Francis Gomila with Alonso Gil: "Guantanamera" Madrid Abierto 07

Francis Gomila & Alonso Gil

"GUANTANAMERA"

During the month of February 2007 a powerful sound system playing all the known versions of the Cuban classic Guantanamera, was buried deep in one of Madrid's Metro ventilators.

Madrid Abierto 2007
1st - 28th February 2007

Francis Gomila: "We Are Us And Them" Holocaust Memorial Day 2007, Northern Stage, Newcastle

Fire Station Commissions: Matt Stokes - Lead Artist

ART IN THE STATION LAUNCH - 3 MOVING IMAGE COMMISSIONS
Thursday 25th January, 4 - 5.30pm
Newcastle East Community Fire Station (situated near Byker Metro station), Union Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE6 1EH

Dane Watkins
Louise K Wilson
Anna Woodford in collaboration with Claire Mason

It is with great pleasure that Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service announces the launch of the ART AT THE STATION project.

The Fire Service is showcasing silent moving image artworks at six new Community Fire Stations, sited across Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland. Between 2005 - 6, three artists were commissioned to produce original artworks to be shown on prominent rear projection screens installed above the external entrances of three of these buildings, and displayed on flat-screen monitors inside three additional stations. Throughout the development of the artworks, the artists explored the role of the Fire Service and its activities, and how it interacts with people and groups within the local communities.

You are warmly invited to join us at 4pm - 5.30pm on Thursday 25th January, at Newcastle East Community Fire Station to officially launch the artwork on display at the stations. This event will give everyone the chance to view the artwork on display on one of the outdoor projection screens, and to speak to the artists involved and Fire Service.

Light refreshments will be served.

The Art At The Station project is the result of a collaboration initiated by Commissions North and Art Council England North East between the Fire and Rescue Service, Napper Architects, Jarvis and lead artist Matt Stokes.

Ginny Reed in 'Delineate'

Top: Ginny Reed "Door Draw"
Friday 26, 6pm- late
The Project Space, Patrick Studios
St Mary’s Lane, Leeds LS9 7EH
Exhibition runs from 26 January – 2 February 2007
Opening hours: 10am-5pm daily

And

Saturday 27, 12–2pm
Crossley Gallery, Dean Clough
Halifax HX3 5AX
Exhibition runs from 20 January – 31 March 2007
Opening hours: 10am-5pm daily

An exhibition over two sites, Delineate showcases a diverse range of contemporary visual art exploring the possibilities of line. Ranging from more traditional to experimental approaches, artists push the- boundaries of mark-making to include found objects, sculpture and digitally formatted drawings.
An education programme will run parallel to the event. Watch this space for more details. A catalogue with curatorial essay will also be available at both sites.

'Delineate' its part of the RouteMap programme supporting community-led renewal through creative activity, and gratefully acknowledges the support of ERDF funding from the European Union.

The Project Space in Leeds hosts 11 artists working in performance, participatory, interactive, installation and video works. Artists interpret and respond to the theme of line within the public realm, fostering intervention and exchange. The preview event on 26 January will offer an interactive audience experience with work developed specifically for spaces throughout the building by artists Teresa Carneiro, Rachel Gomme, Maggie Hall, Natasha Light, Onya McCausland, Rosemarie McGoldrick, Janie Moore, Corinne Mynatt, Corinne Noble, Ginny Reed and Matthew Shelton.

The Crossley Gallery in Dean Clough, Halifax shows the work of 17 Yorkshire based artists, reflects innovative and resourceful approaches to the conventional use of wall space. Ranging from more traditional to experimental approaches, artists push the boundaries of mark-making to include found objects, sculpture and digitally formatted drawings. The Crossley Gallery exhibition includes work by David Baker, Richard Baker, Eirini Boukla, Kelly Cumberland, Sophie Flynn, Kate Genever, Andrew Lister, Robert McConnell, Juliet MacDonald, Laimonis Mierins, Lucy Merchant, Paul Miller, Lisa Murphy, Ryan Riddington, Andi Robinson, Matthew Shelton, and Greg Townend.

See www.esaweb.org.uk for more details. An education programme will run parallel to the events. A catalogue with curatorial essay will be available at both sites.

‘Delineate’ is curated by Lara Eggleton and Nichola Pemberton as part of East Street Arts’ Critical Programme and is supported by ERDF and Leeds City Council funding.

Cath Campbell & Miles Thurlow: NO NO NO NO NO - a new public artwork for Gateshead

'NO NO NO NO NO'
2007
Powder Coated Aluminium, LED lights, Plywood, Paint
Sited at Hymers Court Railway Arches, Gaetshead.
Commissioned by Gateshead Council.
Photo by Joe Clark

NO NO NO NO NO

A new thought-provoking artwork commissioned by Gateshead Council as part of the town Public Art and Regeneration Programme has just been installed (Wednesday 24 January).

The temporary artwork encourages passers by to question the world around them and draw their meanings from the piece which simply states, 'No, No, No, No, No'. The text is made from aluminum and LED lights, which create a halo effect and are set onto plywood. It is sited on five archways that form part of a railway viaduct in Hymers Court, next to the Tyne Bridge.

The viaduct is a historic structure dominating the perimeter of the Town Centre and is on a newly created pedestrian route linking the Town Centre to the Gateshead Quays.

Artist Miles Thurlow works with sculpture and installation and this will be his first public art commission. Thurlow is a co-founder and co-director of Workplace Gallery in Gateshead, and is Head of Sculpture at Sunderland University. He lives and works in Newcastle and Gateshead.
Cath Campbell works in architecture, drawing and sculpture. Campbell's permanent commissions include 'Escapology' for Northern Stage Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne, and 'Detour', for Nexus Art on Transport Programme. She was recently awarded the ING Discerning Eye Drawing Bursary

Miles said: "We were interested in the idea of installing a text piece that raises questions about its surroundings and what that could mean. It is deliberately ambiguous. By giving an answer, it forces you to find a question. The meaning comes from the person who's looking at it, and not directly from the piece itself. It works like a mirror, making you reflect and question your surroundings, political situations and perhaps even your personal life.

"It's very simple, right down to the simple Helvetica font of the text. It's very subtle and you almost don't notice it as you walk past, it's designed to catch the corner of your eye, and to start you thinking. We liked the idea of people just chancing upon it and wondering why it is there and what it might mean."

Anna Pepperall, Public art curator at Gateshead Council, said: "People have been interested in this work from the early planning stages, and we hope it will create a context for debate and discussion about public art in site specific locations."
Cllr John McElroy, Cabinet member for Culture at Gateshead Council, said: "This artwork is a thought-provoking piece, it is part of the town centre improvement scheme, marking routes to Gateshead Quays. It is a temporary piece that challenges what we think about ordinary locations and can give benefit and improved awareness to our environment."

Commissioned by Gateshead Council Town Centre Partnership and funded through the single regeneration budget with support from Commissions North.

Workplace Gallery on Vernissage TV (NADA Miami '06)

Miles Thurlow talks about artist Matt Stokes who won the Beck’s Futures prize 2006 for his 16mm film, Long After Tonight. Workplace Gallery also exhibited two other works by Matt Stokes at NADA Art Fair 2006: Real Arcadia and Crave Concept MK2. Workplace Gallery at NADA Art Fair Miami 2006, December 6, 2006.

http://www.vernissage-tv.com/06/1206/matt-stokes.mp4

Matt Stokes 'Lost In The Rhthym" Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin

Matt Stokes - Lost in the Rhythm

Preview: Tuesday, January 16th , 6-8pm
With Old Skool DJ Colm Connolly on decks 7pm until late
Exhibition continues until February 24 th 2007
Temple Bar Gallery and Studios' first exhibition of the New Year is a solo show by British artist Matt Stokes, recipient of Beck's Futures 2006. Lost in the Rhythm , Stoke's first exhibition in Ireland , opens at Temple Bar Gallery and Studios on January 17 th and continues until February 24 th 2007.

Matt Stokes' practice is marked by anthropological enquiry and his abiding interest in how social events and informal movements bind people together. Music subcultures have been central to the development of his recent projects, which focus on music's propensity to influence and affect the way people live. Research plays an essential role in Stokes' work, as he actively engages with his immediate surroundings and explores participatory elements.

This distinct approach has partly evolved from Real Arcadia , an ongoing project begun in 2003 during a residency in the Lake District , documenting a series of illegal “cave raves” held in the area in the early 1990's. Stokes has archived and interpreted the clandestine experience of those who attended these parties, amassing paraphernalia associated with the now defunct acid house organisation “Out House Promotions”, some of which will be re-contextualised for the gallery exhibition. With assistance from an eclectic network of participants, Stokes' project aims to push the perception of rave culture beyond the prevailing media hype to probe the real impact of its lost ideals on the survivors.

In addition to Real Arcadia at Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, Stokes presents Long After Tonight (2005); this outstanding film contributed significantly to Stokes being awarded Beck's Futures 2006 . Stokes recreates the magic of the Northern Soul scene on Super 16mm film by uniting original “soulies” inside a Scottish Episcopalian church in Dundee, parts which were used during the 1970's for some of the city's first “Northern” nights. The camera work is carefully choreographed to match the pounding beats, flitting from the sweat drenched bodies and trances of the dancers to the surrounding religious imagery. By staging the event in the unique gilded interior of the church nave, Stokes creates a connection between the location and activity, as expressions of faith, commitment and shared purpose.

Matt Stokes has exhibited widely in the UK and beyond, most recently with a solo show at Collective Gallery ( Edinburgh ), group shows at Witte de With ( Rotterdam , Netherlands ), East international 06 ( Norwich ) and was the winner of Beck's Futures 2006 . He lives and works in Newcastle upon Tyne , UK .

For images or further information please contact e claire@templebargallery.com t. + 353 1 671 0073.

Cecilia Stenbom at Waygood "Little Jewel Cinema"

11 - 17 January 2007
GADGETS
Cecilia Stenbom


Stenbom’s unscripted monologue discusses her personal relationships to ‘indispensable technical equipment’.

This fifteen minute film has a definite conversational quality with the artist chatting away directly to the audience. From ipod to laptop, dependence to luxury the narrative is seemingly legitimised through the presence of Aitkins, supplier of electrical gadgets next door to THE MOBILE CINEMA.

Stenbom explores aspirations through gadgets examining notions of identity and relationships in a mediated world.