Venue
TOMA Project Space
Starts
Saturday, October 2, 2021
Ends
Saturday, January 15, 2022
Address
Unit 13, Royals Shopping Centre, Southend, SS1 1DG
Location
South East England
Organiser
TOMA (The Other MA)

Tend To It                                                                                                         

Group show from TOMA 2019-2021 artists

@ TOMA Project Space, Unit 13, Royals Shopping Centre, Southend, SS1 1DG

 

Opening: Saturday 2 October 2021 12-6pm

Then with usual opening times: Saturday 12-6pm + Sunday 12-5pm

Closes Saturday 15 January 2022.

FREE performance in the gallery by Milky Genes : 4:30pm and 5:30pm on Saturday 2 October.

 

The 2019-2021 TOMA (The Other MA) cohort present their end of year show: Tend to it. An instruction that doubles as a confession.

 

The pandemic gives the finger to ordinary life, forces a mutation in domestic space, rips at the cracks in the system, gnaws at the flimsy membrane between virtual and real life. Daft, meticulous, ancient, tender, critical and mysterious: the works in this exhibition show the approaches our 12 artists took to find meaning, safety and a sense of humour in a time of crisis.

 

How has it affected our art making? Why do we make art? And what happens when we are faced with death?  This show explores how even in a crisis we must tend to our needs to create. Raid the larder, stroke the euphoric parceltape, pass through the silky curtain, take a moment, go back in time, ooze into a queer new landscape, journey through screens, pause in isolation, ponder reused, reborn found objects. This exhibition shows how we tend to it.

 

2019-2021 TOMA cohort artists:

Bella Street Fenn

Jessica Scott

Jon Rust

Lu Williams

Maria Bird

Mark Hicken

Milky Genes

Ruth Hazel aka Fanny Von Beaverhausen

Peter Haugh

Philippa Stewart

Paige Ockendon

Victoria Sills

 

The Other MA (TOMA) is a 21st century art education programme shaped by its participants and designed to fit the everyday lives of contemporary artists. TOMA is currently the only postgraduate level art programme in Essex after all others were stopped by their host Universities. It was set up to offer responsive, affordable, accessible unaccredited art education to artists. Founded in 2016 TOMA was set up in partnership with Metal and is now an indie CIC. TOMA is artist-run and based in Southend-on-Sea. Thank you to Arts Council England for funding towards our Project Space programme + The Royals Shopping Centre + Metal Southend for supporting us with the space.

 

* Website: www.toma-art.com * Instagram: @theotherma * Email: [email protected]