Posts tagged: University of Salford Art Collection

July 2024

Each year, a number of bespoke scholarships are awarded to graduating students from the University of Salford School of Arts, Media, and Creative Technology, through a scheme led by The University of Salford Art Collection in partnership with Castlefield Gallery. This year we are delighted to welcome fine art products company Wallace Seymour as a partner in the scheme, supporting a new Painting Scholarship.

Aiming to support graduates to begin their careers in the art sector, each 12-month award includes a tailored package of support which can include: studio space, mentoring, coaching, research trips, and a bursary for materials, equipment or research travel.

For the 2024 cohort we are pleased to announce Grecia Balassone, India Buxton, Iqra Saied, Jess Robinson and Robin Standring. Find out more about each artist below.

“The Scheme has supported over 50 artists across 10 years, and it has been a joy to see each artists’ practice and career develop over time. The standard of applications was as high as ever this year and is always a difficult choice. However we are delighted to welcome Grecia, India, Iqra, Jess and Robin this year and look forward to supporting them. We are also particularly grateful for Wallace Seymour for sponsoring the scheme this year, and taking part in the selection process” – Assistant Curator, Stephanie Fletcher

Grecia Balassone
Grecia is from the BA (Hons) Fine Art degree, and will be recieving a studio placement at Paradise Works.

“I am a multidisciplinary artist, experimenting with a range of ways to tell the stories surrounding a subject. Due to my lived experiences of immigration, neurodivergence, and developmental trauma, my work explores themes of identity, nostalgia, community and belonging.
My research approach is immersive. I like to understand the themes I work with from first-hand experience, or the closest to that I am possibly able to get. I find people to be a great source of information, and with stories worth telling. I am also interested in preservation (of history, memories, media, processes), which leads me to create my own archives.”

Grecia Balassone

India Buxton
India is also from BA (Hons) Fine Art, and has earned the Wallace Seymour Painting Scholarship.
“My practice is interested in exploring the representation and depiction of ancient folklore and mythology in the 21st century. My work draws upon the theories of ancient Greek Philosopher Plato and the ancient stories of their time. The figurative paintings reappropriate old stories into a new visual language that a modern audience can find their own narratives within. These paintings display my chosen stories, which are then modernised into personification of moral fables.“

India Buxton

Iqra Saied
Iqra is from BA (Hons) Photography and will be one of the first to be given a studio placement at Castlefield Gallery New Art Space in Warrington.

“Portrait photography is a powerful medium to explore ideas of culture, identity and engage in contemporary debates. ‘Unfamiliar’ starts from my own personal experience of dual heritage.
As a British Pakistani, I feel closer to my home in Manchester than I do to Pakistan and these feelings are often difficult to navigate. I have collaborated with Hafsah, Caitlin and Rohan who resonate with the project and understand the sense of guilt associated with not knowing enough about the other place. The photographs aim to communicate the difficulty in building a sense of belonging with a place you have no knowledge of. However, accepting who you are is the best journey of self-discovery. I hope people of dual heritage will find inspiration to embrace their identity and celebrate their heritage.”

Iqra Saied

Jess Robinson
Jess comes from the Visual Communication MA, and will be given a studio placement at Islington Mill.
“My current work now draws upon an interest in ancient eastern philosophy and spirituality that provides a refreshing contrast to modern, western values. Using predominantly black and white photography, I am producing imagery which attempts to visualise hidden moments of balance and moments of presence within the live music scene, against the chaos of movement and sound. These images sit alongside my own immersion and connection to natural spaces as an anti-dote to the chaos, finding a common ground and relationship between the two settings. My hope is that through practicing a mindful and connected approach to my creative process, I can step out of conditioned patterns and follow a more intuitive path.”

Jess Robinson

Robin Standring
Robin comes from BA (Hons) Fine Art and will be using the facilities at Hot Bed Press.

“My practice revolves around exploring my own identity, primarily the experiences and interactions I have as a transgender individual, focusing on the aspect of being ‘stealth’ within society today. Being ‘stealth’ in the terms of being transgender, is to live as the gender you identify with but not being openly out as trans, something many trans individuals do in order to avoid discrimination.
Through the use of an avatar affectionately named Baghead which I have created in my own self-image, I insert him in a variety of environments and scenarios, often mundane, in which almost everyone experiences, regardless of their race, gender or class; such as waiting for the bus, falling asleep on the train or even standing outside during a fire alarm.”

Robin Standring

To coincide with the celebration of Harold Riley’s life through the Every Line Is Me exhibition at Salford Museum and Gallery (April 2024 – April 2025) we have installed 4 works from the University of Salford Art Collection in The Old Fire Station Bakery this Summer.

Harold Riley work on display in The Old Fire Station.
Right to left: St Luke’s Church, Seedley (1975), charcoal and chalk. City Motorway (1977), pastel over lithography. Building by the Railway, Trafford Park (1976), chalk pastel. View of Manchester from Salford (1975), gouache and chalk.
Photographed by Sam Parker.

Artist Harold Riley was born in Salford in 1934. After studying at the Slade School of Art, London, and undertaking scholarships in Spain and Italy, he returned to Salford and lived and worked here until his passing in 2023. He dedicated much of his practice to documenting life in Salford and Greater Manchester – from both everyday urban streetscapes to portraits of local sporting stars – particularly at Manchester United FC. Further afield, he also achieved success with portraits of Nelson Mandela, John F Kennedy, and other important public figures.

The University of Salford Art Collection holds more than 100 paintings, drawings, and mixed media artworks by Riley, including local landscapes that capture the changing skylines of Salford and Manchester for over 60 years. Some places, views, and landmarks are still visible today; whilst others have been lost over time to new developments and regeneration.

Do you recognise the locations of City Motorway or View of Manchester from Salford? Get in touch with us by email or Instagram! Photograph it, tag us, let us know how these places have changed over the years.

The 4 works are on display at the Old Fire Station until the end of July 2024. We have also loaned a number of works to the display at Salford Museum & Art Gallery; please visit their website for opening times.

Haven’t visited the Old Fire Station Bakery yet? It’s the newest venue on campus, open to staff students and the public. The cafe, bar and bakery serves speciality coffee, homemade breads and bakes, and a delicious breakfast and lunch menu – including sustainable and locally-sourced options. From 4pm you can also enjoy craft beers, pop-up kitchen vendors, and a range of events from quizzes to live music. Visit the Bakery website for more info and full opening times!

Every Line is Me, Salford Museum & Art Gallery – opening night.
Photographed by Sam Parker.

“Bringing together all of Harold’s many disciplines and subject matter including painting, drawing, digital fusions, and photography. It tells the story of the man, showing works that portray places and people that were important to him. There are quotes from the artist that help illustrate the person Harold was, the legacy that he leaves behind, and the strong connection he had with the City of Salford.“

Every Line is Me at Salford Museum and Gallery celebrates Riley’s life and includes several loans from the University of Salford Art Collection (open 19^th April 2024 – 27^th April 2025; see Museum for full opening days and times).

Two new pieces of writing in response to the debut of The Conductor, a brand new performance artwork developed by Mishka Henner as part of his Energy House 2.0 artist residency. You can now read reviews from Lizzie King and Jack Nicholls for Corridor8.

The Conductor captivated audiences at Sounds From the Other City 2024 by translating live lightning data into electrifying percussion. Set in a reverberation chamber at the University of Salford Acoustics Department, The Conductor is the result of an 18-month artist residency by Henner at the University of Salford’s Energy House 2.0, a cutting-edge research facility that simulates extreme global climatic conditions under one roof to help design net zero and carbon neutral housing for the future.

Dive into the immersive experience by reading the reviews from Lizzie King and Jack Nicholls here:

The Energy House 2.0 Artist Residency Programme is organised by the University of Salford Art Collection in partnership with Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool as part of the LOOK Photo Biennial, and Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, and generously supported by Friends of Energy House Labs.

A Piece of Something Bigger officially begins showing in the New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery, coinciding with the University of Salford Degree Show, on Thursday 23rd May 2024!

Flanagan’s film explores contemporary masculinity through the prism of package holiday culture. Flanagan looks at the ideas entrenched in the male gender stereotype that saturated his youth as a way of disentangling himself. Misunderstood and under pressure to conform and perform, he studies a tension from his own experience between one’s own consciousness and social expectation.

As part of the Degree Show opening night the New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery will remain open until 8:30pm, giving you plenty of time to experience Flanagan’s film. More information about the Degree Show here.

If you can’t attend in person, be sure to check out the online showing of the film below, this link also provides you with more information about Flanagan’s film!

Online Viewing : Elliott Flanagan’s A Piece of Something Bigger (2018)

Limited places left – please book here.

Next month, Hybrid Futures: Making, Showing and Collecting Art in a Time of Climate Crisis, will be hosted in Salford. This symposium will see a day of activity and conversation around the ambitious three-year hybrid Futures project. 

What are the environmental issues currently facing museum collections, art galleries and artists? 

Is it possible to make your work more sustainable in the visual arts sector? 

How can arts organisations and their local communities work together to influence change?

Is there the potential to test ideas and new ways of working in order to create a robust and effective model to change the way that galleries should operate in the future?

Join us and our Hybrid Futures partners, along with the Hybrid Futures artists (Shezad Dawood, Jessica El Mal, Parham Ghalamdar & RA Walden), commissioners, local authority staff, funders, community members and consultants, for a day of conversation and activity; sharing our learning and exploring together actions our sector can take to create enduring and effective models of sustainable practice for galleries and museums.

You will leave having met like-minded colleagues and equipped with practical knowledge and encouragement to make changes and take action. 

 Book your place at the symposium here.

Speakers & Conveners Announced! 

We’re delighted to share with you some of the names who will be a part of the day’s programming on the 10th of May. 

Speakers and convenors:

Kit Abramson, Collective Futures, Creative Producer; Paulette Brien, Grundy Art Gallery; Rachael Burns, Touchstones Rochdale; Danny Chivers, Hybrid Futures Sustainability Advisor (Gallery Climate Coalition); Helen Cooper, Senior Manager, Philanthropy/Visual Arts, Arts Council England; Claire Corrin, Salford Museum and Art Gallery; Shezad Dawood, Hybrid Futures lead artist; Paul Dennett, Salford City Mayor; Mark Doyle, Touchstones Rochdale; Jessica El Mal, Hybrid Futures artist; Parham Ghalamdar, Hybrid Futures artist; Mishka Henner, Artist in Residence at Energy House 2.0, University of Salford; Matthew Pendergast, Castlefield Gallery; Rowan Pritchard, Exhibition Coordinator, University of Salford Art Collection; Emily Speed, Artist in Residence at Energy House 2.0, University of Salford; Lindsay Taylor, University of Salford Art Collection; RA Walden, Hybrid Futures artist (via video link), Kate Wafer, Hybrid Futures Evaluation Consultant; Helen Wewiora, Castlefield Gallery.

There is also a Marketplace where you can meet relevant organisations to get the latest information and guidance. Participants confirmed include Museums Development North, The Carbon Literacy Project, LANDS (Lancashire Arts Network for Developing Sustainability), GMAST (Greater Manchester Arts Sustainability Team), University of Salford Sustainability Team, and SPARK.

Want to know more about Hybrid Futures so far? Visit the Hybrid Futures website for more information on the Symposium, the Hybrid Futures partners, artists and exhibitions, case studies & resources. You can also now read all the reflections from the Collective Futures community engagement project. 

Back in February the Art Collection team returned to the Williamson Art Gallery & Museum to host a final event for the Craig Easton Is Anybody Listening? and Our Time, Our Place touring programme. The symposium ‘Commissioning and Collecting Socially Engaged Photography’ brought together partners and stakeholders along with artists and participating communities to ask again: Is Anybody Listening? It was a full day of talks from artists and facilitators, as well as audience feedback sessions based around the concept of ‘socially engaged practices’ and their place in the art world.

In the morning, we heard directly from Craig Easton, along with artists/facilitators Liz Wewiora, Poppy Cain, and Gwen Riley Jones; celebrating the work of the young people and emerging photographers that they supported, as well as discovering what impact each project had.

Stemming from questions that have arisen during the project, the afternoon focused more closely on the ethics surrounding socially engaged photographic practice – from commissioning and collecting through to what is valued, by who – and why? Speakers including Sarah Fisher (Executive Director of Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool), Lindsay Taylor (Curator, University of Salford), Laura Jamieson (Creative Producer, LeftCoast), Craig Easton (exhibiting artist/documentarian), Gwen Riley Jones (socially engaged photographer and Creative Director of Stockroom), and Rob Fulton (Youth Work Manager, Salford Youth Service) each presented a response to the question:
From the spectrum of socially engaged photographic practice, what should we be collecting?

The panel went on to answer questions about what evidence there was that our audience are interested in socially engaged photographic practice, whether we are omitting an important part of art history by failing to collect socially engaged practice, and how we might begin to think about recompense for those co-authoring the work; this led to a very engaged and thought-provoking debate amongst the delegates.

The event then finished with a touching reading from poet Abdul Aziz Hafiz; collaborator on Craig Easton’s Bank Top project.

At the Art Collection, we know that our recent socially-engaged work with young people has already made a huge impact on the way we work – including the way we think about commissioning, collecting, and reaching audiences and participants. In particular, our projects with Salford Youth Service have proved particularly inspiring, and we hope to find ways to develop this work further in future.

Sam Parker, Art Collection Team Assistant, April 2024

Emily Speed, currently Artist-in-Residence with Energy House 2.0, discusses sustainability and her practice with Castlefield Gallery in the most recent addition to their ongoing series Spotlight: Artists and Sustainability.

Click here to read the full interview on the Castlefield Gallery website, where Speed discusses how her work relates to issues of climate change, the ways she works more sustainably in her artist practice, and her thoughts about the role of arts and art institutions in tackling the climate crisis.

Emily Speed was awarded the second of two 18-month artist residencies at Energy House 2.0, in partnership with Castlefield Gallery, Manchester and Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool in early 2023 and she is currently engaged in research, working closely with the Energy House Labs team.

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

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

We are delighted to share that we’re bringing Hybrid Futures, a new group exhibition exploring sustainability and the climate crisis, to Salford, launching in March 2024 at Salford Museum and Art Gallery.

Bringing together all the work from across the Hybrid Futures project, you’re invited to join us to celebrate the exhibition launch on the 21st of March.

Exhibition Launch: Hybrid Futures

5-7 PM, Thurs 21st March 2024
Salford Museum and Art Gallery

Open to all and free to attend, refreshments provided.
RSVP here: https://salfordmuseum.com/event/opening-hybrid/

A prayer room, water and dates will be made available to anyone observing Ramadan. Want to attend earlier? We will be offering a quiet hour ahead of the exhibition launch. Please contact Rowan Pritchard if you would like to attend from 4 pm.

Hybrid Futures is an ongoing partnership project from Castlefield Gallery in Manchester, Grundy Art Gallery in Blackpool, Touchstones Rochdale, University of Salford Art Collection and Shezad Dawood Studio exploring collective and more sustainable ways of working.

Marking one of the final phases of the 2-year project, the exhibition brings together the new works co-commissioned for Hybrid Futures from Shezad Dawood, Jessica El Mal, Parham Ghalamdar and RA Walden, each exploring universal threats of climate change, informed and inspired by their own perspectives and backgrounds.

Also featured is the wider work of the project including Collective Futures, a test bed community engagement programme and the findings and recommendations of Hybrid Futures’ Sustainability Advisor, Danny Chivers whose work has been integral to the project and the partners.

More to come from Hybrid Futures:

• Interested in the behind-the-scenes of the project? The exhibition will be accompanied by a national symposium on 10 May 2024, where learning from Hybrid Futures will be shared. Find the booking and full programme details here on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/837365973167
• Alongside the exhibition at the Museum, two additional works by Hybrid Futures artists Parham Ghalamdar and Shezad Dawood will be screened at the New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery, University of Salford, to coincide with the exhibition. Part of the Gallery’s art film season – showing works from the University Art Collection with an international focus – Birds or Borders by Ghalamdar screens 18 March – 3 April, and Leviathan Cycle, Episode 1: Ben by Dawood screens 10th – 24th April – visit the UOSAC website for full details.
• PLUS: A new exhibition by RA Walden will open at the Grundy from 20 April – 15 June. Object transformations through the coordinate of time is a solo exhibition of newly commissioned and existing works. Spanning sculpture, installation, text and moving image, the works in this exhibition mark and measure the passing of time. Drawing on reference points as varied as, quantum physics, the ecological crisis, ancient timekeeping and the life cycle of worms, Walden is asking us to consider time at both a macro and micro level. More specifically, as an artist with lived experience of a disability, RA Walden also uses their work to explore and express non-normative experiences of time. From sculptures made from hacked office clocks to texts that ask who and what defines, ‘work’, Walden’s exhibition also provides a poetic meditation on lives and bodies whose timekeeping does not conform to the supposed ‘norm’.

Find out more about the Hybrid Futures Project:

Visit the dedicated Hybrid Futures Microsite to explore the exhibitions so far, learn more about the artists & partners, and read about the work of Collective Futures now.

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 with additional funding from Henry Moore Foundation.

🔗 Download the full press release here.

Free Admission – Thursday 29th of February 2024, 9:30am

Williamson Art Gallery & Museum

Slatey Road, Birkenhead, CH43 4UE

Our friends at the Williamson Art Gallery & Museum are hosting the last leg of the ‘Is Anybody Listening?’ tour, this also includes a thought-provoking symposium on the theme of socially engaged photography.

Facilitated by the Culture Lead for Liverpool City Region, Sarah Lovell, the symposium will explore the ethical considerations of socially engaged photography, and ask “What should we be collecting?”

Attending will be the award-winning photographer Craig Easton alongside socially-engaged practitioners and educators Liz Wewiora, Suzanne St Clare, and Gwen Riley Jones.

Expert Speakers include Sarah Fisher (Open Eye Gallery), our own Lindsay Taylor (University of Salford Art Collection), Laura Jamieson (LeftCoast), and Abdul Aziz Hafiz (Blackburn College).

There are limited spots for this event, so make sure you secure your place sooner rather than later!

Is Anybody Listening? Our Time, Our Place is presented by University of Salford Art Collection and generously supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Special thanks go to National Lottery players.

Hi, I’m Rowan and I have been working with the Art Collection for just over two years as a Team Assistant. Now in December 2023, my time as Team Assistant comes to an end.

Trying to sum up the last two years in just one blog post is quite a challenge. Here are just a few ways I’ve tried to summarise my time working with the Art Collection:

• Over 400 meetings
• Over 20 exhibitions
• 41 (now 42!) blog posts
• 12 major collaborative projects 
• 1 entire store move

(plus an incalculable number of cups of coffee!)

Here are some snapshots that capture just a few of my standout moments from working with the Collection.

The many exhibition installs and take-downs I had the opportunity to work on, particularly installing Mollie Balshaw’s garden chair self-portrait for Theirs, Yours, Ours in the New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery back in 2022. I am still quite envious of those flaming socks.

I have loved learning about the nerdier side of collections care, from the agents of deterioration to environmental monitoring and the museum vac. Even a visit from the air quality control man was thrilling in the moment.

Learning all about Albert Adams through the Albert Adams: In Context project, and digitising so many of his works that they began to haunt my dreams. Alexandra Lawson’s presentation during the symposium diving into her conservation work on one of Adams’ paintings was truly fascinating, and I particularly loved seeing the microscopic layers of paint. And Greg Thorpe’s beautiful blog exploring Adams’ life and work through objects from his archive will stick with me for a long time.

Working with Gwen Riley Jones and the young people she connected with through Action for Conservation and Salford Youth Service. I was blown away by their confidence and generosity when sharing their thoughts about artwork. They have taught me to be more open-minded in the way I think about artwork.

Going Green! Being the Collection’s Green Champion over the last two years has been really rewarding. From stiffy bags (the silver reusable alternative to bubble wrap!) to Hybrid Futures, working with sustainability underpinning what we do, and seeing that work recognised through programmes like Green Impact and the recent Green Gown awards has been fab. Earlier this year I attended Art Action >> Climate Crisis, a two-day conference held by the Gallery Climate Coalition and Whitechapel Gallery; seeing and hearing from the network of people within our sector and beyond who care passionately about the environment and are taking steps to protect it has restored my faith a little.

It would be completely remiss of me not to talk about the amazing curatorial opportunities I’ve been entrusted with over the past year. Being invited to curate a collection exhibition for the New Adelphi Gallery was a huge honour. It was a daunting prospect choosing from all of the artwork in the Collection, but the work I chose for Visibilities I hope reflects just a little of the brilliant work the Collection has been doing over the past ten years.

Finally, I’ve still not completed processing Salford Scholars at The Manchester Contemporary, where months of planning, studio visits, and working closely with our partners at Castlefield Gallery culminated in one whirlwind of a weekend. I am so pleased with our presentation at the Contemporary, and working with all of the artists and partners involved was a treat. The Graduate Scholarship Programme really is something to shout about, with over 50 scholarships offered to graduates over the last ten years.

It would be impossible to touch on all of the things I’ve had the opportunity to be involved with while working in the Collection, and I think trying to capture all of the ways it has impacted me is futile as I won’t be able to do it justice. Working with Steph and Lindsay has been an absolute joy and I want to thank them both for being so generous in sharing their expertise and experience with me. I am excited for Sam Parker, the new team assistant who has joined the Collection as a fresh 2023 Graduate just embarking on this journey. Best of luck Sam! You can read his introductory blog and get to know more about him here.

Rowan Pritchard

Dec 2023