Friday 7 March 2014

RIGA Photo Month 2014

Until April 20, photographers and visual artists are invited to submit their photobook dummies and self-published books for the international SELF PUBLISH RIGA competition. The winning entries will be featured in an exhibition as part of Riga Photo Month in May 2014.
Self-publishing makes it possible for artists to make and distribute their books themselves, avoiding the restrictions dictated by mass production. Bookmaking has become a more democratic process, available to everyone. The aim of SELF PUBLISH RIGA is to introduce a wider audience to the concept of self-publishing, using succesful examples to focus on its possibilities.
 
Entries will be judged by an international jury: Markus Schaden (founder of the Schaden publishing house, DE), Teun van der Heijden (photobook designer, NL), Ania Nalecka (photobook designer, PL), Matt Johnston (founder of the Photobook Club, UK), Juris Petraškēvics (artist and professor, Art Academy of Latvia) and Nico Baumgarten (photographer and bookmaker, DE). Members of the jury as well as other international partners from Portugal, Sweden, Poland, Estonia and Lithuania will visit Riga in May for the SELF PUBLISH RIGA event, including a photobook exhibition, discussions, lectures and workshops.
 
The winner of the contest will have the chance to attend an International Summer School of Photography 2014 (http://www.issp.lv/en/summer-school/2014/about) workshop of their choice free of charge; the three best entries will receive individual porfolio reviews with the jury members. Top Ten books will receive a special online feature. More information on the competition and submission requirements: www.selfpublishriga.com

Tugba Simsek Solo Show

Tuesday March 18, 2014
The Alchemists Gallery
Bridge Street
Cardiff
CF10 2EE

The Alchemists Gallery presents a collection of new work by Tuğba Şimşek titled ' I Wish you were all here'. 

Tugba creates her work with an endearing sensibility which means her work could easily be over looked, because of this, the message is not a loud statement, but one of personal intrigue and wonder.


Come along on the opening night for drinks and of course a little partay to celebrate Tugba's work as whole.

Come Along Do: Under the Skin

  • April 3, 2014
    Chapter Common Room

    Join us after the screening of Under the Skin on April 3 for Come Along Do, an informal and lively platform for discussion around art and film, led by Gill Nicol. Whether you have something burning to say or would simply like to listen and ponder over the film, just come along - everyone is welcome.

    After landing on Earth and slipping into the skin of a human woman, Scarlett Johansson’s space creature drives around Scotland seducing young men before one of them gives her pause to look at other aspects of human nature. An abstract, fascinating deconstruction of sexual power with a hypnotic musical score, this is a mesmerizing cinematic experience. Under the Skin is director Jonathan Glazier’s third feature film since his award-winning debut Sexy Beast and 2004’s critically acclaimed Birth.

    See the trailer here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoSWbyvdhHw

    Tickets £2.50. Tickets for the film must be bought separately.

    Biography

    Gill Nicol trained as an artist and has worked for numerous organisations including Ikon Gallery in Birmingham, Tate Liverpool and Arnolfini in Bristol. She now runs Lightsgoingon, working to make contemporary at accessible, for as many people as possible, through workshops and events.

    Previous Come Along Do discussions have followed McCullin, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, The Artist is Present, Shame, Notebooks on Cities and Clothes, The Lebanese Rocket Society and 12 Years a Slave. The diverse films we select span a variety of art-forms and are rich in opportunity for conversation and debate. Keep an eye on our Gallery events page and Chapter Cinema listings for upcoming collaborative events.

DATHLU! Women Artists of Gwent, Open Art Exhibition in Celebration of International Women's Day

The opening event is on Saturday March 8th (IWD) between 2-5pm in the UPMARKET Galleries-

Newport Provisions Market
Upper Dock Street
NP20 1DD

Three artists have kindly agreed to make a special contribution, making it a real occasion:

• Local Author and Writing Tutor Meg Kingston will read from her Steampunk novel Chrystal Heart and talk about her latest book, a pocket guide for aspiring writers called Just Add Writing. (Steampunk is a kind of sci-fi that has a Victorian twist to it - combining a past that never was with technology that ought to be. Come along and listen to find out more.)


• Artist Victoria J E Jones will present her project 'Celestial Cluster 01: Wednesday Ladies, Newport' which she created as part of her residency with Milkfloat Projects.

• The multi-talented artist and trained dancer Marega Palser will make a unique and absorbing contribution through her live drawing performance in the style of 'Sometimes We Look'. This exploration of mark-making and movement previously toured Wales and was performed at the International Dance Festival in Morocco last year to critical acclaim.
Shiatsu neck and shoulder massage will be on offer by Carmela Gianfagna.
Screenings of ‘the bosses are just like him’, a thought provoking film exploring sexual politics by Jorden Williams will be shown in the cellar.

For women everywhere, at home and abroad, a dance /protest has been suggested as a gesture of support. Find yourself some balaclava headgear and we will peacefully rock!
The show will feature a wide range of art, paintings, photography, mixed media and craft. It will run until 22nd March.

Wednesday 5 March 2014

Spring Exhibition at Gallery/Ten


SPRING EXHIBITION

07/03/2014 - 29/03/2014 All Day
first floor 23 windsor place
cardiff
cf10 3by

gallery/ten presents spring, a mixed exhibition of new work from the gallery’s artists + designers.

spring sees new work from painter seren morgan jones + creative wales award winner natalia dias, recent drawings by andré stitt + photography-based work by carwyn evans. 

the exhibition welcomes to the gallery artes mundi 2 shortlisted artist sue williams + two-time pollock krasner foundation award winner helen booth. williams explores + challenges the fantasies of feminism, sexuality, gender + culture in her characteristically strong work; while booth’s paintings capture the flattening quality of the welsh winter light – making geometry of landscapes + rock formations while distilling skeletal trees + melancholy weather to scratches, scuffs + scars.

spring will also see the launch of kiosk, a dedicated online platform for selling craft, design, prints + publications. kiosk will house selected works, limited edition prints + publications from the gallery’s existing pool of artists alongside invited welsh + wales-based makers, ceramicists + designers. access to kiosk comes through the gallery’s website where visitors can browse + purchase work directly online. a selection of items featured on kiosk will be displayed in the gallery as part of springshowcasing the range of artworks available. 

for further information on the gallery, its artists + kiosk see gallery-ten.co.uk

Artes Mundi 6 Exhibition Dates


Artes Mundi returns to National Museum Cardiff, Chapter and other sites with its 6th exhibition on October 25th 2014.
Artes Mundi 6, which runs for 17 weeks until February 22nd 2015, will feature work from 9 international pioneering, contemporary artists who explore a diverse number of themes. The exhibition will include sculpture, installation, performance, film and photography as well as site specific work in the city centre. At least half of the artists will inhabit the Contemporary Galleries in the West Wing of National Museum Cardiff, a major partner on this ambitious project.
Following successful collaboration during ArtesMundi 5, Chapter arts Centre will be an official exhibiting partner playing a vital role exhibiting the work of participating artists in the gallery but also acting as an important hub for rehearsals, film screenings and other events.
Other venues and sites across the city centre will be announced in the coming months.
In the lead up to and during the exhibition there will be a programme of dialogues, lunchtime talks and free, family-friendly events across Wales.
This year’s shortlist is a diverse selection of international artists spanning different generations and cultures. It includes some of the pioneers of current contemporary art practice on the world stage, and the opportunity to showcase their work in this major exhibition is a huge cultural coup for Wales. The artists shortlisted are:
Carlos Bunga
Omer Fast
Theaster Gates
Sanja Ivekovic
Ragnar Kjartansson
Sharon Lockhart
Renata Lucas
Renzo Martens
Karen Mirza and Brad Butler
For more information on Artes Mundi and this years shortlist visit www.artesmundi.org/en/

Tuesday 4 March 2014

Future Forward Portfolio Advice

Future Forward is a free portfolio and arts advisory service for 16 - 25 year olds. You don't have to be in formal education (though students are very welcome), or even be 100% sure whether or not you want to be an artist! All we expect is that you have some interest in the sort of work Arnolfini programmes, and a desire to find out more about how to pursue a future in the contemporary arts.

Follow the link for more information and details of the upcoming sessions. http://www.arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/series/future-forward

Call For Artists: Craft in the Bay Summer Show: Focus on Print


REACT Funding for Creative Projects

REACT is a collaboration between the UWE, Bristol (the University of the West of England), Watershed, (and iShed), and the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. It is a unique collaboration supporting innovative products and transformational services by bringing together companies and academics across South West and Wales. REACT funds collaborations between arts and humanities researchers and creative companies. These collaborations champion knowledge exchange, cultural experimentation and  the development of innovative digital technologies in the creative economy. REACT is one of four Knowledge Exchange Hubs for the Creative Economy funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to develop strategic partnerships with creative businesses and cultural organisations, to strengthen and diversify their collaborative research activities and increase the number of arts and humanities researchers actively engaged in research-based knowledge exchange.

REACT is working with iShed to deliver projects using the Sandbox process. Each Sandbox scheme will have a different theme and to qualify applicants must have a project that uses Arts and Humanities research with a Creative Economy partner.

REACT's Feasibility funding offers up to £15,000 over a three to six month period for projects or partnerships at an early stage of development or collaboration.

REACT's Prototype fund offers a grant of up to £30,000 for more advanced projects to develop ideas into prototypes or proofs of concept.

Full information on eligibility and how to apply available at: 
http://react-hub.org.uk/opportunities
http://react-hub.org.uk/about/

A Fine Beginning: Made in Wales Exhibition at Arcade Cardiff


A Fine Beginning is an open Welsh photography collective, established by James O Jenkins with the ambition to develop a platform to discover and showcase contemporary photography being made in Wales today.
The collective launched with a publication in May 2013 at the publishing weekend of the inaugural Diffusion: Cardiff International Festival of Photography. The issue showcased the work of four of the current members; Gawain Barnard, Jack Latham, Abbie Trayler-Smith and James O Jenkins. In foregrounding photography in Wales, the festival provided an opportune moment to launch the first instalment of A Fine Beginning.
A Fine Beginning aims to offer a platform to photographers making work in Wales to have their photography seen and appreciated in Wales and beyond. 
‘A Fine Beginning: Made in Wales‘ is at Arcade Cardiff on 14th March 2014 (to 30th March). The exhibition will show work from the collective as well as selected images from work  featured on their blog. Please join us.

Opening night 14/03/14

Wednesday - Saturday 12.30 - 17.30

 Unit 17