Trip to Manchester International Festival - Day 1

I joined the NewBridge Project on a trip to Manchester to visit the Manchester International Festival.

We spent Friday afternoon in Salford visiting a number of artist run spaces.

Our first stop was The International 3 where the directors Laurence Lane and Paulette Terry Brien gave us an introduction to the organisation.

The International 3 is an exhibition and project space in Salford who work with emerging and established artists, independent curators, galleries and organisations to produce a programme of new commissions, solo shows, group exhibitions and events both on and off-site. The International 3 also works with and represents a core group of artists, exhibiting and selling their work at national and international art-fairs; brokering exhibition and private commission opportunities.
http://www.international3.com

We then headed to Islington Mill for a cuppa and a look around with Stina Puotinen.

Islington Mill is a leading independent UK arts organisation based in Salford, in the NW of England. Structured around an organic network of independent artists, Islington Mill runs innovative inter-disciplinary public arts programmes and artist residencies alongside studio spaces and an artists’ B&B. Drawing on the radical and subversive creative energy running through its arts activities, Islington Mill also has a reputation for putting on legendary experimental gatherings, events and parties.
http://www.islingtonmill.com


Our final art space visit was to Paradise Works where we met Hilary and Chris.



Paradise Works is a new artist-led initiative on the border of Salford and Manchester.



Established in April 2017, Paradise Works provides studio space to to 26 contemporary artists working across the disciplines of sculpture, installation, painting, drawing, film, audio, performance, photography and curation.



It draws together artists from studios that were under threat or recently closed such as Rogue Studios.

A delightfully unexpected encounter with Claire Hignett

Earlier in the year I signed up to participate in a Practice Makes Practice weekend event organised by The NewBridge Project in which NewBridge members could engage with a group of artists from Islington Mill, Salford. Unfortunately the event had to be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, but it is due to be rearranged in the future. After doing some research into Islington Mill, I had ear-marked it as a place to visit.

Last week I made a visit to Manchester for a variety of art related events, and ended up spending most of my time in Salford. As I waited for entry into the exhibition at ArtWork Atelier, I got talking to a woman who was also waiting to see the exhibition. It turned out that I was talking to Claire Hignett, an artist with a studio at Islington Mill who had also intended to attend the NewBridge Project/Islington Mill weekend event earlier in the year. Claire kindly offered to show me around Islington Mill (see earlier blog post) http://helenshaddock.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/islington-mill.html and introduce me to her work.



Claire writes,

"I am fascinated by the effect time has on memory. How memories start to fragment and merge with others. How, as we move through time and gather new experiences, our perception of our memories changes. I am particularly intrigued by the way we attach memory to objects and how we keep things that are broken, useless or were cherished by someone else to try and hold on to our memories and to stop them fragmenting any more."

In 2012 Claire began working on a project "to find out more about a group of Basque refugee children who came to Salford following the bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War."

In June 1937, 4000 Basque children arrived in Southampton as refugees and were dispersed around the country in “colonies”. One of these colonies was in Salford at Harold’s Memorial Orphanage, now demolished but only five minutes walk from Claire's current home, and they were taught at the Local Quaker Meeting House, now a British Legion building just a little further on. Claire mentioned the children to her friend’s Mum (age 83) and she was delighted to be asked. She remembered being 9 years old and leaving hospital after a bout of mumps. She went with her friends to look at the refugees because “we thought they would be exotic but [we] were dead disappointed because they looked just like us!”



Claire is in the process of preparing for her exhibition at Ordsall Hall from July 18th to 24th September 2017. Her exhibition will be based on the story of the Basque Children in Salford. "Finding stories in old newspapers and talking to people who still remember them, she will create the exhibition to tell this hidden story."

While in her studio at Islington Mill I saw some of the work that she has been developing for the exhibition, and I look forward to going to see the end result in the Summer.



For more about Claire's work visit her website:

http://www.clairehignett.co.uk/

and her blog:

http://www.clairehignett.co.uk/blog/

Claire is a member of the Islington Mill Art Academy, "a peer-led experiment into alternative modes of art education. Founded in 2007, IMAA emphasises shared responsibility, and its nature changes with its membership, with each member bringing their own ideas and energy. Within IMAA there is no differentiation between professor and pupil, and there are no set courses, but rather a shared propensity to learn and to strive for understanding. The group seek out and utilise the resources which they can find around them, and employ 'art method' towards diverse, and not necessarily artistic, outcomes. Whilst the nature of IMAA is fluid and subject to change, it is always crucial to share ideas, and to embrace the skills and knowledge of members."

For more information about the Islington Mill Art Academy visit:

http://islingtonmillartacademy.blogspot.co.uk/

Islington Mill

On my recent visit to Salford I was fortunate to meet artist and maker Claire Hignett with a studio at Islington Mill. (See my other separate blog post for more information on Claire's work). She kindly agreed to show me around and tell me more about the Mill.

"Created in 2000, Islington Mill remains a work in progress; an ever-evolving creative space, arts hub and community. Scratch the surface and you’ll find a vibrant and resourceful cross disciplinary creative network; a space where conversations leads to connections, collaboration and co-creation.

Public arts programmes, residencies and galleries sit alongside recording studios, an events space and a Bed and Breakfast facility for artists. Music and visual arts mix with events and exhibitions. More than 50 businesses and 100 artists call the Mill home. More than 15,000 people visit the building every year.

Islington Mill is a celebration of the unconventional; of radical and subversive thinking – it is a place where anything feels possible. The flexibility and fluid structure is a catalyst for creativity, allowing artists, residents and tenants to challenge accepted notions of what arts and culture can do, and who can be involved. The residents treasure their independence to explore and to create; to live and work as freely and creatively as possible, fostering an openness to experiment.

The Mill was built on an ethos of experimentation, creativity and inclusivity that has evolved and clarified over time. More than just a physical venue, there is an attitude and approach that unites people. The organic network they have forged continues to evolve because of the actions of the people who get involved; they community.

Collaboration is valued – within the Mill, the local community, nationally and internationally – and they are an integral part of the area’s regeneration. Attracting and retaining talent is fundamental to what the Mill does – supporting creative entrepreneurs and facilitating the potential and promise they bring. The ethos of participation, community and open space makes Islington Mill a vital ingredient in the urban regeneration mix, both in complementing what’s on offer and generating new possibilities.

The Mill sits between the University of Salford and Manchester city centre, straddling the two cities; simultaneously at the heart of Salford’s creative community and just a 10-minute walk down Chapel Street to Manchester city centre. The studio spaces are situated across the upper floors of the main converted mill – an imposing red brick building constructed around a cobbled central courtyard.



The Mill has a variety of atmospheric, industrial spaces around the complex, including live workspace in the external outbuilding as well as a ground floor venue and gallery space." Claire even took me up to the top floor and showed me the attic. There are exciting plans to develop this space into residency studios.

Whilst walking around the building I met a few other studio holders, including US artist, educator and curator, Stina Puotinen. Stina recently exhibited at Vane Gallery in Newcastle, an exhibition I was hugely excited by and that I blogged about. What a coincidence!

http://www.islingtonmill.com/tenant/stina-puotinen/

http://www.stinapuotinen.com/

http://www.islingtonmill.com/