While it is known internationally for its annual media arts prize and September festival, Ars Electronica is also firmly rooted in its home city of Linz, Austria thanks to its stunning building and work with schools. Chris Sharratt talks to artistic director Gerfried Stocker who explains how, 20 years after he joined the organisation, the relationship between local and global working remains crucial to its success.
After an £8million redevelopment project designed to open up new dialogues between its collections of decorative and fine art, York Art Gallery is preparing to reopen. Amelia Crouch speaks to the curator of the gallery’s core collection of ceramic art Helen Walsh, and to fine art curator Laura Turner, about how this dialogue is continuing with a series of new commissions by contemporary artists.
The London and Mull-based artist Charles Avery discusses his ongoing project, The Islanders, and its evolution for a new site-specific commission as part of this year’s Edinburgh Art Festival.
The Curating the Campus symposium, held to mark the launch of the University of Leeds’ Public Art Strategy, brought together speakers from across the UK to discuss commissioning and presenting public art on campus. Amelia Crouch reports.
Originally published in this year’s a-n Degree Shows Guide, Steven Bode, director of Film and Video Umbrella, discusses the challenges faced by moving image work at degree shows.
Artist Anthony Schrag is walking to Venice and invites artists and members of the public to join him along his route. Organised by Deveron Arts, Lure of the Lost: A Contemporary Pilgrimage questions the temptations of La Biennale.
For Dark Matters, Edinburgh Printmakers has commissioned nine artists to create work in collaboration with astronomers and space engineers at the University of Edinburgh and the UK Astronomical Technology Centre. Richard Taylor sheds some light on the project.
Art in Bearpit is a new programme of temporary art works for a public realm, community-led regeneration scheme in Bristol city centre, produced by the artist-led group Hand in Glove. Pippa Koszerek reports.
Our series looking at Digital R&D Fund visual arts initiatives continues with NetPark, a project instigated by Metal in Southend-on-Sea and produced by artist and curator Simon Poulter.
The fourth b-side multimedia festival is set entirely on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, creating site-specific work that includes performance, installation and film work. Dany Louise talks to the director of this distinctive and nuanced ten-day event.
Sovay Berriman’s latest, self-funded project will take her to Mongolia and Australia searching for ‘markers and boundaries of experience’ in desert landscapes, and researching the correlation between those landscapes and the narratives of the people that inhabit them. We spoke to the artist as she prepared for the first leg of her journey.
Yann Seznec’s Edinburgh Art Festival commission, Currents, uses recycled computer fans and digital technology to recreate global wind patterns in a former police box. Chris Sharratt finds out more.
The seventh Whitstable Biennale opened on Saturday with a variety of one-off performances and a series of new film commissions. Dany Louise reports from the small fishing town on the Kent coast.
Chisenhale Gallery, The Showroom and Studio Voltaire reveal how their artistic and research ethos will lead the way for their fundraising priorities in their joint, Catalyst fund-supported project, How to work together.
All a-n’s UK Artist + AIR members get free, specially tailored public and products liability insurance with their annual membership. Here, a-n’s Director outlines why making sure you’re properly covered is essential for every practising artist.
From the Turner Prize to the recent Lumiere festival, the visual arts has played an important role in Derry-Londonderry’s 12 months as the first UK City of Culture. But as the year draws to a close, what will its legacy be for art and artists in the city?
The new Serpentine Sackler Gallery, designed by award-winning architect Zaha Hadid, is an impressive new London art space – but it’s the inaugural, site-specific exhibition by the Argentinian artist Adrián Villar Rojas that steals the show.
Working internationally is key to the development of many artists’ practice, but without gallery representation the hurdles are considerable. With the 55th Venice Biennale soon to open, we speak to three artists – including one showing in Venice – about the challenges of working abroad without a gallery, and also get the views of an independent curator.
As the debate continues around Margaret Thatcher’s legacy ahead of her all-but state funeral, one thing is sure – the influence of her actions and ideas continues to be felt across the UK. Formed in the midst of her first term, a-n is no exception. Here, Director Susan Jones remembers the dawn of Thatcherism and trawls the a-n archive for pertinent references to the Iron Lady and her policies.
Unlike many international art biennials, Liverpool Biennial has deep roots in its host city’s contemporary art scene. As the festival reaches an intriguing point in its 13-year history, with a new director and considerably reduced budget, we assess its importance to the city’s visual arts infrastructure.
