PASW Regional Newsletter: Spring 2001
Year of the Artist update
Year of the Artist in the South West
Year of the Artist celebrates the artist and we have enabled a diverse range of artists and craftspeople to set up a residency, engage with a place/community/city and make their work. Many artists have pursued new audiences and many have created very public works of art. And we're only half way through the year!
A 40ft willow figure by Serena de la Hey, to be seen from car or train, alongside the M5 in Sedgemoor, striding purposefully through the South West. Oculus - by sculptor Barry Mason - one thousand squares of Lapis Lazuli, slate, Bath stone and paving, sited in the nave of Hailes Abbey, Gloucestershire. Intimate fish portraits made from a unique mixture of glass and textiles, by Sara Norrish and Frankie Pollack, have been placed in 10 fish and chip shops creating a fishy trail from Plymouth to Minehead. Fashion, Architecture, Taste (FAT) are the lead artists attached to Bristol's Legible City. They are exploring the way in which people engage with movement information. Roger Dickinson has been employed as an equal member of the CI:TE project, looking at how the city centre of Bath can be enhanced through the use of public art. These are just a few examples from Year of the Artist residencies, many more can be seen on our website: www.yota.org.uk, in Proof magazine, published quarterly or in the local media.
Right Here Right Now was a significant international conference and showcase event, staged by South West Arts in Bristol, in November. As part of the region's contribution to the national programme of Year of the Artist events, it brought together 300 artists and arts producers coming from all areas of the arts and media. Opening addresses by Nick Capaldi, Chief Executive of South West Arts, and playwright and arts campaigner, Paddy Masefield, stimulated lively critical debate about the issues and challenges facing artists at the dawn of the new millennium. The event showcased many of the artist projects that have been commissioned during the Year. The emphasis was on the artists themselves presenting work - in exhibition, performance, on screen and in print.
Bob Butler, Director, Year of the Artist