Welcome to our Summer 2021 newsletter! Although it has been some time since our last update, our team has been as busy as ever – navigating the various lockdowns and restrictions – and working in partnership with others to support students, staff and artists, to develop the Collection and to build the cultural profile of the University.
In exciting behind-the-scenes news we have been planning and preparing for a new art store. Work has now started and we aim to complete the transfer in October. The new facility will ensure that the Collection is stored in much improved conditions – and will be more accessible for staff, students and researchers. In addition we are working with industry partners Open Eye Gallery to digitise the Collection and to host a Socially Engaged Photographer in Residence, who will work with local communities to increase understanding of the importance of the Collection. We are also working with art historian Alice Correia on a rehang of our Albert Adams collection, and planning ahead to an associated symposium in Spring 2022.
It feels like such an achievement to finally open the You Belong Here exhibition at Salford Museum and Art Gallery and launch The Storm Cone in Peel Park. The delivery of both has relied on the creativity, professionalism, determination and generosity of students, staff and external colleagues, as well as the patience, good humour and trust of the artists. A big and heartfelt thank you to you all!
The pandemic has been difficult for all, in different ways. However one silver lining has been the additional space and thinking time it has allowed some artists. Both Wu Yue and Anna Ridler were commissioned to make new work for the Collection in December 2019 following their selection from the Peer to Peer exhibition in Liverpool and Shanghai. Wu Yue has produced a fantastic series of images in Wuhan, telling some of the stories of the pandemic from the city it first emerged in. We look forward to sharing and exhibiting these works soon. Anna Ridler’s work with AI has evolved and developed in new ways - responding to our changing experiences of time and nature during lockdown - and the first iteration will be presented later this summer.
We have also enjoyed the online residencies hosted by Vital Capacities/videoclub, which offer artists accessible digital spaces to develop and share their practices. A co-commissioned video work by residency artist Seo Hye Lee launches later this week – more details below.
If you have missed your cultural fix during the pandemic, please do find time to experience these new works – either in person or online.
Lindsay Taylor
Curator
News
You Belong Here - Artists Rediscovering Salford's Green Spaces
Salford Museum & Art Gallery
Installation view: Rourke Heiss Photography
We are delighted to announce the new collaborative exhibition You Belong Here: Artists Rediscovering Salford's Green Spaces, has launched at Salford Museum & Art Gallery.
The exhibition features four new co-commissions with Salford-based artists Jack Brown, Cheddar Gorgeous, Hilary Jack and Lizzie King, each responding to Salford's green spaces, parks, architecture and local history. A selection of original historic artworks, photographs and archive materials from the University, Museum and The Lowry collections is also on display.
Jack Brown‘s installation and video-based works explore the more playful or mischievous uses of public spaces – following the ‘desire lines, tracks through the brambles and holes in the fence’ to explore ‘rope swings, secret dens, secluded corners and drinking spots’.
Inspired by local memories, rumours and history, Cheddar Gorgeoususes the art of drag to explore the story of 18th century figure, Madam Mort aka ‘the grey lady’ – now said to haunt the woodland in Little Hulton as a ghostly apparition.
Hilary Jackexplores the changing architecture of the city – from the historic mansions and mills to contemporary towerblocks and terraces. Her series of sculptural birdboxes question the impact of city growth on the local environment and wildlife populations.
Lizzie Kingresponds to Peel Park – somewhere she has enjoyed visiting since childhood. Her printmaking and photography based work focuses on the park bench as a symbol of rest, relaxation and belonging in public spaces: “the bench doesn’t ask us to do anything, it just asks us to be”
You Belong Here is co-curated by Salford Museum and Art Gallery and University of Salford Art Collection and is part of Rediscovering Salford, a city-wide collaborative programme which highlights and celebrates Salford’s green spaces, inspired by the launch of RHS Garden Bridgewater in May 2021. Elements of each of the commissions will be acquired into the University Art Collection. A wider programme of events and activities - both in person and online - will be announced soon.
The Storm Cone by Laura Daly, with music by Lucy Pankhurst
Augmented reality artwork at Peel Park, Salford
Image courtesy the artist
As part of You Belong Here and the wider Rediscovering Salford programme, we are excited to announce a new augmented reality (AR) artwork The Storm Cone by Laura Daly in Peel Park.
This immersive work was commissioned by the University of Salford Art Collection and Metal, and has been produced by students and staff at the University. The Storm Cone is experienced in Peel Park, at the site where the bandstand was originally located, through a free app and using headphones. It reveals the lost bandstands in our municipal parks and explores their forgotten histories. At its centre is a journey through music and sound that considers our relationship with the past, while charting the fading away of brass bands during the interwar years (1918 – 1939).
Initially it immerses the visitor in the 360˚ sound of a band performing as a full ensemble in the park. The AR allows the visitor to witness the ‘skeleton’ of a traditional bandstand and to move amongst the absent bandsmen, hearing the detail of every instrument, before following the departed musicians into eight spatial sound works, where solo musical phrases merge into new environments. An offsite version is also available on the project’s dedicated website, making The Storm Cone widely available.
The app was developed by students and staff from Games Design and the music performed, recorded and sound engineered by students, staff and friends of the University. A version of the work will be acquired into the University Art Collection, It is also presented at the site of the lost bandstand in Chalkwell Park, Southend as a permanent addition to Metal’s NetPark digital project.
The app is available for free on Apple and Android - visit the website to download and find out more.
Seo Hye Lee [sound of subtitles] (2021) still from video.
Working with videoclub in Brighton, we have co-commissioned artist Seo Hye Lee to make new work for the permanent collection as part of the Vital Capacities programme. This online residency programme, running through June and July, supports artists to develop new digital work and skills in an accessible online space - reaching audiences in the UK and internationally. The residency culminates in an online exhibition launching on 22nd July.
Seo Hye Lee uses the mediums of sound, illustration, and installation to experiment with new forms of narrative, creating playful pieces that challenge the idea of listening. Drawing inspiration from her own hearing loss experience, Seo Hye aims to explore the boundaries between hearing and listening: "regardless of your hearing skill, one can always listen in a variety of ways". Her new work uses archive footage to explore the ‘poetic language of the subtitle’.
The programme is also supported by Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network (FLAMIN) and Phoenix, with generous funding from Arts Council England. Read more on our website and at vitalcapacities.com - where you can also explore Seo Hye's online residency studio space.
Additional image credits: North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University, Bexley Local Studies & Archive Centre, London’s Screen Archives.
Castlefield Gallery and the University of Salford Art Collection are delighted to announce the new cohort for the 8th year of our annual Graduate Scholarship Programme.
This year, following a very competitive application process, we have awarded scholarships to five students from the Salford School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology: Katie Aird, BA (Hons) Photography; Daniel Callan, BA (Hons) Fine Art; Jeffrey Knopf, MA Contemporary Fine Art; Henna Mahmood, BA (Hons) Fine Art, and Sara Rawat, BA (Hons) Fine Art.
Each artist will receive tailored support including: a 12 month programme of mentoring, professional development opportunities, local and national trips, a bursary to spend on materials or travel, and studio space or a place on a programme with one of our industry partners; Hot Bed Press, Islington Mill, Paradise Works, and Redeye, The Photography Network.
Image 1: Sara Rawat El Hombre Que Vive Al Otro Lado Del Mar (The Man Who Lives Across Sea), (2021) Mixed media
Image 2: Jeffrey Knopf If not for the support of others (2021) Mixed media
Updates
Artists in Residence:
McCoy Wynne at Energy House, Salford
In December 2020 duo McCoy Wynne was announced as the Artist in Residence at Energy House – organised in collaboration with the University of Salford Art Collection and industry partners Open Eye Gallery.
Salford Energy House is the world’s first full sized, two bedroom, brick built terraced house constructed inside an environmentally controllable chamber. Collaborating with specialist staff in the solution-focused Energy House, the residency explores positive solutions to the climate crisis.
Stephanie Wynne reflects on the first stage of their residency:
‘We found entering the space a quite surreal experience, passing through many doorways to then enter into another complete building, much like walking into a Russian Doll. The interior of the Energy House had the been stripped of its furnishings and looked like a building awaiting new owners, with left behind glimpses of its previous occupants. Wires and sensors trail across the floors and dangle from ceilings like invading plant life we have so often seen in abandoned buildings. The house is monitored, measured and observed. Whilst inside, one is aware of being part of that monitoring, of being watched, moving from room to room, raising the temperature and exhaling CO2. In contrast there is a non-view looking out, just the walls of the encasing building. The link to the outside world and the relevance of the experiment is through its researchers and scientists. We are developing the work via these themes, through continued visits and discourse with the Energy House team. Watch this space!’
Read more about the artists and project on our website
Coming Soon
Circadian Bloom by Anna Ridler
Salford Museum & Art Gallery
New commission Circadian Bloom by Anna Ridler will launch at Salford Museum & Art Gallery in August, before being shown further in the UK and internationally.
Anna works with Artificial Intelligence to explore the ways in which we understand, categorise and interpret the world around us. Inspired by the botanist Carl Linnaeus, known as the ‘father of modern taxonomy’ for his work on naming plants, Anna has developed a new screen-based digital work on his concept of the ‘Flower Clock’. In his research, Linnaeus noticed that certain flowers open and close at different times of day, which hypothetically would allow us to tell the time of day using knowledge of these species. Using complex algorithms and an AI programme that keeps time to an atomic level, Anna aims to make the ‘flower clock’ a reality. Through exploring a non-human way of marking time, Anna’s work also reflects on the re-connection with the natural world that many of us have experienced during lockdown. Follow our blog for news and updates.
Image: Circadian Bloom (California Poppy) (2021)
Alumni News
Elliot Flanagan: Monuments
27 July at Push Festival, HOME
Alumni and graduate scholar (2017/18) Elliot Flanagan has been selected for the Spit That Out programme at Push Festival, HOME, Manchester. Film work Monument (2020) documents rural walks during the ritual of daily exercise in lockdown, and was originally commissioned by Spot On Lancashire.
The festival, which showcases artists based in or from the North West, will take place in person at HOME Cinema as well as online. Find out more and book tickets here.
Image: Monument (2020) still from video
News from our friends & partners
Craig Easton - Photographer of the Year
The World Photography Organisation is delighted to announce esteemed documentarian and Salford alumnus Craig Easton has been named Photographer of the Year in the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards 2021 for his series Bank Top.
Craig originally studied Physics at the University in the 1980s, finding his passion for photography after joining the camera society in his spare time. In 2019, the University of Salford Art Collection worked with Craig on touring exhibition Sixteen, acquiring two works from the project for the permanent collection.
Redeye, The Photography Network are accepting applications for the Photography Graduate Mentoring Scheme 2021, open for any 2021 BA Graduates (including those from joint honours or equivalent courses). The aim is to contribute to a strong flow of new talent into photography in the UK. It’s free for selected participants, and has a very simple application process. Find out more here.
OPPORTUNITY:
Mark Devereux Projects: STUDIOBOOK {ONLINE}
Mark Devereux Projects are calling for applications for STUDIOBOOK {ONLINE} – a 3 month artist professional development course featuring workshops & one-to-one mentoring sessions surrounding a wide array of subjects. Deadline: 30th July. Visit the MDP website for full info.
EXHIBITION: Islington Mill - Place in the Community
Place in the Community is a social research project produced by Islington Mill and David Partington of Partington’s Pots that uses creative responses to place Islington Mill in its local and regional contexts. This exhibition to accompany the project so far will share a range of creative works that explore Islington Mill as an important piece of Salford’s heritage.
Activities on the day will include clay workshops, writing stations and oral history interviews for anyone who wants to take part. 24 July, 2-6pm, all welcome, free entry. Visit the website for more info.
EXHIBITION: Paradise Works - NHS
Paradise Works is delighted to present NHS, a group exhibition curated by Division of Labour and Kieran Leach. Originally planned to open prior to the 2020 pandemic, this timely exhibition takes its inspiration from the truism by Stuart Hall; “The NHS is one of the most humanitarian acts that has ever been undertaken in Peace Time.”
Preview: 22nd of July 6-9pm. Visit the website for further opening times and information.
COVID-19:
All dates and details are accurate at time of publication but may be altered in line with the latest Covid guidelines. Please check our website for the latest details, and follow the latest safety guidance at each venue when visiting any in-person events.
Contact the team
You can reach us at:
Email: artcollection@salford.ac.uk
Twitter: @UoSArts
