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Graduate Artist in Residence I September 2017 I Kate Hodgson

A series of four Graduate Residencies are taking place at The Art House from September to December 2017. Working in partnership with Leeds Arts University and the Universities of Leeds, Lincoln and Staffordshire we offer month long residencies to recently graduated artists. September Graduates in Residence Taking part in the programme during September were Kate Hodgson (University of Leeds), Ben Warner (University of Leeds), Jessica Wilkinson (Leeds Arts University) and Rhian Cooke (Leeds Arts University).  

Here Kate Hodgson reflects on her time spent throughout the residency.

My residency at the Art House came at a great time. It allowed me a much-needed break after the madness of a degree show and graduating from university. It was soon enough after finishing that I was still used to making work and in a creative mindset.

I arrived a little unsure as to what I wanted to achieve. I had some new ideas in my head, but I also wanted to carry on my degree show work – I didn’t really know where to begin. However the no pressure attitude at The Art House was great and helped calm my nerves. We were told from the beginning that we didn’t have to make any work whilst there and could use the time to develop more of the practical elements of being an artist.  However for me, it was essential that I used the print facilities – something that I had greatly missed after graduating.

I used the print room throughout my time at The Art House. It was very well equipped and had everything I needed to start making work. I would however, advise anyone with a print based practice to book a print room induction for the very beginning of their residency, then they don’t waste any time and make work straight away. It took me a couple of days to get used to the print room, but once I did, I made a lot of work, which was mostly new and experimental. Early on in the residency we decided as a group that we would use The Artwalk (an event held in Wakefield that fell during the last week of our residency) to hold an open studio. We felt that an open studio was less pressure than a formal exhibition and would allow us to experiment without committing to making resolved work, which did really seem to work well.

During the month I also went on various trips to Yorkshire based galleries, In Leeds and to Yorkshire Sculpture Park, which is just a short bus ride away. At YSP we met with Damon Waldock who works as the programme and events coordinator and he chatted to us about residencies and exhibitions at the park – something that was really helpful.  We also met with David Gilbert, who runs the graduate residency programme at The Art house, once a week. In these meetings we discussed some ‘real life’ aspects of being and surviving as an artist, such as artist statements, applications for residencies and Arts Council funding application. This support was great and covered some aspects of being an artist that university didn’t.

Overall the residency was a great experience that I would recommend to anyone. It is so unusual to find a residency that supports you to live and make-work and is an amazing opportunity for recently graduated artists. It was also great to meet, work with and live with other artists in a similar position from other art schools. Although the month went by very quickly it was a great amount of time to be able to focus solely on my practice and making, and I probably won’t be able to do that again for sometime. Moving forward, I am looking for part time jobs that will allow me to continue my practice and hoping to get some screen-printing equipment to set up a mini studio and just keep on making work!

Image 1, Kate Hodgson Image 2 & 3, Kate Hodgson, Open Studio, The Art House, November 2016. Photo, Jules Lister

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#AHalumni Lizzie Hughes I Artist in Residence, New South Wales

Lizzie Hughes was selected to take up the second of four solo residencies taking place at The Art House in 2016/17. During her month long residency Lizzie used the opportunity to travel across West Yorkshire, photographing war memorials located in its towns and villages. The photographs displayed at the end of the residency (pictured below) marked the starting point for a work titled Museum that ultimately aims to document memorials found across the UK. 

After recently catching up with Lizzie we invited her to share news of what she’s been working on since her residency at The Art House and her experience while in residence at Murray’s Cottage, New South Wales, Australia. 

Museum, Lizzie Hughes, 2016. Photo, Jules Lister

‘In May 2016 I was Artist in Residence at The Art House in Wakefield where I spent a month developing a new piece of work that investigated the forms taken by war memorials found across the UK. Fast forward eleven months and I was offered a very different residency. In April I was packing for my first trip to Australia where I was invited to work at Murray’s Cottage in Hill End, New South Wales.

Hill End gained notoriety in 1872 when the ‘Holtermann nugget’ (the largest specimen of gold found to date) was discovered there which led to the population of the small town rocketing to an estimated 8000 people. Shortly after the rush the town almost disappeared, but in the 1950’s the discovery of a vast collection of photographs taken during the boom led to what little remained of the town being given a special historic status. Today Hill End is home to about 80 residents. It’s an isolated community serviced by a school, a pub and a small café but for anything else it’s at least an hours’ drive away.  

Bernhard Otto Holterman with 630lb gold from Hill End

I’ve been lucky enough to take part in several residencies and each one has been a very different experience from the last. I approached Wakefield with a distinct plan. I knew that I wanted to spend my time on a focused period of production. Going to Australia for the first time I had an idea that I wanted to study the industrial heritage of the town but beyond that I wanted my journey to the southern hemisphere to be about the simple prospect of observing an unfamiliar landscape.

Before I left the UK I ‘streetmapped’ all of the roads in Hill End that the Google car could cope with and it made me a little uneasy. The unfamiliar I was looking forward to looked very, well, familiar. Green fields and quaint cottages to all intents and purposes could pass for generic English landscapes. However when I arrived it proved to be precisely this juncture between the familiar and unfamiliar that made Hill End magical. The distant landscape could easily be mistaken for a view in Wales but on closer examination, the pieces that make up the picture are entirely different. Eucalyptus trees with broad bare trunks create forests full of light, herds of kangaroos appear from nowhere and green pastures conceal startling orange earth, all of it held together by a strange soundscape of bird calls unlike anything I’d had heard before.

Residencies offer a special opportunity to remove artists from their day to day commitments so they can focus solely on their creative practice. That might mean producing a new work as I did in Wakefield, or gathering information that can be held and developed into something in the future. Solitude, time to think and easy access to the unfamiliar is a perfect melting pot for developing ideas. In Hill End I made drawings, took photographs and shot hours of footage of the dozens of different species of birds that lived in the area. Most of my time was spent walking in the landscape continually awestruck by the sheer scale of it all. Half caught glimpses of strange creatures provided the impetus for many nervous treks into the bush.

Golden-Gully

It was on one of these bush walks I had a perfect moment. Since leaving Wakefield I’ve continued to collect material for the work I began developing there, but I was struggling to find an appropriate way to bring it together as a coherent piece of work. While walking I began reflecting on how Ian Bourne an artist who frequently references lighthouses in his work would appreciate the residency cottage for the cast iron relief of a lighthouse on the door of the kitchen stove. Ian’s film of a lighthouse on The Isle of Bute led to a train of thought about residencies that friends have undertaken and in particular a talk I’d been to that the artist Richard Wright concluded his own residency with at The British Library with. Richard spoke at length about the changing nature of the cataloguing system at the Library from its inception to the present day. Somewhere on The Bridal Path that leads from Hill End to the Turon River I realised that the interleaved books (with slips and pages inserted as the collection grew) that formed the earliest cataloguing system for the British Library would be the perfect vehicle for my large and growing collection of intricately ordered photographs of war memorials. Suddenly it all made sense.’

Stove, Murray’s Cottage

Find out more:

http://carrollfletcheronscreen.com/2017/06/28/ian-bourn/

http://blogs.bl.uk/living-knowledge/2016/11/the-elastic-system-what-can-you-do-with-a-library.html

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Cameron Morgan, Residency in Partnership with ProjectAbility, Glasgow

Artist Cameron Morgan started his two-week residency at The Art House earlier this week. In partnership with ProjectAbility and funded by Creative Scotland the residency supports the continuing development of Morgan’s artistic practice. Project Ability Technician Jim Ewen and printmaker Richard Marsden have been working with him in our print studio for the past few days. 

Here Marsden shares news of their progress so far...

‘Cameron has taken to screenprinting fantastically well, the process has allowed him to experiment with various image making techniques, using paper and tape stencils as well as exposed screens. Using scanned images of some of Cameron’s large drawings, on just his second day he has managed to print an A3 four colour screenprint, a spot on edition of 10 on 130gsm cartridge paper. The ability to produce many prints in a small space of time suits Cameron’s prolific practice and with the help of Jim he has created, already, a variety of works.

Tomorrow will hopefully produce another editioned print, this time using a scan of one of Cameron’s watercolour paintings. Next weeks plan will be to create some more editions of prints on some nicer paper along with further, larger experimental prints, working along what has worked the best in this first week.’

See the work produced during Morgan’s residency at the next Wakefield Artwalk, Wednesday 26 July, 5-9pm.

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New Gallery, Events and Activity Space for Huddersfield

For the last three weeks, curious shoppers in Huddersfield have been pausing to look in the windows of 21 Market Place, the former jewellers shop at the entrance to the Packhorse Centre. Items catching their eye included a collection of artists tools, found objects and artwork including a handmade blue and white banner featuring a quote from Huddersfield Town manager David Wagner.

Now the secret of this unusual combination can be revealed. The shop is being turned into a gallery, events and activity space by Huddersfield co-operative The Making Space, who will be opening the doors to the public on Thursday 15 June at 6pm.

The first activity has been a two week collective residency, in which seven members of The Making Space have created new artworks using materials left behind in the shop by previous tenants, including dozens of plastic hoops for displaying watch straps, unused till rolls, and piles of empty boxes for jewellery.

“When we got in it was an Aladdin’s cave of unusual packaging” said Helen Williamson, who created one of the window displays.

“We wanted to make use of it, not just throw it away. The space was filled with the members working together in the shop for seven hours each over twelve days. All the work is a response to the space and to Huddersfield, both the town and the town centre. And the football team!”

As well as events and exhibitions by The Making Space, the new venue is open for other artists, musicians, crafts-people and community groups to use.

“The shop is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside” said Rachael Walker, another member. “We hope people will come along to the opening of the space, join in with some making and have a chat with us about their ideas for making use of it.”

The Collective Residency Exhibition opens on Thursday 15 June at 6pm, and continues Friday and Saturday, 11am-3pm.

The artists aim is to help animate Huddersfield town centre through creating opportunities through an accessible and exciting space right in the town centre.

The Making Space is a volunteer-run co-operative based at The Media Centre, Huddersfield. It runs shared work spaces where craft makers, technologists, artists, engineers, musicians, and anyone interested in learning, can share their skills, and by sharing begin to collaborate on new ideas, projects and products.

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Curation and Context, Migration International Artist Residency

By Lisa Marie Dickinson The penultimate week of the residency saw a series of curator talks being held at The Art House, to discuss the issues surrounding migration currently being addressed by artists, curators and galleries across the UK and beyond.

Invited speakers, in order of appearance were:

Linda Fielding - Wakefield City of Sanctuary Áine O'Brien - Co-Founder and Co-Director, Counterpoint Arts, London Bryony Bond - Creative Director, The Tetley, Leeds Shanaz Gulzar - Artist and independent Facilitator Skinder Hundal - CEO, New Art Exchange, Nottingham

Split over two evenings and attended by an audience of the Migration artists, Art House studio holders and members of the public, the topic of conversation revolved around how galleries and curators can become activists for engaging the general public with migrant and international artists and the issues that surround migration.

Linda Fielding, contributor and influence to the residency artists throughout Migration, urges us to "recognise the humanity in other people." More often than not, the media negatively present those seeking asylum in the UK, speculating on how they affect the areas they pass through during their journey to a new home. Linda stresses how this isn't the case, and how City of Sanctuary would like us all to "go forth and smile" to everyone and anyone, as you never know who you may be speaking to. When asked what would be the most helpful thing for someone to do to help Linda and City of Sanctuary, she urges each of us to "write to your local MP's and ask them to change the policies surrounding migration and seeking asylum." The reality of how the government caters for migrants is not that they receive money and help in abundance, they actually receive basic care, basic accommodation and often, a hateful reception as they settle into the UK. Calling for unity and acceptance of those who need help, the overall message of Linda's talk is the need for dignity for those in need, something she and City of Sanctuary are passionate about and act upon each day.

Aine O'Brien, of Counterpoint Arts, has spent her career working with migrant artists and artists who are dedicated to voicing the issues surrounding migration and the "notion of welcome". She speaks of the need for "solidarity" not only within the Arts but society too, reflecting on a 6 day event Counterpoint Arts were involved with at the Tate Modern in March of this year which promoted "warmth, support and welcome." The work shown created a "dialogue about what it means to be a citizen, whether that be in the UK or elsewhere." Taking over the entire 5th floor of the Tate Modern, the project brought together artists from across the globe, most of whom had first-hand experience of migration and seeking refuge. O'Brien speaks of how events like this need to be a regular occurrence within the art world, and how she was disgusted by how artists stayed "somewhat silent" during the recent vote to leave the EU, which directly affected many of the artists she has worked with. 

Echoing the message initiated by Fielding and O'Brien, Bryony Bond explains how she is passionate about The Tetley having a diverse programme which is accurately representational of the communities that surround the gallery. Based in an area of vast regeneration in South Leeds, Bond views The Tetley as a place where art can create a "dialogue" for "uniting" people and communities who perhaps wouldn't have come across each other or engaged with art previously. Speaking in reference to The Tetley's upcoming exhibition programme, she states how herself and the curators are shifting their focus from new artists to those whose work perhaps hasn't had the attention it deserves, existing redundant in local archives. Stating that "10% of communities around The Tetley are from South Asia", Bond explains how she felt it is only natural to represent the artists from these areas in the exhibition programme to draw in these audiences and promote diversity in the arts.

Diversity, identity and place become the main topics discussed in the second evening of Curator talks. Skinder Hundal, mirroring the focus of Bryony Bond's talk, speaks of how important it is to him that the Asian communities in Nottingham are represented fairly through the programme delivered by New Art Exchange. Once unfairly viewed as a minority in society, it is imperative that communities such as the Asian communities in Nottingham, and the South Asian community in Leeds, are represented by way of the artists, whether emerging or established, who have previously been excluded from the world that they have spent their lives contributing to.

Shanaz Gulzar, artist and independent facilitator, addresses the issues that migrant women face in terms of their identity and place in an often unwelcoming society. Finding a place in society as a migrant is already a tough task, but existing within this space as a woman makes the job even harder, and Gulzar stresses how this urgently needs to be rectified.

The overall message and intrinsic theme linking the talks is the notion of dignity and achieving unity through creating art. Diversity and accurate representation of race, gender and identity is and always has been addressed by the art world, but needs constant work and activism to achieve the thing all of the speakers seem to be working towards, which is solidarity within society.

Images: Pete Singleton

Join us for the exhibition launch of Migration International Artist Residency on Friday 26 May, 6 - 8pm.

Exhibition also open for Wakefield Artwalk, Wednesday 31 May, 5 -9pm and continues until Friday 7 July.

More details HERE

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Migration Week Two: Early Development

Film by Pete and Nick Singleton 

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Wakefield: City of Sanctuary

In the second week of Migration, International Artist Residency 2017, writer and artist Lisa Marie Dickinson accompanied participating artists on their visits to Wakefield City of Sanctuary.

Keep up to date with news of the residency on the #Mirgration17 facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/migration17/

Ever wondered where asylum seekers, refugees and those affected by the issues and strict processes surrounding migration to the UK go or end up when fleeing to this country, or the part Wakefield plays in providing aid or refuge to these people? Urban House is an initial accommodation centre, or IAC for short, based in Wakefield, which provides accommodation for people who have asked for asylum and do not yet have the funds to support themselves. With space for 300 asylum seekers, Urban House provides family rooms, individual male and female rooms as well as social rooms, a classroom and a playroom for those who are staying in Wakefield whilst the legal aspects of their asylum claims are investigated and processed, this usually takes around 21 days. Often, those individuals seeking asylum arrive in Wakefield with little or no belongings, money or essentials, and are in need of help when it comes to acquiring the items most of society take for granted. City of Sanctuary, a grass roots movement working in the Wakefield area, help provide essential items such as new underwear, new or second hand clothing and bedding to those in need at Urban House through a request and deliver system, as well as emotional support through a series of drop in sessions, workshops and social events held across several venues throughout Wakefield. City of Sanctuary are an invaluable movement and resource to those in need, and aim to inspire people to make Wakefield a place of 'welcome, friendship and sanctuary', their manifesto states; 'We take pride in welcoming Asylum Seekers and Refugees to our city and district and offer them every opportunity to share in and contribute to the life of our communities.' 

Linda Fielding, photograph by Pete Singleton Linda Fielding, the main point of contact and organiser behind City of Sanctuary, orchestrates the programme of help and support the movement provides. She splitting her time between the five main venues and points of contact the asylum seekers and refugees can visit to access a variety of aid and support systems. The five main places City of Sanctuary work within are: St Johns Church, St Michael's church, Quaker Meeting House, the Sanctuary Garden and the Clothing Store. St Johns and St Michaels church host the Conversation Cafe and the St Michaels Drop in/ Welcome Cafe. These two hour long sessions invite anyone in the Wakefield district, whether it be asylum seekers, refugees, or members of the public, to socialise and relax, playing games and offer support to each other over a cup of tea in the safety of the local churches. Quaker house plays host to a drop in session every Wednesday, where Linda and a team of volunteers assist those in need with help completing complicated legal forms, CVs and job applications, to help them on their way to stability. The Migration artists have had the privilege of meeting Linda, and witnessing the work she does first hand through visiting the sessions and places she runs through City of Sanctuary. Alongside Linda works a gentleman called Bryan, who's main role involves the upkeep of the Sanctuary Garden, an allotment space where those staying at Urban House can go to grow vegetables, enjoy the fresh air and feel part of a community. Bryan, born in Zimbabwe, came to the UK 18 years ago, however his path to seeking asylum is still ongoing, with the Home Office rejecting each claim to seek asylum here in Wakefield since he first arrived. He explains how those dealing with his ongoing application "do not see an issue with him returning to Zimbabwe" so he is now classed, in literal terms, as a Destitute Asylum Seeker. This means Bryan is not allowed to work, something he desperately wants to do in order to provide for himself and his family. He has "two wonderful children" who are both registered English Citizens, which makes his battle with the Home Office even more complicated; "My whole life is here, my family are here. I couldn't leave them and go back to Zimbabwe, and even if I did it wouldn't be that easy, they would ask where I had been for the past 18 years and why I wanted to return. I hopefully will, one day, be accepted and allowed to work. That's all I want. But for now I have the allotment." A radiantly positive man, with an infectious laugh and spirit, Bryan invites the Migration artists to help him tidy the last bit of unkempt allotment, a chance they snatch up, with Ivan particularly interested in the produce grown within the allotment in relation to upcoming plans to make several soups for the drop in sessions at the St Johns church and Quaker House, as part of his work during the residency. 

The migration artists with Bryan at the Sanctuary Garden. Photograph by Pete Singleton The clothing store, currently on Wood Street, is perhaps the busiest and most used resource offered by City of Sanctuary. Working on a donations only basis, Linda and a team of volunteers process any donations received and organise them into sections based on priority. Donations range from second hand clothing, to bedding, board games and toys, and any asylum seekers and refugees in the Wakefield district can be referred to come and collect any essential items they may need. Thanks to Ivan, through the planning and orchestration of several visits to the places City of Sanctuary work within, the residency artists have had an eye opening and educational week meeting Linda, Bryan, and their volunteers, as well as the people they help day to day. Inspiring their reactions to the theme of the residency and the way their work may respond to what they have learnt so far, all of the artists appear to have been touched in some way in regards to how their practice can absorb some of the aspects and effects of migration on the people of Wakefield. 

Photograph by Pete Singleton Donations, gestures of kindness and time spent volunteering are the foundations of the continuation of City of Sanctuary, and in turn, the help they provide Urban House. Contact Linda on linda.fielding@blueyonder.co.uk or Bryan on wdcityofsanctuary@gmail.com to arrange a donation, or to find out more information on being involved with this incredible movement. As City of Sanctuary's manifesto states - 'Seeking asylum is a human right.'

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Week One: Orientation

Film by Pete and Nick Singleton 

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Migration - International Residency 2017

Earlier this week The Art House welcomed nine artists from across the globe to take part in Migration - International Residency 2017. Led by artist Ivan Patrick Smith and with support from Wakefield City of Sanctuary, the artists will live and work in Wakefield throughout May.

An exhibition of work made during the residency will open at The Art House on Friday 26 May, 6 - 8pm. Find out more HERE

Here artist and writer Lisa Marie Dickinson shares her reflections on the ideas, collaborations and work starting to take shape.

Migration 2017; Introductions and initial inspirations

Part one

Header image: The Migration artists, photograph Nick Singleton Top: Bijan Amini- Alavijeh and Andrew Singleton From left to right: Juan Christobal Gracia, Ivan Patrick Smith, Bijan Moovasi, Katie Numi Usher, Kate Genever, Emily Simpson and Joseph Cotgrave.

Organised by artist Ivan Patrick Smith, Migration is an international residency taking place throughout the month of May in the host city of Wakefield. Providing the opportunity for Artists from across the globe to unite, using The Art House as their base, the month long residency is a chance for 9 selected artists to create work responding to their interpretations and abstractions of what Migration means in modern society whilst living and working in an intensive, critical, co-working environment.

The initial days of the residency, structured around a series of introductory talks and exploratory walks around Wakefield see Ivan encouraging an amalgamation of cultures, attitudes and opinions, using artist talks held at The Art House each evening to introduce their different practices and share initial reactions to the theme of migration. Working directly with the City of Sanctuary and Urban House, the artists are scheduled to meet those working with refugees and asylum seekers and learn about migration and those living in Wakefield effected by the issues surrounding it.

Moving into their new home at The Art House and setting up studio space in an unused space just around the corner opens up an opportunity for the discussion of ideas as the artists first adjust to the format of the residency and investigate each other's backgrounds. Kate Genever, UK based artist speaks of the 'migration of self', and how the manifestation of beauty in moments of trauma resonate within her when thinking of migration. "I'm fascinated by these moments of rapture, when you see something so beautiful in a moment of trauma that it’s almost cathartic, therapeutic." Led by this theme of beauty, Genever explains how music, song, and symbols of hope and happiness such as flowers, birds and balloons are prevalent in her mind.

The pain felt by refugees and others in transit inspire her interest in 'emotional migration', and the significance of beauty within the transition through these moments, "For example, how do you go from being an Iranian in Iran with your family in the comfort of Iranian culture, like Bijan, to then existing in a new place. How does that shift happen within you?" What do individuals find beautiful to guide them through this time?

Bijan Moovasi, London based artist hailing from Iran, responds with an honest account of his first-hand experience of migration in the most literal sense. His year long struggle with the process of seeking asylum in the UK, he says, showed him the "harsh reality of the world", and explains how he "couldn't find anything beautiful at that time." Delving deeper into what kept him sane during this time, we discover that music and sound are his passions, his practice and background in music evolving throughout this year into a final manifestation of an album, funded by the help of Kickstarter. A bond immediately made between the two artists, they discuss how their ideas are united through their shared interest in song and the potential for a collaborative project.

Bijan Amini-Alavijeh and Bijan Moovasi, photograph by Pete Singleton

Whilst some of the artists have immediate ideas and reactions to migration already flourishing, some of the artists admit they are still exploring how it might influence their work, and how maybe it already exists somewhere in the fabric of their practice. Bijan Amini-Alavijeh, a painter based in the UK, confides in how meeting another Bijan with the same heritage as him has opened up a discourse on how he could reflect on his family’s experiences to influence his work during the residency. Born to an Italian mother and Iranian father, Alavijeh admits meeting Moovasi has encouraged his pride on his Iranian heritage, and discussion between the two sees an immediate bond being made through this common ground.

As evening draws in, settling down for Genever, Alavijeh and Andy Singleton’s artist talks paves the way for a critical discussion of previous works and the themes running within each of the artists practice.

Andy Singleton studio, photograph by Pete Singleton

Singleton, based in Wakefield, works predominantly with paper and is inspired by intricate patterns found within the body and nature. Commercial success, he admits, has eaten into the time he could have been spending making personal work, making this residency invaluable in how it provides the time and space to re-engage with what it is he is interested in exploring within his own practice.

It seems the theme of migration, when abstracted, relates to the development of each artists’ practice throughout this residency. Immediately, many of the artists seem to be approaching this time as an opportunity to question the inspirations and manifestations of their works, dedicating a full month to developing new, ambitious work. Whilst artists such as Genever and Moovasi seem to already have political and humanitarian concerns running through the concepts of their work, the discourse opened up through examining the theme of migration has perhaps inspired others to approach research for new works through a new lens.

As the second evening draws to an end, talk turns to experiences of making, showing and selling work and each artist’s relationship with the gallery / curator model. Genever, stating how she has taken a step back from showing work in traditional gallery spaces to a rural practice focusing on exhibiting work in village town halls, for instance, explains how she has had enough of the traditional model, regardless of how such a decision effects her credibility in the contemporary art world. Juan Chrisobal Gracia, shares how his success in selling work in Mexico allows him to work for free in the Mexican prison system, bringing art to those who need creativity after being failed by the corruptions of the government. It would be "naive" he says, to ignore how gallery representation and commercial success provides artists with the funds to take on other jobs which are unpaid. Questions surrounding the hierarchy and bureaucracy of the art world fuel further discussion; do we need a curator to give approval to our work for it to have value? Katie Numi Usher, a multi-disciplinary artist from Belize, raises an important point- "If gratification comes from within, why do we show work and exist on social media? Is to make work for ourselves enough?"

The uprising of artist led spaces in recent years has been the result of graduates and emerging artists rejecting the need for gallery and curator representation. Affirming the importance of such spaces, Joseph Cotgrave, director of and studio holder at The Royal Standard explains how he feels these independent galleries are quickly becoming more important than some of the longer established, household name galleries. The freedom of spaces such as the Royal Standard enables a programme which plays host to some of the most innovative and exciting artists emerging from the UK and across the globe. Such artists may not have previously shown work due to the hierarchy surrounding commercial success and representation.

As the first days of the residency come to an end, after great discussion, debate and critical analysis of work and ideas, one question still needs to be asked; Why Wakefield? Ivan Patrick Smith, organiser of Migration and also fellow artist in residence explains how a rare continuation of relationships first made with The Art House and in Wakefield on previous residency Home and Away (2015) made him feel as if there was scope for another chance to continue where he left off. It's "rare" he says, in the art world "to be invited back." Smith and Programme Producer at The Art House, David Gilbert, had an established relationship for years prior to developing ideas for a residency, making the Wakefield based gallery and studio space a fitting home for Migration. The two plan to develop the residency format to branch out into other areas of the U.K, which makes the success of Migration an exciting prospect for further projects.

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sean burn, inside the studio

Writer, performer and self-taught artist sean burn recently began a residency at The Art House. The residency, reclaiming the languages of lunacy will take place between April and September 2017 and was launched on 24 April with a performance of with added nuts.

Image 1:  ‘are we mad or are we made?’, with added nuts

Image 2 - 5: Inside the residency studio

Read Colin Hambrook’s review on Disability Arts Online HERE

Find out more about the performance and residency HERE

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sean burn, reclaiming the languages of lunacy

Writer, performer and self-taught artist sean burn recently began a residency at The Art House. The residency, reclaiming the languages of lunacy will take place between April and September 2017 and was launched earlier this week with a performance of with added nuts.

Find out more about the performance and residency HERE

As part of his residency burn collaborated with artists and writers with lived experience of mental distress on a workshop-based unreliable narrator tour. Including visits to Wakefield Museum, the site of the former West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum – now luxury housing – and the Mental Health Museum, Fieldhead Hospital, the tour aimed to consider and challenge institutional narratives of mental health and the vocabularies used to tell them.

smile on wakefield, sean burn

lets face it - these daze ov shock & awe - the narratives broken.  what we are told bears no relation to what we witness every day / in every way.  languages (visual / sound / performed / spoken or written) can control or they can free - & most ov us have been silenced way too long.   or at best boxed in, walled in, caged in - permitted to tell a small portion ov our story and then labelled - mostly unreliable - by those experts thru inexperience.  well now we are singing.  a long-term art house member, seven year ago we found wakefield had a 'creepy museum around mental health' - weve had long-term interest in reclaiming languages (plural) ov lunacy based on our own long-term lived experiences (also plural) ov mental distresses (plural again) and have spent seven years negotiating to get into that padded cell.  but the mental health museum has radically changed / is radically changing / rewriting narratives - their manifesto is beautiful.  regardless ov where we are on the mental health / distress 'spectrum' right now we are mostly hurting arent we - even boris-erdogan-putin-drumpf urgently need therapy (they have the means, they have means).  putting words / sounds / visuals / moves out theres only thing making sense to us these daze -  only things making sense ov all that none-sense - on monday in the arthouse we asked folks  are we mad or are we made?  all that stuff coming-coming-coming mostly driving us over edges.  time to get playful, rewrite narratives, tell better, more truthful / truthfull / truthfuelled stories -  and to listen like never before - hear ll the amazing diverse stories around us.  we are listening wakefield.  time to wake.  to waken.  to awaken.  lets write a new story, a better story - wakefield as grand-zero - across arts - for starters here are some reworked signs from around.  more to come.  much much more!  come join!  play not pay!   smile on   gobscure 

Image 1 - 3, Axisweb Image 4 - 7, sean burn 

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Juan delGado, Some Times Artist in Residence, March 2017

Juan delGado is a Spanish interdisciplinary artist based in London, working across a wide range of media. Selected to take part in our Some Times residency programme he is living and working at The Art House during March 2017.

To coincide with the residency Altered Landscapes, an immersive multimedia installation will be on display until Wednesday 3 May. Find out more about the show HERE  

As part of his residency at The Art House, delGado is working with refugees and asylum seekers through Wakefield City of Sanctuary to explore how their stories and experiences can be made visible. As part of this exploration, in collaboration with artist Emily Binks, delGado will create 'Living Room', a communal space in the heart of Wakefield in which to bring people together from different backgrounds, both long-standing local residents and newcomers. During the days leading up to next week's Artwalk on Wednesday 29 March, we will be sharing news of Juan's progress as he familiarises himself with the city, the people he meets and the stories that he uncovers. 

WALK1

The city sleeps... As I strolled through the narrow alleys, the chilliness of the night struck my face. I looked up at ​a window lit by the lamppost. Inside seemed to be quiet, dormant ...  so many stories lie behind the walls of magnificent buildings ...​some ​now filled with emptiness. 

#alteredJDG 

Images 1: Altered Landscapes, Juan delGado. Photo: Jules Lister Image 2: Juan delGado

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Damian Massey / Recent Graduate Artist in Residence, October 2016

Damian has been in residence at The Art House alongside Hayley Smith and Ella Holland for the past three weeks. Here he tells us about his work and his experience so far on the residency.

‘Being a recent graduate, having the opportunity to be part of the residency in The Art House has been fantastic. I have engaged in so many thought-provoking conversations with artists and staff during my stay, its help me to understand ways of becoming a full-time artist, always be aware of potential opportunities and always have the courage to introduce yourself to other galleries as a recent graduate, it’s important to get yourself known.

For me, engaging with new people and talking about the artwork has always been a struggle but being in residence has allowed for my confidence to grow. Being involved in conversation with other emerging artists has shown me that I am not the same going through this struggle, but with the help from The Art House it’s an obstacle that can beaten. I feel now, I have the tools, I have the right knowledge to progress further in the future.

Expressing an interest in the similarities in human culture and natural abstraction. I investigate the characteristics of natural form in sculpture while using the influence of minimalism and the ready-made for example the use of man-made waste to construct anthropomorphic figures.

Title: .53, 2016

tights and cotton

‘Title: .53, 2016’, inspired from the story of a lone female Graneledone boreopacifica off the California coast who was observed guarding her eggs continuously for nearly four and a half years. I find this connection between the mother and offspring in the natural world fascinating. Its common in human culture for the parents to protect our offspring so this behaviour is not unfamiliar, but from other species it’s not observed day-day. This questions our own beliefs about how different we are to the world that surrounds us, and in personal surveillance it seems that we are not so diverse. I was handed a set of tights by my own mother in a discussion about what I could use them for as she no longer required them, so the excessive use of tights is a response to female culture. Conveying the story of the lone female octopus, the clumps of cotton stored inside the tights, references the offspring of the Graneledone boreopacifica. located in a human environment to bring forward the similarities in both species.’

#artistinresidence #graduateartist #artiststudios #Wakefield 

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Change Makers: The Art House and Hannah Kayi Mason Developing diversity and visual arts leadership

The Art House, Wakefield is delighted to announce that it has secured £132,912 to fund a major leadership development programme, working to connect diverse artists with national and international networks and partnerships.

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Change Makers: The Art House and Hannah Kayi Mason Developing diversity and visual arts leadership The Art House, Wakefield is delighted to announce that it has secured £132,912 to fund a major leadership development programme, working to connect diverse artists with national and international networks and partnerships.

§  Arts Council England has awarded The Art House £132,912 to deliver an 18 month development programme with Hannah Kayi Mason, commissioning ambitious co-production and solo projects.

§  The project will drive and champion new, essential and exceptional opportunities with black, minority ethnic and disabled artists.

§  The Art House will work with artists Veronica Ryan and Sean Burn and partners including Venture Arts in Manchester, Project Ability in Glasgow, Action Space in London, Mother Tongue part of the Tilting Axis Consortium, Mental Health Museum and The Hepworth Wakefield.

 The successful application will support the delivery of a ground-breaking leadership and development programme working with new CEO/Artistic Director Shân Edwards and Hannah Kayi Mason, an emerging black and disabled leader in the visual arts. Hannah will take the lead on two ambitious projects, working with artists to develop new work in collaboration with national partnering organisations. She will also perform research on an international scale to inform the creation of an innovative new model for peer-led development for artists from a diverse range of backgrounds and with a variety of needs.

Arts Council England Change Makers Fund

The aim of the fund is to increase the diversity of senior leadership in art and culture by helping to develop a cohort of leaders who are Black, minority ethnic and/or disabled by means of a targeted senior leadership training and development programme.

An additional aim of the fund is to provide host National portfolio organisations with a development opportunity to adopt cultural change that can be a catalyst for improving their contribution to the Creative case for diversity.

Quote from Michelle Dickson, Director North, Arts Council England

“Our Change Makers programme is part of our commitment to ensuring that arts and culture across England reflects the diversity of our communities and I’m delighted that we have funded The Art House to work with Hannah Kayi Mason. I’m looking forward to seeing how the partnership develops through the next year and to seeing the resulting projects.”

Quote from Jane Glaister, Chair of Trustees, The Art House

“The Art House is a developmental organisation that was built on the recognition that diversity is fundamental to artistic and cultural excellence and innovation. We focus on removing the barriers that are preventing people, at whatever stage of their creative journey, to achieve excellence.

We need leaders with diverse backgrounds and alternative ways of thinking to challenge the hegemony that can inhibit organisations and we are delighted that the ACE Change Makers programme will enable Hannah and the organisation to support each other and work together on this exciting journey.” Quote from Hannah Kayi Mason

“Diversity is fundamental to what it is to be human. Our differences make us unique and should not be disadvantages to progression but tools which enhance it. The Art House helps artists embrace their diversity and enables the development of their practices by challenging barriers. I have been a supporter for many years and am truly delighted to be working with them on this exciting, ground-breaking project.”

…………

 Ends

 Editors Notes

 Media Information 

 For more information, interviews and images please contact:

Helen Deevy, helen@the-arthouse.org.uk or

Neil Shand, neil@the-arthouse.org.uk

Tel: 01924 312000

 About Hannah Kayi Mason

 Hannah is a project manager and communications director with over 10 years’ experience in the arts, education, public and private sectors. Hannah is an innovative problem solver and entrepreneurial creative communicator. She is a CIM qualified marketer who runs her own business devising digital strategy, designing websites, and managing online content for artists and creative practitioners.

www.thecontentmanagers.com/

 Arts Council England

Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2015 and 2018, we plan to invest £1.1 billion of public money from government and an estimated £700 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

 About The Art House 

 The Art House is a visual arts development agency and a registered charity (number 1063671) established in 1994 by a group of artists in response to the lack of facilities for disabled visual artists. The Art House now provides studios and programmes offering time, space and support for artists and associates to develop their creative and critical practice and progress their professional careers. 

 Alongside an accessible programme of events, training and mentoring, residencies and commissions, The Art House develops collaborative platforms promoting equality and diversity, driving new research and contributing to an essential discourse around the Creative Case for Diversity in contemporary visual arts practice.

In May 2015 The Art House completed the conversion of the former Drury Lane Library through a £3m capital project funded by European Regional Development Fund and Arts Council England. The 1906 Grade II listed library has been repurposed as 34 studios, meeting rooms, a Project Space, and public spaces including a new Reception. Across this and its original building adjacent the library, The Art House now offers 48 studios and workspaces for the creative industries, and houses other creative businesses including Axisweb and Beam. The Art House is an NPO (national Portfolio organisation) with Arts Council England. To find out more about The Art House please contact Helen Deevy, Admin and Communications Officer on 01924 312000, email info@the-arthouse.org.uk

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Recent Graduate Artists in Residence / October 2016

Yesterday we welcomed three new artists in residence, who will develop new and existing projects during their stay with us this month. See the work progressing as they take over our Instagram account early next week and look out for more blog posts from each artist here.

Ella Holland

Ella’s practice intertwines painting, printmaking, collage and drawing which leads up to large scale abstract paintings. Her process and product is a unique battle between the beauty of fine art and the organisational process of design, incorporating line, shape, and gesture to create colourful creative abstract compositions.

Hayley Smith

Hayley explores themes of relationships between friends, adolescence, insecurities, womanhood and living with autism, using the repetitive method as performance. She uses a specific palette of pinks, yellows and blues to reflect on themes of childhood and femininity.

Damian Massey

Damian’s work focuses on the natural world and the implication human behaviour has on the earth. He has a particular concern for human waste material and how quickly we no longer see the value of something once its purpose is not needed anymore, transforming objects that he finds into inhabitants from the natural world, creating almost a post-apocalyptic nightmare, using our very own source material.

Images:

1. Ella Holland 2. Hayley Smith 3. Damian Massey

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Lisa Nash / Graduate Artist in Residence, September 2016

Lisa Nash reflects on her time at The Art House. The images show the development of her work, into two pieces that were displayed at the Wakefield Artwalk, marking the culmination of her residency. 

‘Into the third week of a month long artist residency with The Art House, being introduced to the art world after just graduating from university seemed at first a daunting task. This was not the case as from the first day I was made welcome and guided by the friendly and professional staff so I was able to concentrate on my art. After meeting several professional artists I learned the hard work and dedication never mind skill it takes to be successful.

Working in The Art House studio allowed me to explore Wakefield and its museum giving an insight into its history including Charles Waterton. Where I discovered he was one of the first conservationists and set up his own wildlife sanctuary, which I have begun to explore through the process of making new work.

#artistinresidence #artiststudios #scultpure #Wakefield