New Gallery Opens in Centre of BathPage 2

February/March 2009 www.bana-arts.co.uk

Applying to the RWA A Personal ViewPage 8

Regional Spotlight:Market Town of Cor-sham Page 6

7 Profiles of BANA members

9 A BANA member discusses his application to the RWA

2 Sophie Ryder back in Bath

6 A look at the arts in the BANA locale - this issue focuses on Corsham

‘

February/March 20092

Editorial and News

Fresh Air 2009

Inside this issue...

Editorial 2News 3News on Fresh Air 2009, BANA’s Open View Exhibition 09, Solsbury Hill...

Regional Spotlight 6This issue we look at the arts in the Wiltshire town of Corsham

Members Profile 7Profiles of BANA members Melissa Wishart and artists’ group No Added Sugar

Article 8Frank Taylor discusses his application to the RWA

Listings & Opportunities 10All the latest exhibitions, arts related events and courses in the BANA area. Look here for the latest opportunities, including competitions, submissions, art projects and jobs.

Classifieds 12

BANA membership includes:• A membership card that offers discount at selected art outlets around Bath.• A bi-monthly newsletter full of news views and opportunities.• Regular emails of opportunities• A page on the BANA website for one image and artists statement.• Access to networking events allowing you to meet other artists.• An annual CPD Handbook • The opportunity to have Public Liability cover at reasonable cost.• Access to Continuing Professional Development opportunities.• The option of joining and taking part in the BANA Skills Exchange. • The opportunity to submit work for BANA exhibitions. To join simply write to us at the address given on page 4 or go to www.bana-arts.co.uk and click on the join BANA button to use our printable forms.

Want to join BANA?

Welcome...

As the economic gloom continues to cast shawdows over all news and events which currently surface in the media, it is encourag-ing to see so many forthcoming events and happenings in the visual arts. In this issue you can read about exhibition opportuni-ties, new galleries, the forthcoming BANA Open View exhibition and much more.

Also in this issue we have a fascinat-ing article from BANA member Frank Taylor, who recently success-fully applied to and exhibited at the Royal West of England Academy’s annual show, enlightening us on the applica-tion process. We have the third in our series of Regional Focus articles, which looks at Corsham, the home of the former Bath Academy of Art. Many thanks to Andrea Garrihy for writing the piece.

Thank you to those who have continued to make positive comments about the new look newsletter - we are working hard to keep it lively and informative. The work load is quite large, and one aim for the redevelopment of the newsletter is to make it more integrated

with the member-ship. To this end, I am interested in finding a volunteer who would like to help with the compi-lation of the listings. This would involve scouting for oppor-tunites, exhibitions etc. and laying them out for publication. The benefits for the volunteer are that you get to learn how

to desktop publish, and you’ll know exactly what is happening where! If you are inter-ested in getting involved please email me at newsletter@bana-arts.co.uk.

Andrea Garrihy - Rocky with Helmet

Helga Watkins-Baker, Editor

FreshAir 09 is looking to build upon its suc-cess in 2007 with an excellent show for 2009. The biennial sculpture exhibition provides a unique opportunity to see a creative mixture of traditionally modern and cutting-edge contempo-rary work in a stunning outdoor setting.

FreshAir 07 was a great success and showed outdoor sculpture by more than 90 artists who worked in a variety of materials such as bronze, resin, metal, ceramics, glass, stone, wood, wil-low and cloth. The exhibition takes place in the garden and grounds of Quenington Old Rectory, the beautiful Cotswold home of Lucy and David Abel Smith. It aims to promote and sell the work of local, national and international artists, and to provide a forum for education in the visual arts. Young, emerging sculptors have an opportunity to exhibit alongside more established artists and bursaries are awarded to talented artists as development opportunities.

The next event will take place from Sunday June 14th until Saturday July 4th. It will be open 10am - 5pm every day including Sundays. All artists work is for sale at prices ranging from £50 - £50,000. Catalogues will be for sale at £5. A beautifully illustrated book of the 2007 exhibi-tion with photographs by Andy Eaves.contains an interview with Lucy Abel Smith and art historian, Alan Wilkinson.It is availble from the address below

Brian Usher at Fresh Air

InFo/Ana Bianchi Tel: 01285 750379Mob: 07785 931021Email: abianchi@freshair2009.comThe Quenington Sculpture Trust, Quening-ton Old Rectory, Cirencesterwww.freshair2009.com

Artists who would like to exhibit in Fresh Air 09 are asked to apply before 1st March 2009. The deadline for bursaries is 15th February. Sculptures and installations must be suitable for exhibiting outside and work will be chosen by a committee.

February/March 2009 3

News

The Bo.Lee Gallery has recently opened in the centre of Bath, in close proximity to the Theatre Royal and Queen Square. The space is based over two floors and will show a selection of both UK based and international, emerging and mid career artists, working with a strong narrative that encour-ages the imagination and challenges the viewer’s perceptions by stepping beyond the boundaries of traditions.

Gallery owner and curator Jemma Hickman places a firm emphasis on the management and support with the aim of building strong relationships with artists and offering a bespoke service to clients.

‘The Launch’, the gallery’s first show, introduces a selection of US and UK based artists. These include recent Bath Spa University graduate Jonny Carter who will show a new series of highly technical and painstakingly detailed drawings.The consistent rhythm and technique of the drawing forms shim-mering surfaces that mimic mechanical reproduc-tions. These surfaces show traces of the time and thinking involved throughout the rigorous and meditative process.

Lawrence Chile’s figurative paintings begin with incongruous snapshot photographs of strangers and friends. Abstracted and reinterpreted on canvas they seek to expose something absurd, funny, grotesque and unnerving.

With her new series of paintings New York based Adela Leibowitz takes the viewer on a voyeuristic journey somewhere between The Shining and Alice in Wonderland. The work focuses on the female psyche and draws its’ imagery from romantic 19th century literature scenery as well as vintage horror movies. Influenced by Jung and Freud’s theories, Lei-

bowitz plays with women’s psyches, counteracting primitive and developed, socially conscious instincts.

Yuko Nasu has exhibited in a number of high profile group shows, notably Bloomberg New Con-temporaries and Art Futures, London in 2007. Nasu paints portraits inspired by the saturation of faces she encounters everyday. These gestural smears of paint almost remove the features from the face, leaving behind a trace of an eye or hint of a mouth. Nasu is interested in painting a ‘nobody’, someone who reminds the audience of someone they may know.

Alice Wisden’s work rebounds around a collection

of frustrations, anxieties and questions challeng-ing the identity of the individual. The characters she paints form a unit within the identity of the individual, which is first formulated then challenged. Wisden views her subject’s internal relationship as a family narrative, a violent power struggle to do with dominance. Further information about the show can be found on the website at www.bo-lee.co.uk

Adela Leibowitz - History of Sin

InFo/Exhibition 3rd February until 28th February.Bo.Lee Gallery, 1 Queen Street Bath BA1 1HETel: 07970 492858

Bo.Lee Gallery launched

Solsbury Hill - Chronicles of a Road Protest

An important exhibition opening this month will show photographs taken at the Solsbury Hill road protest. In the 1990s the Batheaston bypass threatened to slice through a chunk

of Solsbury Hill and a new breed of protest was born. Awardwinning human rights and environment photographer Adrian Arbib docu-mented the protest. Some photos made the pages of the Guardian but a lot of them didn’t.

The photo book ‘Solsbury Hill: Chronicle of a Road Protest’ will be launched at the exhibi-tion.The exhibition will also then be shown at the Bath Central Library until the 8th March as part of the Bath Literature Festival.Talks by the artist will take place on1st March 3- 4pm Bath Central Library, The Podium, and a further talk on the 7th March 1-2pm at the Guildhall . Also see the website www.solsburyhill.org.uk

InFo/Open 17th February to the 28th FebruaryWalcot Chapel, Walcot Gate off Walcot St, Bath BA1 5UG

Tickets for the talks are available via the Bath Literature Festival - Tel: 01225 462231

Preparations are under way for BANA’s bi-annual Open View exhibi-tion, where BANA members are given the opportunity to exhibit their work. This is your opportunity to be part of your network by submitting work for the exhibition in September. Any BANA member can submit 3 works, of which one will be chosen and displayed in a professional gallery setting. Start thinking about what you would like to submit as we will be emailing you soon with the submis-sion details. The exhibition this year will run from Friday 18th – Saturday 26th September 2009. We also need some artists to help us with setting up and marketing or getting sponsor-ship for the exhibition - please con-tact the office if you are interested.Email: enquiries@bana-arts.co.uk.

BANA Open View 2009

February/March 20094

Sophie Ryder - The Kiss

News

EdIToR/ Helga Watkins-Baker

ConTRIBUToRS/ Andrea GarrihyMelissa WishartToni RobinsonGordon DickinsonFrank TaylorHelga Watkins-Baker

dESIGnEd By/ Nicola Prestonwww.nicolapreston.co.uk

PUBLISHEd By/ banapublishing

PRInTEd By/ PrintCarrier, Derbyshirewww.printcarrier.com

PLEASE SEnd Any ConTRIBUTIonS To/BANA, The Old MalthouseComfprtable Place,Upper Bristol Road,Bath, BA1 3AJT/ 01225 471714E/ newsletter@bana-arts.co.uk

nEST ISSUE/April/May 2009

nExT ISSUE CoPy dEAdLInE/9th March 2009

nExT CommITTEE mEETInG/Monday 16th February, 7.30pm at the BANA Office.

The views expressed in the newsletter are not necessarily those of the editor and of the publishers. All content is copyright to the authors, artists and photographers who provided it.

Large print version of the newsletter is avaliable from office T/ 01225 471714

After the runaway success of her 1999 show entitled ‘Life Force’ at Bath and North East Somerset Council’s Victoria Art Gallery, acclaimed sculptor Sophie Ryder is back with a thought provoking new exhibition of large scale sculptures and wire drawings.

The new exhibition will be on display from Saturday, 4 April until 10 June 2009. There will also be a Sophie Ryder trail involving a range of other venues and open spaces, including Bath Abbey and Abbey Church Yard.

Jon Benington, Manager of the Victoria Art Gallery, said: “Bath & North East Somerset Council is delighted to welcome Sophie Ryder

back with her latest exciting collection of work. The exhibits include monumental half-human, half-hare figures that the visitor can touch and interact with by means of pathways cutting through the middle of the sculpture.”

“In her new work, Ryder is less concerned with narratives involving a cast of charac-ters. Now the focus is much more on single figures and their inner states of being – often reflected by the enclosed or encircling poses that they adopt. These inner states include sleeping, dreaming, watchfulness, withdrawal and self-protection. They reflect the artist’s concern for recent events that have had a glo-bal impact, such as 9:11 and the ever present threat from terrorism and environmental disasters.”

Also included are giant wire drawings and sculptures of hands and eyes, isolated from their anatomical contexts. These pieces stress the humanity that lies at the core of Ryder’s work, even in the ‘hybrid’ figures that are half animal and half human.

For over 20 years, Sophie Ryder has con-sistently found a warm reception for her work in Bath. She studied at the Royal Academy Schools and is in great demand at exhibitions and art fairs all over the world. Many of these works have been monumental in scale and placed in outdoor settings.

She lives with her husband and two chil-

Sophie Ryder: New Sculptures and Wire Drawings

Re-Route at the DGCThe Contemporary Craft Fellowship Scheme

is a pilot project supporting mid-career makers of contemporary craft in the South West – it has awarded five development bursaries to be spent over a year long period. A new exhibition at the Devon Guild of Craftsmen celebrates these jour-neys. Each Fellow has embarked on this project with a desire to try something new, to research new ways of working or to just take time out from the pressures of their businesses and of continued creativity.

The exhibition will show experimental and fin-ished work alongside documentation in all sorts of media from personal diaries to film. The show features Fabrizia Bazzo (Architectural Glass), Jenny Beavan (Ceramics), Katie Bunnell & Jessie Higginson (Ceramics), Janet Stoyel (Textiles) and Fionna Hesketh (Jewellery).

Alongside the show a Critical Review Day will be held at theTown Hall in Bovey Tracey. Ten places are available on this mid career critique day. Participants are asked to bring work and ideas to discuss and gain valuable feedback and

review in a confidential setting with a panel of leading artists, educators and curators - Helen Carnac, Paul Harper and Mary La Trobe-BatemanInFo/Exhibition runs from Sat 14th March - Sun 26th April. Critical Review Workshop: Wed 22nd April 10am - 5.30pm. For more info contact the Devon Guild. Tel 01626 832223. Email devonguild@crafts.org.uk, www.crafts.org.uk.

Fabrizia Bazzo - Kilnformed Glass

February/March 2009 5

Sophie Ryder - Introspective

News

dren in the Cotswolds where she creates her work in a studio converted from a cow byre.

Jon Benington added: “The idea of making three-dimensional sculptures entirely from wire was pioneered by Sophie Ryder. She be-gins with a metal armature, which is covered with wire of different thickness, including bed springs and other pieces salvaged from skips.”

“To shape the wire she uses her bare hands and pliers, sometimes aided by a ham-mer. It is a very physical job and tough on the hands, which inevitably get filthy and cut to ribbons.”

InFo/The exhibition runs from 4th April to 10th June 2009, Tues to Fri 10am-5.30pm, Sat 10am-5pm and Sun 2pm-5pmVictoria Art Gallery, Bridge Street,Bathwww.victoriagal.org.uk

The Royal Photographic Society has an-nounced the first winner of their major new bursary for young photographers – the ‘RPS Jeff Vickers Genix Imaging Bursary’.

Three bursaries, which can be spent on equipment, facilities or travel, are being sponsored by Jeff Vickers FRPS, Chairman of Genix Imaging, in celebration of his 50-year

career in the photographic industry. Jeff Vickers is well-known as one of the UK’s most successful photographers. Genix’s work can be seen on every high street and having started young himself, Vickers is only too aware how important it is to nurture tal-ent from an early age.

Philip Volkers, winner of the first RPS Jeff Vickers Genix Imaging Bursary, welcomed his award. “Digital technology has inspired me with new ways to capture and manipu-late my vision,” he said. “As with all new technology, however, it is heavily computer reliant... the bursary will greatly benefit my career by enabling me to purchase a high-quality monitor, computer, software and storage drives for the constant flow of new images that I generate.” The bursaries aim to inspire and encourage young photogra-phers to excel in the field and applicants must demonstrate a flair for imaging and creativity in their work, together with enthusiasm and dedication in order to be successful.

InFo/For further details on how to apply for the Bursary, contact Liz Williams at the RPS on 01225 325733 or visit: www.rps.org/educa-tion/Bursary-Information

RPS announces major new imaging prize

Philip Volkers - Jason Rouse

Bristol has been a big player on the global graffiti scene since the early eighties, spawning many of its most notorious and talented protagonists. This spring the RWA invites some of the most prominent artists in the city to adorn its galleries in their own inimitable way. This milestone event will showcase the depth of creativity on the Bristol scene, pushing the bounda-ries and challenging expectations of this ubiquitous and often misunderstood art form.

InFo/The exhibition will run from 22nd March to 2nd May 2009 at the Royal West of England AcademyQueen’s Road Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1PXTel : 0117 973 5129www.rwa.org.uk

An upcoming exhibition at ICIA seeks to redefine ‘public art’. Tea is a collabora-tive group of visual artists who search for the unfamiliar in familiar places. TEA has worked as a collaborative team since 1987. In this project they document their ‘occupa-tion’ of a wasteland, Widnes Waterfront. In a state of decline from its industrial past, it is now poised for a phase of regeneration. Here the artists work and rest in temporary fragile structures - their “hides’ - to observe, research, perform and record. They offer hospitality and create dialogues with a range of people involved in the area, including: landscape and regeneration specialists, a nat-uralist, a chemical industry historian, busi-ness people and local residents. The artists’ presence and activity becomes a chapter in the evolving story of Widnes Waterfront.

Tea’s process engages powerfully with the fluid, richly layered identity of a place formed by the interweaving of people’s lives with the physical environment. How

a place is seen, known, experienced and imagined are woven together to construct new stories.

Tea are Peter Hatton, Val Murray and Lynn Pilling. Previous commissioners include the Southbank Centre, LIFT, Tate Liverpool, artranspennine, The Lowry, Cornerhouse and CUBE. Their work has been seen in Russia, Finland,Germany, Australia and America.

Hugh Stoddard of Artists Newsletter has said “What they (Tea) have often done is to draw material from people and re-present it to them in ways which change how they perceive it”

INFO/Open Wed 4 Mar - Fri 12 Jun, Mon-Sat 10am - 5pm. Exhibition Preview & Talk Wed 4 March, ICIA Art Space 1, Preview: 6.30pm-8.30pm, Artists’ Talk: 7pm-8pmAdmission free.Open Mon-Sat, 10am-5pm

Tea - Brown Fields Blue Skies

Street Art in Bristol

February/March 20096

Regional Spotlight

Fairfield Gallery Garden - Knot in foreground by Andrea Garrihy

Corsham was built up on the wool and stone indus-tries, and latterly the visual arts. I came to ‘Corsham’ many years ago from the North to study sculpture at Bath Academy of Art, an eminent art college and one of the few not based in a city, the town being 9 miles outside Bath. The college was established by Lord Methuen RA and Clifford Ellis in various build-ings around the town, mainly the Methuen’s stately home, Corsham Court, set in picturesque parkland designed by Capability Brown. One of the state rooms, now open to the public all year except De-cember, is the purpose-built Picture Gallery housing the Methuen collection of Old Masters including Reynolds, Lippi and Van Dyck.

I met John Garrihy, a painter; we married and, unlike the college, remained in Corsham. In 1986 the college moved to Bath, though in its latest mani-festation as Bath Spa University, it may be partially moving back into Corsham Court. Meanwhile we have benefited from the use of a former college studio in the Gatehouse which I periodically open to the public.

Corsham, Wiltshire

by Andrea Garrihy

In the second of a series of articles focusing on art scenes in towns in the BANA member-ship area, Andrea Garrihy looks at the Wiltshire market town of Corsham

their work on the exterior. The grounds also contain, just within public view, ‘The Family’, a sculpture by Michael Pennie, long-time tutor at BAA/BSU. The school offers free Art classes for the wider com-munity in the Making Room, and employs Outreach artist, Mazy Bartlett, who works with feeder primary schools too. Corsham Primary School has an Arts Council gold ArtsMark.

A major boost to the town’s artistic potential was the opening in October 2007 of the refurbished Pound Arts Centre in a Grade 2 listed former primary school. It was refurbished with £1.2million from North Wiltshire District Council and financial support from the National Lottery through the Arts Council. Artistic director Nicholas Keyworth wants the Pound to be the arts hub for professional and community arts activities for all Wiltshire. Priorities still lean towards the performing arts, their highlight being the Corsham Festival in June. The first Pound Open Art Exhibition was held through November and December; one prize winner being BANA member Caroline Rudge who currently works in a studio at 78 High Street. Previous exhibitions have been by Michael Pennie and by BANA members Anna Gillespie, Bill Henley and Deborah van der Beek. Much-needed artists’ studios were proposed within the centre, but have not materialised yet. BANA’s Cathy Wood, (who persuaded me that Wiltshire folk could benefit from membership) offers outdoor facilities for other hardy sculptors in nearby Slaughterford.

During my ‘Year of the Artist’ residency in 2000 supported by the Arts Council and NWDC, I worked with the local community from the Pound and then in an empty town-centre shop making life-size figures from junk which were exhibited on the Corsham streets and on ‘Blue Peter’!

I have permanent public sculptures on Neston

recreation ground and the Corsham Scout and Guide HQ, carved in local Bathstone. Westonbirt chain-saw sculptor Dave Johnson carved a cornu-copia from a beech tree stump in the central car park. Recently the Corsham Civic Society received the Marsh Award from the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association for their restoration of the Mayo Monument at the end of the High Street, involving the local community, schools, the WI, and craftsmen - stonemason Rob Fleming and leadwork-ers Dave and Jess Bevan.

In 2009 when Wiltshire becomes a unitary authority and art students might return to town, people from all generations are practising and/or appreciating the arts, and Corsham’s artistic tradition continues….

Andrea Garrihy Contact: 01249 714030www.axisweb.org/artist/andreagarrihy

Between Corsham Court and another Grade 1 listed building, the 17th century Almshouses and Schoolroom, is the attractive High Street with 16-18th century houses and a range of individual shops including books, Coppins jewellers, a deli, Design and Craft, and Right Angle Framing which often shows artist’s work in the window.

The town lacks a purpose-built exhibition space for the visual arts. The Library’s exhibition room is shared with computers, but individuals and groups continue to hold successful exhibitions there, notably the thriving Corsham Arts Society, and in October, Wessex Scribes, a skilled group of calligraphers. Fairfield gallery at 44 High Street holds occasional exhibitions. I was one of ‘Eight Artists who studied at BAA’ to exhibit in ‘Corsham Revisited’ there in 2007. Galleriste Allison Spence anticipates shows this year by Anna Curry, children’s book illustrator and Pickwick resident, and ‘Past Masters’, former BAA tutors. Several former students and tutors - painters, sculptors and potters, have settled in and around the town. One, Jan Byrne, is Head of Art at Corsham School which is a Visual Arts College, inspiring the next generation of artists and displaying examples of

Michael Pennie exhibition at the Pound Picture Gallery Corsham Court

www.corsham-court.co.ukwww.poundarts.org.ukCorsham Arts Society: Gordon Whittle 01249 713292Wessex Scribes: Mo Elliott 01225 810734

Corsham contacts/

February/March 2009 7

Members Profile

Non-Slip/ An innnovative clothing brand inspired by the forgotten patterns found on drain covers

No Added Sugar

No Added Sugar participatory arts was found-ed in 2000 by Toni Robinson and Gordon Dickin-son, professional exhibiting artists, with extensive experience of delivering exciting and inspirational creative arts projects, involving people of all ages and abilities. Their numerous education projects in the South West have involved primary, second-ary and special needs schools, schools of excel-lence, projects with young people excluded from school, youth groups and other agencies.

Services offered include; art weeks, residen-cies, teacher training, commissions, festivals,

I have for many years worked as a film-mak-er. In the last couple of years I have worked with artists, dancers and actors on projects ranging from large scale video projections in perform-ance pieces to filming dancers and painters in more documentary mode. I have made quite a few films over the years and through my small independent production company produced programmes for Channel Four and BBC Wales. Painting however is my life-time’s work. In the past my paintings have sold quite well and the sea, sky and landscape have proved to be absorbing subjects - with them you can really enjoy the process of putting on and taking off the oil paint with some gusto. Last year I spent full-time painting (great timing with the recession!) My current painting project is ‘Backs’ - a fantastic subject, human backs. - Yesterday a strong looking builder who I had asked if he was prepared to model told me he had been busy moisturising waiting for the call! (Anyone with a ‘moody’ back?) Exploring many forms - the Med-itating back, the Vulnerable back, the ‘Rothko’ back, the ‘after Michelangelo’ back and a back portrait of ‘Father and Son’ which is rather ten-der. The human form is rich with resonance and I’ve recently joined a fantastic sculpture life class in clay at Widcombe Studios which is adding a

Do you want to feature as an artists profile? Email the BANA team at/ newsletter@bana-arts.co.uk

Melissa Wishart

new depth to my painting work. My ‘Backs’ exhibition will be at the West Barn, Bradford on Avon, opening on October 9th and will incorporate some video projection work as well as painting and sculpture. If you are interested in an invite please just email.

CONTACT/ email: ml.wishart@virgin.net

projects with communities and presentations on, ‘Best Practise’ and ‘Challenging Behaviour” They also offer Creative Days for business.

Over the past 18 months, Toni has played a key role in delivering a Heritage Lottery funded project , ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’ which was used as an example of best practice in a pres-entation made to cultural leaders representing 50 cities from across Europe at an intercultural dialogue conference in Liverpool in May 2008 .

Gordon’s sculptural work is always in high demand in 2008 he completed several com-

missioned pieces, including two sculptures for the Kingswood Foundation in Bristol and many more for schools and public spaces. As well as commissioned work, Gordon creates sculpture as part of his own artistic practice, and in 2008 had a sculpture accepted for the Royal West of England Academy Autumn show.

2009 is looking exciting and we look forward to the launch of our new web site supported by the Arts Council South West.

CONTACT/ A selection of their work can be viewed www.

noaddedsugar.org.

February/March 20098

Article

Frank Taylor - Menhir

On the 18th December last year I collected three of my sculptures from The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) in Bristol, almost 13 weeks after delivering the same three pieces into their packed and busy exhibition space, hoping for selection into the 156 Au-tumn Exhibition.

I’d been more successful than I’d hoped. Two of the sculptures were selected and displayed in the exhibi-

Selected but not hung.......

by BANA member Frank Taylor

The story of submitting work to the Royal West of England Academy 156 Autumn Exhibition 2008

tion, which ran from 26th October to 14th December. One sculpture sat in a storeroom without being seen, but more of that later.

I was nervous when I delivered my work in September, there’s no denying it. This was my first attempt at submit-ting work to an open exhibition, and quite a prestigious one (the RWA is, after all, “one of only five Royal Academies of Art in the UK”).

The process had begun in July when I decided, as a “new talent”, to chance submitting some of my sculptures to an open exhibition. This was soon after putting on a week-long exhibition at the Walcot Chapel in Bath with a friend of mine, Lynne Sharan. I not only wanted to get my work seen for longer (seven weeks) by a bigger audience but I also wished to get some informed opinion about the quality of my work.

I first had to choose which pieces to submit. This decision was made more difficult by the fact that there was a clash with another exhibition I was putting work into and I couldn’t use the same pieces. I decided, after much debate, to enter what I considered my two best pieces (Torsio and Perfection2) plus another (Minhir), which I thought might make a good group with the others. I thought there was a visual connection of materials (e.g. the scorched oak in Min-hir and Perfection2) as well a good range of sizes and forms.

I decided to submit my pieces for preselection, by sending in photographs. This was to “prevent unnecessary costs of transport and inconvenience” (it is only allowed for large/heavy works, e.g. sculpture). It was, for me, also a way

‘I decided, as a “new talent”, to chance sub-mitting some of my sculptures to an open ex-hibition...’

February/March 2009 9

Frank Taylor 07986 902 553www.boundlessart.co.ukinfo@boundlessart.co.ukSee www.rwa.org.uk/newsfrm.htm for more information (which is still showing in-formation on the Autumn Exhibition 156.)

Contact/

Article

label on the bottom of each piece!

I was mightily relieved after hand-ing them over. There was now nothing I could do; it was all in the hands of the “panel of Academicians...whose deci-sion is final and binding.” This brought to mind the image of stern men in black gowns (if you’ve read Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast novels, then think of Mr.Flay) who are producing your end of year report – ah, those boarding school memories!

The 10th October was the date by which the RWA were to have informed me of the panel’s decision. As the day approached, I started awaiting the post-man each morning. On the 9th, with no letter having arrived (and being an eternal optimist!) I decided that I hadn’t been selected after all and despondency started to set in.

A thick envelope then dropped through the door on the morning of the 10th and there were a bundle of papers from the RWA. Tucked away inside them were the results, stamped onto the bot-tom of the submission labels…Minhir - ”SELECTED”; Torsio - “SELECTED” and

to get quicker feedback as to whether my work was of the right quality (this is what the success of submission is based on, not on “style or content”). I was surprised to get them all preselected…but then I wondered how much it had helped me? I still had to take them along for the regular selection and there was no guarantee that they would be chosen. I was left as anxious as ever when finally delivering my sculptures.

So it was that I turned up at Queens Road on the 19th September and handed over my 3 pieces to one of the many staff and volunteers on hand to guide we artists through the submission process. The room was getting quite full already – hundreds of paintings leaning against walls and rather less sculptures hidden under bubble wrap and cardboard.

The RWA have a set of entry regula-tions that appeared quite daunting to a novice such as myself. The phrase “submission forms must be printed or mounted on thin white A5 card” led to hours of debating as to how thin is thin. I need not have worried - when I finally submitted my sculptures, there were plenty of spare submission cards, labels, etc. This was a good thing - despite all my checking and rechecking of informa-tion, I’d still forgotten to put my own

Frank Taylor - Perfection2

Perfection2 - “SELECTED BUT NOT HUNG”. I was overcome, surprised, and elated…but also confused as to what the last one meant. Apparently it means that the work is good enough, hence “selected”, but there isn’t enough wall space on which to hang it. That’s under-standable for 2-D work as they really fill up the wall space…but for a sculpture? Surely they could have found me a bit of floor space in one of those big rooms? I shall just put it down to experience and be pleased with the outcome on my first attempt.

Now, how do I go about submitting to the Royal Academy in London....?

Frank Taylor - Torsio

February/March 200910

Artists’ Talks

Tea & Dawn Lyon in Con-versationWhat/ To mark the opening of their exhibition, collaborative artists’ group Tea (Peter Hatton, Val Murray and Lynn Pilling) talk to Dr Dawn Lyon, Sociologist, University of Kent. Tea creates ambitious visual arts projects re-defining public art. Here, they dis-cuss their ‘occupation’ of Widnes Waterfront, a post-industrial wasteland, poised before a period of renewal. In temporary fragile structures - their “hides’ - they observe, research, perform and record while offering hospital-ity and creating dialogues with invited experts who have a range of relationships to the area.Associated Exhibition at ICIA - Brown Fields Blue SkiesWhere/ ICIA Art Space 1, University of BathWhen/ Wed 4 Mar , 7pm-8pmPrice/ Free To book or enquiries/ Box office on 01225 386777 or email ICIAinfo@bath.ac.uk

Pam Skelton & Jessica Dubow in Conversation What/ To mark the opening of her exhibition, artist Pam Skelton talks to Cultural Geographer, Dr Jessica Dubow (University of Sheffield). Dwelling in the Space of Conspiracy plots the locations of safe houses where the Stasi held secret meetings with their informers. Using video, pho-tography and mapping, Skelton constructs an unsettling portrait of an East German city in the last decade of the GDR. Skelton has exhibited widely across western and eastern Europe, as well as in Canada. Associated Exhibition atDwelling in the Space of Con-spiracyWhere/ ICIA Art Space 2, University of Bath

When/ Wed 29 Apr , 7pm-8pm Price/ Free To book or enquiries/ Box office on 01225 386777 or email ICIAinfo@bath.ac.uk

Paul BrasonWhat/ “And now for something completely indifferent?” The rise and the rise of period architecture in and around Bath. A personal journey with an artist’s eye view. Paul Brason is a practising artist, member of the RWA and past president of the Royal Society of portrait painters. Where/ Widcombe Studios, Comfortable Place, BathWhen/ Thurs 12 Feb , 7.30pm Price/ £3 non-members, £1 Friends.Tickets on door

Peter BurkeWhat/ Peter Burke will speak about his large-scale sculptural works. In particular he will focus on ‘HOST’ an investigation into possibility of introducing an ele-ment of chance into an industrial process, and studio based works.Where/ Widcombe Studios, Comfortable Place, BathWhen/ Thurs 12 Feb , 7.30pm Price/ £3 non-members, £1 Friends.Tickets on door

Workshops

Kiln-Cast Glass Course With Colin Reid What/ A rare chance to attend a 5 day kiln-casting workshop with glass artist Colin Reid in his studio in Stroud. Suitable for beginners to learn the basics or the more experienced to explore in more depth. It will be a practical, hands-on workshop; you will get dirty and learn by doing. There will also be comprehensive theory sessions and demonstrations covering all the essential topics, plus slide talks on a wide range of work.When/ 1st - 5th April 2009To apply/ Contact Colin Reid Glass. New Mills, Slad Road, Stroud. Gloucestershire. GL5 1RN, kilncastingcourse@yahoo.co.uk, www.colinreidglass.co.ukDeadline: 3 April 2009

Printmaking courses in Cheltenham,What/ A variety of weekend courses in mixed media mono printing, collagraph printmaking , non toxic etching and artist’s book

techniques(including gum arabic transfer printing) for experienced artists and beginners. The venue is Hampen Factory Arts Centre, just outside Cheltenham.Where/ Hampen Factory Arts Centre, just outside Cheltenham.When/ Various datesFurther info/ For more details and an up to date leaflet contact:- Sue Brown - sb.brown@talk21.com

One day masterclass in Laser-cutting for book artistsWhat/ Laser-cutting can produce delicate imagery or text cut outs through most paper / material surfaces, for altered books, paper structures and overlaying pages of text and image. This one-day course is designed to be appropri-ate for people with or without previous experience. Price: £120When/ Thursday 12th Feb 2009Where/ University of the West of England, School of Creative Arts To apply/ Tel: 0117 3284810Email: amd.cpd@uwe.ac.uk www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/cpd.htm

Altered Book One-Day MasterclassWhat/ A masterclass in the alteration of the ‘found’ or ‘dis-carded’ book, to create a set of small architectural books from the original, through page engineer-ing, cutting and binding. Using the book form as a means of recycling existing printed images and texts, extends the narrative possibili-ties through a reconfiguration of structure. By applying bookbind-ing and paper-engineering proc-esses, the architectural nature of folded paper can be utilised to create three-dimensional spaces, which will explore the multi-spatial aspects of visual and textual narratives. We will use discarded books available in the studio, but Pam Skelton at ICIA

Tea - Office Update

Listings & Opportunities

if you prefer, you can bring your own with you. Guy Begbie is a bookbinder and multi-disciplinary artist. He exhibits his artists’ books and delivers book arts workshops and master classes in-ternationally. Guy is the Book Arts Co-ordinator at Herefordshire College of Arts.When/ Friday 13th Feb 20099.30am - 4.30pmWhere/ University of the West of England, School of Creative Arts To apply/ Tel: 0117 3284810Email: amd.cpd@uwe.ac.uk www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/cpd.htm

A 5-day masterclass in pulp-printing What/ UWE have the artist Tim Mosely leading this Masterclass as part of the run up to our IMPACT Printmaking Conference celebrations in September 2009. Tim has been invited to lead this class by the Centre for Fine Print Research. With over 25 years of professional experience Tim maintains a lucid perspective on the book as a potent element within the vocabularies of visual language. For this Masterclass, Tim will lead attendees through the process of pulp-printing, to create their own sheets of pulp printed text and images. This class is for medium to advanced papermakers to learn the process for use in their own papermaking studios.When/ Monday 7th – Friday 11th September 2009Where/ University of the West of England, School of Creative Arts To apply/ Tel: 0117 3284810Email: amd.cpd@uwe.ac.uk www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/cpd.htm

ScribbleWhat/ A retreat on Dartmoor led writer/performer/walker Phil Smith for artists in all disciplines who want to include performa-tive/exploratory walking and writing in their practice. It also designed for artists who want to spend time in a rural landscape and have their imaginations stretched in new and unexpected directions.Where/ Bellever Youth Hostel, Postbridge (Dartmoor) Devon.Bellever Youth Hostel sits in a sheltered valley on high Dart-moor with conifer forests, open moorland and the East Dart River

Stroud District Arts AwardWhat/ Stroud District Council wishes to invest in an individual artist to commission a new,original textile artwork to be per-manently housed in the Cotswold Care Hospice, Minchinhampton.This is the fourth Stroud District Arts Award. Award of £3,000 to cover fee and materials for com-missioned piece to commence May 2009To apply/ Register your interest at: arts.award@stroud.gov.uk and we will email you with the speci-fication.You can download a specification from: www.stroud.gov.uk/artsawardDeadline: 16th March 2009

February/March 2009 11

Bath Society of Artists Members’ Exhibition 2009 What/ This exhibition is an excit-ing collection of new and original work by many of the Societies 100 plus members, including painting, print, sculpture and mixed media.When/ Sat 7th - Weds 18th March 2009, opening Hours Mon-Sat 10am - 5pm, Sun 11am - 5pm Where/ Chapel Row Gallery, 6 Chapel Row, Bath.Further Info/ Tel 01225 480114

Dimensions VariableWhat/ An exhibition showing innovative work by four resi-dent textile artists at Widcombe Studios: Pippa Andrews, Alison Harper, Emma-Jane Ley and Brenda Miller.When/ 21st - 27th February, 11am - 5pmWhere/ Widcombe Studios, The Old Malthouse,Comfortable Place, Upper Bristol Road, Bath.Further Info/ Alison Harper 01225 466994 or Pippa Andrews 01225 333395

InfluenceWhat/ Influence Arts Week is going into its second year, and is an opportunity to see art from Christian artists across the UK in a collection of exhibitions and events in March 2009 in Bath. Influence presents vibrant work that is relevant and speaks the lan-guage of our generation, showcas-ing new and significant artists.When/ 14th-20th March 11-6pmWhere/ Widcombe Studios, The Old Malthouse,Comfortable Place, Upper Bristol Road, Bath.Further Info/ Suzanne King 07906638335

Music Festival, 15-17 Temple Street, Keynsham BS31 1HF.0117 986 8683 keynsham.musicfestival@yahoo.co.uk

Artists Walks and Work-shop Leaders at Organic ArtsWhat/ Artists interested in participat-ing in Artists Walks run by Organic Arts during the year with a subse-quent exhibition in September 2009. Organic Arts is also compiling a list of artists to hold workshops. Organic Arts are proposing to hold 4 artists walks at the farm, one in each season. Artists are then invited to write pro-posals for our exhibition in Septem-ber. The works should be related in some way to the environment and/or farming.To apply/ All artists are welcome to come on the walks and to submit proposals for the subsequent exhibi-tion, and/or to be on our register for leading workshops. Further details contact: christine@organicarts.org.ukwww.organicarts.org.uk

Opportunities

Transition What/ Multi Media Exhibition at two unique venues, curated by Submit2gravity & Exeter Artspace. Artists working in all art - forms including performance artists. A collaborative multi media exhibition in connection with Exeter Artspace which offers the opportunity to exhibit in two unique venues.The aim of the exhibition will focus on issues that relate to our senses, and aims to stimulate our awareness of how we perceive through them. We ask that artists be inventive, imaginative and original. Especially interested in interactive installations/sculptures and kinetic performances.Where/ The Barge House (Oxo Tower Wharf), South Bank, London. A unique venue, with its rustic interior over four floors and intertwining rooms is situated in the heart of the arts capital. Also Prison Cells situ-ated below the Courtyard of Exeter Castle.When/ March 2009Submission fee: £15 per artist for up to three pieces of work. Submission payments made payable to Gravity

and sent to: FAO Rita Parente, Grav-ity, PO Box 47495, London N21 3XS, UK. Artists participating will be asked to pay an additional fee. To apply/ Send SAE, CV, brief artist statement, description and image of artwork, and payment. Include slides, photos, CDROM. Video preferred format DVD or mini DV and no longer than 20min. Submission fee: £15 per artist for up to three pieces of work. Submission payments made payable to Gravity and sent to: FAO Rita Parente, Gravity, PO Box 47495, London N21 3XS, UK. Email: submit2gravity@yahoo.co.uk.www.submit2gravity.co.uk, www.exeter-artspace.co.uk

Outdoor Sculpture Exhibi-tion - Out Yer TreeWhat/ Open Call for submissions for an Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition taking place 11th- 30th April 2009 within the fantastic surroundings of Barnwell Country Park, Oundle, near Peterborough. Out Yer Tree is an arts organisation that creates exhibition opportunities for new and existing artists to exhibit within an outdoor environment and makes art accessible to the public. We would like to invite artists of any discipline to submit work that they feel suitable to be shown within a public park for the total of 3 weeks in accordance to the theme Nature Vs Nurture. Where/ GloucestershireTo apply/ Send/email; a current C.V, statement based on the artworks proposed, maximum of 10 images and submission fee of £10 to: Wendy Henley, 32 Acorn Park, Cranford Road, Burton Latimer, Northants, NN15 5 YR. Deadline: 12/03/2009.outyertree@hotmail.com

Artists for Keysham Music FestivalWhat/ We are looking for musicians, artists and traders. The Keynsham Music Festival is a free commu-nity arts and music event with four stages and 16,000 people which takes place every summer in the lovely Keynsham Memorial Park. We are very much a local festival, wanting to promote local bands, businesses and artists. This year’s festival is on Sunday 5 July. If you would like to be involved either as an artist running a workshop, other performance or trader please get in touch. Check out our website for details of previous festivals at www.keynshammusicfes-tival.co.uk.To apply/ Suzy Mizrahi, Keynsham

Part-Time / Freelance AdministratorWhat/ The role of Administrator is being offered as a part-time 12 month free-lance contract.Fee: £10 hr (56 hours a month – 8 days). Interested applicants should submit a C.V. and letter outlining their skills, knowledge and experi-ence for the role of Administrator, which should include examples of how their experience relates to the person specification provided, and why they are interested in the role. to both creative industry and arts education.Closing date/ 16th Feb 2009To apply/ info@ahsw.org.uk or Arts & Health South West, PO Box 2696, Bristol BS2 2AL

Commissions

Art Vacancies

Do you want to advertise your listing or opportunity?Email the Bana Team at/newsletter@bana-arts.co.uk

Listings & Opportunities

all within 5 minutes walk. Slightly longer walks include massive granite tors, Bronze Age stone rows and rings, ancient farm-steads, bogs and wetlands.Further info/ info@aunehead-arts.org.uk. 01822 890 539, Aune Head Arts, High Moorland Visitor Centre, Princetown, Yelverton, Devon PL20 6QF www.auneheadarts.org.uk

Exhibitions

Bath Society of Artists - Cold Ash-ton 2

February/March 200912

BANA’s SkillsExchange

Most practising artists have skills which other artists would find helpful, or can offer services which others may find time-consuming to learn themselves or expensive to buy in: framing, welding, photographing art work, casting, designing posters, or even transporting large pieces of work, to give just a few examples. BANA operates a Skills Exchange where members can trade their skills and services on a barter or token system (similar to the international LETS scheme). We’re looking to involve as many BANA members as possible; this is a good way to use your network actively and help you ad-vance your own and fellow members’ professional development. You have to be a mem-ber of BANA to join – to download the registration form, please follow this link: http://www.bana-arts.co.uk/SkillsExchangeReg.pdf. For enquiries please contact the office.

T: 01225 4837773 Edgar Buildings, George Street, Bath B2 2FJ

www.mbebath.co.uk info@mbebath.co.uk

Be Creative with Your CreationsTurn your artwork into greetings cards, postcards,

wrapping paper, posters, canvas prints, notelets etc.I T ’ S E A S Y TO A C H I E V E W I T H M B E

The Cultural Arts MagazineAvailable from Borderswww.aestheticamagazine.com

AestheticaContemporary Writing Art Music Film

BANA are offering full colour advertisements throughout the newsletter at special introductory rates. If you are an arts organisation, business or individual who would like to generate publicity for youselves to the BANA membership and an extensive mail out throughout the area, please refer to the rates, and get in touch with the BANA office if you are interested.

Email the BANA team at/newsletter@bana-arts.co.uk

Rates/Three issues (half year)1/16 page £501/8 page £901/4 page £1501/2 page £250Full page £400 Six issues (year)1/16 page £901/8 page £1501/4 page £2501/2 page £400Full page £700 Lineage per word £0.40p

Want to advertise? Want your business to become a BANA corporate member?

The BANA Business Group is made up of BANA’s corporate members, who for their annual subscription receive:• Copies of all BANA mailings• Complimentary box adverts in the Newsletter and discounts on larger adverts - reaching a potential new audi-ence and customer base• Promotion on the BANA website• A certificate demonstrating

their support of the local arts through BANA• Invitations to BANA events for networking, socialising and publicity purposes• The opportunity to promote their business at BANA events. If you are interested in joining the BBG please contact us.

Contact the BANA team at/enquiries@bana-arts.co.uk

BANA endeavours to make links with local businesses to increase awareness and support for the arts in the area, and highlight the ways in which businesses and the arts can be of mutual benefit.

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