Monday 31 March 2014

Grand Union Studios

Last week Ashleigh and I visited the Grand Union Studios in Birmingham with the NT Midlands Contemporary Art Futures Group. We had a brief intro into the background of the studios, and then met some of the artists there. First was Elizabeth Rowe who, amongst other things has done a very interesting community art project in Balsall Heath which led to establishing a biennale in this deprived part of Birmingham. She also had a residency at Dudmaston Hall in 2013.

Next was David Rowan, a photographer who photographs the collections at BMAG and does his own work on the (mostly underground) rivers of Birmingham. This is a really interesting mix of different types of very fine photography.

Another photographer we met was Stuart
Whipps, one of the photographers involved in the Reference Works project at the Library of Birmingham which I mentioned in my first blog post, last October. His work is compelling in its focus on the form and texture of everyday objects and places.

The work of Juneau Projects is extremely diverse and a lot of fun. Their work is truly multimedia, with robots, audio, print, animation, painting, laser-cut perspex - all very appealing to wide audiences. They've also worked with the Trust before, at Tatton Park, at the last biennal.

The last person we saw was Tom Bloor, who works with his twin brother, Simon, on architectural and sculptural projects. One of the things they are working on is playground designs, inspired by Isamu Noguchi.

In the afternoon, we had a talk from Deirdre Figueiredo, director of Craftspace about what she called the craft ecology of an area or county. We finished with an update from Nicola Shipley of Grain, and an intern, Clare Reece. This led to a discussion about potential for photography work at NT properties and having a shared, one-year programme at four different properties.







Tuesday 25 March 2014

First marks

We recently made the first marks on Croome Court for which I have been directly responsible. In many respects it seems fairly insignificant, but in others it seems very significant: for me, at least. Seven of us spent the morning with paint rollers and brushes, covering the pink paint on the ceiling of the shoe-rack room with a dark green paint to match the walls. Although just putting a coat of paint on the ceiling, to match that of the walls, it nevertheless felt like the first brush strokes of the next layer of Croome’s colourful history.


Of course, the paint didn’t quite match so Ashleigh and I had to go back and paint the walls one afternoon last week. The room is now ready for the installation of the Soul to Sole project, with the first sound, light and shoes going in this week.

Monday 17 March 2014

Soft Estate


A month has whizzed by since I last blogged, with the result that I have numerous photos and things to write about.

Just after I started at Croome, we had a visit by an artist called Edward Chell who wanted to do some work at Croome, and I recently went to see his exhibition at The Bluecoat in Liverpool. The exhibition is called 'Soft Estate', and Edward's work explores the juxtaposition of the beauty of wild flowers with 
motorways and other busy roads. He links this with C18th ideas of the Picturesque and the beginnings of a tourist and national commerce industry which required a vast network of roads. The exhibition is accompanied by a book.

What struck me most of all was the very restful impression the work gave - very fitting for the wild flowers, but less so for their environments.

With the M5 so close to Croome and plants being so important to the place, it will be interesting to see whether we can work with Edward.