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.
Tin Roof is an artist-led collective that runs Dundee Ceramics Workshop. This profile includes an interview with artist and co-founder of Tin Roof, Joanna Helfer, recorded at Assembly Dundee, in which she describes her involvement with Dundee’s artist-led scene and her optimism for the future.
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.
The Coventry Biennial of Contemporary Art is an artist-led platform that aims to bring critically engaged, high quality contemporary visual art to the city and surrounding area. This profile includes two videos, recorded at Assembly Birmingham, in which founder and artistic director Ryan Hughes introduces the organisation and describes its ambitious journey.
Studio provider and project space Paradise Works was founded in April 2017. Straddling the Salford-Manchester border, the organisation hosts 30 artists and presents an artist-focused programme of exhibitions, residencies and events. This profile includes a video, recorded at a-n’s Assembly Salford, of founder Lucy Harvey introducing the organisation and discussing its aspirations to be a sustainable presence within the artist-led ecology.
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.
Based in a former school in Nottingham, Primary supports artistic production through its studio provision, residencies and a public programme. This profile includes two videos, recorded at Assembly Salford, where director Niki Russell introduces the organisation and shares its lengthy journey to securing a space.
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.
For the final Assembly event in the current series, a-n was in Cardiff for a day of discussion and debate around how to survive as a creative practitioner. Trevor H. Smith reports.
The latest in a-n’s series of artist-organised events explored the challenges and advantages of physical outposts for a sustained artist-led practice. Robyn Woolston, herself based in the rural outpost of the Cairngorms National Park, reports.
The next day-long a-n Assembly events will see Dundee playing host in October to an exploration of ‘cultural outposts’ and the challenges and advantages these offer for artist-led practice, while November’s event in Cardiff will focus on resilience and sustainability.
The second event in a-n’s Assembly series was hosted by Eastside Projects in Birmingham and aimed to address the increasing amount of development taking place across the city region and the opportunities this might offer for artists. Confirmed conference sceptic and Birmingham-based artist Pete Ashton reports.
a-n launched its current series of UK-wide one-day Assembly events at Paradise Works, Salford with a packed day of discussion that included presentations exploring how to create and sustain a building-based artist-led organisation. Writer and curator Tom Emery reports.
The second a-n Assembly of 2018, taking place at Eastside Projects in Birmingham on 15 June, will explore the impact on artists, residents and arts organisations of the city’s ambitions to grow and regenerate.
a-n’s Assembly programme of workshops, talks and networking returns with a new series of one-day events taking place in four cities around the UK. With events in Salford and Birmingham already confirmed, we take a closer look at the Assembly Salford programme which will explore how artists can maintain their presence within a city region undergoing rapid development.
Talks, tours, seminars, workshops, DIY building, chopping, cooking, eating: just some of the activities undertaken by artists at a-n’s Assembly events throughout May and June 2017. Here we pull together a collection of images from the events in Margate, Liverpool, Bristol, Newcastle and Leeds.
The new artwork by artist Kevin Hunt draws attention to some of the best activity being facilitated by emerging independent artists and curators right now in the UK.
Across two days of talks, workshops and get-togethers, Assembly Margate explored both the specifics of living and working as an artist in a town with a small population where art can be a contentious subject, and the broader picture of how artists deal with issues such as regeneration, gentrification and working with communities.
In May and June 2017, a-n will be delivering five Assembly events at locations across England, featuring speakers and training on a range of subjects.
