London-based artist Onyeka Igwe has mined colonial-era archives for three new films inspired by all-women protests against British rule in west Africa, currently showing together in the solo exhibition ‘No Dance, No Palaver’, in Hawick, Scotland. She discusses the spectre of the ‘colonial gaze’ and the ethics of archive research with Sonya Dyer.
A year on from its Unite Against Dividers weekend, Keep It Complex’s recent Organise With Others event was designed to build on the initial weekend’s aim to equip and activate the arts community after the UK’s EU Referendum. Julie McCalden reports on a productive and informative day.
Nicola Naismith is the recipient of the Clore Visual Artist Fellowship, which for the second year is supported by a-n. She explains how she feels about being the 2017-18 fellow, its relevance to her art practice, and what she hopes to get out of the year.
In November, the London-based artist Heather Phillipson won the £10,000 Jarman Award, which recognises cutting edge, experimental artists’ film. She reflects on the highs and lows of a “mountain range kind of year”.
As part of the Super Slow Way programme in Lancashire, Los Angeles-based artist Suzanne Lacy is bringing the local community together through Sufi chanting, shape-note singing and a banquet for 500 people. Bob Dickinson finds out more.
The Salford-based artist Maurice Carlin hopes to use his time as the first-ever Clore Visual Artist Fellow to, among other things, “change perceptions… of what it means to be an artist”. He shares his thoughts on the fellowship, its personal and wider significance, and why artists – and the artist-led sector in particular – need to recognise the importance of good leadership.
The photographic artist Wolfgang Tillmans has created a series of posters against Brexit and highlighting what he believes are the humanitarian and democratic benefits of the UK remaining within the European Union.
Film and performance artist Doug Fishbone’s latest project is an alternative take on bus tours around Aberdeen for the Look Again Festival. Jack Hutchinson finds out more.
With recent high-profile appointments of women in the visual arts, from Frances Morris as the new director of Tate Modern to Sarah Munro at Baltic, gender equality and the underrepresentation of female artists in the UK’s major art galleries has been put in the spotlight. Dany Louise speaks to female gallery directors who are making sure that the issue gets the attention it deserves.
CVAN’s recent The Value of Artists event at Leeds Art Gallery was billed as a ‘national conversation’. Leeds-based artist Amelia Crouch went along and found plenty to talk about but room for more discussion.
It’s been a busy and fruitful year for a-n/AIR’s Paying Artists campaign, with plenty of activity across the UK and internatioanally. Paying Artists Project Manager Julie McCalden looks back over 2015.
British Art Show 8 opens in Leeds on Friday 9 October and the city – currently bidding to be European Capital of Culture 2023 – is responding with a raft of additional activity. Leeds-based writers and artists Amelia Crouch and Lara Eggleton report on what the city’s homegrown and artist-led organisations are up to as Leeds City Council throws its support behind a showcase of the city’s buoyant visual arts scene.
The South African artist William Kentridge is a staple of international art biennials, a critically acclaimed art superstar known for his theatrical, thoughtful work. With an exhibition featuring two new films currently showing at London’s Marian Goodman Gallery, Dany Louise discovers more about the politics and processes behind his art.
In the lead up to its centenary celebrations, the Ben Uri Gallery – which presents work of Jewish interest or by Jewish artists – has curated No Set Rules, an exhibition of works on paper from its own collection and that of Philip Schlee. Dany Louise visits the small space and discovers more about its history and ambitions.
The artist Gordon Shrigley is running in the general election on a no-policies ticket. In a piece originally published on The Conversation, Lois Rowe speaks to him and declares herself unconvinced by his campaign tactics.
Brighton-based artist Joseph Young is presenting his Revolution #10 project to MPs and their guests at the House of Commons on 11 March. He explains the genesis of the project and what it’s like to stand around in the street dressed like a politician.
David Hevey, CEO of Shape Arts, reflects on the past two years of the Shape Transforming Leadership programme, sharing what he learned from adopting a combination of radical, diverse and creative approaches, with some ‘old-school’ business tools.
As part of their Bank Job project in Walthamstow, Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn have printed ‘money’ and bonds as a way to write off personal debt in the community. Artist Alistair Gentry, who has been involved in the initiative, talks to them as they prepare for a symbolic ‘Big Bang’ event in the City.
The recent Brexit Conference organised by the Creative Industries Federation gathered together Leavers and Remainers, political journalists and politicians, and a wide range of delegates working in the arts and culture, in an attempt to make sense of what Brexit will mean to the sector. Dany Louise reports.
As part of their travel bursary to visit Documenta 14 in Kassel, a-n members have been sharing their views on the quinquennial via a-n Reviews and Blogs. AIR Council member Joseph Young, who visited Documenta at the same time, presents a snapshot of their thoughts and reflections.
London-based Spanish artist Maria Arceo uses installation to explore the human manipulation of the natural world. Her latest work for the Totally Thames festival features a giant footprint constructed from thousands of plastic objects found along the river. Jack Hutchinson visits her studio and discusses the environmental issues her work highlights.
Talks, tours, seminars, workshops, DIY building, chopping, cooking, eating: just some of the activities undertaken by artists at a-n’s Assembly events throughout May and June 2017. Here we pull together a collection of images from the events in Margate, Liverpool, Bristol, Newcastle and Leeds.
Now in its third year, the Antiuniversity Now festival features over 100 free events and workshops taking place across the UK. Pippa Kozserek talks to co-organisers Shiri Shalmy and Emma Winch.
The key themes on the agenda at this year’s No Boundaries conference, supported by Arts Council England and the British Council, emerged as community, inclusivity and socially responsible citizenship. Sophia Crilly reports.
As a member of Artangel’s production team, Laura Purseglove is used to site-specific working and navigating the complexities of staging art projects in historic buildings. All of which will be useful experience for her role at ACE Trust, where over the next two years she will be developing a programme of exhibitions and commissions for churches and cathedrals throughout the UK. Pippa Koszerek finds out more.