| RECENT PRESS RELEASES | LINKS:news wales |
|---|---|
| Duwiesau Diwydiant – Goddesses of Industry An Artists Residency and exhibition inspired through discovering a cities' untold stories Over the last four months, I have discovered and been illuminated, not only about women's history in South-West Wales, but also the state of contemporary culture and the issues of this Bay City of Swansea. It has been intriguing to discover this place and be able to talk to the people who inhabit it. Ultimately that is what the work centres around, the people I met and their stories ~ to turn the city into an artwork in different ways and through different themes. The stories and lives of the individuals and villages within the city open out to connect with each other and the otherwise disconnected are brought together for the first time by their similar elements: tin works, family life, chapel and Welsh culture and traditions. Women played such an important role in heavy industry. But as it only figured for a short spell in most of these women's lives (as so many were made to give it up when they got married) their stories have not been as well recorded as they might have been. I wanted to bring these lives to the front of this exhibition and in a context of looking on Swansea as this old industrial town, that struggles to manoeuvre into a city of the 21st century. I wanted to ask the city how it felt about the changes that are occurring so fast and blotting out the traces of the past, that have literally scarred so many of the previous generations. Now young Swansea sees the beach life and what the city offers as a resort, a life style. How do these conflicting lives of one city converse with each other. I wanted to unearth buried stories from the women that adored their work in really dangerous hardcore industrial jobs along side reflecting on the ways the city is evolving into a new youthful city. Does the success of this rely on denying it's past? That would seem sad somehow; as it is the reason it is so beautiful (with it's workmen's cottages and Victorian parks) and with such character and charm. Like the ‘openness’ of the people who inhabit it. It was really important that the work reflects the personal memories of the women, involved in industry from past eras through to tomorrow, so that they connect and have some kind of legacy handed down. I have started with archives photographs and paved the way to the last tinplate workers and the lives they lead in today's Swansea. This exhibition is about the personal stories, experiences, life and journeys of women inspired by a struggle to compete and work in what is regarded as a man's industry. I have had incredible access to the city, and heard all sorts of tales of tragedies and hardships, as well as joys and illumination. The highlight of my experiences has been talking to all the people I have met who have generously given up time, to have a blether and tell me their life stories. I have also enjoyed the workshops that evolved out of my studies, with Felindre School, and also children across Swansea. These workshops, through drawing and photography, really allowed the children to give scope and fruition to their own ideas and creativity and that was a joy to watch and learn from. The works vary from a film about the stories I have been told amalgamated with the adventures and tales I have shared with the city itself; this artwork also investigates the relationship of Swansea with Welsh and English as two languages that exist together in this city and through industry have evolved slang and Wenglish terminology across the cross generational hands telling the stories. If you have any further comments or stories then please write in my comments book, or tell your story at the National Museum Wales stand, we want to know what your experiences are, so that the legacy of this exhibition can grow and continue after the Eisteddfod. This exhibition is inspired by women like: Blue MacAskill studied at Ruskin School of Art in Oxford and recently completed her Masters in Fine Art at Wimbledon School of Art. She was awarded an Arts and Humanities Award in 2003. Recent exhibitions, film and video screenings in Athens, Klaipeda in Lithuania, Sweden, Cardiff, London, Winchester, Frome, Bristol, Folkstone and Oxford. MacAskill has written and published with contemporary and Leisure Art magazine. MacAskill was recently nominated for three Swansea Bay Film Festival awards and announced as a most promising young filmmaker 2006. Acknowledgements With many thanks to This Artist-in-Residency is a collaboration between Cywaith Cymru . Artworks Wales, |
Temporary Cities - Klaipeda, Lithuania - September 20-22, 2006 International ArtExpo Collection A new event organized by International ArtExpo Group is another occasion for the public to share with international artists the major questions of the avant-garde thinking\art. This festival is a multimedia story on TEMPORARY CITIES with temporary workers&lovers with temporary identities&dreams. .director Luca Curci General Information. .artists |
The National Website of Wales http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/ Collaboration, contemplation & competition Western Mail SEASONED practitioners and young, emerging artists will come together to provide a "refreshing" selection of artwork at this year's National Eisteddfod. Featuring all mediums of contemporary art, from ceramics to painting to DVD work, the Visual Arts Pavilion promises to engage and impress its visitors. Robyn Thomas, Visual Arts Officer for the Eisteddfod said, "In the selected exhibition there is a lot of new names featured so on the whole it's a fresh batch of artists, which is refreshing. "This year we broke the record for submissions for selection with over 473 entries and I think it reflects the creative activity in this area." Mr Thomas said the artists featured, which include established names like Bedwyr Williams and Neale Howells and many unknowns, will provide plenty of discussion. He added, "There are things here that people will say begs the question as to 'whether it is art'. "You expect the Visual Arts Pavilion to be controversial. It is never the same wherever we go; it is a moving feast." In addition to the selected artists, a number of other artists will be coming together to exhibit their work. To celebrate Swansea's stained-glass heritage, Swansea-based artists Tim Davies and Catrin Jones have been commissioned to devise a special installation. Conceptual artist Davies, the winner of the Gold Medal for Fine Art in Meifod in 2003, and prize winner in 1994 and 1995, and stained-glass artist Jones - who won first prize for architectural glass in the national Eisteddfod in 1980 and 1982 - were given a brief to research the wider concepts of light, space and colour. The resulting exhibit, Alcemi, is an installation which will be on display all week. Working together, the two usually-solo artists found a deep interest for each other's work. Using Jones' glass as the central medium, Davies curates the installation and has created an accompanying video which celebrates her working methods. Davies said, "As a rule, the only thing a viewer sees is the finished item. People just don't think about the physical and intellectual contact the artist has with the medium - the measuring that has to be done by eye and hand, and all the instant decisions that have to be made. "I am fascinated by the tiniest input on the part of the glass-maker since every individual touch contributes to the finished work. The processes are usually repetitive - sometimes different, sometimes similar - but always essential to the finished work." But for Jones the joy was the ability to take risks and work with such a wide brief. She said, "I didn't know what I would create this time. It was difficult - daunting even - to be given such creative freedom. In the end, I had to trust my instincts and draw on a store of knowledge and experience. "As I worked, I delved into my mind to bring layer upon layer of landscapes to light. My intention was to capture the moment - from the waves of the sea to the movement of grass on the dunes and leaves tumbled along by the wind. "The Gower coastline exerts a great influence on me, because it's where I walk and where I meditate, and what I see often turns up in my work." This year's National Eisteddfod will also see the culmination of Blue MacAskill's residence with her Duwiesau Diwydiantan exhibition. For three months MacAskill explored women's roles in heavy industry in Swansea's past to then compare it with the current day. She said, "I wanted to unearth buried stories from the women who adored their work in really dangerous, hard-core industrial jobs and then reflect on the ways the city is maturing into a new youthful city. Does the success of this rely on denying its past? "It was really important that the work reflects the personal memories of the women involved in industry from past eras through to tomorrow so that they connect and some kind of legacy seems to be handed down." The exhibitions are in place, but for now the only thing that needs to done is bring the public in and make them a part of it. Peter Tyndall, Arts Council of Wales' chief executive said, "We want to achieve two things with our activities at this year's Eisteddfod: to showcase the astonishing wealth of arts and practitioners that Wales has, and to involve visitors to the Eisteddfod in the process of creating art." The Visual Art Pavilion at the National Eisteddfod opens on Saturday, August 5, and closes on Saturday, August 12. |
|
The Exhibition will continue at the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea till January 2007 News Swansea’s industrial history and particularly the role of women in industry is the inspiration for Blue’s work. She started research in April at the Museum, which opened last year as Wales’s museum of industrial history. Some of her artwork will go on display at the Museum after the Eisteddfod. The site of the National Eisteddfod at Felindre – former tinplate works on the outskirts of Swansea – will be directly reflected in the memories of women tinplate workers (see notes below) who last worked in the industry in 1957. Blue refers to her installation as a “show”, which will move to the National Waterfront Museum after the National Eisteddfod. “…it will be a breathing, evolving show that takes on a new slant when a different person sees something they relate to…” The themes so far developed are: Blue Iris – cross-generational conversation about Swansea and its attitude to women, industry and the Welsh culture. Quilting the Map - a large scale Swansea Quilt evolving from the journeys of the people involved in the tinplate works and the cockle picking industry. Questioning the Bay of Life – a mail art project between artist and people. T-shirts and legacy – photography project imprinting the memories of past tinplate workers onto t-shirts worn by the next generation. Croeso i Felindre – reminding children of the Felindre School of the history of the tinplate works, formerly on the site. More information is available on Blue MacAskill’s website: http://www.bluemacaskill.com/museum/waterfront.html The National Waterfront Museum is committed to art as a means of enhancing the museum experience. Outside the entrance there is a recent sculpture by Gordon Young – pobl+machines – people plus machines – the story of the museum itself. The artwork is made up of gigantic letters in polished steel and concrete, which spell out the words using the alphabet called Bifur, reflecting the industrial theme and designed by Adolphe Cassandre in 1929. Cast onto the top surface of each letter is the names in Welsh and English of objects from the Museum’s collection. The Museum has also hosted two of Swansea Institute's Degree Shows, those of the Welsh School of Architectural Glass (the Institute’s stained glass course is one of the most important in the UK) and the School of Animation and Digital Media. Students from another school at the Institute have created a temporary installation in the metals gallery comprising of banners of material etched by rusting metal after a burial overnight in the sands of Swansea Bay. The award-winning dramatic glass, steel and slate building, designed by architects Wilkinson Eyre, is proving an exciting venue for art exhibitions, using either the large “street” that links the two buildings or the galleries themselves. Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales operates seven national museums across Wales. These are: National Museum Cardiff, St Fagans: National History Museum, National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon, Big Pit: National Coal Museum, Blaenafon, National Wool Museum, Dre-fach Felindre, National Slate Museum, Llanberis and the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales celebrates its centenary in 2007. For more details go to our 07pages. Entry to all the museums is free, thanks to the support of the Welsh Assembly Government. Note to Editors: 1 - Tinplate industry: In the 20th century, there were some 1,000 working tinplate rolling mills in south Wales; the Museum features a tinplate mill from the Melin Griffith works, a rare survival, restored to working order by Corus for the Museum. It produced thin sheets of steel for tin, a hugely important Welsh export. Women worked in the tinplate industry in south Wales – mainly to split the tinplate sheets when they were folded and stuck together. They used a “hangar” – a sword- like implement. This was heavy work and in general there were few women working in the heavy industries of Wales. The tinplate industry was an exception with some 15 per cent of the workforce being female, mainly young and single. 2 - The National Eisteddfod of Wales will be at Swansea from 5 to 12 August 2006. More information at www.eisteddfod.org.uk. 3 - Blue MacAskill studied at Camberwell College of Art, then the Ruskin School of Art in Oxford and recently completed her Masters in Fine Art at Wimbledon School of Art. She was awarded an Arts and Humanities Award in 2003. Recent exhibitions, film and video screenings in Athens, Klaipeda in Lithuania, Sweden, Cardiff, London, Winchester, Frome, Bristol and Oxford. MacAskill has written and published with Contemporary and Leisure Art magazine. MacAskill was recently nominated for 3 Swansea Bay Film Festival awards and announced as a most promising young filmmaker 2006. MacAskill lives/works between London and Llandrindod Wells,Powys. 4 - Award-winning Museum: The National Waterfront Museums has been selected for a RIBA Award and also received a commendation as part of the Structural Steel Design Awards. 5 - Summer events at the National Waterfront Museum: details on the website, or telephone (01792) 638950. The Museum is open every day from 10.00 to 17.00 (and until 20.00 on Wednesdays throughout August and September 06). Admission is free. For press information and interviews with Blue MacAskill contact: Fay Harris, Press and Marketing Officer, National Waterfront Museum, Swansea, telephone (01792) 638970; Email Fay Harris Date: 8 August 2006 >> Back to news headlines
|
|