Odd Combo - an enjoyable evening discussing collaboration

marginendeavour would like to thank Matt Pickering, Jill Tate and Theresa Poulton for inviting us to speak about our collaborative practice at their Odd Combo event held at The NewBridge Project last night. Thanks also to all the people who attended the event, posed interesting questions and contributed to the discussion.

It was fascinating to hear from Lesley Guy about TOTALLER, the collective that she belongs to. Although they approach making work in a different way to marginendeavour, there were plenty of things that we agreed upon such as the importance of trust, being honest with each other and enjoying working together.

ODD COMBO - marginendeavour discuss collaboration - Wednesday 6th November - 6-8pm, The NewBridge Project: Newcastle

Odd Combo
Wednesday 6th November
6-8pm
The NewBridge Project : Newcastle
Free

Odd Combo: How to make working together work.

Whether you've been practicing collaboratively for years or don't know where to start, this informal and open forum will explore the nuts and bolts of collaborative and collective practice.

The event will be a roundtable discussion introduced by artists Theresa Poulton, Jill Tate, and Matt Pickering, and is an opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences with other artists with a shared interest in working collaboratively and collectively.

We will be joined by artists Helen Shaddock, David Foggo and Lesley Guy who will share their own experience and learning from their work on collaborative projects. We welcome individuals with any level of experience or interest in collaborative practice to join the discussion or listen in.

Snacks and refreshments will be provided!

A live discussion on the current state of arts education

"Arts education has become the focus of a great deal of passion and concern recently, since the core, knowledge-based subjects took precedence over the creative subjects when the EBacc was introduced in England by the then Education Minister Michael Gove, announced in 2010.

With the arts not being a requirement in the GCSE syllabus for the English Baccalaureate (the EBacc), leaders in the arts and the lucrative creative industries have been very vocal in their criticism of government policy."

Last Wednesday evening in a special edition of BBC Radio 4's Front Row, Stig Abell chaired a live discussion on the subject from a Soar Valley College secondary school in Leicester with leading figures in arts and education.

On the panel were:

Deborah Annetts, the Chief Executive of the Incorporated Society of Musicians or the ISM

Trina Haldar, graduate in chemistry and engineering, and subsequently director and founder of Leicester-based Mashi Theatre

Branwen Jeffreys, the BBC’s Education Editor

Mark Lehain, interim head of the New Schools Network, a free schools advocacy charity, and the Founder (and former headteacher) of one of the first secondary Free Schools. He also leads the Parents and Teachers for Excellence campaign

Julie Robinson, the headteacher of Soar Valley College in Leicester

Carl Ward, Chief Exec of the City Learning Trust, which is a partnership of schools teaching a combined total of 6000 pupils in Stoke on Trent

The episode can be accessed here

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00013vs

Dialogues 5: The NewBridge Project : Gateshead

Dialogues 5: The NewBridge Project : Gateshead
6 - 8 November 2018



Exhibition launch: Tuesday 6 November, 5:30-8pm
Open crits: Wednesday 7 November, 1-4pm
The value of critique: Thursday 8 November, 10am-12pm

To mark the culmination of Mark Devereux Projects’ (MDP) critical mentoring project, Dialogues 5, MDP will be in residence in The NewBridge Project gallery space, holding three public events that will consider the value of critique. An exhibition of new and recent artwork from the project’s participating artists – Shaun C. Badham, Holly Davey, Hannah Leighton-Boyce, Hollie Miller, and Amy & Oliver-Thomas-Irvine – will act as the catalyst for these discussions.

Over four days, the artists and MDP team will be working in the gallery testing out new developments within their respective practices, from materials to the methods of display. This test-bed approach will be informed by the extensive conversations between MDP, the artists and their assigned curatorial mentor that have taken place throughout Dialogues 5. The results can be seen at an opening between 5.30-8pm Tuesday 6 November.

Critical dialogue lies at the heart of Dialogues 5, featuring two different opportunities to further engage with this important element of artistic practice. We invite audiences to attend an open crit session to discuss the work on display in the exhibition with the artists on Wednesday 7 November. The residency will conclude with an open discussion on the morning of Thursday 8 November, which will assess the importance of critical dialogue to artists in developing their practices. Attendees are encouraged to actively contribute their thoughts, experiences and perspectives during the event.

Director Mark Devereux says, “The NewBridge Project is the perfect venue to mark the culmination of Dialogues 5. The participating artists will use the residency to test experimental new works and methodologies, which they’ve been formulating over the past eight months, as an important step in translating these discussions into their respective practices.”

Further information

The NewBridge Project : Gateshead
232-240 High Street
Gateshead
NE8 1AQ
www.thenewbridgeproject.com



Dialogues 5 is a major new project from Mark Devereux Projects providing tailored critique and mentoring for five visual artists. Selected from a national open call application process, the participating artists attended a five-day creative retreat at Clayhill Arts, Somerset, in June. The critical dialogue held before, during and after the retreat set-up curatorial mentoring between the artists and assigned mentors: Fiona Bradley (Director, Fruitmarket Gallery), David Kefford & Sarah Evans (Aid & Abet), Katie Hickman (Curator, BALTIC), Claire Mander (Director, theCoLAB) and Nathaniel Pitt (Director, Division of Labour). Dialogues 5 is supported by Arts Council England, Clayhill Arts and The NewBridge Project. Please visit markdevereuxprojects.com/artistdevelopment/dialogues-5 for more information.

The NewBridge Project is an active and vibrant artist-led community supporting the development of artists and curators through the provision of space for creative practice, curatorial opportunities and an ambitious artist-led programme of exhibitions, commissions, artist development and events. The NewBridge Project was established in 2010 to provide exchange and support in an engaged and discursive community of artists. We develop artistic talent through artist development programmes, curatorial opportunities and provision of space. The shared workspace is a critical and collaborative environment that allows artists to discuss and develop new ideas and projects.


Image: Horst (London) | Amy & Oliver Thomas-Irvine | 2018 | installation view: Averard Hotel, London | image courtesy of the artist


Mark Devereux Projects is currently supported by:

 

Copyright © 2018 Mark Devereux Projects, All rights reserved.

Reading for _______ at The NewBridge Project

On Monday evening I attended Reading for _______ , a Practice Make Practice event at The NewBridge Project. It was programmed with Nathaniel Whitfield, who is currently undertaking Practice Makes Practice – A Social Residency at The NewBridge Project.

“The purpose of Art” James Baldwin wrote “is to lay bare the questions that have been hidden by the answers”.


"With the aim of provoking discussion, engagement and even disagreement with each other, we hope this space will shed light and provide us with new ways of seeing and articulating ideas."

This was the first of what is intended to be a series of sessions "where we can come together to share each other’s ideas through the texts we are reading individually."

The sessions take the following format:

• A group member brings to the session a text / essay / book / podcast / film that they are currently engaging with 

• The group member briefly presents to the group the reasons they are reading / listening / watching them and how they are finding them

• The group reads from / listens to / watches some selected sections of the item to be discussed

• The group has a discussion, shares ideas and opinions and makes suggestions of other sources that are related and could be of interest

"In listening to one another we are able to engage in a process of unlearning which opens up a space for re-articulation and re-materialization of ideas. We are 'undone' by one another, as Judith Butler would say."

A poetic response to 'Out of Kansas'

Artist Holly Weaver attended the Out of Kansas discussion event at the Lit & Phil, and following her visit she wrote to us about her experience.

"Going upstairs to see your work truly made the difference, I enjoyed the fact that from where we were sitting downstairs you could only see a slither of colour, on some of the shelves I was unsure if anything was there and then going upstairs I was really overwhelmed and inspired by the structures. On the way home I wrote a piece about the work and thought I would share it with you:"

As happy coincidence would have it, this surface is yellow.

Golden, invisible, but Gold. This was unexpected. 

I had the urge to conquer each of them,

to jump over the rail and hop from each like tiles on a path.

 

They are chunks of cheese, unreachable from the ground much like,

the episode of Wallace and Gromit on a grand day out, crackers at

the ready to sample the cheese on the moon in their makeshift

spaceship.

Exhilarated and otherworldly.

Monuments born out of wood. The Gold though.

Out of Kansas discussion event

Thanks to those who contributed to the Out of Kansas discussion at the Lit and Phil today. It was really interesting to talk about some of the issues surrounding the exhibition and hear your thoughts on the work. When I think back to all of the things we covered, it is easy to see where the three hours went!

- The apprehension that some artists have about using colour, and the reasons for this

- Chromophobia

- The Luminous and the grey


- The Culture of Yellow


- The Wizard of Oz


- Bookbinding
- Marbling
- The history of the Lit & Phil
- The role of libraries and how this has changed
- The library as a site for art
- The Cubby hole
- Viz magazine
- The Ladies Room
- The Smoking Room
- The comments book
- Site specificity

I look forward to following up on some of the recommendations and am excited to read the poetry being written in response to the artwork.

Out of Kansas discussion event - Thursday 21st May 2015 - 1-2pm - The Lit & Phil, Newcastle

As part of our exhibition, Out of Kansas, Helen Shaddock and Jodie Dunnill will be hosting a discussion event on Thursday 21^st May 2015 between 1-2pm at the Lit & Phil in the main library. 

The event will be a way for library users, and visitors to the exhibition to join in a discussion around the work. 

We are eager to generate an honest discussion, and are inviting a number of people from different backgrounds to share their experience. 

 

We would be delighted if you would join us for what will be an insightful mode of engagement, and a positive way to conclude our exhibition. 

 

Refreshments and biscuits will be served.

Victor Pasmore: from Relief to Environment. A talk with Elena Crippa from Tate at the Hatton Gallery

Last night we gave a presentation at the Hatton Gallery about the commission that we have been awarded in response to an Exhibit.

Our presentation followed an excellent talk by Elena Crippa about the current exhibition at the Hatton Gallery, Victor Pasmore in Three Dimensions.

One thing particularly resonated with me: that Pasmore wanted An Exhibit to be:

Played
Viewed
Populated

The work that we are creating for the exhibition certainly embraces these elements, and will be constructed during the day on Saturday 16th May. The work will continue to be exhibited late into the evening as part of The Late Shows.

Practice 360°: Practice and Pedagogy at Camden Arts Centre

Wednesday 10 September
6.30 – 8.00pm

Practice 360° is a series of talks for artists, considering the edges around what defines contemporary art practice. How can lifestyle, family and money have presence within the working lives of artists? Many artists support their practices through some form of teaching, be this in a workshop or academic context. How can this approach to livelihood inform practice and visa-versa?

In this session members of collective FLΔG talk about their perspective on the subject.

“FLΔG is a group formed at Chelsea College of Art and Design in 2010, comprising of artists, students, former students, staff and researchers. FLΔG explores the relationship between art practices, art education, and pedagogy, looking at forms of knowledge production and dissemination in the art school and beyond.

FLΔG continues where the ‘educational turn’ in the art world left off, bringing re-examined art/ pedagogy dynamics back into the discursive arena and physical space of the art school, but also by engaging with galleries and related art spaces.”

http://www.flagcollective.org/

In partnership with Artquest.

Artquest provides practical support to visual artists throughout their careers.

#CACWednesday

For more information visit

http://www.camdenartscentre.org/whats-on/view/eve-sw-14

Forthcoming Event - The Future for Culture in Scotland! - Friday 18th July - Glasgow

The Future for Culture in Scotland!

Reid Lecture Theatre
Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow

Friday, 18 July 2014 from 13:00 to 16:00


Hosted by Glasgow School of Art, this is your opportunity to hear more about Fiona Hyslop’s, (the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs), vision for the arts, screen and creative industries in an independent Scotland and to take part in discussion and debate about what this means to you.


There will be opportunities to ask questions, make statements and to share your views both with the Scottish Government and with the wider creative community.


After the presentation and Q&A there will be a chance to network over tea and coffee before the event finishes at 4pm.


For more information and to book tickets, please visit
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-future-for-culture-in-scotland-tickets-12102445741

Helen Shaddock in conversation with Martin Craig and Julie-Ann Delaney - Thursday 11th April - 6-8pm - Market Gallery

presents

 

Helen Shaddock in conversation with Martin Craig, Learning & Access Curator, GoMA and Julie-Ann Delaney, Curator, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

Thursday 11th April
6pm-8pm
Gallery 3, Market Gallery

Coinciding with her current Studio Project exhibition at Market Gallery, Helen Shaddock will discuss her work with Martin Craig, Learning & Access Curator, GoMA and Julie-Ann Delaney, Curator, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

Topics to be covered include interdisciplinarity, sculpture and painting in relation to Shaddock's work.

Refreshments provided.

Tramway World Cafe event

The Tramway World Cafe event on 31 October 2012 at Tramway, Glasgow was an open opportunity for artists, practitioners and people who care about the arts and cultural sector in Scotland to come together for a discussion about the future of our community in the next 10 years.

It was stimulated by the public and private discussions that have been happening about our main public funding body, Creative Scotland.

It was set up to be artist and practitioner focused. Questions were posed, and answers sought. Recommendations were made, and a constructive approach was adopted so as to offer possibilities rather than purely making complaints.

The papers presented and presentations made can be viewed online at the following blog:

http://tramwayworldcafe.com/

WAGE RAGE

Tonight I attended the public meeting to address the need for artists' exhibition fees in non-profit art institutions in Glasgow and beyond.

The event was introduced by artist Charlotte Prodger and then short presentations were given by Isla Leaver-Yap (Freelance Curator), Corin Sworn (Artist) and the Scottish Artists Union. Lise Soskolne, co-organiser of W.A.G.E (Working Artists And The Greater Economy) delivered the main presentation. 




For more information about W.A.G.E, please visit http://www.wageforwork.com

Lots of interesting points were raised, but I will share these with you when I am more awake!