Posts in Highlights Category

The University of Salford Art Collection, in partnership with Castlefield Gallery, is delighted to announce that the second of two artist residencies at Energy House 2.0 has been awarded to Emily Speed.

Cheshire-based Speed joins artist Mishka Henner, who was announced as the first artist-in-residence at the University’s world-leading research facility earlier this year, with the University of Salford Art Collection in partnership with Open Eye Gallery.

Speed was selected from an open call in early 2023 which received over 70 expressions of interest. As artist in residence, Speed will work closely with the Energy House 2.0 team over the next 18 months to develop new work in response to the groundbreaking research being carried out, around topics of energy efficiency, the climate crisis, net zero research, and the future of housing and homes.

Ideas around shelter and habitation lie at the core of much of Speed’s work, which spans disciplines from drawing to installation and performance. With two large environmentally-controllable chambers – able to accommodate two full-sized detached houses each and capable of simulating wind, rain, snow, solar radiation and extreme temperatures – the world-leading Energy House 2.0 facility, part-funded by the European Research Development Fund (ERDF), provides a unique opportunity to explore these themes and the future of housing.

On being selected for the residency, Speed says:

“I feel incredibly fortunate to have time and access to this fantastic facility and to be able to work alongside experts to develop research into the home, and how we might live in the future.”

Professor Richard Fitton, Energy House:

“Our artist in residence programme has grown from strength to strength in the past few years, and we are now on our 3^rd residency, this scheme aims to take some of the building science work done at Energy House 2.0 and create ground breaking artworks – we see this as a positive impact to the work we do, engaging the public in ways that we simply could not have done beforehand.  The quality of bids that we saw was amazing and Emily has some tough competition.  We are now really eager to get Emily involved as part of the teams and see what she will achieve.”

Lindsay Taylor, Curator, University of Salford Art Collection:

“We were delighted to receive so many high quality applications by some fantastic artists.  It was very hard to agree a shortlist and a finalist, however the panel all agreed that Emily’s interest in gender, the body and the domestic environment would bring a unique perspective to the work at Energy House 2.0”

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Both residencies have been made possible through funding from the Friends of Energy House 2.0 Community: https://energyhouse2.salford.ac.uk/friends-of-energy-house-2-0/ 

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Emily Speed

Known for her work examining the relationship between the body and architecture, Speed’s practice considers how a person is shaped by the buildings they have occupied and how a person occupies their own psychological space. Working in sculpture, performance, drawing and film, Speed’s work looks at the relationship between people and buildings and in particular the power dynamics at play in built space. Her work plays with scale and creates layers around the body, often hybrid forms of clothing and architecture. 

Over the last few years, Speed has had solo presentations at Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives, TRUCK, Calgary, and Fort Worth Contemporary Arts, Texas. She has been commissioned to make performances for Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Laumeier Sculpture Park (St Louis) and Edinburgh Art Festival among others and recent exhibitions include: A Woman’s Place at Knole House; Body Builders at Exeter Phoenix Gallery; and The Happenstance, Scotland + Venice at the Architecture Biennale in 2018. Emily Speed lives and works in Cheshire, UK.

emilyspeed.co.uk

Energy House 2.0 

Launched in February 2022, Energy House 2.0 is a unique research facility, with two environmental chambers each able to accommodate two full sized detached houses. The research team can recreate a variety of environmental conditions – from extreme temperatures (-20˚C to +40˚C) to simulate wind, rain, snow, and solar radiation – in order to test out the latest innovations in the built environment. The £16m facility, part-funded by the European Research Development Fund (ERDF), is the largest facility of its type and plays a key role in accelerating progress towards low carbon and net zero housing design building upon the success of the original Energy House Laboratory which opened in 2012.    

energyhouse2.com 

Castlefield Gallery 

Castlefield Gallery is a contemporary art gallery and artist development organisation. Established in 1984, they’ve led the way in artist development for almost 40 years. They provide creative and career development, exhibition opportunities and commissions for artists and independents. Working from galleries in Manchester, off-site, online and in the public realm, they create long-lasting impacts in the Manchester city region, North West of England and beyond. Their national and international activities focus on artist exchange. Castlefield Gallery’s public and participation programmes provoke new ways of thinking, bringing together artists, creatives, communities and audiences to explore the art and issues of the time. They believe when artists and communities come together, they can help shape a better world. 

They support more than 250 Castlefield Gallery Associates and a host of creatives through person-centred development programmes. Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces provide affordable making and project space in the North West, including on the high street. They are a home for artists and creatives. They are advocates for what they believe in: the power of new art. They make new art happen. 

Ryan Gander OBE is Castlefield Gallery’s Artist Patron. Castlefield are a registered charity, supported by Arts Council England and Manchester City Council. 

castlefieldgallery.co.uk 

Open Eye Gallery 

Open Eye Gallery is a photography organisation based in Liverpool, UK, working worldwide. They produce exhibitions, long-term collaborative projects, publications, festivals, and university courses — locally 
and worldwide. They welcome over 85,000 visitors to the gallery every year, over 200,000 to projects in other venues, and many more to the online spaces. They proactively take risks to spark crucial conversations and enable creative expression. 
Open Eye Gallery takes a lead on socially engaged photography nationally. Bringing different voices, photographers and communities together, they establish projects where the collaborative process is just as important as the final product. 
openeye.org.uk 

June 2023
Marta Strzelecka, University Sustainability Engagement Officer

The University of Salford Art Collection Team has been awarded two Green Impact National Awards: Innovation for Engagement and Sustainability Hero, for their continuing commitment to sustainability action and engagement.

Every year, Green Impact Special Awards are given out across institutions to people and teams who go above and beyond for sustainability. These Special Award winners are then put forward for consideration for the Green Impact National Awards. This year, the Art Collection Team received two national awards!

The first one – Innovation for Engagement – recognises ways in which Green Impact teams have engaged more people in sustainability activities, supporting staff and students to learn about and lead on sustainability. This award spotlights creative innovation in the engagement: the more people we can actively engage, the bigger the positive impact we can make.

The Art Collection Team, led by Team Assistant Rowan Pritchard, won thanks to the largest outreach and impact, international engagement and multiple stakeholders in their programmes and projects. At the end of last year, the Team also won a Platinum Green Impact award for their sustainability efforts within their department, including implementing an office switch-off campaign to save energy, ensuring the use of reusable items such as bags and packaging, and introducing plants to green up the office.

There’s a clear commitment to sustainability in the Team’s programme and way of working. The main sustainability actions taken by the Team to win the awards include:

• The Are You Living Comfortably? photography project, showcasing work from artists McCoy Wynne, created through a pilot artists residency the Team hosted with the University’s Energy House facility and in partnership with Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool. The artwork, created in response to themes of climate change, energy efficiency and retrofitting, has been on display in both Liverpool and Salford during 2022, alongside displays of research materials, videos, and a series of online events and more to engage audiences of thousands. The work was also selected to feature online in the COP26 showcase, and has since gone on loan to Bury Art Museum.

• The You Belong Here: Rediscovering Salford’s Green Spaces exhibition, displayed at Salford Museum & Art Gallery, was launched as part of the city-wide Rediscovering Salford programme, encouraging audiences of over 16,000 to reconsider and reconnect with the green spaces around them through exciting newly commissioned artworks in response to Salford’s parks and green spaces. Alongside the exhibition, the Team ran a programme of engagement including tours, talks, and workshops to encourage participants to engage with their own local environments and reconnect with the nature around them. The exhibition was led on behalf of the Salford Culture and Place Partnership, and the wider project was generously supported by Arts Council England and Suprema Lex.

• The Peer to Peer: UK/HK 2022 project, led by the Team in collaboration with Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, supported 9 UK visual arts organisations and 9 Hong Kong visual arts organisations, along with more than 43 artists, and over 160 students to connect, create work, and develop enduring partnerships internationally while rethinking the ways of working remotely to mitigate the environmental impacts of long-haul air travel. This resulted in an online festival, promoting these ways of working through talks and the artwork created during the project to encourage others to consider new ways of connecting with others while minimising their carbon footprint.

In response to winning the award, Rowan said:

The second award – Sustainability Hero – recognises a person with extraordinary commitment to sustainability within a Green Impact team, as nominated by their colleagues.

Gwen Riley Jones, the Socially Engaged Photographer-in-Residence with the Art Collection Team in 2021/22, won for going far beyond the actions outlined in the Green Impact toolkit. Her work in collaboration with youth groups explored non-toxic, plant-based methods of photography and printing. The judges described her process to achieve maximum engagement through their work as “impeccable”. The group’s work has been viewed by over 50,000 people through a display with partner organisation RHS Garden Bridgewater, and it is artistically promoting awareness of plant-based techniques. The judges loved the creative heritage links, too.

In response to winning the award, Gwen said:

Gwen has since gone on to collaborate with MA Fine Art student Lizzie King and the University’s Sustainability Team, to produce a further series of events and displays on campus entitled ‘Sustaining Photography’ taking place in Summer/Autumn 2023, supported by the Advantage Fund.

The Team are grateful to Marta Strzelecka, University Sustainability Engagement Officer, for her support during the Green Impact project – and encourage any other departments thinking of joining to give it a go!

The national judging panel was made up of Vibhati Bhatia (Founder of South Asians for Sustainability), Charlotte Bonner (CEO of EAUC), Grace Corn (Senior Engagement Officer: Climate Emergency for Westminster City Council) and Rebecca Turner (Careers Pathway Manager at IEMA).

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About Green Impact

Green Impact is a sustainability engagement programme, run internationally by SOS-UK. It’s a simple, fun and flexible way for departments to improve their environmental performance and champion sustainability at the University, whilst receiving recognition for their efforts and impact.

Colleagues form teams across the University and work through an online toolkit of actions together. A team can be any size and cover an office, building, department, or even a whole School or Division. Each action on the toolkit is allocated either 5, 10 or 15 points, and the team decides which actions to complete; the total number of points a team achieves will determine whether they receive a ‘working towards Bronze’ accreditation or a Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum award.

Green Impact programme is open to all University of Salford staff members.

Read more on our Green Impact webpage.

If you’re interested in taking part, please get in touch with Marta.

Castlefield Gallery Manchester, Grundy Art Gallery Blackpool, Touchstones Rochdale, University of Salford Art Collection and Shezad Dawood Studio are working in partnership on a pilot project that they believe will make a difference to the way that they operate. Hybrid Futures will explore collective and more sustainable ways of working that will influence how the partnership commissions, exhibits and collects new work by visual artists to benefit and be more relevant to their audiences, now and in the future.

A series of exhibitions across the North West of England will feature new work and commissions by artists Shezad Dawood, Jessica El Mal, Parham Ghalamdar and RA Walden that address the urgent thematic focus of climate change.

The partnership will also be working with a group of people from their local communities with a shared concern about the climate crisis. This group called Collective Futures will investigate how creative production can help to shine a light on these issues and create solutions to the problems caused by the changing global environment.

To find out more about Hybrid Futures, and explore the artists, partners, and venues involved, visit the Hybrid Futures website: hybrid-futures.salford.ac.uk

Coming Soon: Hybrid Futures at Touchstones, Rochdale

The first public instalment of Hybrid Futures, Shezad Dawood: Leviathan: From the Forst to the Sea, launches this week from Saturday 3rd June at Touchstones, Rochdale.

Shezad Dawood’s exhibition premieres the latest episode of his epic film series Leviathan Cycle, titled Episode 8: Cris, Sandra, Papa & Yasmine, alongside related textiles, paintings and research material. Set in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest – one of the most ecologically diverse and threatened biomes on earth, Episode 8 charts an embodied, spiritual and ecological journey along the age-old Guarani path that links the forest to the sea. 

Read more about Hybrid Futures at Touchstones, here.

You’re invited to join Touchstones on Friday 2nd June from 6pm to celebrate the exhibition opening.
To RSVP, email culture@yourtrustrochdale.co.uk
Please note, RSVP is ESSENTIAL in order to manage capacity. Without RSVP, you may not be guaranteed entry to the exhibition.

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Hybrid Futures, a multi-part collaboration focusing on climate, sustainability, collaborative learning and co-production between Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool, Touchstones Rochdale, University of Salford Art Collection and Shezad Dawood Studio, and generously supported by Arts Council England and Art Fund.

Visibilities: Shaping a story of now 

15th May – 25th August 2023

Albert Adams, Ruth Barker, Maurice Carlin, Craig Easton, Gwilym Hughes, Katie McGuire, Hetain Patel, Mandy Payne, Jai Redman, Gavin Turk, Wu Yue

What does it mean to be visible? Visibilities brings together works from the Collection to explore and examine who and what is represented in our contemporary collecting, and how these visibilities shape what we think of as our ‘stories of now’.

After almost two years working closely with the University of Salford Art Collection, Team Assistant Rowan Pritchard curates Visibilities, unpicking what shapes the Collection today, who is visible within it, and what stories the Collection tells.

The University of Salford is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Salford artist, Harold Riley, on 18th April 2023 at the age of 88.

Harold was born in Salford in 1934. In 1951 he went to London to study at the Slade School of Art, and completed scholarships in Spain and Italy, before returning to Salford where he lived and worked until his passing in 2023. He dedicated the majority of his practice to documenting life in Salford and Greater Manchester – from both everyday urban streetscapes to portraits of local sporting stars – in particular at Manchester United FC. His works capture the rapidly changing landscapes across Greater Manchester over 60 years.

The University of Salford Art Collection holds more than 100 paintings, drawings and mixed media artworks by Harold, both gifted and commissioned/purchased – including a number of Chancellor portraits. These include Chancellors HRH Prince Philip (1967-90), Sarah Ferguson (1991-95) Martin Harris (2005-09) and Vice Chancellors John Horlock, (1974-81), John Michael Ashworth (1981-90), Michael Harloe (1997 – 2009).

Further afield, Harold also achieved success with portraits of Nelson Mandela, President John F Kennedy, Pope John Paul II, and other important public figures.

Early in his career Harold struck up a friendship with perhaps the region’s most well known painter, L.S. Lowry –  from whom he drew much inspiration throughout the following decades.  Lowry is said to have helped broker Harold’s first artwork sale to Salford Museum & Art Gallery, who hold a number of his works in their permanent collection.

Harold was also instrumental in another significant acquisition for the University – a large collection of paintings, printmaking and studio ephemera by South African artist Albert Adams (1929 – 2006). After forming a friendship at the Slade the two artists remained in touch, with Adams spending his first Christmas in the UK in Salford. The connection ultimately led to the Albert Adams archive being offered to the University Art Collection through the Art Fund and Adams’ surviving partner, Edward Glennon.

Harold’s lifelong dedication to the city was recognised with an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Letters) from the University in 1977, and by receiving the Freedom of the City in 2017. He is survived by his wife, children and three grandchildren.

The University is digitising the entire artwork collection on a rolling basis, and a selection of Harold’s images can be viewed here on the online catalogue. Works can also be viewed by appointment. Photographs of Harold can also be viewed in the University’s digital Archives.

April 2023

 

Are you a final year BA student or current MA student with an interest in socially engaged and documentary photography? Do you want to gain valuable experience of being commissioned to make new work? – ideal for your CV!

We are inviting applications from students in response to the exhibition Is Anybody Listening: Our Time, Our Place. The exhibition includes 2 series of photographs by alumnus Craig Easton, Sony World Photographer of the Year 2021: Bank Top and Thatcher’s Children.

Deadline: 9am, Tuesday 9th May 2023.

Context

It is a significant occasion for a Northwest artist – Craig Easton – to win Sony World Photographer of the Year (2021) with his series Bank Top, created in Blackburn, as well as second place in the documentary category for Thatcher’s Children, made in Blackpool. Due to Covid-19, we were unable to celebrate this achievement within his home region.

Easton tackles stereotypes and responds to the negative way in which the main-stream media often portrays Northern communities. The relevance of Easton’s work has resurfaced in a new light as communities endure the cost-of-living crisis and face new challenges and segregation. Our Time Our Place is a touring exhibition, engagement programme and symposium delivered in partnership with University of Salford, LeftCoast, Open Eye, Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery and the Williamson Art Gallery and Museum. The exhibition is displayed at Blackpool School of Art from 11th April – 31 May.

Purpose

We are offering four graduating artists an opportunity to make new work, along with a platform to showcase it, and mentoring to support the process.

The commissions aim to bridge the gaps between graduation and career launch – as well as developing connections between the University Art Collection, audiences and heritage. The four selected artists will take the exhibition Is Anybody Listening? Our Time, Our Place as a starting point – assessing how it engages people – and then take steps to involve themselves more deeply in the issues and communities of their own lived experience.

We are offering four awards of £1500 each for commissions in response to the themes in the exhibition. As well as the cash award you will also receive mentoring by Gwen Riley Jones. The selected photographers will be expected to produce new work between June – September 2023, which will be displayed in New Adelphi atrium from Nov – Dec 2023 (coinciding with the Craig Easton exhibition in New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery which launches in September and also runs to
December).

How to apply and the selection process

Micro residency (University of Salford, School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology)
Please send a CV, images of past work and a covering letter no larger than 10 MB to:

l.a.taylor@salford.ac.uk by 9am Tuesday 9th May (Extended Deadline).

Explain why you are interested in this opportunity (300 words) and how you would respond to this brief (300-500 words). Please keep your CV no longer than 2 pages of A4 and include two references from recent or current employers/ clients/ lecturers. All applications will be acknowledged with an email receipt. Should you be shortlisted, we will invite you to interview.

Interviews expected to take place Wednesday 24th May.

For more information please contact: Rowan Pritchard: r.t.pritchard@salford.ac.uk

Fee

A total of £1500 is available per micro-commission. This includes your fee and all expenses such as materials, public liability insurance, expenses, site visit, meetings, user events, administration, meetings, VAT.

Is Anybody Listening? Our Time, Our Place – Timeline

Open Eye, Liverpool – Exhibition and engagement programme
January 2023 – April 2023

LeftCoast and Blackpool School of Art – Exhibition and engagement programme
April 2023- June 2023

Blackburn Museum and Arts Gallery – Engagement programme
June 2023- July 2023

University of Salford -Exhibition and engagement programme including micro-commissions
September 2023- December 2023

Williamson Art Gallery and Museum – Exhibition, engagement programme and symposium
January 2024 – March 2024

For March, we asked Marta Strzelecka, Sustainability Engagement Officer at the University to select our artwork of the month in honour of Go Green Salford, the University’s annual programme of activity promoting and celebrating sustainable work happening across campus. Go Green Saloford invites students, colleagues and local community members to get involved throughout the month in making Salford a more sustainable place to live. 

Marta has chosen Market Scene (1972) by Colin T Johnson. 

On Market Scene, Marta says: 

I selected Colin T Johnson’s Market Scene because the first thing that came to my mind when I saw it was: community. I believe that connecting with other people, exchanging ideas and opinions, and providing and receiving support, is vital to achieving social and environmental sustainability, as well as our wellbeing. Recently, the power of these became evident during the Covid-19 pandemic, when community-based actions and initiatives became lifelines for many. Markets have always provided an opportunity for all of these things: a platform to come together, purchase locally made goods and produce, catch up with neighbours and friends, and spend time outdoors. I believe that empowering and supporting community-led action is essential in building a sustainable, just and inclusive society, where local citizens are at the core in the process of identifying and solving local challenges. The colours and the general feel of the painting also remind me of a Sunday morning which, from my childhood memories, is the best time for a trip to the markets, spending time with family, and preparing for the week ahead.

Go Green Salford continues until the 26th of March – with BioBlitz taking place this Friday and Saturday! Browse all the BioBlitz events and sign-up to take part here.

Marta and the Enviromental Sustainability team’s work continues throughout the year and there are always ways you can get involved. Click here to find out more about.

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Colin T Johnson (1942-2017) was a prolific artist born in Blackpool. He went on to study at Salford School of Art, 1957–9, then Manchester College of Art, 1959–60, before later moving to St. Ives. Among Johnson’s many activities, he was director of the first Bolton Festival, 1979, he was artist-in-residence at Manchester Festival, 1980, and at Wigan International Jazz Festival, 1986–7. 

Read more here, on ArtUk.

The University of Salford Art Collection is delighted to announce Mishka Henner as the first artist-in-residence with Energy House 2.0, in partnership with Open Eye Gallery and Castlefield Gallery. 

Manchester-based, internationally renowned artist Henner will spend 18 months at the new state of the art research facility, developing new work on themes of the climate crisis, net zero research, and the future of housing.  He will work alongside leading scientists, specialists, researchers and industry partners as well the wider university community; considering ‘the different ways we can see energy, and how climate catastrophe haunts our present condition’. 

With two full-sized detached houses inside a large environmentally-controllable chamber – capable of simulating wind, rain, snow, solar radiation and extreme temperatures – the unique Energy House 2.0 facility, part-funded by the European Research Development Fund (ERDF), is a world-leading research hub, testing the latest in carbon-reducing technology.  Launched in January 2022, it is currently testing full size houses by national housebuilders Bellway Homes and Barratt Developments, with construction solutions manufacturer Saint-Gobain. 

This residency builds on the success of a pilot residency programme at Energy House 1, in collaboration with Open Eye Gallery which saw photography duo McCoy Wynne create a series of photographs which have since been toured to galleries in the North West. 
 

Professor Richard Fitton, Energy House:  

“Following our recent completion of the McCoy Wynne project we could not wait to get started on a new project with the Art Collection team. Following a very competitive process we are excited to welcome a local, but world renowned artist, Mishka Henner for an 18 month placement.  We are looking to Mishka to provide some world leading and provocative new work.” 

 
Mishka Henner, artist: 

 “Energy House 2.0 is a unique monument to human ingenuity in the face of climate catastrophe. As an artist, I’m thrilled to have the opportunity of working closely with scientists and engineers to reflect on how we approach one of the great challenges of our time.” 
 

Lindsay Taylor, Curator, University of Salford Art Collection: 
 
“We are thrilled to have Mishka join our team. We see this as an opportunity to support Mishka’s artistic development whilst engaging the university community in debate around climate change.  This is our third collaborative residency with Open Eye Gallery.” 
 

Mishka Henner, born in Brussels in 1976, lives in Manchester and works internationally. He produces books, films, photographic and sculptural works that reflect on cultural and industrial infrastructures – with a focus on the digital terrain and subjects of cultural and geo-political interest.  His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Centre Pompidou, Paris and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. 

Mishka was selected from an open call in Winter 2022. The residency, in partnership with Open Eye Gallery and Castlefield Gallery, will be showcased at LOOK Photo Biennial in Liverpool in 2024, Castlefield Gallery in 2025, and on campus at a future date. 

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A second residency opportunity is now open for applications by 9am on 24^th April – open to artists working in any media except photography. Click here for full details. 

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The Energy House 2.0 Artist Residencies are hosted in partnership with Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool and Castlefield Gallery, Manchester.

 

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Mishka Henner 

Mishka is a visual artist born in Brussels in 1976 and living in Manchester, UK. His varied practice navigates through the digital terrain to focus on key subjects of cultural and geo-political interest. He produces books, installations, films, photographic, and sculptural works that reflect on cultural and industrial infrastructures in a process involving extensive documentary research combined with the meticulous reconstruction of imagery from materials often sourced online. This material has included satellite imagery, intellectual property patents, text databases, generative adversarial networks, webcams, and sound archives amongst others. His works have featured at MoMA, New York, the Centre Pompidou, Paris, and the Photographers’ Gallery, London, and are in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., Arts Council England Collection, and The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), amongst others.  

mishkahenner.com

Energy House 2.0 

Launched in February 2022, Energy House 2.0 is a unique research facility, with two environmental chambers each able to accommodate two full sized detached houses. The research team can recreate a variety of environmental conditions – from extreme temperatures (-20˚C to +40˚C) to simulate wind, rain, snow, and solar radiation – in order to test out the latest innovations in the built environment. The £16m facility, part-funded by the European Research Development Fund (ERDF), is the largest facility of its type and plays a key role in accelerating progress towards low carbon and net zero housing design building upon the success of the original Energy House Laboratory which opened in 2012.    

energyhouse2.com 

Open Eye Gallery 

Open Eye Gallery is a photography organisation based in Liverpool, UK, working worldwide. They produce exhibitions, long-term collaborative projects, publications, festivals, and university courses — locally 
and worldwide. They welcome over 85,000 visitors to the gallery every year, over 200,000 to projects in other venues, and many more to the online spaces. They proactively take risks to spark crucial conversations and enable creative expression. 
Open Eye Gallery takes a lead on socially engaged photography nationally. Bringing different voices, photographers and communities together, they establish projects where the collaborative process is just as important as the final product. 
openeye.org.uk 

Castlefield Gallery 

Castlefield Gallery is a contemporary art gallery and artist development organisation. Established in 1984, they’ve led the way in artist development for almost 40 years. They provide creative and career development, exhibition opportunities and commissions for artists and independents. Working from galleries in Manchester, off-site, online and in the public realm, they create long-lasting impacts in the Manchester city region, North West of England and beyond. Their national and international activities focus on artist exchange. Castlefield Gallery’s public and participation programmes provoke new ways of thinking, bringing together artists, creatives, communities and audiences to explore the art and issues of the time. They believe when artists and communities come together, they can help shape a better world. 

They support more than 250 Castlefield Gallery Associates and a host of creatives through person-centred development programmes. Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces provide affordable making and project space in the North West, including on the high street. They are a home for artists and creatives. They are advocates for what they believe in: the power of new art. They make new art happen. 

Ryan Gander OBE is Castlefield Gallery’s Artist Patron. Castlefield are a registered charity, supported by Arts Council England and Manchester City Council. 

castlefieldgallery.co.uk 

• Up to £1000 cash 
• Studio space for up to 12 months 
• Mentor support, coaching, and guidance 
• Professional development opportunities 
• Opportunity to have work permanently acquired into the University of Salford Art Collection

Our annual Graduate Scholarship Programme, run alongside Castlefield Gallery, is now open for applications for 2023.

Established in 2014 to support exceptional artists in the crucial first year after graduation, this 12-month programme grants graduating students from the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology, time and resources to experiment and take risks with their creative practice within a supportive framework.

In 2022/23, we offered five scholarships to graduating artists from Fine Art and Photography alongside one place to a student graduating from the MA programmes. The Scholars are currently placed with our professional partners in  studios at Hot Bed Press, Islington Mill, Paradise Works or receiving support from Redeye, The Photography Network. In previous years we have also supported graduates from Graphics, Fashion Image Making and Styling, as well as Media and Performance and Music based courses. The programme evolves each year as we endeavour to offer opportunities to the graduates we think we can best support.

2023/24 will be the tenth year of the programme and we are working on a number of plans to celebrate this.

Eligibility: 

The scheme is only open to University of Salford final year undergraduates from the School of Arts and Media (who are due to graduate or complete their studies in July 2022) – plus there will be a maximum of one scholarship open to an MA graduate (due to graduate or complete in September 2022). 

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How to apply:

Deadline: 9am, Tuesday 9th May 2023

To apply, please read the guidelines and complete the application form.

Click here to download the guidelines.

Click here to download the application form.

Your completed application form plus your CV (up to 2 pages) and image, video or sound files of your work (up to 4 files) should be emailed to R.T.Pritchard@salford.ac.uk by 9am Tuesday 9th May with the subject line ‘GSP Application Form 2023’.

All the information on how to apply, eligibility, and further guidance is included in the guidelines.

For any enquires contact artcollection@salford.ac.uk

A unique 18-month opportunity to make and exhibit new work in response to the climate crisis, net zero research, and the future of housing at the world-leading Energy House 2.0 facilities in Salford. A selection of new work made will also be acquired by the University of Salford Art Collection. 

University of Salford Art Collection is now inviting applications for the second residency in collaboration with Castlefield Gallery, Manchester. This residency is open to all artists working in the field of visual arts and will run from July 2023 until December 2024.   

The first residency, in collaboration with Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool was open to photography based artists and was awarded to Mishka Henner, taking place from Jan 2023 to June 2024.    

About the residency: 

For the second Energy House residency with Castlefield Gallery we are inviting expressions of interest from visual artists, based in the North of England, who work in any medium except photography. It is anticipated that the successful artist will have the opportunity to work with scientists, technicians and other specialist staff to make new work which explores positive solutions to the climate crisis net zero research and future of housing. 

We are open to a range of practices and approaches, and will work closely with the selected artist to develop the project over 18 months. We are looking for creative / innovative responses and a demonstratable interest in/commitment to the residency themes. 

About Energy House 2.0: 

Launched in February 2022, Energy House 2.0 is a unique research facility, with two environmental chambers each able to accommodate two full sized detached houses. The research team can recreate a variety of environmental conditions – from extreme temperatures (-20˚C to +40˚C) to simulate wind, rain, snow, and solar radiation – in order to test out the latest innovations in the built environment. The £16m facility, part-funded by the European Research Development Fund (ERDF), is the largest facility of its type and plays a key role in accelerating progress towards low carbon and net zero housing design building upon the success of the original Energy House Laboratory which opened in 2012.   

The residency will include access to the Energy House 2.0 facilities and the following live research projects: 

• EHome 2 a research project run by Saint-Gobain UK and Ireland, in partnership with Barratt Developments, to create a blueprint for future homes.  
• Future Home an experimental eco house built by Bellway a housebuilding company.  

This residency builds on our pilot residency Are You Living Comfortably? by McCoy Wynne which was presented in Liverpool in Jan 2022, and in New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery in Oct-Dec 2022 as part of the Salford LOOK 22 Hub. 

Expectations/Outputs: 

There will be opportunities to present work, or work in progress, as follows: 

Open Eye Gallery: LOOK Photo Biennial – Labs – Liverpool Jan/Feb 2024 

Open Eye Gallery: LOOK Photo Biennial – venue TBC – summer 2024 

Castlefield Gallery, Manchester – spring 2025 

New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery, Salford – TBC 

Budget:  

There is an artist fee of £20,000 per residency, to include VAT (if payable) all expenses, materials, production of new work and exhibition and acquisition. Payment is made on a freelance / self-employed basis. 

There is a modest additional budget for engagement and communication across the project. 

It is anticipated that each residency will last around 18 months.  

We will agree an appropriate schedule of work with the selected artists, however the fee is based on an expectation of averaging about one day a week.   

Resources: 

The selected artist will be supported by the Art Collection team and curatorial staff from both Castlefield Gallery and Open Eye Gallery. 

They will also have access to other academic staff expertise and facilities across the University – from the Maker Space to the Library. 

We will encourage the artist to connect with the first artist in residence, Mishka Henner. 

Accessibility: 

Please let us know if you have any access requirements that we can help you with during the application process. We will work with the selected artist to support accessibility requirements or reasonable adjustments during the project. Access needs will be discussed after interview stage. 

To express interest, please supply: 

 
– A short statement explaining your interest in this opportunity and what you might like 
to achieve (no more than 500 words) 
– Your CV/ link to your biography 
– Up to four images that might support your application 

Please send your application in standard file formats (e.g Word, PDF and JPEG). Please do not send very large files or Wetransfer/Dropbox/etc as these may not reach our inbox. 

CLOSING DATE: Monday 17^th April, 9am 

EXTENDED CLOSING DATE: Monday 24th April, 9am

Interviews:

will be held on Thursday 27^th April in person at the University of Salford.  We will endeavour to let all applicants know whether or not they have been shortlisted by Friday 21^st April. 

In line with the extended closing date, interviews will now be held on Wednesday 17th May in person at the University of Salford. We will endeavour to let all applicants know whether or not they have been shortlisted by Wednesday 10th May.

Please send your application with the subject line “Energy 2.0 Residency Application” to: r.t.pritchard(at)salford.ac.uk by 9am on Monday 24^th April. 

For further information please contact: Rowan Pritchard as above. 

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This project has been made possible through funding from the Friends of Energy House 2.0 community: https://energyhouse2.salford.ac.uk/friends-of-energy-house-2-0/