AirSpace Gallery

9 go to Tatton Park

Friends and family of AirSpace gathered at the gardens in Tatton Park to see the first Tatton Park Biennial. A light stroll around the gardens led to the discovery of installations hidden within the flora and fauna. A pleasant surprise to see David Blandy first on the list of artists; Blandy exhibited in one of AirSpace’s AirVideo events in 2007 Although disappointing was that we were unable to see the work due to a limited screening timetable.

Other memorable sights were Heather and Ivan Morison’s Escape Vehicle; an impressive construction made from wood found at the park that offered the serving of a drink of tea for visitors; and Tessa Farmer and Sean Daniels’ Nest of the Skeletons and weird but wonderful animation hidden in the fernery.

Not wanting to waste the beautiful day we settled down for a glass of wine and barbeque (home made treats) before a closing ceremony of kiting, rabbit hole rounders and a Frisbee off!

For some interesting action shots see www.annafrancis.blogspot.com

Constructed Opera becomes Permanent Feature

With a bombardment of art exhibitions, public art interventions and music and video events across the city the Axis Festival and AirSpace Gallery have given Stoke on Trent a glimpse of how fun and inspiring art in the city can be.

We saw everything from fly posters, wrapped lamp posts and gallery exhibitions to live art in shops, installations in bars and guerrilla video art on the Victoria Hall.

Following the success of the visual arts programme it has been requested that one piece of temporary work become permanent. In the same spirit as Anthony Gormley’s statues at Crosby Beach were cherished to such an extent that they were eventually declared a permanent feature; the Victoria Hall in Hanley have requested that Rebecca Huxley’s ‘Place, Movement and Sound’ remains permanently on the windows leading up the stairway towards the rear of the building.

Commissioned by the AirSpace Gallery as part of the diverse Axis Festival Visual Arts programme Huxley’s work consists of giant geometric shapes taped onto large windows. Described as a ‘constructed opera of line and pattern’ the work is reminiscent of stained glass windows, capturing the light and projecting coloured shapes inside the building.

Raw Material- Liz Lock and Mishka Henner.

As a finale to the Place, Space and Identity project in Stoke on Trent, the AirSpace Gallery hosted an exhibition of documentary photographs of the events that took place, the people that were in involved and a recording of thoughts of Stoke on Trent throughout the project. The artists were Liz Lock and Mishka Henner, commissioned as part of the Place, Space and Identity project.

From first walking past the AirSpace window you felt the sombre atmosphere that would greet you inside the gallery. Derelict buildings and melancholy portraits are an all too familiar sight in the city during the regeneration. People looking to the past to what the city has lost and is still losing; but you do not have to look to closely to see that hidden amongst the sombre imagery are some light hearted photographs that hint towards the future and a brighter city. Artists dressed in wrestling costumes remind us of what the people of Stoke on Trent are good at and what they enjoy and the cast of The Wizard of Oz in costume tells of the numerous theatres the city boasts.

Although the overriding reputation of Stoke on Trent says that we are 10 years behind other cities, and we cannot help but feel that the regeneration seems to be taking away our history, we are still an existing city. The people of Stoke on Trent are living here and moving forward, glimpses of light speckle the city, from a football team moving up to the premier league to an art gallery bringing in international contemporary artists. Perhaps it is time that Stoke on Trent ceases looking back to what we have been and starts looking forward to what we can be.

AirSpace contemporary art gallery is celebrating it’s second birthday by announcing 12 months of imaginative and innovative shows and exhibitions in the heart of Stoke on Trent.

The programme begins next week with a subtle and beautiful exhibition of contemporary lensless photography by women.

TITLE: Look; differently

DATES: Preview 1^st July 6pm -9pm, 1^st July – 12^th July

OPEN: Tuesday to Saturday 11am – 5pm

By IRIS

an International Women’s Photographic Research Resource, internationally recognised as an innovative, leading-edge visual arts and culture centre, based at Loughborough University.

Artists

Lisa Reddig

Alessandra Capodacqua
Heidi Crabbe
Katy Flaherty

Undergraduate artists
Chloë Butler (please note the ë)
Sarah Elson

In this age of glossy, push button high-tech gadgetry, it’s a refreshing change to come across a widely used photographic tool which is essentially a box with a hole in it. It’s a camera, and these particular models are often home made. The pictures are taken by simply opening the tiny hole, (made by a household needle) by removing a bit of black tape, and waiting until the exposure is completed. This can take anything from a few minutes to several hours.

Curator of the exhibition and visiting lecturer on the BA photography course at Staffordshire University Mort Marsh, explains “Pinhole photography, is the antithesis of Cartier Bresson’s ‘decisive moment’, not that instant captured between each taken breath, but more the long languid exhale after close contemplation.”

Mort, who has been involved with IRIS since 2003, firstly as a student, and then employed to oversee the development and re-branding of the project, has selected work for this exhibition from graduates and undergraduates from both Loughborough and Staffordshire University. She goes to say “pinhole photography is a unique way of exploring subject matter, because it takes much longer to produce and allows the artist to become more involved in the object or view. There’s also an element of risk, in that there is no viewfinder so the results can be surprising and unexpected”

There are 17 items in this show, from 6 artists, and the work ranges from the very small 3 x 5 inches up to larger 12 x 12 inch pieces.

AirSpace Gallery

Would like to invite you to our next exhibition ‘Raw Material’ works by Liz Lock and Mishka Henner

The exhibition is open the 16^th June – 21^st June 11am – 5pm.

The Preview is on the 17^th 6-9pm

On entering the 21st century, much emphasis is placed on the need for
northern towns and cities to develop aspirational identities to attract
outside investors and succeed in the global marketplace. Having worked in
the north of England for the past four years, Lock & Henner came to North Staffordshire
between October 2007 and April 2008 and found a landscape scarred by
economic forces that have left deep psychological and physical wounds.
Throughout our series, motifs associated with vulnerability and a coming of
age appear alongside motifs of role-play and faith.

Raw Material was commissioned by Arts Council England West Midlands and is
an exploration of North Staffordshire, a territory rich in cultural and
artistic heritage seeking to forge a new identity in a post-industrial era.

Best Regards

AirSpace Gallery