Bartosz Beda is fast approaching the completion of his MA at Manchester School of Art in September 2012 with a slot in Saatchi New Sensations to follow straight after. We talk to the artist about his multi-lingual practice ahead of further exhibitions across Europe and a six-month scholarship at The Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden.
Peter Martin, Sheffield-based artist, and curator of the graduate show ‘Repercussions’ at The Old Market Gallery in Rotherham, talks to Richard Taylor about pulling together exhibitors from across the UK and producing a show representative of both physical and virtual research into 2011 degree shows.
Now available online at www.a-n.co.uk, Compass is a tool for professional practice teaching in FE and HE institutions.
Catherine Bertola and Rosie Morris provide a platform for women artists and writers to highlight less visible, marginalised and precarious practices in the second series of our magazine style publications celebrating the a-n archive.
Within UK universities, visual artists are working across university departments in many different ways ranging from arts and health initiatives, residencies and cultural heritage projects to commissions, teaching and PhD research. Artist Steve Pool identifies some key ways artists are working within HE and considers the value of such relationships to both artists and institutions.
In 2017, New Contemporaries, an annual exhibition of emerging artists from UK art schools, opened up its application to include artists from alternative learning programmes. Director Kirsty Ogg discusses this decision, the changing climate for emerging artists in the UK, and what artists really need to develop and challenge their practice. Interview by Michaela Nettell.
Alternative art education programmes come in a range of formats, from entirely self-organised to more structured offerings. Lydia Ashman hears from seven artists who discuss how they chose a programme which would develop their practice and fit with their lifestyles, and offer advice on selecting the right one for your needs.
School of the Damned is a free year-long alternative, and unaccredited, art school. Each year a new student group comes on board and collectively devises and develops their programme of learning. Laura Davidson finds out more from members of the founding cohort, Class of 2014, and the Class of 2018 graduating students.
Underpinning is the project of Aberdeen-based artist Kirsty Russell. This profile includes a video interview, recorded at Assembly Aberdeen, in which Russell introduces her practice, which often involves ‘creating spaces where there’s room for other people and ideas.’
Gaada Projects works in venues across Shetland, offering platforms and support to local communities. This profile includes a video interview, recorded at Assembly Aberdeen, with Gaada’s co-directors Daniel Clark and Amy Gear, who outline the challenges and opportunities of setting up an artist-led initiative in a remote, rural location.
Members of Aberdeen artist-led project Tendency Towards – Yvette Bathgate, Jessica Barrie and Jake Shepherd – describe the challenges and opportunities of working in a place that “people pass through on their way somewhere else”. Includes a video interview recorded at a-n’s Assembly Swansea event in May 2019.
Dr Edwina fitzPatrick, course leader of the MFA Fine Art course at Wimbledon College of Arts, offers advice and explores the key issues to consider when selecting and applying to a postgraduate course.
Market Gallery has been part of Glasgow’s artist-led ecology since 2000. The gallery is led by a volunteer committee and operates from a shop unit in the working-class neighbourhood of Dennistoun, where it presents a varied programme of exhibitions, events and residencies. Lydia Ashman talks to artist and committee member Catalina Barroso-Luque about how the gallery is responding to a reduction of resources through its programme and structure.
The Royal Standard is an artist-led gallery, studios and social workspace in Toxteth, Liverpool. This profile includes a video, recorded at Assembly Dundee, in which artistic directors Lucy Bretherton and Becky Peach introduce their roles and outline the challenges of sustaining a volunteer-run organisation for over a decade.
Generator Projects is an artist-led gallery in Dundee. This profile features a video interview, recorded at Assembly Dundee, in which Generator Projects’ chair and committee members introduce the organisation and discuss its aim of supporting emerging artists in the city.
Rat Trap is a Cardiff-based creative collective of recent graduates who organise exhibitions and events as a platform for artists and musicians to share their work and develop their practice. This profile features two videos, recorded at Assembly Cardiff, in which members of Rat Trap introduce their work and consider the notion of success.
Based in Wakefield, visual arts development agency The Art House continually explores ways to work with artists who face barriers to their practice. Its residency programme supports artists at different stages of their career and is shaped around individuals’ needs. Lydia Ashman speaks to Programme Producer Simon Boase and artist Rosanne Robertson about the tailored support the organisation provides to artists.
AirSpace Gallery is a studio provider and gallery space in Stoke-on-Trent. This profile includes two videos, recorded at Assembly Birmingham, featuring AirSpace Gallery’s co-director Anna Francis introducing the organisation and explaining its deep commitment to being part of Stoke-on-Trent’s evolving post-industrial identity.
Founded in 2010, Grand Union is a studio provider and project space that supports artistic and curatorial development in Digbeth, Birmingham. This profile includes a video, recorded at Assembly Birmingham, in which director Cheryl Jones introduces the organisation and shares its current strategy for securing a permanent home.
Stryx is a studio, project and exhibition space which forms part of the flourishing artist-led ecology in Digbeth, Birmingham. This profile includes two videos, recorded at Assembly Birmingham, of founder and co-director Karolina Korupczynska introducing the organisation and discussing the challenges of delivering a sustainable project on limited resources.
Islington Mill in Salford is an evolving creative space, arts hub and community that provides studios, hosts residencies, and includes a peer-led art school and artist-run B&B. This profile includes two videos, recorded at Assembly Salford, of Islington Mill founder Bill Campbell introducing the organisation and discussing future plans.
S1 Artspace in Sheffield is a member-led studio provider and exhibition space, running since 1995. This profile includes a video, recorded at Assembly Salford, of S1’s Stephen Escritt outlining the organisation’s plans for a major expansion at the Grade II* listed brutalist Park Hill estate.
Initiated in 2010 by two fine art graduates, The NewBridge Project in Newcastle upon Tyne provides studios, a gallery, project spaces and a member-led professional development programme. This profile includes two videos, recorded at Assembly Salford, of former director Charlotte Gregory introducing the organisation and discussing how during a period of expansion the project has stayed loyal to its member-led ethos
Founded in 1972, Acme Studios has grown to provide around 600 studios for London-based artists. This profile includes two videos, recorded at Assembly Salford, featuring Acme’s Head of Projects & Communications Jack Fortescue introducing the organisation and outlining its unwavering commitment to securing long-term, affordable artist studios.
Originally from Germany, Glasgow-based painter Cornelius Quabeck first spent time in the city during a two-month artist residency in 2011. He talks to Dan Thompson about living and working in Düsseldorf, London and San Francisco, and the reasons that brought him back to Scotland in 2016.