Saturday 14 December 2013

Louise Hobson awarded Library Residency 2014

Former FORUM speaker, Louise Hobson will begin her residency in the WARP library space in January 2014 running through until March. We are all really happy for her and hope it all goes well!

For updates on her residency and to see what else is going on in warp and g39 see: http://www.g39.org/warp/ 

Hobson stated that she is "...interested in the idea of the trade route and how as a theoretical and visual concept, it can be used as a tool to explore the exchange of art, knowledge and ideas on a global scale. In the Warp library there is a book called
'Connect: Public Art in Transit Project. Belfast to Dublin Rail Link' by Frances Dowds and I would like to take this catalogue of a project that explores making points and forging links, as a starting point."



Image Credit: © Louise Hobson, Theatre 2012


Friday 13 December 2013

Bartosz Nowicki's New Book: CITY - The Season


Bartosz Nowicki - CITY - The Season
Launched November 2013

This is not a story of the club but of the people who support it – Bartosz Nowicki

CITY – The Season follows Cardiff City FC fans during the 2012-13 campaign, when the Bluebirds wore red. Nowicki presents his own record of the season, weaved in with text from City fans to celebrate the club’s charge to the Premier League and explore issues of identity and belonging generated by the club’s controversial rebrand.   Nowicki gets to the heart of what it means to follow Cardiff City, home and away, the anguish and excitement of watching the game, journeys to away grounds by cramped coaches, the harrying presence of stewards and police, the drinking, the singing and the joke playing and always the colours, shirts and tattoos that were the contested symbols of belonging during a season in which, according to Nowicki 'the shadow of the rebrand followed us to every corner of Britain’.

The book includes text from renowned authors and columnists: Annis Abraham Jnr (the author of 6 books, which have sold in excess of 160000 copies); Carl Curtis (South Wales Echo and Wales Online); and James Leighton who wrote the acclaimed biography of Manchester United legend, Duncan Edwards, which became the no. 1 bestselling football book on Amazon.   The book contain never before published photographs of supporters, but it also includes behind the scenes insights, such as meetings between former owner Sam Hammam and current owner Vincent Tan as well as Hammams meeting with fans in the Holland House Hotel. Of course, as befits a book about a football club, you will also find photographs of players, including Craig Bellamy, David Marshall and Matt Connolly.


Lost and Found | The Obscure Camera Photography Exhibitions


Lost and Found
Community Photography Exhibition &
The Obscure Camera Abstract Photo Exhibition

Exhibitions open Wednesday, 11 December - Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Open: Tue - Fri 10.30 - 2, 3.30 - 6, Sat 11 - 6
26 Church Street, Abertillery. NP13 3HD

"Lost and Found” and “The Obscure Camera” are the sixth and seventh photography exhibitions organised in Abertillery, Wales by the*kickplate*project.

“Lost and Found” features copies of analogue photographs submitted by the members of our local community, including Abertillery, Six Bells and Brynmawr. In the times of omnipresent digital photography we wanted to remind everyone about the importance of physical prints that don’t get deleted easily and that can last for generations. We asked people to have another look at their photo albums, that all of us used to have and fill up with memories of holidays, celebrations and snapshots of everyday life. We discovered some real treasures, accounts of both people’s past and the past of photographic and printing techniques that are no longer used on a mass scale. We’d like to thank everyone who trusted us with their photographs and thus gave us an insight into their lives and artistic endeavours.

“The Obscure Camera” is an exhibition of abstract photography featuring German photographer 
Florian Schmidt. We decided to present these two contrasting types of photography – the very well-known scenes from family albums and a selection of abstract work that many of our viewers may not be familiar with. We’d like to show that abstraction is not necessarily inaccessible to an average viewer and to show that photography can be used to create an aesthetic or emotion and not just record the real world as it is. 


Jacob Aue Sobol - Close to You

Jacob Aue Sobol - Close to You
Exhibition opens Saturday, 14 December 2013, 7pm
Artist talk and book signing Friday, 10 January 2014
Third Floor Gallery, 102 Bute Street, Cardiff, CF10 5AD

"When I photograph, I try to use my instincts as much as possible. It is when pictures are unconsidered and irrational that they come to life; that they evolve from showing to being. In this process I will not only use my camera to take pictures, but also as an instrument to create intimacy and closeness in a poetic, direct and unsentimental way. In spite of photography’s seemingly concrete form I hope to expose layers in people that are not immediately visible, but nonetheless shape who we are and give meaning to our lives. I believe this way of working will bring me closer to a feeling of what the term home means to myself and the people I photograph."

In the exhibition “Close to you” we encounter photographs from various projects Jacob has worked on over the past decade. The majority of the works are from the famous series I, Tokyo; but there are also pictures from Bangkok Encounter, Home, Copenhagen, as well as Arrivals and Departures. Common to the photographs is his unique, expressive style of black-and-white photography, giving the photographs a distinctive materiality.

3AM: Wonder, Paranoia and the Restless Night

3AM: Wonder, Paranoia and the Restless Night
Exhibition open: Saturday 14 December 2013 - Sunday 2 March 2014
Chapter, Market Road, Canton, Cardiff, Wales CF5 1QE

Francis Alÿs, Tonico Lemos Auad, Jordan Baseman, Sandra Cinto, Dorothy Cross, Dornith Doherty, Anthony Goicolea, Marc Hulson, Rachel Kneebone, Nathan Mabry, Michael Palm & Willi Dorner, Hirsch Perlman, Ed Pien, Lucy Reynolds, Sophy Rickett, Paul Rooney, Anj Smith, Fred Tomaselli, Danny Treacy, Bettina von Zwehl and Tom Wood

Bleary-eyed sleepers woken up to be photographed, prowling coyotes caught on specialist digital cameras, and a helicopter spotlight searching the night time waters for a missing person. These are just some of the highlights of this exhibition curated by Angela Kingston and toured from The Bluecoat in Liverpool this autumn.
The exhibition features 22 UK and international artists, including Francis Alÿs, Sophy Rickett, and Fred Tomaselli, and includes paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography and video, some made especially for the show.
The exhibition demonstrates how this particular nocturnal hour has captured the imagination of artists. They explore various themes – psychological, sociological, natural and astronomical – to capture something of the strangeness of the night and the extraordinary range of emotions, states and experiences it witnesses.
The featured artworks show teenagers running wild and free, a woman’s rapture at the cosmos, a man quite alone and afraid, the steely imaginings of a frightened child, and an emboldened fox.
A 100-page anthology for insomniacs, featuring contemporary and historic night-related material and illustrations of artworks has been produced to accompany the exhibition and is available for purchase from the Gallery and Box Office.
3AM is a Bluecoat touring exhibition.

Saturday 16 November 2013

November FORUM - Pop Up Exhibitions




FORUM/ Pop-up exhibitions + pop-up photocopy exhibition
Thursday 28 November 2013, 6.30 pm
Ffotogallery's new meeting room in Chapter, CF5 1QE

Ending on a high this year, we discuss the 'pop-up' exhibition, looking at its strengths as a new venue, fresh and exciting; as a temporary venue for temporary projects, the grassroots aspect and DIY ethic of organising and curating your own space and the pragmatics of doing so. Leading the informal discussions will be: Cat Gardiner, Gallerist and Curator for gallery/ten, specialing in contemporary art design, representing some of the very best emerging established artists designers with a Welsh connection. In December 2012 the gallery opened on Windsor place, Cardiff after operating as a pop-up gallery from 2010 - 2012. Also leading the discussion will be Dafydd Williams and Zosia Krasnowolska, two artists who founded and run the*kickplate*project, a photography-focussed project space starting off as a pop-up gallery in a former barber shop in Abertillery, Wales, to bring international fine art photography to communities that are not the usual target audience of art galleries.

Alongside FORUM we will be holding a pop-up photocopy exhibition in ffotogallery's new meeting room in Chapter! All are welcome and encouraged to get involved, to do so, bring a black and white photocopy of your work to exhibit, any size!. Refreshments will be provided and we will be able to end FORUM for the year on a high note!

g39 have a photocopier that all are welcome to use, just contact Bob at intern@g39.org if you would like to use it.

Tuesday 29 October 2013

October FORUM - Threats To Art Practice


Thursday 31 October 2013
6.30pm 
g39, Cardiff CF24 3DT


Appropriately falling on Halloween, we'll be talking about the difficulties and pitfalls of maintaining an art practice, the trials and tribulations that come with developing your work, and alongside discussing and evaluating the main three threats; time, space and money, this evening will be an opportunity to discuss and hopefully remedy some problems artists might be having. A ghoulish antidote to the threats to art practices! Threat themed refreshments will be provided.

Friday 18 October 2013

This Weekend: Cognition Exhibition at The Atrium


Sophie Simon, Chelsea Edwards, Nia Manning, Alexandra Robbins, Bill Bryant, Heidi Smith, Katie Graham, Sammy Hamilton, Amy Shorter & Brittany Sims

Open 11am - 5pm Until 22nd October.

A series of personal projects by thirteen third year BA(Hons) Photography students at the ATRiuM: Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Industries.

An eclectic mix of genres including fine art, natural history, documentary, wildlife and more. Showcasing a range of styles and techniques; from traditional and experimental darkroom imagery, to more contemporary and very sharp, precise digital work.

These differences in style and personal interest within the imagery is particularly thought-provoking as the students have been together learning and practicing over the past two years and finally coming into their own in terms of where they want to go within their practice. The differences bind the work together in unison, as this is a first time exhibition for many of the students involved.

Contact Sophie Simon at sophiebsimon@gmail.com for more details.


Tuesday 8 October 2013

£30k Bursary Opportunity!

Photography students and alumni will be interested to know that Sky Arts and IdeasTap are giving away five bursaries of £30,000 each to emerging artists aged 18-30.

The bursaries are designed to help talented individuals from a range of creative disciplines focus on their creative practice for a whole year. In addition to the funding, winners are paired with creative and business mentors to support their development.

The Futures Fund is open to UK and Irish applicants working in the following fields:

· Visual art including painters, photographers, animators, digital artists

· Creative producing for people who bring together different artists

· Creative writing including playwrights, novelists and poets

· Performing arts theatre-makers including directors, producers, puppeteers

· Dance including dancers and choreographers

· Music including composers, conductors, musicians and songwriters

The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 6 December
Find out more and apply at www.ideastap.com/sky

Lumen Digital Art Prize 2013

The winner's announcement will be held today - Tuesday 8 October 2013.
Arcadecardiff are honoured that celebrated Welsh artist and Lumen jury panel member Ivor Davies, President of the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, will be awarding the prizes at 6pm!

Arcadecardiff
Queens Arcade, Queen Street, Cardiff / Caerdydd, CF10 2BY
By New Look, down the escalators /  Gerllaw New Look, i lawr y grisiau symudol

Thursday 26 September 2013

FORUM - Test Something

Thursday 26 September 2013: 6.30pm
First Space, Chapter, Cardiff CF5 1QE

For this month’s event Forum will become a lab for new ideas; artist Matthew Britton will be testing out his ideas for a micro curatorial platform for showing web-based works. If you have any, please bring your mobile devices - smart phone, iPad/tablet.

Wednesday 25 September 2013

OPPORTUNITY

Are you an early career or graduate lens-based artist/photographer living, working or studying in Wales?

At Ffotogallery, we're making plans for a second Wish You Were Here season in Summer 2014 and would love to see your work!

For more details click here to see our opportunities page

Saturday 21 September 2013

Kickplate Gallery’s current exhibition, "Collaborators"




Dafydd and Zosia has successfully received its ‘kickstarter’ funding to sustain their innovative Kickplate gallery and feature the current exhibition of collaborative works from international artists. The work shows a broad variety of styles and techniques from film swaps to Kaleidoscopes that complement each other through their use of colour and universal themes shown from disparate political and cultural perspectives: http://thekickplateproject.blogspot.co.uk/

‘“collaborators” is the third event organised by the *kickplate* project, an initiative to bring high-quality international art to people who are not the target audience of art.’ 
 – The Kickplate project

The exhibition is open from 17 September - 8 October in Abertillery, Wales.

Tuesday 10 September 2013

Pictures from August's Art Prizes FORUM

Here's what we got upto at last month's FORUM. Thanks to all the speakers and audience for some great discussions. 





Thursday 5 September 2013

September FORUM | Test Something

Thursday 26th September / 6.30pm / Free
At Chapter

This month we are inviting artists to test, experiment and try out ideas; a chance for people to talk and physically test different ideas in their practice. Anyone wishing to use the evening to try out an intervention / performance / idea is welcome to get in touch!

Friday 30 August 2013

The*kickplate*project: a Kickstarter fundraising campaign


The*kickplate*project, an initiative to bring international art to people and communities who are not considered the target audience of art galleries, has launched a project on Kickstarter, a crowd-funding page, to raise funds for its small non-profit gallery in a Valley’s town, Abertillery, and help organise its third international photo exhibition in September.

Their Kickstarter page can be found here.

For more information, go to the*kickplate*project’s blog, their Facebook page or contact them on Twitter.

Any help and sharing the news about the project will be very much appreciated.

Tuesday 27 August 2013

August FORUM - Art Prizes

6.30pm at g39, Oxford St, Cardiff CF24 3DT

For this month's Forum we will be discussing Art Prizes, and will be hearing from artists and selectors. This theme ties in with the current exhibition at g39, the John Gingell Award

John Gingell (1935-2007) was a pioneering and passionate artist and arts educator. In accordance with John’s wishes, the Gingell family and g39 developed an award that continued John’s legacy and work as a passionate advocate of art education, by supporting the career development of two artists selected via an open submission process. The family invited g39 to offer curatorial and critical support to Toby Huddlestone and Alan Goulbourne, the recipients of the award, with the intention to significantly develop their practices. The are presenting their resulting bodies of work together for the first time as two exhibitions in g39.

Right of the Land: FORUM and Watermarked

Right of the Land: FORUM and Watermarked:

Check out Becca Thomas's blog post on July's FORUM and her new project Watermarked...

Friday 9 August 2013

behind her 'I's: a photo exhibition


behind her 'I's is a photographic exhibition in Abertillery, Wales, exploring the themes of women’s image and identity from the perspective of female photographers. 

Women have been creating photography from its very beginning, with famous female photographers such as Anna Atkins (1799-1871), Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879), Tina Modotti (1896-1942), Lee Miller (1907-1977), Diane Arbus (1923-1971), Francesca Woodman (1958-1981), Annie Leibovitz (b.1949) or Nan Goldin (b.1953), to name a few. However, in fine art photography, like in other arts, mainstream media and culture, the prevalent role of women is that of aestheticised muses, often passive or objectified. That gaze is not necessarily exclusive to, or inherent in all art created by male artists, but a dominant canon in the representation of women.

behind her ‘I’s is an exhibition aimed at countering this. We’d like to present artists whose work touches upon the questions of female identity and presents a non-standard look at age, beauty and gender roles.

behind her ‘I’s is the second event organised by the*kickplate*project, an initiative to bring high-quality international art to people who are not the target audience of art. This time we're featuring Marit Beer (Germany), Sophie Berdzenishvili (Georgia), Hanan Kazma (Lebanon), Mariya Kozhanova (Kaliningrad) and Mano Svanidze (Georgia). 

The exhibition is open until the 24th of August 2013, from 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Friday (lunch break between 2 and 4) and from 11 to 6 Saturday, in 26 Church Street, Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent, opposite the Post Office.

Thursday 8 August 2013

July FORUM: 'The Walk'

Becca Thomas and Blair Staff led July's FORUM from Turner House, Penarth over the barrage to the Bay and finished off nicely with chips on Caroline Street.  Here's some highlights in pictures;

Thursday 25 July 2013

Artist Profile Blair Staff


Blair Staff is one of the artists engaged in today's event, 'The Walk'. Blair graduated with a BA in Fine Art from UWIC in 2009 and in September she will start her MA studies in Aesthetics and Art Theory with the CRMEP at Kingston University.

"In the four years since completing my degree many poignant philosophical questions have arisen through studio practice pertaining to ‘value’ in the arts, debates surrounding arts in the wider community, and what is meant when we refer to a ‘participatory work’. I see the reading groups as an opportunity to engage with texts and discuss ideas, to inform understanding, and build relationships between the readers."

Tuesday 23 July 2013

Artist Profile Becca Thomas

This Thursday will see the return of 'The Walk' for FORUM which will be lead by artist Becca Thomas and Blair Staff as we hike, march, pace, ramble, saunter, step, stride, stroll and tread through Cardiff and discuss walking and art practice. 


Becca Thomas is an artist whose work explores the relationships and emotions that exist between people and place. Through action and writing she looks at how developing a relationship with our environment could help to make sense of the storm of human emotion. Originally from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, she currently resides in Cardiff. She has been a regular contributor to Art & Music magazine and has made work for bands including The Jeffrey Lewis band and The Wave Pictures.








Wednesday 17 July 2013

'Combining Forces' with BRG and Modern Alchemists at June FORUM

Last month featured BRG and Modern Alchemists as guest speakers for our monthly FORUM event with some group juggling and presentations.







Thursday 11 July 2013

This Month's Forum 'The Walk'

Thursday July 24th 6.30pm

July's FORUM is ‘The Walk’, back by popular demand. With Artists Blair Staff and Becca Thomas we will be meandering along our route with improvised presentations and interventions. The route will run from Ffotogallery in Penarth back into Cardiff and everyone is welcome. 

Saturday 29 June 2013

VISITORS: A pop up exhibition



'Visitors' is a pop-up exhibition in Abertillery, Wales, featuring works by several foreign and British photographers.
The idea for the exhibition was borne out of a wish to bring international photography to the Valleys and show it in a temporary space in our town’s high street. Most of the authors do not make their living in the field of photography and most of them are not photography graduates.
Thus the title, 'Visitors', can be understood on many levels: it presents works by prevalently foreign photographers, in a form of a pop-up exhibition in a town otherwise lacking a permanent art space, by people who, with some exceptions, are not considered a part of the professional photography world – and so both the authors and their works can be seen as ‘visitors’ in several ways. We hope that this exhibition will enliven town life, help question the way art is presented in the Valleys - by bringing international art to the inhabitants of the Valleys rather than the reverse - and, last but not least, show that ‘amateur photographer’ is an increasingly outdated notion.
The exhibition's opening dates are from the 6  – 27 July 2013 and is open to the public from 11am - 7am, Tuesday to Sunday, at Church Street, Abertillery, Blaenau Gwent, we are situated opposite the Post Office. 
For further information about this exhibition and the concept behind it,  please visit our site via, popupvisitors.blogspot.co.uk

Wednesday 26 June 2013

Wales at Venice FORUM Discussion


By Brady Knight


This months FORUM talk at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff is entitled ‘Wales in Venice’. Organised by Ffotogallery and WARP, the discussion this month will focus on the opportunities and aspirations for Welsh artists and creative practitioners to travel to Venice in an invigilation role, the hope being to gather inspiration and experience from one of the world’s most prolific and famous art cities and to further develop their artistic positions and potential careers.

The Arts Council Wales offers positions in various cities with bright artistic culture around the world, a popular and sought-after opportunity for many artistic practitioners throughout Wales and FORUM this month gathers several of them together whose city of choice was Venice to discuss firstly the reasons behind their desired destination, their ambitions and objectives leading to this choice and secondly the benefits and detriments of taking this placement, how it has influenced their career decisions and artistic practice.

Held in Chapter’s Stwdio space, we are welcomed warmly in the bright and airy foyer where casual discussion begins as people outline the topic for the evening and friendly banter takes place as the rest of the guests arrive. The main discussion then takes place in the large, wide-open studio space, where we arrange ourselves in a circle near the large projection wall, where the speakers will stand. Darkened for the projections to play, the room is ambient. As organisers and visitors of the Diffusion Festival will know, up until an hour before the talk began the space was used for Gideon Koppel’s Borth film, his large projection meditatively documenting the inward and outward coastline of the small island town of Borth in West Wales, a juxtaposition of infinite seascape and dilapidated yet undeniably homely architecture. Those aware of the show will already appreciate a theme of travel and location for the talk.

Casual and friendly we settle into the talks quickly and first to speak is Victoria Malcolm, a seasoned and observational art practitioner, intelligent and focused she begins with her initial aspirations for wanting to visit Venice. Interested in the strong African presence in Venice and having a South African Background herself, doing a residency there earlier in her career, she had an invested passion to explore and document this finer aspect of the culture. It was also her hope to organise collaborative workshops with African members of the culture that she encountered. Driven more by passion in her interest in African culture in Venice she also had another more intellectual interest in visiting; fascinated by the intricate sewer systems of the city she was interested in exploring and documenting the elements of a society built to civilise it, to help the everyday running of it more efficiently, and she observes that the people of Venice have more of an interest in this aspect of their society. Through her hands-on approach she has become very knowledgeable on Italian culture; she enlightens us with insightful information throughout her talk. Her visit to Venice was compelling and successful; she describes this kind of opportunity as being able to give weight to what you do in your practice, informing your position and status – to have worked in Venice, and it seems evident from her insightful and passionate approaches that she has been influenced by her experiences in Venice in this way.

Some simple questions are directed at Victoria as she draws her talk to a close, her concise account already covering most details of her trip, and we then move swiftly on to the second speaker, Samuel Hasler. A highly prolific and unique visual and performance artist, Sam has produced hundreds of works throughout his young career. His approach is often one of caricatures or personas, portrayals of people in a variety of precarious, mundane or even crude situations; a subversive, ironic, perhaps satirical commentary on a bunch of questionable individuals seldom observed in modern society, and it is unclear as to whether Sam sees himself, or if we as viewers should see him fit into this group or not; or perhaps his work speculates that we all belong in this group in some way or at some point or another; his intentions maybe unknown but his work certainly remains unusually potent.

His talk at FORUM certainly kept to this theme, regaling us with an erotic, often graphic, occasionally poetic, sometimes-perverse account of a man (we are unsure at first if it is Sam) and his wild fantasies and experiences with the Venice prostitute community. Sam portrays this character, nervous and shaking as he recounts the story, going into often-unnecessary levels of details of the unnamed man’s thoughts and emotions. Several, also unnamed, girls appear throughout his story, elevating them to the level of Goddesses, he prominently refers to them only as ‘she’. Longing and full of desire he is reduced to a animalistic, slave-like shell of a human being as he obsesses over the attractive and lavishly decorated women of the night. The only discernable theme of the talk, it continues for a seemingly long time before fading into a short, sharp ending and we are left stunned by Sam’s unexpected performance.

Singularly-themed and seemingly unrelated as though one huge digression from the main theme of the talk, we wonder as to the value of Sam’s speech in the ‘Wales in Venice’ FORUM discussion; but in light of the artist’s background and practice we can begin to establish the meaning of his almost inappropriate expression. Ever subversive in his approach, Sam has seemingly inadvertently produced a strong piece of work through his experiences in Venice. Fitting with his previous works, we see a character portrayed in his performance; perhaps a satire of Venice tourism, we see the typical British traveller bedazzled by Venice’s prostitutes, or perhaps simply a loner, a voyeur, looking and desiring the beautiful ladies in Venice but too afraid to go and speak with them, a typically more common persona of Sam’s works. Sam’s entire visit to Venice seems like one large production of work, based on experience he develops a new situational character. Although narrowly-focused, not discussing any other aspects or experiences in this hugely artistic city, his trip seems beneficial and successful to his practice, inspired by his experiences he is able to produce more work.

Composing ourselves after Sam’s talk, and after the many probing questions deciphering the meaning of his work, we come to the final speaker, Nia Metcalfe. An artist and curator based in Cardiff, Nia had much more practice-based intention behind going to Venice. Working in a curatorial capacity with 4 other artists from Wales, she conducted research into the boundaries between artist and curator and examined the possibility of collaboration and producing work over long distances. She provides us with a detailed, comprehensive account of her time there, focusing largely on her personal experiences working with the artists and producing work, as well as some light-hearted experiences as well.

Challenged by the diversity of her artist colleagues, she needed to be flexible and diverse in her curatorial role. She had the opportunity to work with various contemporary mediums such as Internet blogging, in which she was employed by one of the artists to find something interesting in Venice everyday and record it in a notebook. This proved a huge commitment and initially presented as a challenge as she looked more for the things that stood out, of which there are many, especially as a tourist, but soon she fine-tuned her perspective to finding things more idiosyncratic and personal. During her free time she would embrace elements of Venice culture, she recalls experiences of visiting a local bar so regularly that the owner started charging them the same cheaper price he charged the locals. Nia’s trip to Venice proved extensive and diverse, a really educational experience, both for her artistic practice and her knowledge of foreign cultures; of all three speakers she seemed most changed by her experiences.

With the talks now over, comprising approximately half the length of the event, the main bulk of discussion now took place with the rest of the guests. Firstly we hear from a young woman currently in her final year of university who also intends to invigilate in Venice, looking to conduct primary research for her dissertation, and to see the iconic Biennale. We then move into discussion about the application process for invigilating in Venice, a member of the Arts Council fortunately also being present. It seems there is a certain trepidation to invigilate for this and similar opportunities, initially people explain that there is often a fear of declaring yourself an artist, or creative practitioner, as if it were a more frowned upon career choice in wider society and we humorously speculate that an Art Pride Movement should be conducted to counter this. It is however a serious issue amongst many, particularly younger, emerging practitioners and a significant reason why many are reluctant to apply for such opportunities.

Another reason people are reluctant to apply is for the perceived difficulties in meeting the criteria and beating the competition in their application. The Arts Council member reassures people that each proposal is left largely in the hands of the organisers and that there are no set right or wrong criteria for being successful, you are judged based on your merits as a practitioner and for your passion to pursue it further, and it being as popular an opportunity as it is, competition is still no reason to be deterred from applying.

Venice is the place to be for an artist, and is a fantastic cultural experience as well. Although it is occasionally, more recently perceived as becoming very industrial, art is becoming a local industry, corporate and missing artistic ideals, it is argued here that it is not, that it is all relative to your artistic context of experience, and remaining open-minded you can gain very valuable experience there.

From the accounts of our speakers we can gather that it was an extremely beneficial experience, if simply for no other reason that for the cultural experience and knowledge gained. Victoria’s personal ambitions for visiting were realised and sought out whilst there, adding weight to her artistic position and gaining further knowledge into the culture of Venice. Sam focusing on one aspect of the city found a platform to produce further work, better inform his practice by increasing his repertoire of contextual themes and sensations. Nia had a fantastic and challenging opportunity to work with several artists on different projects and produce a large body of work in both a practice and curatorial role, as well as embracing the inspiring culture. Venice is definitely a worthwhile city to visit as a creative practitioner, any deterring reasons people face are often unfounded and practically it is a very real opportunity for people to undertake, and should be greatly sought after; in any case the benefits far outweigh any detriments. 

This month’s ‘Wales in Venice’ FORUM discussion provided very detailed and useful information on the topic of invigilating in Venice, and even though usually aimed at emerging artists or students, veterans and established practitioners would certainly have found it informative also; an enlightening discussion on a brilliant opportunity.

Thursday 20 June 2013

Combining Forces

  

Thursday 27th June, 6.30 pm, g39 

In this month's FORUM we will be looking at how artists, institutions and collectives have formed and benefited from the combining of artistic forces through collaborative practice.
 
With us this month will be British Racing Green a contemporary arts collective made up of artists, photographers, writers and a designer. Their aim is  to be a UK wide collective, with no set venue or base. Their members so far are currently spread from London to Bristol to Cardiff, with ideas of spreading further in the future.

FORUM is a platform for early career artists, practitioners and graduates to talk about issues surrounding contemporary practice in a relaxed and informal setting. Run in collaboration with Ffotogallery, FORUM is free and everyone is welcome!! http://ffotogallery-forum.blogspot.co.uk You can now follow FORUM on twitter @artistforum

Wednesday 5 June 2013

Wales at Venice FORUM


Wales At Venice FORUM 30th June 2013

This month Brady Knight's text will be available for those that missed out on last weeks FORUM.

Tuesday 4 June 2013

Wait and See: A Retrospective


f&d cartier
Wait and See: A Retrospective
22 June – 27 July 2013
Artist Talk / Preview Friday 21 June 2012, 5.30 – 8.30pm
Admission free
Following on from the UK Premiere of Wait and See at Diffusion: Cardiff International Festival of Photography, Ffotogallery is delighted to present a specially commissioned retrospective exhibition of work reflecting developments in the practice of Swiss artist duo f&d cartier over the past decade. The exhibition is also accompanied by a new artist monograph published by Ffotogallery.
Photography is fundamentally a time-based medium, not just in the camera’s ability to capture a moment in time and commit it to memory, but also because of a photograph’s embodiment of space in time; its imprinting of duration. The earliest photographic processes, whether Fox Talbot’s chemically treated papers or Daguerre’ silvered plates, required lengthy exposures and the resulting images were essentially durational in nature, each photograph formed by the accretion of many impressions over time.
These elements converge in the art of f&d cartier, two Swiss artists living and working in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Since 1995 they have merged their respective practices, fine art and photography, and created a unified artistic identity in order to discover new approaches. Examining the indispensable prerequisites for analogue photography, light and photosensitive paper, they mainly make ‘camera-less’ works incorporating found objects. Two bodies of work featured in this exhibition, Wait and See and Veni Etiam, exemplify their minimalist tendencies, and provide a meditation on perception, experience and the passing time. The exhibition also includes the piece Boys do not Cry, from a series of photogram-based works called Roses, which explores the themes of time, mortality, eroticism, gender and identity.

A Ffotogallery project funded by Pro Helvetia (Swiss Arts Council), Swiss Cultural Fund in Britain and Swisslos Culture Canton de Berne, in partnership with Departure Lounge and University of Hertfordshire.
Ffotogallery, Turner House, Plymouth Rd, Penarth, CF64 3DH
Open Tues – Sat, 11am – 5pm
029 2070 8870
info@ffotogallery.org

Friday 10 May 2013

This Month's Forum 'Wales In Venice'

 6.30pm, Chapter Stiwdio, 30th May 2013




Artist Victoria Malcolm will be presenting work about invigilating 'Wales at Venice' and the importance of this role. Victoria will be showing a video piece made on location in Venice and discussing how her practice has developed since her stay during the Biennale in 2011.

FORUM will also have a new addition to the usual format and we will be inviting recent graduate Brady Knight to be the resident writer for the evening.

Forum is free, and anyone and everyone are welcome to come along and Prosecco will be available for this event!

Other guest speakers are tbc...

If you're interested in showing work, or have an idea of what you'd like to discuss at a future Forum event email Sera at intern@g39.org or Helen at helen@ffotogallery.org. Forum is a monthly, informal event run collaboratively between Ffotogallery and Warp, which offers recent graduates, students and early career artists an opportunity to present work and discuss issues surrounding contemporary practice.

Tuesday 19 March 2013

This Month's FORUM  'Discipline Crossover'

Thursday 28th March 7.30pm g39

Resident artist Laura Reeves will be in-conversation with poet Rhian Edwards to discuss their collaboration in as part of 'There Will Be Words' in the g39 library.

The pair will be discussing the importance of this partnerships with practitioners in other disciplines and the outcomes of the project. 

More information will be coming soon....

Intercourse 2

Curated by Elbow Room an investigation into participatory practice.

A series of events in creative partnership with venues, organisations and artists. Through these Elbow Room wish to explore in more detail the nature of participation, shared experience and interactive engagement. This will happen mainly through the process and realisation of projects by artists and artist groups who have public participation, engagement and interaction at the core of their practice. The project artists are Ania Bas, Freya Dooley, Tiff Oben and artist group B.R.G.

Elbow Room's Intercourse 2013 event will take place on Saturday 6th April in Royal Arcade, Cardiff. Freya Dooley will be showing new work alongside Bee Aar Gee, Tiff Oben and Ania Bas. There will be screenings, interventions and discussions with Paul Hurley, Gill Nicol, Sophie Hope and others.

Their activities can be found here.

Saturday 16 March 2013

WALES INTERNATIONAL YOUNG ARTIST AWARD


We’ve just had word from the British Council Wales

If you are a young artist currently living or born in Wales, between the ages 17 – 25, there is now a Wales International Young Artist Award for those from a range of creative backgrounds including painting, sculpture, photography, graphic design, printmaking, drawing and film. 

The winner will be selected in November 2013 and will have the opportunity to show their work across a national and international platform as well as a cash prize of £500.

The deadline is the 2nd of September 2013.