Posts in Highlights Category

To celebrate #NationalTreeWeek, artist Lowri Evans reflects on recent project Leaving, a participatory public event which took place under three trees in Salford during Autumn 2021.  Read more about Leaving here. All photography by MA Socially Engaged Photography graduate Joseph Lee.

Leaving (a study of Autumn)

It went from light to dark.

It wasn’t a quick service. To work out what to write on a leaf, you need to understand through careful inquiry, what exactly you want to let go of,

In a rec ground, under a beech tree, on a dry day, with rain at the end,

In an orchard, under a quince tree, on a dry day, with damp mist,

On a uni campus, under a weeping willow tree, with freezing feet.

The trees rustled and waved, the leaves danced and fell, there were always a few leaves in my hair. There were ladybirds in my typewriter. A dog.

Eighteen conversations,

I liked the connections and turning points.

It was hard not to think about autumn, with the orange everywhere, the change in the air, as I heard about turning points.

There was quietness too, holy somehow. Some time, in the time. The shhhh of the trees.

I liked the way people talked about the trees, how fond they were of them, how much they walked by or watched them, what they got out of them.

I liked how happy the people were to get a leaf. I hope they liked being listened to.

Lowri Evans
December 2021

Each month, we will be catching up with artists we’ve been working with. This month, we catch up with Babs Smith, who was part of our 2020/21 Graduate Scholars Programme.

Hi Babs. Firstly, can you tell us a bit about your practice?

I am concerned with the translation of visceral human experiences as a means of understanding and learning from each other’s perspective. What does each subject reveal as it is explored in a different medium? Ideas form an object imbued with time, life, and emotion, our physical response to sound questioning – how does this manifest and translate to inform and deepen our understanding of seeing the unseen? 
The medium is dictated by ideas in an on-line/offline process including VR print and 3d Perspex. Collaboration with artists cross disciplinary is key, questioning assumptions, deepening research opportunities, and facilitating thinking through making. 

You were selected to be one of 6 Graduate Scholars for 2020/21. How has this programme been for you? What reflections do you have on your time on the programme, now that it’s coming to a close?

The scheme has provided a professional network of artists and curators, working in collaboration on and off the course has been both enriching and challenging, Co-Art provides a demanding environment where both artists explore new territory whilst combining skills and knowledge. No two collaborations are the same. 

Understanding institutions and galleries as an extension of my work and that curating is an art, has meant I’ve looked at the outcome differently. 

I bought VR kit, and a PC, as a way of working without limitations during lockdown, this provided an infinite studio and a new way of making in 3d this was both rewarding and challenging and is a permanent resource in my practice. 

As part of the programme, the University will be acquiring some of your work. Have you thought about what you want to give to the collection, and how this might represent your practice? What does it mean to you to have your work in a collection?

I am proposing a piece of work made in VR painting, exhibited in Augmented Reality. It explores the Anthropocene visualizing sound as man’s footprint on the earth. The work is a Co-Art, WIP piece made with a local musician. 

This represents my practice, my love of movement, technology in art and collaboration. Having this work in the collection means a lot to me personally as I am fond of Salford, it has been my second home for 4 years. Also, the experience of curating and maintaining this type of work will benefit my practice and provide a firm ground for future works. 

How has your work developed over the last 12 months? What are you currently working on / researching, etc.? What’s next for you?

Talking to Mentors and Councilors helped me to understand that my practice was driven by ideas and not process alone, an important revelation for me. Discussing my work with curators has helped me to focus on outcomes such as increasing the scale of my work.  

I am completing a commission for Smart DCC, a company that manages data from smart meters. The sculpture uses a Starling murmuration as a metaphor for the expansion and contraction of energy in the UK, made in Dichroic Perspex.  

Applying for funding is a priority and, with my mentor, developing my practice as a professional artist.

Babs Smith is an Artist based at Ebor Studios, Littleborough. She was the winner of a Graduate Scholarship on the University of Salford Art Collection Graduate Scholarship Scheme in conjunction with Castlefield Gallery Manchester. She was Winner of the People’s Choice Award at Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival. She was selected for the Neo Print Prize and the Salford Open in 2018 and has been recently nominated for a Create Art & Design Award UOS. Babs has shown work alongside the Acquired Exhibition at Salford Museum & Art Gallery and in the Superlative Artistry of Japan where her work is currently housed at Salford Museum. Her work is in the Salford Museum and Art Gallery Collection and the Salford Universities Collection. Babs has undertaken a number of public commissions and has her work housed at the National Outdoor Centre, North Wales and the Autism and Criminal Justice System, Salford. She is currently developing projects with DCC Data in Manchester and Manchester based musician Holly Phelps.

https://www.babssmithart.co.uk/ @babssmithart

Take part:
Leaving – A study of Autumn by Lowri Evans

Tues 9^th November, 2-5pm, Eccles Recreation ground
(near the Church Street entrance)
Weds 10^th Nov, 2-5pm, Ordsall Hall
(in the grounds)
Thurs 11^th Nov, 2-5pm, University of Salford campus
(at the willow tree, near Newton Building)
Just drop in

Throughout late Summer and Autumn, artist Lowri Evans has been exploring the trees of Salford – meeting with enthusiasts and experts alike along the way. Reflecting on cycles of life, death, and the act of letting go, her new project Leaving asks what we can learn from nature – and what wisdom we might share with each other.

Get involved! 

You are invited to drop by and meet Lowri under three trees in Salford and let go of something – big or small, come rain or shine. These exchanges will be transformed into artworks as part of her commission for the University of Salford Art Collection and Salford Museum & Art Gallery – part of the city-wide Rediscovering Salford project.

Free, no booking necessary, suitable for all & wheelchair accessible. Hot tea served!

Please note: event will go ahead whatever the weather – unless torrential/extreme. Wrap up warm & waterproof if you plan to pop by. Check our social media for updates!

Hi, I’m Alistair Small the new Digital Content and Engagement Officer for the University of Salford Art Collection in partnership with Open Eye Gallery. I’m coming to Salford with a strong interest in public collections and how they can function as common resources, and as sites of critical engagement with collecting practices of the past and present.

My background is in curating visual art and public programmes, with a focus on socially engaged practices and co-creation. My previous projects include a live-streamed exhibition and programme with the LUX collection of Artists Moving Image, a collaborative ceramics project with over 50s Chinese communities in Manchester, and an online project exploring language diversity through food and recipes. I like to work collaboratively-  with artists, communities and institutions – and I’ll be bringing this approach to this project. Outside of my role with the University, I also work as a Fundraiser and Grower for a community gardening project and have my own practice as a potter.  

In my new role I’m going to be overseeing the digitisation of the University’s 800+ works, and creating opportunities for engagement and access for students, staff and our local communities. I’m really excited to be working with Gwen Riley Jones, the Socially-Engaged Photographer-in-Residence on this project, as well the core Art Collection team – Lindsay Taylor and Stephanie Fletcher – and our partners in Liverpool, Open Eye Gallery.  

The collection finds itself in an exciting period of transformation and transition. In November 2021 we will start moving the collection to a new purpose-built store located centrally on campus  and equipped with a study space. This will be a permanent home for the 800+ works in the collection, and a huge upgrade on the current store. This move will grant greater access to and engagement with the collection: from students, staff, researchers, and our local communities in Salford and Greater Manchester. We’ll be documenting the store move as we go, showcasing collection objects that may not have seen the light of day for quite some time!  

This move is also an ideal moment to consider the collecting practices and policies in place over the University’s history, to take stock of what’s ‘in store’, and what is absent from the collection. Collections are records of institutional policies, histories, geopolitical and social shifts. They are rich resources for investigation, change, research and inspiration. As The University of the Arts, London’s Black Artists and Modernism (2015-2018) project (the first nation-wide audit of works by British born or based artists of African, Asian and Middle East and North Africa descent in UK public collections) has shown, public collections in the North West of England have a long, long way to go before they can be considered representative of their communities.¹ 

As part of the Digitisation Programme, we will be undertaking research into the demographics of artists represented in the University’s collection,, recognising what improvements have been made since 2013, and identifying areas for further development.  

At the same time, the digitisation project and a revamped digital platform will showcase the collection in its entirety online, creating new possibilities for critical engagement and study, and entry points for browsing the collection. Since 2013 the University works on a commission-to-collect model to create and acquire new work from established and emerging artists, including through the Graduate Scholarship scheme, residencies, and socially engaged projects.  How we collect, store and facilitate access to these works will be important considerations during this project. Over the coming months we will be making changes to how the collection is displayed and accessed online and crucially making this rich resource visible to all.  

Footnotes:
1- The data collected from Manchester Art Gallery, The Harris and Walker Art Gallery for the Black Artists & Modernism project’s audit of UK public collections indicated that less than 2% of the artists represented in each of the three collections were from these ethnic backgrounds, and works made by such artists represented less than 3% of the artworks held in each collection. According to recent census data, around 9% of people in the North-West of England self-identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic; in Liverpool this rises to 10%, in Preston to 20%, and in Manchester to 32%  

“Developing more representative art collections could not be more urgent”: Dr Anjalie Dalal-Clayton on the need to diversify the narrative. The Double Negative, 14/10/2020. Accessed 07/10/2021 

October’s ‘Artwork of the Month’ is Albert Adams’ Self Portrait (1956) – chosen by Dr Alice Correia and part of a new exhibition at the Albert Adams room at the Old Fire Station curated by Correia (due to launch later in the year, visits by appointment).

Albert Adams’ self-portrait was made in 1956, the year he completed his studies at the Slade School of Art in London. At the Slade he had been taught by the influential printmaker, Anthony Gross, and this work demonstrates Adams’ experimentation with etching techniques; the print shows how he was testing the strength – darkness and thickness – of his lines, particularly around the chin and nose, while thinner, more delicate lines are used to present his hair.

The portrait also, perhaps, shows Adams at a moment of transition, and it is possible to discern a sense of uncertainty or hesitancy in his expression. We might wonder what life was like for a young South African man in London in 1956. Throughout the 1950s immigration to Britain from the Commonwealth, particularly the Caribbean, had been promoted by the government to counter labour shortages, but as the decade progressed, public and political anxieties over immigration surfaced.

Published the year Adams created his self-portrait, Sam Selveon’s novel, “The Lonely Londoners”, proves insight into the alienation felt by black migrants in the city, and it may be possible to understand Adams’ work as a personal expression of wider sense of dislocation and unbelonging felt by this pioneering generation of migrants.

– Dr Alice Correia

Find out more about the Albert Adams collection here.

In early 2022 we will be convening a symposium inspired by Adams’ work, supported by the Paul Mellon Centre – more news soon! We’ll also be digitising much of this collection as part of a wider digitisation programme.

Image: detail. Copyright the artists estate.

We are delighted to share that the You Belong Here exhibition at Salford Museum and Art Gallery has been extended til 19 June 2022! Giving plenty more time to enjoy these nature-inspired artworks through the coming seasons. See new contemporary art commissions alongside historic photographs and paintings inspired by our local parks, green spaces and heritge. Visit by dropping in or booking in advance.

Alongside – enjoy a programme of curator tours, artist talks and more – in person at the Museum and also streamed/recorded online. Find the programme here.

Plus – video artwork Circadian Bloom (California Poppy) has launched in the Museum cafe. The AI generated artwork produces gently-moving flower images throughout the day – read more about the work here.

#YouBelongHere
#RediscoveringSalford

Hi, my name is Gwen Riley Jones and I have recently begun a year-long project as a Socially Engaged Photographer-in-Residence at the University of Salford Art Collection in partnership with Open Eye Gallery. 

I am a photographer with a creative practice exploring themes of identity and belonging, and have 13 years’ experience working with collections. My previous major projects include participatory projects working with Holocaust survivors and refugees, a book about Piccadilly Records and a collection-based project, Portrait of a Living Archive. I have always had an interest of the role of photography in the ability (or not) to make change in people’s lives, and wider society.  

I am so excited to be working with the Art Collection Team and really looking forward to working with a community group truly collaboratively, co-authoring and co-producing work together using the University’s Art Collection as our starting point. 

As part of this residency, I will be receiving mentorship from Open Eye Gallery – who are actively rethinking what a gallery can be. They are the national lead in Socially Engaged Photography, bringing different voices, photographers and communities together, to establish projects where the collaborative process is just as important as the final product. I will also be working with students from the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology at University of Salford, who have an MA in Socially Engaged Photography.  

Outside of my role at Salford I also work at The John Rylands Research Institute and Library as Imaging Manager and I am a member of POST Photography Collective – a group of photographers who are also mothers, committed to making Motherhood more visible in the photographic industry. I am also currently collaborating with Salford Young Fathers Project on ‘Hold Tight: My Dad and Me’, a participatory photo project celebrating young dads and their kids and the things they do together in and around Salford. 

During the first part of this residency, I am spending time researching the collection and identifying themes that could help to provide access to the collection. Over the coming weeks and months, we will be connecting with a group of young people. We will develop the project together so we don’t yet know what the outcome will be. As part of the process, we will not only be thinking about themes within the collection, but also critiquing ideas of what a collection could and should be, asking who are the collections for? What stories can they tell? Whose voice can we hear? And how can we think differently about them? We will be blogging regularly to share our progress and our journey.  

Images: Photographs from Salford and along the River Irwell, from Gwen’s first day on residency.

Climate, Retrofitting and Photography: McCoy Wynne to Exhibit at COP26 Universities’ Innovation Showcase

Stephanie Wynne and Stephen McCoy explore the power of photography to tackle one of the UK’s biggest climate challenges: in a world increasingly impacted by a changing climate, how can our Victorian terrace housing stock be retrofitted to become energy efficient? 

In 2021, Open Eye Gallery and University of Salford Art Collection awarded photography partnership McCoy Wynne a residency in collaboration with Salford Energy House to explore positive solutions to the climate crisis. A selection of images from the resulting photography project, titled Are You Living Comfortably?, will be included in the COP26 UK Universities’ Climate Innovation Showcase. 

‘We are very pleased that Are You Living Comfortably? has been chosen to be exhibited as part of this crucial conference for all our futures,’ say McCoy Wynne. ‘Collaborating with scientists at the Energy House gave us the opportunity to consider the small, household, energy saving, modifications we can all make to help address the detrimental issues of climate change.’

The images were developed in collaboration with the engineers and scientists at Salford Energy House, the world’s first full sized, two bedroom, brick built terraced house constructed inside an environmentally controllable chamber. ‘Are You Living Comfortably? is all about storytelling,’ says Lindsay Taylor of the University of Salford Art Collection. ‘These images tell the story of how the innovative work of our scientists relates to our everyday lives. Sometimes that research can come across as quite dry, however McCoy Wynne visually represent the experiments in a way we can all relate to.’ 

Mccoy Wynne observed how engineers and scientists at Energy House tested insulation and heat transferal technologies to provide clarity on what works and how well it works – essential know-how for professional in the housing sector, but also for anyone able to invest in retrofitting their own property to reduce spiraling energy bills. Lindsay Taylor explains, ‘As we address the climate emergency it is so important to understand that there are small things that each of us can do that will make a difference. We’re excited that  Are You Living Comfortably? is selected for this exhibition at COP26!’ 

Their images are coloured with reference to heat mapping as a data visualisation technique, adjusting the colour in each image to emphasise cold spots. They have created multi-layered lab images to tell a story, ghosting domestic scenes such as furniture and fireplaces over these technologies and lab equipment, with green landscapes visible through windows to hint at the direct correlation between energy use and carbon capture. ‘The Energy House is a traditionally built house, that is – observed, analysed and measured,’ the photography partnership say. ‘We recreated it as a home giving it a new imagined life, introducing furniture and gardens etc. The details of this imagined world are semi-opaque to give a sense of reverie to a scientific study.’

However, the title of the project is poignant. For many of the poorest residents of Victorian terraced housing, the question is not one of how to best retrofit for energy efficiency, but how to ensure that the everyday energy costs of living can be managed. 

McCoy Wynne are currently developing a brochure that alludes to estate agent brochures. It will explore Energy House 1 room by room, with text from Energy House scientist Dr Richard Fitton identifying measures to prevent heat loss and creating the correct level of thermal comfort. It provides tips across a spectrum of reducing energy use – from pulling curtains and covering floors, to brick cladding. ‘We hope that the pictures resonate with the public and help them to engage with the aims of Energy House,’ say Mccoy Wynne, ‘to make affordable and sustainable changes to their own homes, so we can all live comfortably.’

Click here to visit the #Cop26Universities Network Innovation Showcase website and find out more

Images:

Are You Living Comfortably? series by McCoy Wynne, 2021

We are delighted to announce a further commission for our Rediscovering Salford programme, with Greater Manchester based artist Lowri Evans. Read more about Lowri and her work here, and find out about her call for the #SalfordTree inventory below.

Call for your favourite Salford Trees:

Do you have a favourite tree in Salford? Maybe it’s a tree you have climbed up or sheltered under. Maybe you planted it. Maybe it was already hundreds of years old when you were born…

As the leaves fall in Autumn 2021, artist Lowri Evans will be getting to know the trees and the people that love them around Salford as part of a new project for the University of Salford Art Collection in collaboration with Salford Museum & Art Gallery.

This project will pay attention to the cycles of nature, life death and life again, and how we can learn from trees and apply it to our personal lives. Seeing life decay and nourish new life again.

Share your favourite tree with us – post your images, stories or memories on social media using the hashtag #SalfordTrees  (on Twitter and Instagram) and tagging Lowri at @LowriEvans on Twitter or @thelowri on Instagram. (On Facebook, just post your image in our comments!)

Intertwined
Visit the online exhibition here

For the June 21 residency, Vital Capacities invited three artists from across the UK to explore and develop new work, supported by the University of Salford Art Collection, Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network, and Phoenix.
Over the course of the month, the artists undertook research, tested ideas, and created new commissions, working with partners, artists, web designers and a digital inclusion specialist. Intertwined is an exhibition of the new work resulting from the residency.

Seo Hye Lee was co-commissioned by University of Salford Art Collection, whose experience of working with archives was especially important in contributing to Lee’s new film, [Sound of Subtitles]. Over the month, Lee researched approaches to subtitles and captioning, and how sounds are described or omitted using these tools for increasing accessibility for D/deaf and hard of hearing people. Lee worked with film archives across the country to develop a silent film that invites you, through the captions, to imagine the sounds, and the stories behind them, while provoking the viewer to question the role of captioning.

Laura Lulika’s new work, Body Builder, was co-commissioned by Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network, which includes moving image, music, spoken word, performance and collage. Over the course of the residency, Lulika explored hyperability, mascot bodies, the false binary of healthy/unhealthy, and the absurdity of footballer’s fake foul dives. Lulika has created an interactive collage, combining Frankenstein mascots, pub settings and automobile bodies all with their own tales to investigate.

During the residency, Linda Stupart continued to explore the River Cole, a process begun in 2020, resulting in the work-in-progress film, Watershed (2020). During June 21, Stupart continued to walk and map the River Cole, which has resulted in the creation of an interactive story/game, with images, texts and music; Watershed 2.0: Pandemic CYOA Cyberspace Edition 2021. Stupart’s new work has been co-commissioned by Phoenix in Leicester, who supported them to explore new game-based platforms, including Twine – a programme for making choose your own adventure (COYA) games, with which the new work has been created.

To find out more about how the artworks came about, explore the artists’ studios, where you can see the developments which led to the new work.

vitalcapacities.com
Supported by Arts Council England