experimental and Expanded Film), a bar, and chats at the campsite under a full moon.
The perfect start to the long weekend of Jamboree!
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