Monday 27 February 2017

The final week of Moving on up, moving on out

Don't miss the final week of MOVING ON UP, MOVING ON OUT. This is The NewBridge Project's finale exhibition and programme of events in our current building before we move to a new home.



















Moving on up, Moving on out places artists at it heart, and has been collectively shaped and devised by 30 artist members, featuring work by over 80 NewBridge artists past and present.


Throughout the duration of the exhibition the curation has been fluid, with people changing the layout of the artworks. So even if you have been before, chances are that you wont have seen it as it is now.




More outputs from the weekend

Holly and I were in the Moving on up, Moving on out Project Space again this weekend, making bespoke wrapping paper. It will be used to wrap the mugs we are being given by the NewBridge studioholders. Once wrapped, we will be transporting the mugs to the new NewBridge home, where the studioholders will be reunited with their mugs and we will have a cuppa to celebrate the new stage in the NewBridge history.

Here are some of the results of the weekend.




Saturday 25 February 2017

Thanks to all involved in the Unpitch event at Culture Lab



The Drone Ensemble would like to thank Ben Freeth and Jez Riley French for inviting us to perform at the Unpitch event at Culture Lab, featuring headliners Hankil Ryu and Lo Wie from Korea.

We would also like to thank all the people who turned up to listen to us!




The Drone Ensemble set up this evening consisted of:

friction drums

pipe gurdys

hurdy gurdy

percussion

It was good to test out a simpler score and allow each of the instruments to have a period of time as the focus.

Friday 24 February 2017

The Drone Ensemble featuring in Hankil Ryu and lo wie evening performance at Culture Lab

The Drone Ensemble have been invited to perform in

Unpitch presents: Hankil Ryu and lo wie evening performance at Culture Lab, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

Invite
You are cordially invited to a series of sound art presentations, workshops and performances to take place on 24th February 2017 in Culture Lab and Fine Art, Newcastle University. These are free and don't cost anything to attend / participate. They are aimed at anyone interested in electronic music, electronic performance, digital media, creative practice involving technology, artists developing their own musical instruments, musicians, artists and those with an interest in contemporary music and performance in Korea.




Background
Following a recent Arts Council England sponsored research visit to SouthKorea artists Ben Freeth and Yvette Hawkins in collaboration with Jez Riley French have invited Korean artist's Hankil Ryu and Lo Wie to Newcastle.

To share practice and expand networks there will be a series of workshops, presentations, and performances taking place over two days: 23rd and 24th February 2017. Ben and Yvette will launch "Hybrid Cultures / Borderless Practice" a book and set of recordings on the Sonospace label. This will feature their work in Korea. https://www.sonospace.org/

Jez Riley French will work with First Year Fine Art Students to create a performance involving field recording and photographic scores.

Hankil Ryu and Io wie will work with Creative Arts Practice students, fine art students and members of the public to explore acts of listening, writing and collective vocalisation.

Daytime
12pm - 1pm Lunch time presentations Hankil / Io wie, JRF (lunch bites format - listen and eat lunch!)
1pm break
1.30pm - 4.30pm Hankil / Lowie Workshop begins
Spaces limited: to reserve a free place book here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/text-oriented-composition-hankil-ryu-lo-wie-workshop-tickets-32055137780

Evening
7.00pm Doors open
7.30pm First performance

Performances:
7.30pm Drone Ensemble
8.00pm Jamie Cook
8.40pm Jez Riley French (UK) + (1st Year Fine Art Students)
9.20pm Ben Freeth, John Bowers and Tim Shaw
10pm Hankil Ryu / lo wie (SK)


Artist Bio's / Descriptions:
Hankil RYU (Korean, born 1975) is a musician from Seoul. He has organised a monthly event called RELAY since 2005 and established his own publishing office called The Manual. He is interested in finding an alternative musical structure possessed by abandoned objects like clockworks, typewriters and telephones. After discovering the instrumental possibilities of a typewriter, he started to collaboration project called ‘A.Typist’ with lo wie and Taeyong KIM. The collaboration’s results were released by The Manual and Mediabus as three CD+Book sets. He has also been a member of FEN (Far East Network) since 2008. As a different approach from his past works, in 2015, he started digital beats project called ‘pilot Ryu’ based on synthesis sound.

lo wie
lo wie is Beckett's Typist and a member of A.Typist, and organizing a music composition concert series, Namsan.
http://lo-wie.blogspot.com/
https://vimeo.com/160201665

Hnakil Ryu / lo wie performance on 24th will feature a variety of objects, text and software:
“A. Typist: The Soft Machine”

A.Typist is a project group consisting of the musician Ryu Hankil, and the writers Kim Taeyong and lo wie. They use prepared typewriters with an interest in finding sound/music produced by writing, texts produced by sound/music and unexpected things produced by the relationship of the two ways of producing sound/music and texts. Recently, their interest is extending into translation among writing, text scores and performance, and transition among physical forms of sound, light and electricity.
In this concert, Ryu Hankil and lo wie will perform “cut-up feedback” using their cut-up score based on William Burroughs’ “The Soft Machine” which is the first work of his cut-up trilogy.

Jez Riley French
Alongside performances, exhibitions, installations, JRF lectures and runs workshops around the world and his range of specialist microphones are widely used by recordists, sound artists, musicians, sound designers and cultural organisations.
In recent years he has been working extensively on recordings of surfaces, spaces and situations and developing the concept of photographic scores and ‘scores for listening’, which have featured widely in publications and exhibitions.
His work has been exhibited in shows and installations alongside that of Yoko Ono, David Bowie, Pauline Oliveros, Chris Watson, Alvin Lucier, Annea Lockwood, Ryuchi Sakamoto, Stars of the Lid, Jeremy Deller, Sarah Lucas, Brian Eno, Signe Liden, Sally Ann McIntyre etc, at galleries including The Whitworth Gallery (Manchester), Tate Modern and Tate Britain, MOT - Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (Japan), Artisphere (USA)….
jezrileyfrench.co.uk

Yvette Hawkins
Yvette Hawkins (British Korean, born 1979) is a paper artist of South Korean and English descent who makes installations, sculptural objects and scores for improvised musical performance using books, maps, silk, textiles and other found materials. Hawkins trained at the Glasgow School of Art and graduated from Newcastle University in 2007. She has had numerous group and solo exhibitions within the UK and Europe. She also has pieces in collections in Italy, Japan, and the United States. Her work has been featured in several books. Hawkins is currently represented by Globe Gallery, UK.
https://yvettehawkins.co.uk/

Ben Freeth
Ben Freeth is an artist, musician, and researcher with an interdisciplinary practice using data, networked technologies, sonification, extended recording techniques, prototype electronics and marine algae to create sculptural installations and contemporary sonic performances enabling entangled encounters within “naturecultures” (a necessary entwining of the natural and the cultural, the bodily and the mind). This involves an exploration of sound and its ability to create relations within nature cultures, humans, environments, and technology.
https://bcfreeth.wordpress.com/

Tim Shaw has worked internationally as an artist, performer and sound designer. His practice is situated within media art and draws upon soundscape and electroacoustic composition, performance making and DIY technology. He currently works as a lecturer in Digital Media at Culture Lab, Newcastle. Collaboration plays a central role in his approach, he has been lucky enough to make artistic work with Chris Watson, John Bowers and Sébastien Piquemal.
https://tim-shaw.net/

John Bowers is an artist-researcher working within Culture Lab with a particular interest in the use of art and design-led methods (Research Through Design) to explore digital technologies and novel interaction concepts. He also works as a sound artist improvising with electronic, digital, acoustic and electro-mechanical devices and self-made instruments in performance and installation settings, typically accompanied by live digital image.

Drone Ensemble
The Drone Ensemble is an experimental sound group that uses acoustic instruments that can produce a prolonged drone sound. All the instruments are made by the group and are often re-interpretations of existing instruments from around the world.
The Ensemble intends for the combination of drone and pulse to induce trance-like states and a heightened, timeless listening experience.
Members of the ensemble are students or graduates of Newcastle University Fine Art. The ensemble is led by staff member, Joseph Sallis.

Jamie Cook
"soundscapes created from live foley recordings and granular synthesis"


Sponsored by:
Newcastle Institute of Creative Arts Practice (NICAP)
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/nicap/
Digital Cultures Research Group from Culture Lab
http://digitalcultures.ncl.ac.uk/
Fine Art Newcastle University
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/sacs/fineart/
Arts Council England
www.artscouncil.org.uk/

Thursday 23 February 2017

16mm film workshop with Hands On Film Lab

On Tuesday I participated in a 16mm film workshop with Hands On Film Lab, organised as part of the NewBridge graduate scheme.



In the morning we were shown the 16mm film camera and were taught how to use it. Then we were given some time to go into Newcastle and shoot some footage. We experimented filming at different speeds (the number of frames per second), and tried double exposing whereby we filmed for a set period of time, then wound our footage back to the point we just started the filming from. We then filmed another scene. When developed and played, there will be two layers to the film.


In the afternoon we talked through the developing process and in the daylight we had a go at loading a test film into the developing tank. It is a fiddly job in broad daylight, let alone in the pitch black! We headed into the darkroom to mix all the chemistry. Leah loaded the film into the tank (in the dark), and we began developing the film.

 The process is as follows:

1. Rinse - fill the tank with water and pour out

2. Develop - Pour the developing solution into the tank and agitate for the first minute.The agitation helps eliminate adhesions in the film that will cause the film to not get developed in certain areas. After the first minute just give it a shake for 10
seconds every minute or so. Develop for 6 minutes. Pour out developer.

3. Stop - Pour the stop into the tank and agitate. This prevents the film from developing any more. Pour out the stop.

4. Fix - Pour the fixer solution into the tank, and give the tank a shake or two every minute. Pour out the fix after 4 minutes.

5. Give the tank a final rinse with water and pour out the water.

6. Photoflo (optional) - Pour a photoflo into the tank in order to reduce water spots. Pour out the photoflo.

7. Remove the film from the tank and untangle it.

8. Hang the film to dry


Following this procedure develops the film as a negative, so dark areas become light and the whites of the image become dark.

We then left the film to dry overnight, and today we went to the Hands on Film Lab to view our film. To say it was a first attempt, I was pretty impressed by what we had produced, and would like to do more in the future.




Hands on Film is a female run and facilitated film-lab in Newcastle Upon Tyne, dedicated to the transmission of knowledge in photochemical film practice – filming, developing, processing and editing. The Lab also offers a low-cost or subsidised entry to the medium for those who might for educational, geographic or socio-economic reasons find this difficult. Photochemical film is a vibrant and exciting medium with unique opportunities for artist projects in moving image.

Hands On Film create a space of engagement via hand-processing techniques and photo-chemical experimentation. Small scale, artisanal production facilities offer a personal and reflexive approach to celluloid, and there is an ethos of skill-sharing through self and peer led education.

Tuesday 21 February 2017

Mug collection has begun!

Many thanks to the wonderful studio holders who have provided us with a mug each from their studio. We will wrap the mugs in our bespoke handmade wrapping paper, and we'll safely transport them to their soon to be new home at Carliol House. The mugs will be reunited with their owners at our studio-warming gathering once we have all moved in.




Monday 20 February 2017

NewBridge studioholders - we need your mugs!


Now that the NewBridge community tea towels have arrived (and are quickly proving to be a big hit on the Newcastle high street), it is time to turn to the next part of our project - getting ready for the studio warming welcome drink that we are sure we will all need after the move. 

We hope that NewBridge studio holders and staff moving to the next building will give us (temporarily) one of your studio mugs to protect and wrap (in custom-made wrapping paper), transport to the new building and return to you (filled with a drink!) at the Carliol House studio-warming event.



Please label your mug with your name so that we know who it belongs to, and leave it either on the tea trolley in the NewBridge Bookshop, with the staff in the NB office, or with us (Helen Shaddock and Holly Wheeler) when we are in the Project Space on Saturdays between 1-4pm and for Tea and Toast on Wednesday mornings before 10am.

Sunday 19 February 2017

Busy day at the wrapping paper making station

Once again Holly and I spent our Saturday afternoon in the NewBridge Project Space making bespoke wrapping paper which we will use to wrap studioholders mugs before transporting them to the new building where we will host a studio warming gathering.



We are beginning to build up quite a collection of papers, and it was great to see that someone had the excellent idea of using the shelving system (specially built to store the works that are in the exhibition) as a means of displaying the range of wrapping papers.






Friday 17 February 2017

The tea trolley is ready and waiting for mugs

Now that the NewBridge community tea towels have arrived (and are quickly proving to be a big hit on the Newcastle high street), it is time to turn to the next part of our project - getting ready for the studio warming welcome drink that I am sure we will all need after the move.

We hope that NewBridge studio holders and staff moving to the next building will give us (temporarily) one of your studio mugs to protect and wrap (in custom-made wrapping paper), transport to the new building and return to you (filled with a drink!) at the Carliol House studio-warming event.



Please label your mug with your name so that we know who it belongs to, and leave it either on the tea trolley in the NewBridge Bookshop, with the staff in the NB office, or with us (Helen Shaddock and Holly Wheeler) when we are in the Project Space on Saturdays between 1-4pm and for Tea and Toast on Wednesday mornings before 10am.

Wednesday 15 February 2017

The NewBridge Community Tea towels have arrived

The delivery of a big box of NewBridge community tea towels was a lovely way to end this morning's Tea and Toast event at the NewBridge Project. They look fantastic!



Come and see for yourselves at The NewBridge Bookshop.

Be sure to bring your purse/wallet with you to purchase one of the limited edition artworks for the bargain price of £5.

Tuesday 14 February 2017

I feature in the 'Six question series' in the new format PDF zine, verdure engraved



I was invited by Jez Riley French to feature in the first issue of the new format pdf zine, verdure engraved.

Verdue engraved in a pdf zine containing interviews and art from a range of practitioners. A regular feature in the zine is the 'six questions series' in which artists are asked to respond to a set of six questions. You can read my answers to the questions by downloading the zine from

https://verdureengraved.bandcamp.com/album/2017-1 

As ever the pdf zine contains interviews and art but it now also comes with a download album of sound pieces. Its free to download or you can donate to the costs of putting it together if you are able. 

For issue 1 of 2017 the featured artists are:
The zine comes as part of the download of the audio album - so to access it you need to download the audio album.

Monday 13 February 2017

Another Saturday making wrapping paper for Raise a mug for NewBridge

Holly and I spent another enjoyable Saturday afternoon in the NewBridge Project Space as part of Moving on up, Moving on out, The NewBridge Project’s last ever show in it's current building.



Every Saturday during the exhibition we are setting up a wrapping paper making station in the Project Space. As part of our Raise a Mug for NewBridge project, we are creating a range of bespoke wrapping papers. A different wrapping paper will be used to wrap each mug donated to us from a NewBridge studioholder. We will individually wrap each mug, transport them to the new NewBridge premises, and then return the mugs to their studioholder owner at a studiowarming gathering. After all the hard work of the move, we will put the kettle on, make tea, and Raise our mugs as a toast to the next stage in NewBridge's history.


Sunday 12 February 2017

Research trip to The Word, South Shields

I've been intending visiting The Word, The National Centre for the Written Word since I first heard about it opening in November last year. Today I made the trip to The Word in South Shields to meet with Richard Barber, the Arts and Heritage Officer. He explained the various facilities within the building and we discussed some ideas that I have about working with them. Watch this space!



I was very impressed by the building, the state of the art facilities and the incredibly positive attendance figures. The range and number of users to all areas within the building is a prime example of why it is so important to keep libraries in our communities - the demand is there.

The Word Library has over 70,000 books in stock, but it is more than just a library.

Here are a few other things to explore at The Word

StoryWorld

StoryWorld is a magical world of fun, fantasy and adventure.

Through an immersive storytelling experience incorporating stunning backdrop projections and sound effects, families and children can lose themselves in the depths of a jungle, under the sea or in outer space.

OpenZone

OpenZone @ The Word supports schools through using technology to enhance learning and teaching. The team supports students and teachers to develop a variety of cross-curricular projects from film-making and podcasting to animation and coding. OpenZone @ The Word enjoys two state-of-the-art digital classrooms, a media studio and access to the FabLab.


FabLab

FabLab @ The Word not only provides a creative space for budding product designers and entrepreneurs to test out ideas and bring them to life, but also allows children, young people and adults with an interest in design the opportunity to access 3D printers, vinyl and laser cutters as part of a programme of workshops.

Trained staff are on hand to guide you through the design and production process and help you realise your ideas.


Local and Family History

The Local and Family History section at The Word Library houses a wide range of books, maps, pamphlets and other ephemera, some items dating back to the Eighteenth Century, which record the social, political, maritime and industrial history of South Tyneside and the North East.








Friday 10 February 2017

Super exciting news - Banff Centre here I come!

I am over the moon to have received the very exciting news from the Banff Centre in Canada that I have been accepted to their Spoken Word residency.



The Banff Centre’s Spoken Word program is the first of its kind, offering a unique setting for artists to explore and develop their voices and career paths. This intensive program investigates a variety of topics from the spoken word tradition, such as history, composition, performance, new and multi-media, production, business/touring, musicality, orality, sound, spirit, language, body, and theatre. Past participants have gone on to become poet laureates, literary award-winners, festival producers, touring artists, authors, actors, educators, editors and more.



I will have dedicated time to develop my own project with guidance from world-class faculty mentors. Throughout the program I will be able to take advantage of workshops, special events, public readings, studio recording time, one-on-one editorial assistance from experienced writers and the opportunity to engage with a vibrant network of international artists.




The residency is in April 2017, so in the next couple of months I will be saving pennies and trying to source further funding to cover the rather expensive travel costs. If you happen to know of any suitable funding options, please let me know!

Wednesday 8 February 2017

Talking Trade Unions over tea and toast

Theresa Easton from Artists Union England joined us for tea and toast at The NewBridge Project this morning.



8 to 14 February is heartunions week, and Theresa was telling us more about what it is and what is happening to celebrate it over the next few days.

Heartunions week is a week of activity throughout England and Wales promoting the benefits of trades unionism, raising the profile of unions in their communities and online.

On Thursday 9 February at 12:30pm the General Secretary of the British Trades Union Congress, Frances O’Grady will be taking part in “The Big Workplace Meeting”. She will be talking about the importance of unions in the workplace and the vital role unions reps play.

The Big Workplace Meeting will be a short live event, broadcast to branch meetings throughout the country. Artists Union England will be joining up with Unite Community, 4th Floor, Broadacre House to tune into the event. They welcome interested people to bring their lunch and find out more!

For more information please visit

http://www.artistsunionengland.org.uk/

http://heartunions.org/


To hear Theresa talk a little about Artists Union England, please visit

https://www.facebook.com/thenewbridgeproject/

Rise and shine with Tea and Toast at The NewBridge Project

TEA AND TOAST- EVERY WEDNESDAY DURING THE EXHIBITION, 7:30-10am

(8, 15, 22 FERUARY AND 1 MARCH) IN THE PROJECT SPACE

Every Wednesday morning during Moving on up, Moving on out we will be providing free cups of tea and toast in the project space.



It's a good chance to come and talk to me about Raise a Mug to NewBridge and to immerse yourself in Moving on up, Moving on out, The NewBridge Project’s last ever show in our current building.

The month-long exhibition and programme has artists at its heart, and has been collectively shaped and devised by over 30 artist members. It has work by over 80 artist members, and will be constantly fluctuating, with the space being re-curated daily into something new, by artists residing in the communal workspace situated in the gallery.

Tuesday 7 February 2017

Raise a mug to NewBridge - visit us in NewBridge Project Space on Saturday's between 1-4pm

WRAPPING SESSIONS – EVERY SATURDAY DURING THE EXHIBITION, 1-4 pm
(4, 11, 18, 25 FEBRUARY AND 4 MARCH) IN THE PROJECT SPACE


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Every Saturday during Moving on up, Moving on out we will be based in the project space where we will be designing and producing handmade wrapping materials, and then packaging studioholders’ mugs to be transported to the new venue for the studio warming cuppa.


These are some photos of what we got up to on Saturday.



Monday 6 February 2017

Pre-order your limited edition NewBridge Project Community tea towel

The NewBridge Project community tea towels are now being printed and should be with us in about 2 weeks. They will be sold at NewBridge Bookshop at a very reasonable price of £5 each. A limited edition of 100 tea towels will be printed. We expect them to disappear quickly so we are taking orders now. 

If you would like to see a hard copy proof of the tea towel, there are A3 print outs on the tea trolley at NewBridge Books. Please note that the tea towels will be larger that A3.



--> fb.me/Raiseamug
If you would like to preorder one or more tea towels, please visit our facebook page and send us a message detailing
1. your name
2. your email address
3. how many tea towels you would like

Alternatively you can pop into the bookshop at NewBridge and ask a member of staff to add you onto the tea towel pre order list.

Once the tea towels have arrived we will then send you an email with collection details. We can post them to you, but will there will be an added postage fee.