Artists in Focus
Artists in Focus
Celebrating Museums & Wellbeing
17 MARCH – 2 DECEMBER 2018
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in Focus
Artists in Focus
4-5 Introduction
Floor 1 6-7 Landscape and Townscape 8-9 Animals and Birds 10-11 Figure Studies 12-13 Portraits 14-15 Trees
Floor 2 16-17 Children 18-19 Work and Leisure 20-21 Flowers and Still Life 22-23 Religion 24-27 Illustration and Symbolism 28-29 Cornelia Parker 30-31 Events 32-33 Map
Contents
Artists
Curator’s Comment
Introduction
Artists in Focus
A decade before I decided to follow a curatorial career path, as a high school pupil in the late 90s I remember the profound affect introductory visits to cultural institutions on a school trip to Paris had on me. My interest ignited, on subsequent visits to museums and galleries it struck me that spending time in these quiet, contemplative spaces was akin to that of visiting a cathedral or place of worship, and therefore a kind of spiritual experience, good for the ‘soul’. So I became a disciple of art and culture, and I now recognise that my visits could be described as a type of therapy. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was, but I found visiting museums and galleries interesting, inspiring, calming and relaxing.
Throughout my career I have championed the use of Collections as a tool for wellbeing, whether, for example, to stimulate and provide enjoyment and participatory opportunities for those living with dementia or visual impairment, or to provide volunteering opportunities for those who may be socially isolated or could benefit from work experience to improve job prospects. I am proud that The New Art Gallery is signed up to the Family Arts Campaign’s Age Friendly Standards and has recently achieved both Autism and Dementia Friendly status, and hope the Gallery can be seen as a non-denominational ‘safe space’ for people from all walks of life, who can receive a warm welcome from our friendly Front of House team.
Fast-forward to today, this year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the NHS, and there are new approaches in ‘Social Prescribing’ (using non-clinical community based services) being trialled throughout the UK. The case for the impact of art on health and wellbeing was brought to the public consciousness last Summer, on the release of Creative Health, the All-Party Parliamentary Group report, and there is now considerable evidence of the positive impact experiencing art and culture can have on health and wellbeing.
This year’s annual Collections re-display launches in Museums and Wellbeing Week, just as the new Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance, supported by Arts Council England, is formed. The displays on Floors 1&2 have a fresh colour palette integrated into each of the 10 themed rooms, curated to promote a sense of calm, serenity and contemplation (Floor 1) as well as to inspire and uplift (Floor 2). There is minimal interpretive intervention, to create a more meditative environment for direct contemplation of
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This extended guide can be used as a tool to follow the Artists in Focus exhibition trail through each of the rooms, where you will find works by individual contemporary artists, juxtaposed with select works from our renowned Garman Ryan Collection. At the back of this Guide you will find information on the free related Events Programme, which includes opportunities to participate in activities which explore mental health and wellbeing through these displays, as well as offering specific tours for visitors with visual or aural impairments, drawing classes, yoga and mindfulness practice. There is also a dedicated Family Trail activity sheet you may wish to use.
Art, Health and Wellbeing
the artworks. (I recognise myself that I often spend more time reading the labels on the walls than actually looking at the works on display.) In daily life we are overwhelmed with information from our computers and mobile phones, so by keeping the visual ‘noise’ in the galleries to a minimum, I hope this creates a peaceful environment without unnecessary distractions. This approach may then lead to unexpected conversations and interactions.
I am always interested in partnership working with community stakeholders and in providing opportunities for using our Collections in health and wellbeing initiatives, to create meaningful exchanges and encourage participation in the arts for everyone. Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in getting involved more with this aspect. I would also appreciate if you could complete one of the Collections and Wellbeing visitor evaluation forms on which you can give your feedback, to enable us to better understand the needs of our audiences. I hope you can enjoy visiting the galleries as an escape from the stresses of day-to-day life and have a chance to relax and be mindful. Julie Brown Collections Curator March 2018 julie.brown@walsall.gov.uk @JulieNAGWalsall
Find out more about our Collections online: www.thenewartgallerywalsall.org.uk/collections
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Landscape & Townscape
Frank Auerbach
FLOOR 1
(b.1931, Berlin) To the Studios, 1983 Oil on canvas and its related study
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He became a British citizen in 1947. After attending a Jewish boarding school in Kent for refugee children, he studied at St Martin’s School of Art and the Royal College. However, his biggest influence came from attending classes at Borough Polytechnic, where he was taught by David Bomberg, who was born in Birmingham to a Polish-Jewish immigrant family. Leon Kossoff, born in London to Russian immigrant parents, was a fellow student. Auerbach took over Kossoff’s studio in the 1950s and still works there to this day.
Painting is the most marvellous activity humans have invented Frank Auerbach
Auerbach is arguably the greatest living Modern British painter. A close companion of Lucian Freud, whose painting of Kingcups in Glen Artney sits nearby, they both belonged to the collective of figurative painters in the 1970s given the nickname the ‘School of London’. These works by Auerbach were received by the Gallery in 2015 after being accepted in lieu of inheritance tax by HM Government from Freud’s estate. It shows the view of Camden, North London, from the artist’s studio window, where he has worked for over 60 years.
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This room’s paint colour is London Stone and with its warm tone complements the view from Auerbach’s Camden studio
Auerbach was born in Berlin, into a Jewish family. In 1939, as a young boy he was forced to emigrate to England, leaving his parents behind in Germany, where they perished in concentration camps. Auerbach never speaks of this intense, personal tragedy.
Animals & Birds
Ming De Nasty
FLOOR 1
Carlo Napolitano, the Royal Loft Keeper, outside the Royal Lofts at Sandringham Mr Les Allman and his Great Granddaughter, Birchills Mr Ernie Dodd, Bloxwich 1993 Photographs
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In the early 90s De Nasty was commissioned by Walsall Art Gallery to document Walsall pigeon fanciers posing with their lofts, for the exhibition Talking Pigeons. Pigeon fancying, the breeding, competitive showing and racing of domestic pigeons, is a common hobby and an important part of the cultural life of the Black Country. Two of the men photographed by De Nasty in this series, Les Allman and Ernie Dodd, were also painted by Andrew Tift for the exhibition, and his painting Les and Ernie was one of the Winners of the People’s Choice to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Permanent Collection in 2017. De Nasty also had the opportunity to photograph the Queen’s loft keeper. She was later commissioned to produce a series of black and white photographs of members of a local boxing club for an exhibition Boxer at the Gallery in 1995, and also documented those involved with the building of The New Art Gallery, which are also part of our Permanent Collection.
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This room’s paint colour is Pigeon – thus perfectly in-keeping with the theme of De Nasty’s photographs!
De Nasty is a self-taught photographer who began her career by taking photographs of punk bands in Birmingham. She went on to set up her own studio and now receives commissions from all over the country. She specialises in portraiture, and her attention to detail in order to capture the essence of her subjects and what is important to them leads her to produce strong and vibrant images.
Figure Studies
Rachel Goodyear
FLOOR 1
(b.1978, Oldham)
Girl, 2016 Seated Figure, 2016 Crystals, 2015 Moment, 2015 Pencil and watercolour on paper 10
The artist retains an interest in classical mythology and the idea of a female oracle being a messenger from the Gods. The bodies in her work are often involved in spiritual rituals, and placed in juxtaposition with organic matter, as in Crystals. Goodyear’s work often refers to, and celebrates, pagan rituals, delivered by so-called ‘wild’ women. In Moment a circle of female figures, in a ‘ring-a-ring-a-roses’ formation, produce a puff of black smoke, which could reference the Black Death referred to in the children’s nursery rhyme, or evoke fantasies of witchcraft. These works were acquired following Goodyear’s Floor 3 exhibition at the Gallery last year.
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This room colour is Cromarty – one of the sea areas of the British Shipping Forecast – and represents the replenishing purity of water
Goodyear’s drawings often repeat recurring motifs, in dreamlike and surreal scenarios. Female figures, often with their faces obscured with covers or camouflage and sight denied, can resemble statues or figurative Greek sculpture.
Portraits
These works were presented by The Art Fund, under Art Fund International, for joint ownership by The New Art Gallery Walsall and Birmingham Museums Trust, 2010
Semyon Faibisovich
FLOOR 1
(b.1949, Moscow) Sick on the Way?, 2008 Repose, 2009 Oil on canvas
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Faibisovich originally trained as an architect and began his career as an artist after his photorealist paintings were ‘discovered’ by a New York art dealer in the 1980s. In the 1990s he turned to writing and filmmaking, after a wave of conceptualism swept Russia and his painting became unfashionable. In the 2000s Faibisovich became an exponent of the so-called ‘Mobilography’ movement. He photographs people on the streets of his native Moscow with a phone camera. This now essential commodity of modern life assists in the tracking of individuals, both by means of physical documentation and as a technological tool of surveillance. Faibisovich finds the mobile phone a democratic tool in art making for the masses. It is the lens through which we filter our world. Concert goers now film the performance on their mobile phones, rather than being present in the moment, just as visitors to the Louvre queue up to have a ‘selfie’ taken in front of the Mona Lisa, behind barriers and bullet proof glass.
Depicting them in the social landscape, their strong sense of characters and individualism is evident, in spite of the circumstances they find themselves in. He elevates their status, in a form of modern day history painting. Those caught up in political inequality are a far cry from the rich patrons of the art world. Faibisovich’s heroes are everyday people, we endlessly pass by, not giving a second glance to. Here they sit at the bus stop, with a calm serenity, waiting, surrounded by aspirational advertising. A clear irony; the advert proclaiming ‘sick on the way?’ - promotes a cure for travel sickness. Resigned to their place in society, they display a disturbing lack of self-consciousness but Faibisovich forces us to confront them to have a greater empathy and understanding of others.
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The colour blue promotes peace, tranquillity and empathy
Focusing on people on the margins of society in his work, such as the homeless or alcoholics, who loiter on the streets and at bus stops, he then develops these scenes from life in Photoshop. They are blown up and printed onto large canvases, which he then paints in such a way as to allow the brushstrokes to betray their low resolution origins. These works demonstrate the loneliness and isolation of people out on the streets.
Figure studies Trees
I started to make these works out of a kind of mourning for the person I used to be: an enthusiastic, passionate teenager who read art books and novels and poems and biographies and watched films and TV and listened to music and dreamed. They are places that were familiar to me in my childhood and adolescence, places in which I found myself alone and thoughtful. They are places in which I forgot things. ... I paint the paintings of all the times and all the thoughts I lack the language to describe. For the one single moment that I can recall, I feel a dull sadness for the thousands I have forgotten.
George Shaw
George Shaw
(b.1966, Coventry)
FLOOR 1 2
Twelve Short Walks No.1, No.4, No.7, No.8, No.11 and No.12, 2005 from a portfolio of 12 etchings
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Shaw is known for his faithful, highly detailed and naturalistic paintings of the Tile Hill Estate in Coventry where he grew up, depicted in bright glossy Humbrol enamel paint (used most commonly for Airfix model planes). This subject matter and use of material began by chance, when he was accepted onto the painting course at the Royal College of Art. He decided to ‘paint what he knew’ realising that his own working class background could be used as his subject, and this was the only type of paint he had to hand, but he continued with it as he liked both its effect and its utilitarian nature.
Central to his work is the absence of any people, or any indication of any specific era. Though set in a suburban environment, we notice in these walks the underlying presence of the natural world, those common in-between spaces on the periphery, trees we would normally never pay any attention to, that are just ‘there’. His work portrays a nostalgia for his childhood, with the optimism of youth. They appear as empty stage sets, part of the everyday lives of those who lived there. We don’t know where the paths lead, beyond their vanishing point.
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The colour green promotes balance and harmony and symbolises renewal – this shade resembles lichen, the creeping algae found in nature on trees and stones
Pink promotes calmness and clarity of thought
This portfolio of etchings draws from the artist’s archive of around 10,000 photographs of the estate. Each contains a meandering path that Shaw knew like the back of his hand growing up there in his formative years. Many of these locations were painted as part of his Scenes from the Passion series, the title referencing his Catholic upbringing and giving a biblical grandeur to the pains of adolescence. These environments would have been key to the Tile Hile teenagers’ rights of passage, full of melodrama and self-importance, though the works themselves can be regarded as quiet, reflective and poetic. Shaw continues to develop his practice focusing on this singular subject matter, meditating the locations at different times of the day or year. By clearly focusing on one subject matter and detailing the passing of time on the landscape, rather than being pessimistic, Shaw thinks there is something ultimately optimistic about dedicating your life to something wholeheartedly.
Children
Chantal Joffe
FLOOR 2
(b.1969, Vermont)
Esme in N.Y.C. Esme and Alba in Madison Square Garden Esme on the Beach Vita Roller Skating 2015 Pastel on paper board
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Painting is therapeutic for Joffe, who stated in a recent interview, if I can paint it, I can deal with it. She uses painting as a way of absorbing a moment, and taking control over it.
Joffe generally works from photographs and suggested the photographer Diane Arbus, whose work is famous for representing people on the fringes of society, marginalised through class, disability or sexuality, is a huge influence. Her work has everything about the portrait of a human that you can ever want.
Joffe’s practice centres around female portraiture. After the birth of her daughter, Esme, Joffe started using her work to depict her family and personal history. Since having a child, my paintings are more personal. I wanted to convey some of that physical intensity that comes with having a baby. The anxiety and emotions are so visceral.
In these four works, developed from holiday snaps, daughter Esme and her friends appear at leisure and are illuminated by brightly coloured sticks of pastel. Discussing this choice of medium the artist says: you can get a kind of brutality with pastel that you can’t with paint. With paint there’s always an extension of your arm and brush. Whereas pastel is so primitive. You can’t draw hard enough. Her work shows the endless nuance of bodily expression and the myriad ways in which we reveal ourselves and communicate emotion, such as happiness, sadness, confidence, doubt or distraction, whether consciously or not. These works were presented by the Contemporary Art Society with the support of The New Art Gallery Walsall, 2016/17 17
Yellow is a positive and uplifting colour
Although her technique is free and gestural, every mark is carefully considered, though she works at a frenetic pace in order not to lose the essence of the subject so her works have an intense psychological and emotional force to them.
Work & Leisure
Andrew Jackson
FLOOR 2
Washing Line, Guguletu, 2006 Hot Plate, Guguletu, 2006 Baton, Mowbray, 2006 Underpass, Central Cape Town, 2007 Photographs
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Jackson’s observations focus on urban spaces, at the turning point when cities were becoming more inhabited and over 70% of South Africans were now living in urban areas, and a mixture of different classes were coming together for the first time. These works explore notions of race, poverty, security and urbanism, focusing on the ‘inbetween’ spaces, normally overlooked, and questioning concepts of identity and belonging through exploration of the commonplace and everyday and Cape Town’s extremes of wealth and poverty and social alienation.
Jackson is a graduate of the University of Wolverhampton and has an MA in Documentary Photography from Newport, University of Wales. In his practice he aims to observe the complexities of contemporary human existence within the built environment.
In his work Jackson has also been commissioned to explore those who may have been excluded from ‘mainstream’ society, on the basis of characteristics such as age or economic status in Birmingham. In 2013 he co-founded Some Cities, a Birmingham based Community Interest Company, which is a participatory photography organisation, creating opportunities for citizens to chronicle their own lived experiences, which will form an ongoing archive to document the life of the city. 19
Orange inspires optimism and creativity
He first visited Cape Town in 2005 and this trip formed the basis of an ongoing body of work to explore the construction of a ‘new South Africa’ post Apartheid, when racial segregation gave way to social and economic segregation. These images, from the series All That It Was....All That It Is, were produced during an extended stay in the city between 2006 and the start of 2007.
Flowers & Still Life
Paul Merrick
FLOOR 2
(b.1973, Oxford)
Still Life (Chrysanthemum), 2012 Plywood, melamine, power coated steel, magazine, pins Untitled (Still Life), 2013 Draftsman’s drawing board and found image 20
In these two works Merrick attaches images from magazines onto a drawing board and plan chest, challenging the notions of what painting is and constructing two interesting still lives, which explore the potential of finding beauty in the everyday. The drawer of a de-constructed plan chest provides the support for an assemblage of yellow painted materials, offset by a single image of a pale pink chrysanthemum. The drawing board is covered in interesting marks, reminiscent of those which may be found on old graffitied school desks, with the flower image complementing the colour scheme of the desk’s pattern.
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This bright avocado green has a freshness and vitality which inspires growth, health and wellness
Merrick’s work within the last decade has moved from 2-dimensional painting on canvas, towards sculpture and appropriation. He draws together elements of the ‘made’ and the ‘ready-made’ incorporating materials such as furniture and building supplies, exploring the potential of materiality, surface and form, and the painterly qualities of juxtaposed objects, which often incorporate images of the natural world.
Religion
Rose Finn-Kelcey
FLOOR 2
(1945-2014)
House Rules, 2001 It Rules, 2002 Circuit board LEDs, each cycle approx. 5 mins
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This breaks up the bombardment of messages, reminiscent of those we face on a daily basis in the digital world. It is stressful to cope with each day’s endless ‘to do’ lists and being pushed and pulled in all directions with our religious-like devotion to technology, which overloads us with information. These exclamations remind us of the need to stop, reflect and re-set.
The system of beliefs in these works have a hypnotic effect on the viewer with their intensity and spontaneity, and invert the traditional preacher narrative, being neither written or spoken word. But these rules and instructions of modern communication give a values system of dos and don’ts, in the same way as a religious manifesto. Finn-Kelcey’s 1999 installation outside the Millennium Dome It Pays to Pray presented pseudo vending machines which dispensed LED prayers based on the names of chocolate bars. The following year a work in a Mexican convent literally translated collection box donations, via speakers in the ceiling, to ‘pennies from Heaven’. House Rules and It Rules were both gifted to The New Art Gallery through the Contemporary Art Society Special Collection Scheme. 23
Pink is a bright and cheerful colour and promotes feelings of compassion and kindness
In House Rules, commands to be obeyed are thrown at the viewer; and nothing is permitted. While its follow up, It Rules, is the antidote -everything is allowed and encouraged, in positive ‘do it’ messages. These instructions of behaviour also feature comic-strip like exclamations at regular intervals.
Illustration & Symbolism
Robert Priseman
(b.1965, Derbyshire) Never Knowing Why drawings, 2015
FLOOR 2
Pencil and crayon on paper Cleveland Elementary School Frontier Middle School Columbine High School Sandy Hook Elementary School Westside Middle School Red Lake High School Louisiana Technical College Rocori High School Virginia Tech 24
On Valentine’s Day the 18th school shooting of 2018 in the United States occurred at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. Currently a new movement spearheaded by young people who attend the school and who lost classmates in the attack is high in the global consciousness. One of the students wrote: I am so angry that I’m not scared or nervous anymore. #NeverAgain It is within this context that we show works from the Never Knowing Why series by British artist Robert Priseman.
The silicon chip inside her head Gets switched to overload And nobody’s gonna go to school today She’s going to make them stay at home And daddy doesn’t understand it He always said she was as good as gold And he can see no reason ‘Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need to be sure...
On 29 January 1979 Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California, was subjected to a barrage of gunfire coming from the house opposite. The 16 year old occupant on being asked why she carried out the attack replied ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’.
Bob Geldof, I Don’t Like Mondays, 1979
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In 2007, 32 people were killed and 17 wounded in 2 attacks, 2 hours apart at Virginia Tech... In 2008 a nursing student opened fire at Louisiana Technical College, fatally killing 2 fellow students... In 2012, 20 children aged 6 and 7 years old plus 6 adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School...And so it goes on...
On 24 March 1998 an 11 year old and a 13 year old conducted an armed ambush on their teachers and students at Westside Middle School near Jonesboro, which resulted in five deaths.
The recurrent discussion points relating to these despicable tragedies focus on gun control laws and mental health care. To use the much quoted and interpreted US gun lobby slogan - ‘Guns don’t kill people, people do.’ Easy access to fire arms is obviously crucial, however many commentators mention poor mental health services in the US and the state of the mental health of the perpetrators of these crimes, often the result of bullying or some other form of disenfranchisement or social isolation.
In 1999, on 20 April (the date chosen as it was Adolf Hitler’s birthday) two high school seniors in Colorado carried out a complex, pre-meditated plan which killed 12 students and a teacher and injured a further 21 people, at Columbine High School. This led to a high-profile public debate around gun control in the States, and Michael Moore produced the award winning documentary Bowling for Columbine. In 2003 at Rocori High School, Cold Spring, Minnesota a student, described as being quiet and withdrawn with severe acne, shot and killed 2 students. In 2005 a 16 year old boy killed his grandfather, a police officer, then took his weapons, vest and police car and drove to his old school, Red Lake High, and shot and killed 7 people.
Using Ruben’s Massacre of the Innocents as his starting point, Priseman looked at these massacres of our time, of innocents, by innocents. In this work he reflects on what caused these at one time ‘nice kids’ to commit such atrocities. Artist’s Talk – Saturday 19 May, 3pm (see Events Programme)
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Purple promotes wisdom, empathy and understanding
On 2 February 1996 at Frontier Middle School in Washington, a 14 year old killed his teacher and two students and held the rest of his classmates hostage before being stopped by his PE teacher. (One month later a gunman entered the gymnasium at Dunblane Primary School, leaving the UK reeling in the same shock and distress.)
Cornelia Parker
Cornelia Parker (b.1956, Cheshire)
Thirty Pieces of Silver (Exposed), 2015 A series of 21 polymer photogravure etchings Silver Bullet Teapot Candlesticks with Slanting Shadows 28
The negative itself then appears as a 3D object, trapped in a 2D space. Silver is a material Parker has been recurringly drawn to throughout her career and the title of the prints refers to her 1988-89 work Thirty Pieces of Silver which comprised over 1000 pieces of silver flattened by a steamroller and suspended on wires.
Thirty Pieces of Silver is also a Biblical reference – this was the amount paid to Judas Iscariot for his betrayal of Jesus
A recent acquisition, this series is on display to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Royal Academy. Parker, who graduated from Wolverhampton Polytechnic, was elected as a Royal Academician in 2010.
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Thirty Pieces of Silver (Exposed)
Parker is continually fascinated by the physical properties of objects and their histories. Thirty Pieces of Silver (Exposed) breathes new life into found objects, in this case a group of found glass photographic negatives of antique silverware, which were produced for a 1960s Spinks auction catalogue. Parker directly exposed the original plates to ultra violet light while still in their original glassine bags.
Events
Events Programme Introduction to Artists in Focus Friday 20 April, 2pm An introductory tour of the new Collections displays with Collections Curator Julie Brown, with an opportunity to discuss interpretation and display strategies, and find out more about getting involved with our Collections as part of a community focus group or in volunteering for wellbeing. Drop in, meet Floor 1, Main Hall, by the bench at bottom of the stairs Mental Health Awareness Week (14-20 May) Mental Health Tour Saturday 19 May, 11am Join Collections Curator Julie Brown for an informal tour, with special reference to works with a connection to Mental Health issues in the context of our Collections. Drop in, meet Floor 1, Main Hall, by the bench at bottom of the stairs Artist In-Conversation Saturday 19 May, 3pm Artist Robert Priseman will discuss his series Never Knowing Why, which was recently purchased for the Gallery’s Permanent Collection. These works deal with the sensitive subject matter of American High School shootings. Floor 4 Conference Room Book a free place at Reception or by calling 01922 654400 30
Yoga for Wellbeing Saturday 2 June, 8.30am for a prompt 9am start Enjoy a relaxing and contemplative yoga class, surrounded by artworks from our Collections. Floor 1, Main Hall Book a free place at Reception or by calling 01922 654400 Mindfulness Techniques Saturday 2 June, 11am and 12pm Come and enjoy an introduction to basic mindfulness practice, in a relaxed, meditative environment surrounded by Cornelia Parker’s stunning print portfolio. Floor 2, Cornelia Parker room Book a free place at Reception or by calling 01922 654400 Wellbeing Tour Saturday 2 June, 2pm Join Collections Curator Julie Brown for an informal tour of the exhibition, and discussion around Art and Wellbeing. Drop in, meet Floor 1, Main Hall, by the bench at bottom of the stairs Mini Masters Art Class – Chantal Joffe Saturday 9 June, 11am-1pm Get inspired by the brightly coloured pastels in the Floor 2 Children room, and join in with this family workshop exploring Chantal Joffe’s fast and fun technique, to create your own mini masterpiece! Drop in, Floor 1 Activity Room
Mindful Drawing Practice Saturday 8 September, 11am-12pm A practical, artist led guide to simple mindful drawing practice techniques. Floor 1 Activity Room Book a free place at Reception or by calling 01922 654400 Audio Described Tour Saturday 8 September, 2pm An informal tour of some of the highlights of the new Collections displays, including elements of touch. All welcome, suitable for visitors with visual impairments. Floors 1&2 Book a free place at Reception or by calling 01922 654400
Silver Memories Saturday 8 September, 2-4pm Bring your own silver objects for an informal reminiscence session around Thirty Pieces of Silver (Exposed) or share or listen to memories recalled through gathered objects, while doing some therapeutic polishing! Drop in, Floor 2, Cornelia Parker room Drawing from Life Saturday 6 October 11am-4pm Want to learn to draw, or pick up some new techniques? Come along to a friendly, artist led, drawing session in the gallery spaces, where there will be stations set up for you to draw a range of set pieces, including models and flowers and still life. Drop in, Floors 1&2
All events are free, but please consider giving a donation to support the Gallery, if you can 31
Events
BSL Tour Saturday 9 June, 2-4pm Come on an informal signed tour, for deaf and hard of hearing visitors, and get an introduction to the work in Artists in Focus, before taking part in a practical art activity. Floors 1&2 Book a free place at Reception or by calling 01922 654400
Map
Floor 1
Figure Studies
Figure Studies
Trees
Archive Gallery
Portraits Animals & Birds
4
Main Hall
Landscape & Townscape
1
2
FLOOR ENTRANCE
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Artists in Focus
Flowers & Still Life
Floor 2
Work & Leisure
Religion
Illustration & Symbolism
Cornelia Parker
Children
FLOOR 2 ENTRANCE
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Art
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The New Art Gallery Walsall, Gallery Square, Walsall WS2 8LG 01922 654400 thenewartgallerywalsall.org