The Arts Society Winter 2020

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GRAYSON PERRY

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THE ARTS SOCIETY MAGAZINE WINTER 2020 / £3.50

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Welcome, 1

THE ARTS SOCIETY MAGAZINE WINTER 2020 / £3.50

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On our cover: We photographed Grayson Perry in his London studio

WELCOME

GRAYSON PERRY

POWER COUPLE DEBUNKING THE MYTHS AROUND ANNI AND JOSEF ALBERS SOUTHERN SOULS THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTISTS OF THE DEEP SOUTH FINELY MADE WHY CRAFT IS A CURRENT HOT TOPIC

Enriching lives through the arts The Arts Society House, 8 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1DA Tel: 020 7430 0730 theartssociety.org magazine@theartssociety.org

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Patron: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester Chair: Julie Goldsmith President: Loyd Grossman CBE Vice Presidents: Martin Drury; Philippa Glanville OBE; Desmond Shawe-Taylor; Alison Richmond Chief Executive: Florian Schweizer

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THE ARTS SOCIETY MAGAZINE Published on behalf of The Arts Society by Think, Capital House, 25 Chapel Street, London NW1 5DH Tel: +44 (0)20 3771 7200 thinkpublishing.co.uk

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Editor: Sue Herdman Art Director: Peter Charles Chief Sub-Editor: Marion Thompson Digital Editor: Holly Black Listings Editor: Annie Davies Group Account Director: Rachel Walder Advertising Sales: Sonal Mistry, Group Advertising Manager, 020 3771 7247, sonal.mistry@thinkpublishing.co.uk Printing: Wyndeham Southernprint Ltd The Arts Society Magazine is published three times a year by The Arts Society (formerly NADFAS) and circulated to its membership.

The views expressed in The Arts Society Magazine are not necessarily those of the Chairman, Trustee Board or the Editors. Every effort has been made to check the accuracy of the information in The Arts Society Magazine. However, neither The Arts Society nor NEL Ltd can accept responsibility for inaccuracies or omissions. Articles, photographs, drawings, etc in The Arts Society Magazine may not be reproduced without the written permission of the Chief Executive of The Arts Society. The Society accepts no responsibility for goods and services advertised in The Arts Society Magazine, whether the advertiser is a Member or not. Advertisements are published for convenience of Members, and Members choosing to buy or sell through the medium of this magazine do so entirely at their own risk. © The Arts Society 2020

ANDREW MONTGOMERY

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OIL ON MASONITE. 81.3 × 81.3CM. PHOTO: TIM NIGHSWANDER/ IMAGING4ART. © 2020 THE JOSEF AND ANNI ALBERS FOUNDATION/ ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK/DACS, LONDON

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Josef Albers’ Young Prediction (Homage to the Square), 1954

hen first planning our interview with Grayson Perry, Covid-19 was not much more than a whisper from Wuhan. How things changed. Perry’s year, like all of ours, took an unexpected turn. Early in lockdown, with his wife, author and psychologist Philippa Perry, he presented Grayson’s Art Club. The series drew over a million viewers each episode and thousands responded to the club’s call for art. Series two is coming in 2021. The submissions were funny, clever, unexpected and tender. And Perry, an artist ‘always interested in sneaking in the big issues’, could not have asked for a bigger subject to spur his own art. Inside he shares his unconventional (naturally) and honest views on this, our extraordinary year.

Perry, breaker of boundaries and tickler of taboos, is an art pioneer. So, too, were that remarkable 20th-century couple Josef and Anni Albers. Fleeing Germany in 1933 for the United States, they forged reputations for their singular approach to their art. Anni’s prowess lay in textiles; Josef was a painter and master of colour (see his timeless Homage to the Square series). Inside we asked Albers expert Nicholas Fox Weber for his very personal and fascinating take on their art and legacy. We also explore the story of self-taught African-American artists of the south-eastern United States.

Connected by a history of slavery and oppression, their work, often created with discarded or everyday items, is compelling and culturally resonant. The thread that connects all these figures – and each of the features inside – is humanity’s urge to make art. At The Arts Society we recognise the importance of meeting that need in children (see page 39). And at a time like this, the work that has been started in supporting teachers to teach art seems more vital than ever.

SUE HERDMAN EDITOR

GET IN TOUCH!

Send us your views at magazine@theartssociety.org Sign up for our monthly arts news and ‘Instant Expert’ at theartssociety.org/signup THEA RTSSOCIET Y.ORG / 03

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Contents, 1

CO N TEN TS

Five powerful African-American artists’ works from the collection of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation

08 OPINION CLIENT

Arts Society Lecturer Tessa Boase asks: why do extraordinary women get lost in history?

ROMANESCO VASE I, 2017, MICHAEL EDEN. COURTESY ADRIAN SASSOON

12 INSTANT EXPERT We investigate two key works by the revolutionary Yayoi Kusama

14 GRAYSON PERRY’S NEW NORMAL

39 MAKING A DIFFERENCE We explore the initiatives of two Arts Societies that are supporting teachers to teach art

46 WHAT’S ON Plan ahead for the best in the arts

52 STUDY DAYS

The artist on his 2020 so far, sans frocks, but with cultural TV hits on his hands

Discover a new area of the arts on one of our special in-depth days or events

20 THE RISE AND RISE OF CRAFT

56 SOCIETIES NEWS

Sales in craft are soaring and makers are innovating – we investigate our burgeoning passion for the handmade

Your news and Chief Executive Florian Schweizer’s column

26 PARTNERS AND PIONEERS Anni and Josef Albers were two 20th-century artists incapable of compromise in their art. We examine their partnership and work

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63 SPECIAL READER OFFERS Our curated offers for you

65 BOOKS New arts and culture reads

66 THE ART THAT MADE ME Our President, Loyd Grossman, reveals the artworks that have particular meaning for him

CONTRIBUTORS

RAINA LAMPKINS-FIELDER Raina is curator of the Atlantabased Souls Gown Deep Foundation, which documents, preserves and showcases art

by African-American artists of the American South. Inside she spotlights a selection of works and the stories behind them NICHOLAS FOX WEBER A cultural historian, author and curator, Nicholas is also executive director of The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. For this issue he answered our questions on the Alberses’ relationship and the enduring legacy of their art for a 20th-century audience JACKY KLEIN Jacky is an art historian, publisher, curator, author and broadcaster. Her major monograph on Turner Prizewinning artist Grayson Perry has just gone into its third edition.

Read her interview with the artist inside

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32 BEARING WITNESS

Inspiring arts ideas for this winter

MARK SOMMERFELD

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06 5 THINGS TO DO

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THE FIGHTING TEMERAIRE TUGGED TO HER LAST BERTH TO BE BROKEN UP, 1838 © THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON

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NETTIE JANE KENNEDY’S BASKET WEAVE QUILT, 1973. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, GIFT OF SOULS GROWN DEEP FOUNDATION. IMAGE: PITKIN STUDIO

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5 THINGS TO DO THIS

From Arts Society talks to the power of Artemisia Gentileschi’s works, here is a taster of this season’s highlights

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Born in 1593, Artemisia Gentileschi is considered one of the soaring artists of the Italian Baroque period.

This is her Self Portrait as a Female Martyr, painted between 1613 and 1614. It’s just one of the paintings featured in the first major monographic show of her work in the UK. A number of her recently discovered personal letters will also be on display, revealing more about this extraordinary woman who suffered rape and a trial in which she was tortured, yet who went on to become the first female admitted to the artists’ academy in Florence, and to have a career that would span 40 years.

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Until 24 January 2021 nationalgallery.org.uk

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EXPLORE THE RARELY SEEN The Cornwall-based mariner Alfred Wallis (1855– 1942) was a self-taught artist, turning to painting only late in life, after the death of his wife. His beautiful, naive work was championed by figures such as Ben Nicholson, Christopher Wood and Jim Ede, creator of Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge.

Ede amassed over 120 of Wallis’ works and it is at Kettle’s Yard that a new show – Alfred Wallis Rediscovered – is now staged. It includes 60 rarely shown paintings and drawings, and three sketchbooks made in the last year of the artist’s life.

Pictured is his Brigantine sailing past green fields. _

Until 3 January 2021 kettlesyard.co.uk

Five Things..., 1 © MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY 2013

© THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER; THE COLLECTION OF LAING ART GALLERY

5 THINGS

OUR 5 ENJOY ONLINE

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Head to Newcastle, to the Laing Art Gallery, for a hit of Art Deco and a shot of sunshine as an antidote to winter weather. Postponed from earlier this year, Art Deco by the Sea celebrates the time when our coastal towns embraced the Deco look in their art, architecture and design. Developed since its first showing at The Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia, the exhibition now also features treasures from the Laing’s own collection.

We love the spirit of this, artist James Walker Tucker’s 1936 Hiking.

ARTS TALKS

Join us for the next in our Lectures at Home series, with two of our newest Arts Society Accredited Lecturers. On 27 November, at 1pm, art historian Georgina Bexon presents The Story of Indian Modern Art, exploring how artists created a new art for a new country, postIndian independence in 1947. On 18 December Matthew Denney looks at the tale of giant shows in The history of great exhibitions, expos and world fairs, from 1851 to the present: the British contribution. Seen here are Victoria and Albert at the opening of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Take your seat in the comfort of your own home, again, at 1pm.

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Until 27 February 2021 laingartgallery.org.uk

4 DISCOVER 80s DESIGN

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21 November 2020–24 April 2021 mkgallery.org

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PHOTO: PARIANO ANGELANTONIO/COURTESY MEMPHIS SRL/MEMPHIS MILANO COLLECTION

In 1981, when the design collective Memphis debuted its first collection at Milan’s Salone del Mobile, it caused a sensation. Challenging ideas of functionality and good taste, it broke the rules of streamlined modernism.

Its irreverent spirit and playful aesthetic was also to spark a new era in international design. Now MK Gallery in Milton Keynes presents Memphis: Plastic Field – a key survey of Memphis’ work, which includes arresting examples such as this, Michele De Lucchi’s Kristall table.

youtube.com/c/theartssociety

See our in-depth listings from page 46 For our top arts events each month, sign up to theartssociety.org/signup Please check for latest information on openings

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HOW DO WOMEN GET REMEMBERED?

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Discovering the work of two key past women leads Arts Society Lecturer Tessa Boase to ask: why did they disappear from history, and how do we bring them back?

If you type the words ‘forgotten women’ into Google, you might be surprised at the volume of blogs and spreadsheets containing unfamiliar names. ‘Eleven forgotten women who invented the British Industrial Revolution’; ‘The Women Painters Overlooked by Art History’; ‘Seven Remarkable Black Women Who Shaped British History’… The stories of a small army of invisible high achievers are now being disinterred. If only we knew where to look, more women could be added to the syllabus, remembered by statues or written into histories. Our grasp of the past might be transformed. Bold futures might take shape in young girls’ minds.

You could argue that the inventor of powdered mustard, Mrs Clements of Durham (1720), is at least as deserving of recognition as the inventor of the friction match, John Walker (1826), whose statue now stands in Stockton. But the domestic has, historically, been belittled, along with

Opinion, 1 other ‘soft’ female concerns. an everywoman for nature lovers.

We have room for a Florence It’s easy to adopt an Emily. But Nightingale or an Edith Cavell, what if a woman’s face was selflessly serving the male arena unappealing to the eye? What of war. But what of the women if she was cantankerous? Etta behind food hygiene, parenting Lemon is another RSPB unsung and animal rights? heroine: the dynamo who ran the Take the buried story of Emily society from 1889 to 1939. She Williamson. In 1889 this 34-yearhad, according to one male staffer, old solicitor’s wife from Didsbury ‘a face like a rat trap’. But does Unsung heroines: Emily Williamson founded what grew to be Britain’s this mean that, unlike Emily, she (left) and Etta biggest conservation movement, should not be remembered? Her Lemon (above) the Society for the Protection of portrait latterly hung in the staff Birds (later the RSPB). Her protest canteen, a target for lobbed peas. By then, against feathered hats snowballed, and nobody knew who she was. those same Victorian ornithologists Happily, we value different qualities in who’d derided her all-female campaign women today. Bloody-mindedness can be stepped smartly in to run the show. Emily’s a virtue; look at Greta Thunberg, the young part in crushing the mighty plumage climate change activist soon to be unveiled trade was forgotten, even by her family. in bronze at Winchester University. Where In 1989, at its centenary, the RSPB chose a period eye saw sulkiness or intractability to mark its origins with a plaque – one in Etta’s face, a modern eye might see that omitted to name-check its founder. steely determination. We need to breathe Instead, the society’s then president, life back into those forgotten women – and Magnus Magnusson, got his name in if that means applying a 21st-century gaze, capitals. That seems to me symbolic of so much the better. the forces at play. It illustrates the fact that men have a tendency to shout louder – then, and now. It shows us the essential modesty of women in Emily’s era. ‘Great Aunt Emily? Founder of the RSPB?’ OUR EXPERT’S STORY spluttered her great-nephew, the scientist Tessa Boase Sir Patrick Bateson, in astonishment Arts Society Accredited Lecturer when I contacted him, asking if there was perhaps a photograph. (There was: no one had asked before.)

• Tessa is a journalist As long as Emily remained faceless, it and social historian was easy to suppress her. When you have who combines writing a face, you have a personality – and then with teaching and you have a story. Yet I had to question my lecturing. She uncovers elation on discovering her to be so young the untold women’s and beautiful. I admit my first thought was story of the early RSPB in her book ‘Ah, now she’ll be remembered’. And so it Mrs Pankhurst’s Purple Feather: has proved. Her very unknowability, those Fashion, Fury and Feminism – dark, unfathomable eyes, have made her Women’s Fight for Change • You can learn more about the campaign for a statue of Emily ‘THE STORIES OF A SMALL Williamson on Tessa’s website: ARMY OF INVISIBLE https://tessaboase.com/lookingHIGH ACHIEVERS ARE NOW for-emily-williamson-rspb-founder © TIM NATHAN

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IMAGES COURTESY TESSA BOASE

OPINION

BEING DISINTERRED’

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OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS AND FEATURES DRAWN FROM ACROSS THE ARTS WORLD REPRO OP SUBS ART PRODUCTION CLIENT © MIHAELA BODLOVIC

DON’T MISS This year’s Edinburgh International Festival went digital. The result is My Light Shines On – filmed performances set primarily in the city’s empty venues, now available to view for the rest of 2020. Among the music, comedy, poetry and drama, look out for powerful performances of new works from Scottish Ballet, among them the masked Catalyst. Seen here is Rishan Benjamin – a past Arts Society grant recipient and now with Scottish Ballet – performing in Frontiers. See eif.co.uk and youtube. com/user/edinburghintfestival

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Section Opener, 1

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SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTS

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Kusama’s one-metre-high sculpture Pollen, 1986

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monograph Infinity Infinity Mirrors, that Phalli’s Field was designed to show that ‘I am one of the elements – one of the dots among the millions of dots in the universe’.

Yayoi Kusama is more than polka-dot pumpkins…

‘Our Earth is only one polka dot among the million stars in the cosmos,’ Kusama once said, adding how such dots ‘are a way to infinity’. But, although famed for her spotty squash sculptures, ranging from the minute to the enormous (which, in recent years, have become a hot Instagram favourite), Kusama’s practice stretches much further than this single motif. It is true that an overarching obsession with dots has permeated her seven-decade oeuvre (a symptom of hallucinogenic visions related to her mental health), but her work also encompasses painting, performance, installation, poetry, fashion design and more.

Repetition is the key.

Kusama has created 20 immersive Infinity Mirror Rooms, which have drawn crowds at exhibitions across the globe. While each contains its own distinct aesthetic, whether that be hundreds of twinkling lights, illuminated pumpkins or delicate paper lanterns, they all utilise mirrors to create the illusion of endless, recurring space. While many would point to the dot as the unifying theme within her work, it is this concept of repetition that truly defines her practice. Her prolific output sees the recurrence of specific objects and patterns.

Pollen (1986) is an excellent example of a work that has naturally evolved from themes first encountered decades before.

Bulbous hand-sewn tubers have become elongated and reptilian, forming a flowerlike shape that alludes to the artist’s interest in all things botanical. Dots, once again, decorate the surface, warping and crowding our line of sight. ‘What she does in her work is really what she sees,’ Rosenthal adds. ‘These are her visions.’

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Now in her 90s, Yayoi Kusama is a towering figure in contemporary art, with works that have a compelling, curious beauty. We look at just two pieces, soon to go on show

ART PRODUCTION CLIENT © YAYOI KUSAMA; COURTESY: OTA FINE ARTS, VICTORIA MIRO & DAVID ZWIRNER

protests and civil rights.

Though she returned to Japan in 1973, where she still works and lives, voluntarily, in a psychiatric unit, her influence is felt across influence the world.

The work below is called Infinity Infinity Mirror Room – Phalli’s Field.

First shown at Castellane Gallery in 1965, this immense installation marked a turning point for Kusama. She had been making Accumulation sculptures, which involved attaching hundreds of hand-stitched tubers to household items to create surreal, animalistic environments, but the process was both physically and psychologically taxing. By utilising mirrors, she not only created an illusion of entire fields of spotted, phallic objects, but evoked a sense of infinite, repetitive space.

The artist blazed a trail on the other side of the world.

Kusama was born and raised in the rural region of Matsumoto in 1929, but decided to flee the expectations of her conservative family, arriving in New York City in 1958.

Kusama presaged the selfie era.

Despite being a young woman who barely This is also the earliest example of spoke the language, she the artist being threw herself into the art photographed standing scene, gaining acclaim within her installations. for her monochromatic ‘It is the first time she canvases that questioned presents this idea of the notion of infinity interaction,’ says through repetitive ‘nets’.

Stephanie Rosenthal, She went on to conceive director of Gropius Bau a number of ‘happenings’ in Berlin and curator of that heralded a new age the major retrospective of performance art. Her opening in 2021. bombastic use of colour, ‘She becomes the nudity and dot patterns replacement for the not only aligned with the spectator, showing us burgeoning psychedelic that we can become aesthetic, but engaged part of the “Kusama with issues of sexuality world”.’ The artist Infinity Mirror Room – Phalli’s Field, 1965 installation and gender, anti-war explains in her

WORDS: HOLLY BLACK. © YAYOI KUSAMA; COLLECTION OF OTA FINE ARTS

JOINING THE DOTS

SEE Yayoi Kusama – A Retrospective at Gropius Bau, Berlin 19 March–1 August 2021 berlinerfestspiele.de Two of Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms at Tate Modern, from spring 2021 to spring 2022; tate.org.uk

Discover an art story twice a month with our ‘Instant Expert’ email, from an Arts Society Lecturer. Sign up at theartssociety.org/signup

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Travel Editions

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THE ARTS SOCIETY INTERVIEW VERSION REPRO OP

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he date 24 March 2020 should have been a day of celebration at Grayson Perry’s Islington home. It was the artist’s 60th birthday, set to be full of friends, fizz, pizza and partying. Instead, it was the first day of lockdown in Britain, the official start to a year of cancellations and halted plans, all set against the grim backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. How did Perry feel about it? ‘Well, I must have had one of the earliest Zoom parties in Britain,’ he quips bleakly.

Perry – Turner Prize winner, flamboyant transvestite and TV presenter – prides himself on being something of a trendsetter. For four decades he’s zoned in on our social mores and habits, often sensing storm clouds brewing in the cultural weather (‘toxic masculinity’, ‘identity politics’) well before they hit land. The surfaces of his pots, prints, tapestries and sculptures are riddled with motifs from contemporary life – tax havens and supermarket lorries, refugee tents and Instagram addiction. Not everyone has appreciated his mordant, punning humour, more akin to the historic satirists Hogarth and Cruikshank than to the conceptualists of today. Now a Royal Academician and BBC Reith lecturer, with a CBE and Erasmus Prize to boot (his 2020 award postponed until the ceremony can take place without social distancing), Perry trod a long (and bumpy) road to success. His earliest works from 1 4 / T H E A RTSS OC IETY.O RG

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the 1980s – on view at Bath’s Holburne Museum – look timid at a distance, but close up they mischievously stick two fingers up at propriety, replete with swastikas, sadomasochistic porn and men in frilly dresses.

But even Perry’s usually joyful, ostentatious transvestism has been challenged in isolation. ‘I’ve only dressed up three times since March. I miss it, but I don’t have the motivation. It’s two hours’ work – a big effort. I’m getting older and I just can’t be bothered.’ Lockdown, by his own admission, accelerated changes already underway in recent years, including waning energy levels. ‘I can’t do three shifts a day any more,’ he admits. ‘The key is not to have ideas in the afternoon.’ Major aesthetic decisions are instead morning work; after lunch comes craft, or what he describes as ‘the mundane tasks – scrape, scrape, mould, mould – which I can coast through, without having to be super sharp.’

LOCKDOWN VIEWING

Despite having a bit less vim these days, Perry has had an extraordinarily productive year. By August, he’d already produced what would normally be a year’s output. An exhibition of new work is on at his London gallery; his latest TV series on America’s culture wars hit the small screen this autumn; a glitzy new stand-up show is planned for the spring.

Perhaps his major success of the year has been »

JOHN MILLAR

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He’s hosted the cultural TV hit of the year; he thinks Covid has usefully trimmed the fat of a self-indulgent arts world; and he’s embracing uncertainty, without even bothering to don a frock. Welcome to 2020, according to Grayson Perry, says Jacky Klein

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‘IT’S A RIPE MOMENT FOR SOCIAL REVOLUTION. WHEN EVERYTHING’S UP IN THE AIR, IT MEANS THAT THE PIECES HAVE A CHANCE TO FALL DOWN IN A VERY DIFFERENT PATTERN’

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Grayson’s Art Club, the hastily put-together but heart-warming Channel 4 series cooked up by his long-time director and friend, Neil Crombie, in which the public submitted artworks on weekly themes, from portraits to fantasy. ‘Neil recognised in early spring that people were about to be stuck at home with time on their hands – so why not encourage them to do something, to make art?’ The series followed Grayson and his psychotherapist wife Philippa around his north London studio as they themselves made art (in his case, a portrait plate, house planter, tea towel, and pots including We’ll Catch it on the Beaches, wittily conflating the Covid and Brexit crises). Celebrity friends popped up with their own work and whimsical titbits along the way.

Offering a liberal dose of humour, creativity, intimacy and community during the unsettling early weeks of the lockdown, the series was his most successful television venture yet, with regular audiences of over a million. An exhibition of selected artworks is hoped to be shown in a Manchester gallery, while a follow-up series has been commissioned for the new year. Why does he think it was such a hit? ‘Art Club was less about art and more about our relationship with ourselves,’ he reflects. ‘The reason for making art is no

Empty Vessel, 2018, based, says the artist, ‘on all the clichés that crop up on social media’

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different for amateurs and professionals: it’s a communication between the artist’s unconscious and the viewer’s. Often that’s more potent with people who aren’t used to the process; a lot of things pop out in an artwork that the maker isn’t necessarily fully aware of.’

If the show provided a mental health lifeline for its contributors and viewers, it did much the same for Perry, who found lockdown a depressing and lonely time. ‘My cultural consumption went right down. I’ve hardly read this year. I tend to watch comforting, guilt-ridden telly. I’ve barely listened to Radio 4 because it’s all so miserable. For me, Art Club was six weeks’ distraction at the height of lockdown. It felt good to do it.’ As for the devastating effects of Covid on the cultural world – theatres and music venues closing, galleries struggling to survive – Perry has, as so often, an unconventional take. ‘I think every part of life has probably got a bit of fat that needs trimming, a bit of dead wood,’ he suggests. ‘It’s awful that the culture sector has been decimated, but I think some things needed to go. Too often, the audience for culture is just the people making it – theatres with whole audiences of actors, or exhibitions only put on to impress other curators. With Covid, it’s been like turning a computer off and on again, and seeing which files reappear. Some of them we don’t really give a damn about. What’s interesting is what might not re-emerge.’

QUESTIONING IDENTITY

He sees other silver linings, too, in the restrictive measures that coronavirus has brought on. The environment has benefited, forcing a long-overdue readjustment in our consumerist, carbon footprintheavy ways. ‘We don’t want to fly now; we’re all cycling. Greta Thunberg is wetting her knickers.

Covid’s achieving all the things she wants.’ Less facetiously, Perry sees how it has focused minds more sharply than ever on social and racial inequality. ‘It’s put a lens on everything – zapping

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© GRAYSON PERRY, COURTESY THE ARTIST AND VICTORIA MIRO

Left: ‘Bicycles are the future…’; Perry on his 2017 custommade Princess Freedom Bicycle Above: Design Based on Sketches by a Murderer, 1990

Below left: Perry’s ‘Covid vaccine’ placed within the ‘belly’ of his new Alan Measles sculpture (page 14) Below right: a shelf in his studio

JOHN MILLAR

JOHN MILLAR

PRINCESS FREEDOM BICYCLE, 2017. PHOTO: THIERRY BAL

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Interview: Grayson Perry, 2

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Grayson Perry: The Vanity of Small Differences, Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange; until 2 January 2021; newlynartgallery.co.uk Grayson Perry: The Pre-Therapy Years, The Holburne Museum, Bath; until 3 January 2021; holburne.org

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Grayson Perry: The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman, his memorial to the unknown craftsmen and women who made some of the wonders of history at The British Museum; until January 2021; britishmuseum.org

READ Grayson Perry (updated and expanded edition) by Jacky Klein, published by Thames & Hudson; thamesandhudson.com

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‘IT’S AWFUL THAT THE CULTURE SECTOR HAS BEEN DECIMATED, BUT I THINK SOME THINGS NEEDED TO GO… WITH COVID, IT’S BEEN LIKE TURNING A COMPUTER OFF AND ON AGAIN, AND SEEING WHICH FILES REAPPEAR’

Sponsored by You, 2019, which alludes to the fact that ‘we’re the ones paying for these rich people who don’t pay enough tax’

the contrast on all the injustices in society. The poor suffer more, the non-whites suffer more... It’s a ripe moment for social revolution. When everything’s up in the air, it means that the pieces have a chance to fall down in a very different pattern.’

How are the pieces of his own life starting to settle? Perry does have a big new idea that he’s starting to play with, and it’s as close to home as ever: England. ‘I’m always interested in the default,’ he says. ‘White is a default, male is a default, and England is a default if you’re British. It doesn’t have the assertive breakthrough identity of Scotland, Wales or Ireland. Covid has highlighted that we are different nations in the most marked way. I’m sure it’s feeding the devolution arguments – but the question for the England that might be left is: who the hell are we?’

If you want to know where this existential line of thought is heading, you may be in for a wait. The

Grayson Perry’s Big American Road Trip, available on All 4

future is uncertain, even for an A-list artist who’s usually scheduled up for years; long-term planning has been one of the casualties of 2020. ‘The nature of creating culture is that you’re making someone else’s nice day out in two or three years’ time, so I’ve lived completely in the future,’ Perry recognises.

‘Now, after the end of this year, I’m not quite sure what’s happening.’ And that uncertainty has changed how he works, too. ‘It’s made me fall back into making art in the way I did when I was young.

You make it for yourself, now, with no idea about where it might be exhibited.’ Doubt, of course, can be productive, and open-endedness may be a good thing for an artist whose work has been increasingly woven into the complex demands of museums and TV production companies.

‘Uncertainty has always been a creative kick for me. How can I make work in a way that exploits the current situation, that fits into the “new normal”?’

There’s no doubt Perry will rise to the challenge.

As he argues, ‘It’s what artists have got to do.’

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THE ARTS SOCIETY INTERVIEW

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THE RISE AND RISE OF CRAFT

A new survey reveals that our collective interest in craft is soaring.

What lies behind this surge? Isabella Smith investigates SUBS ART PRODUCTION PHOTO: © MICHAEL HARVEY 2017. IMAGE COURTESY SARAH MYERSCOUGH GALLERY

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Eleanor Lakelin’s 110cm-high Echoes of Amphora: Column Vessels, 2019, made from horse chestnut burr. The artist uses only wood from British trees that have been felled due to decay

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Craft, 1

IN FOCUS

Michael Eden with a selection of works created using 3D printing

IMAGE COURTESY OF ADRIAN SASSOON, LONDON

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illiam Morris would be pleased. More than 140 years after the advocate for craft exhorted us to ‘have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’, we seem – at last – to be taking note. A Crafts Council survey, the Market for Craft report, reveals 73% of UK adults bought craft in 2019, snapping up almost 25 million handmade objects. This year’s sales were predicted to exceed £3bn before Covid-19. In 2011 that figure was £1bn. ‘There are a number of reasons behind this,’ asserts Crafts Council director Rosy Greenlees. ‘People are increasingly interested in acquiring pieces that reflect their personality, and craft is about individuality – crafted objects are either unique or made in small batches.’

Marking a significant shift, almost a third of those buying are aged under 35. Social media is a big part of this, as digital natives use their media savviness to promote handmade wares. These range from the affordable and everyday through to high-end offerings from galleries.

At both ends of the spectrum, e-commerce is thriving.

Over 10 million of us are buying craft online: a figure that has more than tripled over the past decade.

BOUNDARY BREAKERS

Far from leaning on craft heritage alone, makers are innovating – exploring the ways, for instance, that technology and tradition can combine. Maker Michael Eden creates dazzling sculptural vessels that marry 3D printing and ceramics skills. Designer-maker Gareth Neal produces furniture using both woodworking skills and CNC (computer numerical control) machines. Clearly, the current rise of craft cannot be dismissed as folksy nostalgia alone. Others continue to create tactile objects that encourage the viewer to feel. Wood artist Eleanor Lakelin’s lathe-turned vessels are a perfect example: bleached bone-white or ebonised to a silky black, their surfaces beg to be stroked. While most craft is free from contemporary art’s conceptual underpinnings, it is never short of simple pleasure.

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Glassmaker Steffen Dam’s surreal handblown and cast glass Marine Life and Jellyfish Jars

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CLOSE-UP ON JARS BY STEFFEN DAM. IMAGE FROM JOANNA BIRD

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Such skilfully worked objects, perfected through patient study, are one source of satisfaction. Then there are those that come from makers who push the boundaries of what we once defined as ‘craft’. Glass artist Steffen Dam creates complex sculptures, magicking imaginary sea creatures from molten glass and arranging them into cabinets of curiosity. Artist Rowan Mersh sews together thousands of hand-cut seashells to create delicate, net-like sculptures.

Weaver Ptolemy Mann creates painterly textiles so vivid they appear to throb with inner life. The mesmerising quality of these objects comes from both their beauty and their mastery. Each is the antithesis of an object made in its millions in sweatshop conditions. Craft brings beauty to our homes, without the hangover of consumer guilt.

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unique handmade objects appear ever more intriguing.

This allure is enhanced when accompanied by stories of maker and making, which is where social media shines.

It’s the combination of craft’s two parallel aspects – of both material and narrative qualities – that work so successfully online. ‘It’s a moment where the digital and the physical are working together in a positive way for craft,’ reflects Greenlees. ‘There was obsession in the early 2000s with digital technology being the be-all and end-all; the rise in craft is an interesting reaction to this. People have become re-engaged in the value of physical things again.’

LENDING SUPPORT

Despite this boom in public interest, craft can be a financially perilous career choice. ‘My view is that unless people can make a living, particular skills are going to die out,’ says Arts Society volunteer Pat Wood, who has long

Craft, 2

IN FOCUS

been involved, via the Grants Committee and the Greater London Area, with the Cockpit Arts/The Arts Society Award. She adds: ‘We’ve helped craftspeople make their business viable. The award is a bursary of £3,000 towards a year in a studio. We also help stone carvers at City & Guilds, give student bursaries for the Royal School of Needlework and support Koestler Arts, which brings handmaking into prisons.’

Support from bodies such as The Arts Society is vital for emerging craftspeople. It’s also clear that making is attracting more and more of us. This is borne out by viewing figures for craft-based shows. The BBC’s The Great British Sewing Bee shifted to a prime-time slot with audiences of over four million, while a public petition helped bring The Great Pottery Throw Down back onscreen. The Market for Craft report shows that 20% of British consumers would pay to attend a craft workshop.

Hobbycraft has seen a 200% increase in online sales since the pandemic began. Now Covid-19 has ushered in an age of living life digitally, the need for craft will likely increase,

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PHOTO: FRANKIE PIKE. COURTESY GALLERY FUMI

TATE COMMISSION – CIRCADIAN RHYTHM – DETAIL – DAYLIGHT 2019

Textile artist Ptolemy Mann’s Circadian Rhythm, 2019, Daylight

Placuna Anima Maris, 2017, made from capiz shells and alabaster,

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The Arts Society’s Patricia Fay Memorial Fund Award enabled jeweller Meron Wolde to work in a funded Cockpit Arts studio

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‘NOW COVID-19 HAS USHERED IN AN AGE OF LIVING LIFE DIGITALLY, THE NEED FOR CRAFT WILL LIKELY INCREASE, OFFERING THE DIGITAL-WEARY A CHANCE TO UNPLUG AND REGROUP, AS REPETITIVE ACTIONS OFFER A MEDITATIVE SPACE CONDUCIVE TO MENTAL WELLBEING’

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offering the digital-weary a chance to unplug and regroup, as repetitive actions offer a meditative space conducive to mental wellbeing.

THE BOON OF BENEFITS

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FOR MORE Turn to page 63 for our special offer on the fine textile wares of recent Arts Society Award grantee Laura Woodhouse Handmade in Britain is an Arts Society Partner. See handmadeinbritain.co.uk for news of its 2021 shows

While sales are booming, education is a different story.

Art, craft and design offer opportunities for children less suited to academic subjects who have potential to soar within the creative industries. ‘Nevertheless, craft is increasingly excluded from the national curriculum,’ states Michele Gregson of the National Society for Education in Art and Design. ‘Yet a good craft education matters. Every child should get the benefits of making: whether that’s wellbeing, career choices, being part of your heritage or developing fine motor skills.’ That latter point is another growing cause for concern. As Gregson pithily puts it: ‘If you don’t think craft matters, just think about the surgeon stitching you up. What kind of hand skills do they have?’

Professor Roger Kneebone of Imperial College London has spoken out on trainee surgeons who ‘can’t sew or cut’, for which he blames excessive tapping of the 2D surface of screens, rather than handling materials.

‘The pandemic has not only increased the (already excessive) amount of time people are spending on-screen; it’s also shown how dangerous it is to rely exclusively on far-flung, exploitative systems of production and distribution,’ says craft critic Glenn Adamson. There’s a sustainability angle to the rise of craft, too, as growing numbers of people wish to buy well – choosing investment purchases over throwaway objects. He adds: ‘Craft cannot be the sole solution to these problems, but it is a key part of the more holistic, ecological and locally oriented culture we’ll need to build coming out of this crisis.’ It’s a heartening thought. Craft, and the power of craftspeople to innovate, surprise and bring joy, may just help us thread our way through these troubling times.

Isabella Smith is assistant editor of Crafts magazine

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ANNI AND JOSEF ALBERS

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COURTESY AND © 2020 THE JOSEF AND ANNI ALBERS FOUNDATION/ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK/DACS, LONDON

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PARTNERS & PIONEERS

She was the weaver and textile designer who led us to reconsider fabrics as an art form. He was an influential teacher, painter, designer and colourist. Together Anni and Josef Albers were 20th-century innovators.

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You knew Anni and Josef Albers personally. What are your recollections of them?

I was fortunate to spend time with them in their last years and they appear, in hindsight, all the more remarkable. They were youthful and still working. Josef didn’t start his Homage to the Square series (his paintings of three or four nested squares of solid colours, of which he made more than 2,000) until he was 62. They were like a two-person religious sect. They led a confined, organised life and dressed simply.

They liked the affordable (at one time they had recycled car seats as a sofa), and had no patience with pretension.

Art and universal truths were their primary focus. Josef strove to explore the miracles of colour, wanting to reveal them to the world endlessly.

Anni was obsessed with the quality – the candour – of weaving; what it should reveal about the medium and how it should show the truth in the way a textile holds together.

How would you describe their partnership?

They worked on their own terms, in everything they did, including their marriage, which was complex. Anni recalled Josef coming to her once to ask for help in ending an affair. ‘I was very proud to be able to help him,’ she said. An unusual attitude – yet what I understand now is just how important their marriage was in liberating them to be creative. They supported each other’s priorities. They understood each other’s need to make art. Their work complemented each other’s. But if their art was shown with that of other artists, for instance Josef’s with

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Right: Anni Albers screenprint, B, 1968

OIL ON MASONITE; 60.5 × 60.5CM. COURTESY THE JOSEF ALBERS MUSEUM QUADRAT BOTTROP © 2020 THE JOSEF AND ANNI ALBERS FOUNDATION/ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK/ DACS, LONDON

Below: Josef Albers, Study for Homage to the Square: Impact, 1965

‘THEY WERE LIKE A TWO-PERSON RELIGIOUS SECT. THEY LED A CONFINED, ORGANISED LIFE AND DRESSED SIMPLY… THEY HAD NO PATIENCE WITH PRETENSION. ART WAS THEIR PRIMARY FOCUS’

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Anni and Josef Albers, 1

55.8 × 47.8CM. PHOTO: TIM NIGHSWANDER/IMAGING4ART © 2020 THE JOSEF AND ANNI ALBERS FOUNDATION/ ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK/DACS, LONDON

Left: Josef and Anni Albers, c.1935

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Where should we place the Alberses in art history?

It’s important to get away from the idea of ‘movements’. There are no ‘isms’ that can be associated with them. They can’t be typecast. Yes, they are associated with the Bauhaus, where they met, but they were just two very original artists, producing art of integrity and energy. Their closest affinities were to artists that had preceded them by centuries.

If coming to Anni’s work for the first time, which pieces should we seek?

Start with a couple of her simple, functional Bauhaus textiles, of the 2 8 / T HE A RTSS O C IETY.O RG

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Above: Josef Albers, Etude: Red-Violet (Christmas Shopping), 1935

Below: Josef Albers, two geese, c.1917, ink on paper

COURTESY AND © 2020 THE JOSEF AND ANNI ALBERS FOUNDATION/ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK/DACS, LONDON

Donald Judd’s, it was like trying to listen to two musical scores at once.

type where the entire design is thread. What gives the piece its structure, gives it its beauty. Move on to her 1927 Untitled wall hanging, now owned by Harvard Art Museums.

Anni thought it was the best of her Bauhaus period. Then there are the room dividers she made for her 1949 exhibition at MoMA. Such an inventive use of materials, including cellophane, horsehair and jute. See her 1958 South of the Border. Just five inches high, it’s like a mural, with such vibrancy. It’s in the realm of her great making. Her Meander prints are remarkable for the way they depend so much on the process of printmaking. And I would direct you to her later wall prints. Who else but an older Anni Albers would utilise the tremor of her hands to create something so beautiful?

And of Josef’s work?

Start with his sparse drawing of two geese, c.1917. He used minimal means to maximum effect – that is how he always worked. Seek out his Bauhaus assemblages of broken glass shards and stained glass, and his photo collages of a similar time.

I like the one of Walter Gropius at the beach in Biarritz. You can see Josef’s playfulness in his juxtaposition of the images. For his Black Mountain College years go to his small 1935 Etude: Red-Violet (Christmas Shopping). It is so true to abstraction. If it was on a magazine cover now no one would guess that it was a Josef Albers, nor when it was made. Of his Homage to the Square series, for me, it is his pair, Despite Mist (1967 and 1968). The only physical difference between them is the outermost colour. And then see his linear series, Structural Constellations. So simple: thin, straight lines create compositions that are optical illusions. You can see the image one way, then another and can’t reconcile how you can see two things simultaneously.

Below: An Anni Albers screenprint, Red Meander II, 1970–71

71.1 × 61 CM. COURTESY AND © 2020 THE JOSEF AND ANNI ALBERS FOUNDATION/ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK/DACS, LONDON

Why was colour so important to Josef?

He was fascinated by its deceptive qualities and its magic. He arranged colours in a way to make a perfectly flat colour appear shaded. Again, he created illusions. Take a work where he has dark red in the middle and pale tan outside. You begin to see the illusion of that red on the outside of that tan square that surrounds it, but not on the part of the tan square that is closest to it.

An impossibility occurs. In maths, 1 + 1 + 1 = 3. But for Josef, in art, the same sum equalled infinity.

What myths about the pair would you debunk?

There are so many. Firstly, Anni did not weave Josef’s suits. There was talk of Josef being harsh: a rumour, for instance, that he had forced the artist father of actor Robert De Niro to be so unhappy that he left art school. It’s not true (Robert De Niro Senior, by the way, was a good painter). But both Anni and Josef were opinionated. Josef spoke of Marcel Duchamp’s work in the way he spoke about Hitler. He thought Duchamp’s influence gave people license to be second-rate artists. That, to him, was unacceptable. And art history does Anni a disservice when it says she was forced into textiles at the Bauhaus. Working with oils and » THEA RTSSOCIET Y.ORG / 2 9

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Right: Anni Albers, cotton and wool South of the Border, 1958

10.5 × 38.7CM. COURTESY OF THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART © 2020 THE JOSEF AND ANNI ALBERS FOUNDATION/ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK/DACS, LONDON

ANNI AND JOSEF ALBERS

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1888 Josef Albers was born in industrial Bottrop, the son of a carpenter 1899 Anni Albers (née Fleischmann) was born into a wealthy family in Berlin

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COURTESY THE JOSEF AND ANNI ALBERS FOUNDATION

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The Albers-inspired children’s intensive care unit in St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington

canvas or equivalent there meant wall painting. Anni had an inherited physical condition that saw her walk with a limp; she could not climb a ladder for such painting. But once in the textiles space she saw how to use a loom inventively. It became a treasure trove of possibilities.

What does the Alberses’ art offer a 21st-century audience?

One of Anni’s favoured books was Wilhelm Worringer’s 1908 Abstraction and Empathy. To use his term, their art offers ‘visual resting places’. For me, their work offers a marvellous diversion. Both Anni and Josef felt that art, at its best, does not evoke the tragic. This year our

foundation worked with St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington to take the Alberses’ art as a frame to redo the paediatric intensive care unit. Josef considered yellow the colour of healing. The unit was subsequently used to care for Covid-19 patients.

Our hope is that the Alberses’ approach to art now provides at least a few minutes’ reprieve from a situation in those spaces. If art is going to have a place for us, it is the creation of an ‘other’ in which we can lose ourselves – in the intricacies of an Anni Albers-designed wallpaper, or the colours Josef loved. It’s that ‘other’ that the Alberses sought in their work. And we have particular need of that ‘other’ in these times.

1922 The two met in Weimar, Germany at the Bauhaus. Josef was teaching and Anni was a student; they married in 1925 1933 The Bauhaus closed, with Josef being among those deciding on its closure, rather than comply with the Third Reich’s rules. The Alberses moved to Black Mountain College in North Carolina, where Josef made the visual arts the centre of the curriculum 1949 The Museum of Modern Art gave Anni a solo show, its first ever of a textile artist 1950 The pair moved to Connecticut where, until 1958, Josef was chairman of the Department of Design at the Yale University School of Art 1963 Josef’s book Interaction of Color was published 1965 Anni’s book On Weaving was published 1971 The first solo retrospective exhibition of a living artist at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art was devoted to Josef’s work 1976 Josef Albers died 1983 The Josef Albers Museum in Bottrop opened 1994 Anni Albers died

FIND OUT MORE Anni & Josef Albers: Equal and Unequal by Nicholas Fox Weber is published by Phaidon; phaidon.com For more – and news of 2021 exhibitions – see The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation; albersfoundation.org

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AT A GLANCE

JOSEF AND ANNI ALBERS IN THEIR LIVING ROOM, 8 NORTH FOREST CIRCLE, NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, C.1965. PHOTO © JOHN T HILL. COURTESY THE JOSEF AND ANNI ALBERS FOUNDATION

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INTERVIEW: HOLLY BLACK. UNTITLED (FRAMED PHOTO OF ROSEMARY PERSON), C.1981.

LEROY PERSON (1907–85) © ESTATE OF LEROY PERSON. PHOTO: ROGER MANLEY

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BEARING WITNESS The Souls Grown Deep Foundation works to advance knowledge and appreciation of the art of African Americans from the South of the United States. Here curator Raina Lampkins-Fielder reveals five remarkable pieces from its collection

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Curator's Choice, 1

C U R AT O R ’ S C H O I C E

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. GIFT OF THE SOULS GROWN DEEP FOUNDATION. ESTATE OF NETTIE JANE KENNEDY/ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK. PHOTO: STEPHEN PITKIN/PITKIN STUDIO

T

Opposite: Untitled, 1981, by artist Leroy Person who lived in the swampy Occhmecchee Neck

Above: Basket Weave, 1973, by Nettie Jane Kennedy

MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ART. MUSEUM PURCHASE AND GIFT OF THE SOULS GROWN DEEP FOUNDATION © ESTATE OF LEROY ALMON. PHOTO: STEPHEN PITKIN/PITKIN STUDIO

he mission of Souls Grown Deep is twofold. First, we have the foundation, established in 2010 to document, preserve and promote the work of African-American artists from the southern states of the USA. Second, the Community Partnership Programme, which focuses on supporting the communities that nurtured these artists, by fostering economic empowerment, racial and social justice and educational advancement. We oversee 160 artists and have over 1,000 works, all of which are deemed museum quality, but are not necessarily well known to the larger landscape. These include those of the incredible quilting tradition of the women in the remote community of Gee’s Bend in Alabama, including Mary Lee Bendolph and Lucy T Pettway, and the works of artists such as Joe Minter, Lonnie Holley and the late Purvis Young. All of these were gifted at transformation and making art out of ordinary things. A prime example is the ‘yard show’, where work is assembled from everyday items and shown in the yard outside the home. This was born out of necessity, because these artists were thinking: ‘I might not be in a gallery, but I want to show my ideas and bear witness.’

It is important to remember that we are working with ‘IN THE PERIOD WHEN individuals who are THESE ARTISTS GREW disenfranchised because they were – and are – black, poor UP, IN THE TIME OF and living in the South of JIM CROW LAWS, the United States, which is DECLARING YOURSELF historically under-resourced.

This is the reason why they AN ARTIST WAS AN weren’t considered or seen ACT OF RESISTANCE in the art world before. In the AND DEFIANCE’ period when these artists grew up, in the time of Jim Crow laws, declaring yourself an artist was an act of resistance and defiance. It was not looked upon with favour. That being said, places like Gee’s Bend are rich with social and political activism, which has given rise to creative ingenuity.

Our goal is to disseminate this art broadly, as opposed to having a museum at our bases in New York, Atlanta and Paris.

We have pieces in the collections of 21 museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Encouraging the inclusion of these artists, their artistic production and cultural traditions into the American art canon is done in a number of other ways, too, including exhibitions, education, publications and academic programmes, as well as a paid internship scheme, where we place three emerging curators of colour in a museum that has acquired work from our collection. This is part of a wider issue of representation and is designed to evolve the conversation around this missing chapter of art history.

Christ, 1987, by Leroy Almon, a woodcarver who worked on

softwood panels with a pocketknife and chisel

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 STARS OF EVERYTHING

Thornton Dial, 2004 REPRO OP

Thornton Dial (1928–2016) is one of the best-known artists in the collection. He had his own universe of symbolically charged materials, most of which were gathered from a form of waste, from carpet scraps and paint cans to skulls. This is an enormous piece (98 x 101.5 x 20.5 inches), filled with markers of social oppression, including strands of rope. Some people have suggested that the downtrodden central figure of a bloated American eagle could be a self-portrait, but it also encompasses the idea of freedom, of turning scraps into stars, and what one can salvage from the landscape.

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Lucy T Pettway, 1981

DAVID RACCUGLIA

HIGH MUSEUM OF ART. MUSEUM PURCHASE AND GIFT OF THE SOULS GROWN DEEP FOUNDATION. PHOTO: STEPHEN PITKIN/PITKIN STUDIO

Rather than being restricted by any particular style, Lucy T Pettway (1921–2004), a quilt maker for seven decades, constantly observed the patterns and forms that surrounded her environment – no two quilts appear the same. Each one is a conversation, creating a visual call and response, which harks back to the singing that often takes place while quilting. The women of Gee’s Bend always use a unique sense of controlled improvisation. Each quilt is like a family portrait, with ancestral echoes and a sense of the communal, because no one ever makes a quilt entirely on their own.

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FINE ARTS MUSEUMS OF SAN FRANCISCO. MUSEUM PURCHASE AND GIFT OF THE SOULS GROWN DEEP FOUNDATION. PHOTO: STEPHEN PITKIN/PITKIN STUDIO

Ñ BIRDS IN THE AIR

 FOUR HUNDRED YEARS

FIND OUT MORE

Joe Minter, 1995

Souls Grown Deep Foundation, soulsgrowndeep.org

COLBY RABON

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. GIFT OF THE SOULS GROWN DEEP FOUNDATION. PHOTO: STEPHEN PITKIN/PITKIN STUDIO

Joe Minter (born 1943) began creating a grand, sculptural installation around his house in Alabama in 1989.

Called The African Village in America, it is part autobiographical, part strident social commentary. He started it because he believed that a significant part of the black experience in the US might never be told. This is the sort of piece you would expect to find there.

It is composed of old, rusty metal tools, shovels and pitchforks, pickaxe heads and a hoe, welded together by pipes and bound by chains. The title refers to the enslavement of African people, and these objects acknowledge the phantoms of their former users, while also being able to shine.

Ñ HIM AND HER

HOLD THE ROOT

As well as being an artist, Lonnie Holley (born 1950) is something of a historian. He has connections with many of the other artists, including Dial, Minter and Bendolph, and is inspired by them. He draws the connections between their works. You can see those links in a piece like this. He is saying that all of his relatives are connected by this root and their spirit supports it. There is a connection to place, but at the same time they are not bound by it. His ability to invoke meaning within found organic materials is astonishing.

The Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers; Alison Jacques Gallery, London; 26 November 2020–23 January 2021; alisonjacquesgallery.com

 ROCKING CHAIR

Nellie Mae Rowe, 1981

From a young age, Nellie Mae Rowe (1900–82) was always drawing and creating.

After her second husband died she decorated her house and garden as a way of saying: ‘I am an artist and I am marking my space.’

There is recurring symbolism in her work, including fish, birds and even female reproductive organs. In 1981 she was diagnosed with cancer, and from that moment her work grappled with the idea of mortality. The rocking chair featured here is her symbol of death.

MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ART. MUSEUM PURCHASE AND GIFT OF THE SOULS GROWN DEEP FOUNDATION. PHOTO: STEPHEN PITKIN/PITKIN STUDIO

MATT ARNETT

Lonnie B Holley, 1994

SEE

JAY WIELAND

OF FREE LABOR

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C U R AT O R ’ S C H O I C E

Sucess Tours

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ARTS SOCIETY FEATURES AND NEWS, PLUS OUR WHAT’S ON LISTINGS AND SPECIAL OFFERS REPRO OP

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TWILIGHT TRAILS Light installations of ‘valleys of flames’; soundscapes and suspended orbs; glowing sequenced walks and giant baubles – Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire is preparing its Winter Light spectacle. As twilight falls, follow the lights to see the gardens, grounds and house facade illuminated – a magical way to experience the site in a socialdistanced way. Before that, fit in some Christmas shopping at the outdoor artisan fair, where you’ll find handmade gifts, decorations and delicious food. _ 14 November 2020–3 January 2021 (artisan fair until 23 December); for details, see waddesdon.org.uk/christmas

ART PRODUCTION WINTER LIGHT AT WADDESDON, A ROTHSCHILD HOUSE & GARDENS. PHOTO: © YES EVENTS

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE

The Arts Society is pioneering new initiatives to support teachers to teach art in schools. This is work that creates powerful, lasting local legacies.

Anna Lambert explores the story and meets key figures involved

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hese have been tough times for the arts in schools. With art long neglected in favour of the core curriculum of English, maths and science, it seems even the most experienced of state-sector teachers has been left under-resourced when it comes to sharing this enriching subject with their pupils. Now, though – spearheaded by teacher-members of The Arts Society – new initiatives are blossoming. Their aim is to equip teachers at both primary and secondary level with fresh ideas, enthusiasm and, for some, expertise that they can pass on to pupils.

‘It’s about making a practical, lasting impact,’ says Irene Elsey, Arts Volunteering Representative for East Surrey. As a former primary school head and a trained art teacher, she is all too aware of the situation regarding art teaching in primary schools: ‘I know that there has been no in-service training [INSET] in art for teachers for years. Many primary schools are struggling with tight budgets and have teachers covering their school’s art coordinator’s role with little or no training. Children are often experiencing art lessons where limited drawing

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FIONA CAMPBELL

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phenomena. I showed images and took in colourful mixed-media bundles of wire, twine, netting, buttons, found steel components and plastic waste for everyone to use. Taking plants and creatures as our theme, the group grew in confidence as the session progressed.

Receiving one-to-one tuition from me, those present created individual responses, approaching their own sculptures as prototypes to take back to their classes. It was interesting to see how participants responded to being students rather than teachers. They were so enthusiastic. At the end of the evening they left with lots of ideas, a step-by-step guide to wirework and a digital presentation as a ready-to-go resource.’

MIKE GARLICK

‘Sculpture often falls by the wayside in school art classes due to a lack of 3D specialism, time and money. As a result, The Arts Society approached me to run workshops for teachers who had asked for this to be the focus of their CPD session. With schools ever budget-aware and keen to incorporate “green” themed projects, they also wanted ideas as to how they could use reclaimed and waste materials in projects with their students. A wirework session seemed ideal. I gave a digital presentation on an introduction to my work and that of relevant artists, such as Louise Bourgeois, Phyllida Barlow and Nnenna Okore, the Nigerian artist who weaves recycled materials and is inspired by natural

Above: Fiona’s work Glut, 2018 Right and below: Two of the pieces created by Fiona’s students during the workshops she runs

COURTESY FIONA CAMPBELL

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Artist and Wessex Area workshop leader

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‘MANY PRIMARY SCHOOLS ARE STRUGGLING WITH TIGHT BUDGETS AND HAVE TEACHERS COVERING THEIR SCHOOL’S ART COORDINATOR’S ROLE WITH LITTLE OR NO TRAINING’ or painting skills are taught – and these can be repetitive and offer limited progression. Yet you’ve got to progress if you’re going to grow, whether you’re a teacher or a pupil.’

Irene had already worked with artist Benjamin Senior through The Arts Society’s days for gifted and talented students, which she had organised in local schools. ‘The logical next step was to ask Benjamin to offer sessions direct to primary school teachers, so that they were then equipped to pass on skills to the children themselves and to their peers.’ Last year, 14 teachers from the Surrey area attended the resulting teacher training day, during which Benjamin took them through the basics of figure-drawing, perspective, still life and colour-mixing. ‘My approach is to get people to really look at what they’re trying to convey – to move beyond preconceived “cartoonish” ideas of how things appear,’ he explains. ‘I took the teachers through elements that I knew students loved too – so that they were

HEATHER LEACH

‘As a recently retired teacher, I know how hard it is getting art teachers out of school for CPD, and of the decreasing emphasis on the importance of art at GCSE and A level. Art teachers are, of course, well qualified to deliver the art curriculum to their schools, but it is clear additional support is needed.

With the support of the Area Team we trialled a facilitating scheme to enable teachers to share good practice, create new resources and to come up with creative ideas that could be taken back to their schools. We talked to experts at national and governmental level – including the National Society for Education in Art and Design and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Art, Craft and Design in Education – to get a clearer idea of the national situation, which would in turn enable us to respond to our local needs. We then developed a three-year plan to offer high-quality CPD in art and design to secondary school teachers, with £1,000 a year to fund two annual workshops. Mandy Mills, an adviser for art and design in Wiltshire and now an independent specialist leader in education, was the ideal person to help facilitate the courses. She met with teachers and, in response to their feedback, organised sessions with sculptor Fiona Campbell.

We were delighted with the response from attendees and are keen to get other sessions running as soon as Covid allows. In addition, with Roche Court Educational Trust, we’re also planning a one-day, “2D to 3D Explore, Make, Communicate” workshop.’

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RICHARD EATON

Young Arts Representative, The Arts Society Kington Langley

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JULIE BUSH Art teacher, Hardenhuish Secondary School, Chippenham REPRO OP SUBS ART PRODUCTION

‘CPD for teachers isn’t just a tick-box exercise – it has to have a worthwhile purpose and be meaningful, so we can further enrich the lives of those we teach. The session, facilitated by The Arts Society, was led by a professional artist, was free for us to attend and didn’t cut into teaching time, as it was held after school. It offered us what we needed: the chance to get together with our peers, expert, hands-on training in sculpture, and fresh ideas as to how we could create curriculum-based, multisensory learning experiences. Fiona [Campbell] had brought an Aladdin’s cave of materials for us to work with – I made a wirework gecko with beady eyes. Through the session I was

reminded that there are different ways of starting a piece of work: either “I have a design for what I want to create – how am I going to make it with what I’ve got?”, or “How inventive can I be by responding to the materials and letting the work evolve as it progresses?”. This is what’s often forgotten when it comes to the benefits of art: it’s not just about creativity, it’s about problem-solving too. And then there are the acknowledged benefits for our mental health – such a key issue for all of us, especially now and especially for the young. If I can help my students find new ways of finding themselves and increasing their skills through art, I’m delighted.

Fiona and The Arts Society’s session helped me to do this, allowing me to recharge my creative batteries in the process. I now have ideas that I can pass on to my students and share with other art teachers too, so it’s a cyclical initiative.’

RICHARD EATON

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‘IT’S A PROJECT THAT CAN BE ROLLED OUT BY SOCIETIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, SO WE HOPE OTHERS WILL WANT TO DO SO TOO’

If you’d be interested in starting a similar initiative at your Society, email volunteering@theartssociety.org

equipped with a new range of tried-and-tested options to share in the classroom, and which I knew from my own work with children would be effective and enjoyable.’

‘This is an important, professional “can-do” project with lasting local legacy that far outweighs the relatively low cost,’ says Cherry-Anne Russell, The Arts Society Head of Arts Volunteering. ‘It’s one that can be rolled out by Societies across the country, so we hope others will want to do so too.’

As you can see from our interviews with figures in the Wessex area on these pages, a similar initiative is already up and running there, where the first two continuing professional development (CPD) twilight sessions for secondary school art teachers, facilitated by The Arts Society Wessex Area, took place in 2019.

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Adventures await

Arts Society travel partner Hebridean Island Cruises offers an ideal way to start exploring again, on a beautiful small ship, cruising closer to home, says Joe Hall REPRO OP SUBS ART PRODUCTION CLIENT

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ravel plans may have been put on hold this year, but future adventures are just over the horizon. That means it’s time to start planning your getaways – and Hebridean Island Cruises has an inspirational collection of closerto-home voyages to offer, all with 5% off for Members of The Arts Society. Holidays aboard the smallsized Hebridean Princess cater to the curious-minded, with trips that focus on art, gardens, architecture, nature and gastronomy – all amid spectacular scenery and unrivalled coastal beauty.

Opportunities for discovery – by sea, by foot and even by bike – abound in off-the-beaten-track locations.

The selection of cruises for next year reveals exciting options. There are chances to journey on themed cruises to the Norwegian fjords, or around the remote Highlands

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and islands of Scotland – all with their breathtaking scenery, wildlife, architecture and world-renowned local produce. Those keen on twowheeled travel can discover Skye by bike, on the ‘Cycling over the Minch’ cruise, accompanied by Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman. The ‘Clyde Castles and Stately Homes’ cruise offers visits to architectural gems such as Dumfries House and Mount Stuart, with Arts Society Lecturer Professor Anne Anderson giving talks on board.

If it’s food and drink that inspires you, the ‘Flavours of the Hebrides’ tour includes a visit to the Isle of Raasay distillery, oysters and honey on Colonsay and a champagne reception at Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull.

If you’re planning further ahead, there’s already a full schedule of cruises for 2022 to choose from, taking in locations such as the Isles of

‘THOSE KEEN ON TWOWHEELED TRAVEL CAN DISCOVER SKYE BY BIKE, ACCOMPANIED BY OLYMPIC CYCLIST CHRIS BOARDMAN’

Clockwise from left: The small but perfectly formed Hebridean Princess offers life’s little luxuries, such as sipping a glass or two of champagne on deck.

Choose from a wealth of cruises, including a cycling-themed tour for those who enjoy seeing the sights on two wheels

WHICH ADVENTURE WILL YOU CHOOSE? Here are just three examples of the trips on offer Clyde Castles and Stately Homes Voyage along the spectacular Firth of Clyde on a seven-night cruise, visiting some of Scotland’s most fascinating historic sites as you go. Arts Society Lecturer Professor Anne Anderson, an expert on art and design history, is on hand to illuminate the stories behind ancient castles and stately homes – with two gala dinners included as part of your cruise too.

Bergen and the Spectacular Western Fjords From Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city, the Hebridean Princess glides through the waters of the jaw-dropping scenery of Norway’s western fjords

– including Sognefjord, the country’s longest and deepest. Take in two UNESCO World Heritage Sites at Bryggen and Geirangerfjord, discover the Briksdal glacier, and enjoy walking tours and a visit to the Art Nouveau town of Ålesund.

Footloose Through the Inner Sound Geared towards hikers of all abilities, this walking trip takes in some of the most awe-inspiring landscapes the Scottish Highlands and islands have to offer.

Enjoy the peaceful seclusion of walks on remote isles such as Rum, Uig and Raasay, and trek through the rugged splendour of Skye, with a visit to the enchanting ruins and gardens of Armadale Castle.

Take in spectacular scenery – like this view of the Paps of Jura from Colonsay – during a Hebridean Island Cruises tour

Scilly, northern France, Belgium and Wales. On the ‘Treasures of the Celtic Sea and Jurassic Coast’ cruise you can sail from Oban to England’s Jurassic Coast, via a city tour of Dublin. Or you might opt for the ‘Voyage to St Kilda’ to discover the remote, wild UNESCO World Heritage Site of that archipelago, home to Europe’s largest colony of seabirds. If golf’s your game, one trip even offers the chance to play at Ireland’s Royal Portrush Golf Club – having warmed up at some of Scotland’s most spectacular courses en route. Whatever you choose, the Hebridean Princess is the perfect vessel for your trip. With fewer people on board, there’s plenty of space to relax in comfort, and all arrangements are carefully planned. What’s more, tariffs are genuinely all-inclusive – leaving you to enjoy everything your destinations have to offer.

SPECIAL OFFER

Members of The Arts Society enjoy 5% off any Hebridean Princess tour.

To learn more about all the trips, visit hebridean.co.uk. To book, email reservations@hebridean.co.uk or call 01756 704704

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ADVERTORIAL

Our guide to this winter’s arts and culture events, including ‘virtual visits’ LONDON

The Blitz Online

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Imperial War Museum ONGOING It’s 80 years since the World War II aerial bombing of the UK began.

Explore that time through films, photographs, artworks and accounts online; just type in ‘Blitz’ on the museum’s menu tab.

If you visit the museum catch, too, the non-virtual show Refugees: Forced to Flee, exploring 100 years of refugee experiences, until 24 May 2021. iwm.org.uk T: 020 7416 5000 _

The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and the Cosmic Tree

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Camden Art Centre UNTIL 23 DEC Camden Arts Centre opens again with a timely look at the relationship between art and the natural world. camdenartcentre.org T: 020 7472 5500 _

Inside Out

For news of The Arts Society events near you see theartssociety.org/ events For our monthly ‘top 5 events’ and ‘Instant Expert’ e-talks, sign up at theartssociety.org/ signup *Details correct at time of going to print; please check with all sites before you visit

Southbank Centre UNTIL 30 DEC An online season of music, literature and comedy from the Royal Festival Hall and beyond, including 30 orchestral concerts. southbankcentre.co.uk _

Italian Threads: MITA Textile Design 1926–1976 Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art UNTIL 17 JAN 2021 Founded in 1926 in Genoa, MITA specialised in rugs,

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tapestries and textiles and collaborated with some of Italy’s most talented artists and designers. estorickcollection.com T: 020 7704 9522 _

Evgenia Arbugaeva: Hyperborea – Stories from the Russian Arctic The Photographers’ Gallery UNTIL 24 JAN 2021 The first major UK exhibition from the Russian photographer, this is the culmination of a long-term project focused on the land and people of the area. thephotographersgallery. org.uk T: 020 7087 9300 _

DON’T MISS

FRANCIS BACON: MAN AND BEAST Royal Academy of Arts, London 30 JAN–18 APR 2021

The first exhibition to chart Bacon’s fascination with animals and the subsequent impact on his depiction of the human figure. royalacademy.org.uk; T: 020 7300 8000

Bruce Nauman Tate Modern UNTIL 21 FEB 2021 Groundbreaking works from this hugely inventive artist, using sound, film, video and neon. tate.org.uk T: 020 7887 8888 _

Arctic Culture and Climate British Museum UNTIL 21 FEB 2021 An immersive exhibition exploring the ingenuity and resilience of the people of the Arctic, viewing how they are responding to climate change. britishmuseum.org T: 020 7323 8181 _

Epic Iran V&A Museum FROM 13 FEB 2021; CLOSING DATE TO BE CONFIRMED Exploring 5,000 years of art, design and culture

from one of the world’s greatest civilisations. vam.ac.uk T: 020 7942 2000 THE SOUTH AND EAST OF ENGLAND

Lothar Götz: Composition for a Staircase Pallant House, Chichester ONGOING If you’ve seen the abstract artist’s mural on the exterior of Towner Eastbourne, here’s an opportunity to see more of his sitespecific works. This was commissioned for the 10th anniversary of the gallery’s contemporary wing. pallant.org.uk T: 01243 774557 _

Folkestone Artworks Sites around the town and harbour

ONGOING

Walk around Folkestone to take in a changing selection of 74 artworks by 46 artists, including Tracey Emin, Yoko Ono, Antony Gormley and Cornelia Parker. The exhibition is on permanent display, 365 days of the year. folkestoneartworks.org.uk T: 01303 760740 _

Raphael: Prince Albert’s Passion The Lightbox, Woking UNTIL 31 JAN 2021 Centred on the Royal Collection’s Raphael drawings, this exhibition reveals how the Prince Consort became fascinated by the artist’s work and how it could be reproduced. thelightbox.org.uk T: 01483 737800

FRANCIS BACON, STUDY FOR BULLFIGHT NO. 1, 1969; PRIVATE COLLECTION, SWITZERLAND © THE ESTATE OF FRANCIS BACON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, DACS/ARTIMAGE 2020. PHOTO: PRUDENCE CUMING ASSOCIATES LTD

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Art, Life and Us: Christine Binnie, Jennifer Binnie and the Towner Collection Towner Eastbourne UNTIL 16 MAY 2021 Brought up in the Eastbourne area, exhibition co-curators the Binnie sisters were founding members of the Neo Naturists performance art collective in the 1980s. In this exhibition Christine’s ceramics and Jennifer’s paintings will be shown alongside related works from the Towner Collection. townereastbourne.org.uk T: 01323 434670 _

prints, drawings, letters and photographs. modernartoxford.org.uk T: 01865 722733 THE MIDLANDS

Krištof Kintera: THE END OF FUN! Ikon Gallery, Birmingham UNTIL 22 NOV The most comprehensive UK survey of the sculptural work of this Czech artist. ikon-gallery.org T: 0121 248 0708 _

20 for 2020 The New Art Gallery Walsall UNTIL 24 DEC

Grace Before Jones: Camera, Disco, Studio Nottingham Contemporary UNTIL 3 JAN 2021 Part fan fiction, study and biography, this exhibition places the singer as a catalyst for an examination of black imagery, gender binarism and performance.

UNTITLED: Art on the conditions of our time

Cranach: Artist and Innovator and Fabric: Touch and Identity Compton Verney, Stratford-upon-Avon UNTIL 3 JAN 2021 View two exhibitions: the first a showcase for one of the most successful German artists in history, Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1472–1553; the other work in fabric by international artists and designers, including Alice Kettle and Vivienne Westwood. comptonverney.org.uk T: 01926 645500 _

Dandelion: An Exhibition

by Ed Burkes

Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge 16 JAN–5 APR 2021 Film, installation, photography, drawing, painting and mixed media from British African diaspora artists. kettlesyard.co.uk T: 01223 748100 _

Ruth Asawa: Citizen of the Universe Modern Art Oxford 30 JAN–9 MAY 2021 As a teenager in World War II, Asawa lived in an internment camp for Japanese families, run by the US government. While there she discovered her artistic skills and emerged convinced that art can be a life-changing and positive force for social good. This exhibition celebrates her holistic combination of art, education and community engagement, through

nottinghamcontemporary. org T: 0115 9489750 _

DON’T MISS

TITIAN: LOVE, DESIRE, DEATH National Gallery, London UNTIL 17 JAN 2021

This show of Titian’s interpretations of classical myths opened and closed almost immediately due to the pandemic. Catch it, while you can, due to extended dates. Seen here is his The Rape of Europa, 1559–62. nationalgallery.org.uk; T: 020 7747 2885

Derby Museum & Art Gallery UNTIL 21 FEB 2021 Paintings by the winner of the eighth Jonathan Vickers Fine Art Award, inspired by everyday observations, hidden history and the poetics of language. derbymuseums.org T: 01332 641901

What's On, 1

TATE/ACCEPTED BY THE NATION AS PART OF THE TURNER BEQUEST, 1856

Director Stephen Snoddy picks one artist from the gallery’s collection for each of its 20 years. Artists include Sonia Delaunay, Richard Forster and Lucian Freud. thenewartgallerywalsall. org.uk T: 01922 654400 _

© ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM, BOSTON

FRANCIS BACON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, DACS/ARTIMAGE 2020. PHOTO: PRUDENCE CUMING ASSOCIATES LTD

Turner’s Modern World Tate Britain, London; until 7 March 2021 A landmark exhibition exploring what it meant to be a modern artist in JMW Turner’s lifetime (1775–1851). Over 160 key works, including this, The Disembarkation of Louis-Philippe at the Royal Clarence Yard, Gosport, 8 October, 1844 (c.1844–45). tate.org.uk; T: 020 7887 8888

W H AT ’ S O N

Christmas Mixed Exhibition Ffin y Parc Gallery, Llanrwst 6–23 DEC Works for sale at under £1,000 and art by painter Stephen John Owen. welshart.net T: 01492 642070 _

George Hinchliffe’s Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain St David’s Hall, Cardiff 24 JAN 2021 They’ve played with Robbie Williams, Clean Bandit and Cat Stevens. Now, the world’s first ukulele orchestra brings its unique style of music to Cardiff. stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk T: 07391 791934

THE WEST OF ENGLAND

Barbara Hepworth Museum and Tate St Ives UNTIL 31 DEC

Enjoy stone and bronze sculptures placed in a magical garden setting by the artist. tate.org.uk T: 01736 796226 _

Extraordinary Postcards For Extraordinary Times

WALES

Jacqueline de Jong MOSTYN, Llandudno 14 NOV 2020–28 FEB 2021 A key figure of the postwar avant-garde, known for humorous, erotic and violent works, this is painter Jacqueline de Jong’s first institutional solo UK show. mostyn.org T: 01492 879201

Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange UNTIL 2 JAN 2021 At the height of the pandemic the gallery invited people of any age, from anywhere, to document their feelings about life in lockdown on an A5 postcard. This exhibition is the result. newlynartgallery.co.uk T: 01736 363715

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Our guide to this winter’s arts and culture events, including ‘virtual visits’

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Kehinde Wiley: Ship of Fools

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The Levinsky Gallery, University of Plymouth UNTIL 24 JAN 2021 Nigerian-American artist Kehinde Wiley is known for his naturalistic portraits, including one of President Obama. Ship of Fools, dated 2017, is his first video installation. plymouth.ac.uk T : 01752 600600 _

Being Human: An exhibition of modern sculpture

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Bristol Museum and Art Gallery UNTIL 5 APR 2021 Can art capture what it means to be human?

Take a look and decide for yourself. bristolmuseums.org.uk T: 0117 9223571 _

CLIENT © MARTA MINUJÍN. PHOTO: DARIO LASAGNI. © MARTA MINUJÍN ARCHIVES

Haegue Yang: Strange Attractors Tate St Ives UNTIL 3 MAY 2021 South Korean artist Haegue Yang combines industrial materials and everyday

DON’T MISS

MARTA MINUJÍN: LA MENESUNDA Tate Liverpool DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED

Working with artist Rubén Santantonín (191969), in 1965 Minujín created her immersive, maze-like La Menesunda, one of the first ‘environments’ or installations in art history.

Made in response to Buenos Aires street life (the name being slang for mayhem), this will be only the third time that it has been shown since its inception. tate.org.uk; T: 0151 702 7400

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objects to create immersive environments and creature-like sculptures. tate.org.uk T: 01736 796226 _

168 Annual Open Exhibition The Royal West of England Academy, Bristol 21 NOV 2020–7 MAR 2021 Artworks from a range of emerging and established artists. A great chance to spot new talent and appreciate existing names. rwa.org.uk T: 0117 9735129

THE NORTH OF ENGLAND

Days Like These: How LS Lowry’s Hometown Endured Lockdown The Lowry, Salford ONGOING Some of Salford’s 245,000 residents share their experiences of Covid-19 via stories, art, films, performances, poems and photos. thelowry.com T: 0343 2086000

Richard Lee: Mantelpiece Observations and Madeleine Waller: Mantelpiece Stories Bolton Museum UNTIL 3 JAN 2021 The Mantelpiece Project explores the meaning behind personal possessions, featuring work from ceramic artist Richard Slee and photographer Madeleine Waller. boltonlams.co.uk T: 01204 332211 _

Paloma Varga Weisz: Bumped Body Henry Moore Institute, Leeds UNTIL 3 JAN 2021 Figurative sculpture created using traditional techniques, including woodwork and ceramics, spanning 20 years of work. An online tour and video conversations with the artist are also on the website. henry-moore.org T: 0113 2467467 _

York Mediale York Art Gallery UNTIL 24 JAN 2021 Groundbreaking art and cutting-edge technology combine as part of the city’s festival of digital arts. yorkartgallery.org.uk T: 01904 687687 _

Paul Scott: New American Scenery The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle UNTIL 28 FEB 2021 Cumbrian artist Paul Scott reworks antique ware imported from the USA in

the 19th century to tell modern stories of his own stateside journeys. thebowesmuseum.org.uk T: 01833 690606 SCOTLAND

Permanent Collection The Pier Arts Centre, Stromness, Orkney ONGOING An opportunity to enjoy the gallery’s collection of 20th- and 21st-century Modernist art, including etchings

by Anish Kapoor and a series of photogravures

by Olafur Eliasson. www.pierartscentre.com T: 01856 850209 _

You are here | 2020: Stories, Portraits, Visions Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh ONGOING An exhibition exploring the issues Scotland currently faces. The public are invited to submit work to be shown alongside pieces from the collection.

These include the newly acquired portrait of Scottish singer Emeli Sandé, painted by Samira Addo, winner of the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2018. nationalgalleries.org T: 0131 6246200 _

Mid-Century Modern: Art and Design from Conran to Quant Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh UNTIL 9 JAN 2021 The exhibition looks at the work of the radical

designers, architects, photographers and artists who redefined the concept of youth in post-war Britain. dovecotstudios.com T: 0131 5503660 _

DON’T MISS

JOANA VASCONCELOS: BEYOND Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield UNTIL 3 JAN 2021

Scotland’s Precious Seas National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh UNTIL 10 JAN 2021 Part of the Year of Coasts and Waters, this small exhibition spotlights Scotland’s sea life and the threats it faces. nms.ac.uk T: 0300 1236789 _

Mary Quant

FOLDING FAN, FRANCE, C.1930, ADVERTISING MOËT AND CHANDON CHAMPAGNE/ THE FAN MUSEUM/LDFAN2003.423

V&A Dundee UNTIL 17 JAN 2021 An exhibition celebrating the designer who symbolised the spirit of the 1960s. Quant raised the hemlines and created

Using everything from fabric and crochet to saucepans and wheel hubs, the celebrated Portuguese artist creates vibrant, often monumental sculptures. ysp.org.uk; T: 01924 832631

androgynous shapes, challenging the conventional gender stereotypes of the time. vam.ac.uk/dundee T: 01382 411611 _

Time and Tide: The Transformation of the Tay The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery and Museum

ENJOY MORE ART ONLINE

Cecil Beaton’s Bright Young Things National Portrait Gallery, London ONGOING The glamorous world of the 1920s and 1930s, as captured

by British photographer Cecil Beaton. View curator films and see the winning entries of the Cecil Beaton’s

Bright Young Things Photography Competition. npg.org.uk _

Healthcare Heroes: Every Portrait Tells a Story ONGOING

During the spring lockdown,

UNTIL 18 APR 2021

An exhibition looking at the influence of the Tay on the city of Dundee and vice versa. mcmanus.co.uk T: 01382 307200 _

Confusing shadow with substance Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine

Thomas Croft, who took part in 2018’s Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year, focused his work on NHS front-line workers. Via Instagram, he offered to paint the first NHS key worker who contacted him and urged other artists to do the same. The result is this powerful and moving collection. artsandculture.google.com and tap ‘Tom Croft’ in ‘search’ _

Street Fans The Fan Museum, London ONGOING Arts Society Lecturer Jacob Moss is curator of this wonderful

14 NOV 2020–3 JAN 2021

What We Wore

Artist Janette Kerr and Jo Millett explore Shetland’s relationship with the sea and the past via video and sound installations. scottishmaritimemuseum. org T: 01294 278283

The Long Gallery, North Down Museum UNTIL 2 DEC A special exhibition displaying pieces from the museum’s small, but fascinating collection of clothing. Expect everything from elaborate ceremonial robes to romantic wedding dresses. andculture.org.uk T: 028 9127 1200 _

NORTHERN IRELAND

Works of sculptor Frederick Edward McWilliam FE McWilliam Gallery and Studio, Banbridge ONGOING FE McWilliam was one of Ireland’s most successful artists. His works are on display in the gallery and in the garden, designed to capture the spirit of the garden in London’s Holland Park, where his studio was. femcwilliam.com T: 028 4062 3322

museum in Greenwich, where street art meets fan making in the spectacular collection, now to be seen online via Google Arts and Culture. artsandculture.google.com/ partner/the-fan-museum _

Opera North ONGOING

Opera North shares a range of productions online, including The Ring Cycle and The Turn of the Screw. Also available is The Lullaby Project, a collection of lullabies recorded at the Howard Assembly

Peter Liversidge The MAC, Belfast UNTIL 24 JAN 2021 In the first months of the pandemic, Liversidge’s Sign Paintings for the NHS captured the public mood.

The MAC has commissioned him to reflect on the events of 2020 in a new series of Sign Paintings for Belfast. themaclive.com T: 028 9023 5053

room, and Walking Home, five sound journeys composed during lockdown. operanorth.co.uk _

Virtual Sing at Home Messiah St George’s Church, Mayfair, and online 3 DEC The London Handel Festival may have been a casualty of the pandemic, but the annual performance of the composer’s Messiah is going ahead in a different form. The orchestra and soloists will perform live at St George’s, but the choruses will be pre-recorded by choirs around the country. london-handel-festival.com

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JOANA VASCONCELOS, POP GALO, 2016. PHOTO © JONTY WILDE, COURTESY YORKSHIRE SCULPTURE PARK

W H AT ’ S O N

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FRESH HORIZONS

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Our travel partner Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines unveils its new Arts Society Tours. Blending cultural adventure with the luxury of small-ship cruising, they promise experiences to stretch the imagination

T

he writer Henry Miller once said: ‘One’s destination is never a place, but rather a new way of seeing things.’ A culture-focused cruise is a prime way to have one’s eyes opened to special places – but where would you choose to go? It could be somewhere close to home that, as yet, you might not have explored. The beauty of Ireland, perhaps, with its scenic isles and tranquil loughs, and the tales of its cities. Or it might be somewhere further into Europe, to a place of ancient lore, long vistas and unspoilt calm, such as that of Norway’s fjordland. Or does your scope reach farther, to the Caribbean? A 2022

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cruise could see you meeting the Braemar in vibrant Havana before setting out for exotic locations, including Port Royal in Jamaica and Puerto Limón in Costa Rica.

All these and more feature in the 2021/2022 Fred. Olsen Arts Society Tours sailings. A trusted travel affiliate, Fred. Olsen is a family-run company that knows how to take you to the heart of your chosen destination. Its fleet of premium small ships comes with the promise of nimble navigation into places that larger vessels cannot reach. And the company understands just how much our Members seek ‘real’ experiences, with the history and art of stunning

‘AN ARTS SOCIETY ACCREDITED GUEST LECTURER WILL LEAD AN ON-SHORE VISIT, BRINGING THE SITE ALIVE THROUGH RICH STORYTELLING’

locations revealed. On board every cruise is an Arts Society Accredited Guest Lecturer who will lead an on-shore visit, bringing the site alive through rich storytelling.

They will also give site-specific talks on board and host a private group drinks party.

Each cruise offers a warm welcome for both couples and solo travellers – with Fred. Olsen being the winner of the ‘Best for Solo Travellers’ award in the British Cruise Awards. Also awarded ‘Best Cruise Line for Groups’ in 2020, the company can give tailor-made group quotations, on request, for Arts Society groups.

And, as an extra bonus, each cruise features a complimentary on board spend credit, ranging from £60 to £150 per person, depending on the cruise chosen. From the Baltic to Cadiz, Havana to Seville, where will you go on your voyage of discovery?

Fred. Olsen advertorial, 1

Left: The Bolette, one of the two new beautiful ocean ships just launched by Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines

The seaport town of Cobh, Ireland (right) and Sweden’s Drottningholm Palace (below)

SET SAIL TOÉ Loughs, Isles and Iconic Sites of Ireland Arts Society Accredited Lecturer Professor Michelle Brown, author of Art of the Islands: Celtic, Pictish, Anglo-Saxon and Viking Visual Culture c.450–1050, will be your expert on board the Braemar for this fascinating journey. Circumnavigating the ‘Emerald Isle’, the cruise will take in natural wonders including glacial Killary Fjord and Lough Swilly, and myriad islets and islands.

When on land you’ll be taking in the sights of four cities: Cobh, known for its brightly coloured harbour and cathedral, Belfast, Dublin and Galway.

Prices for a twin room start at £1,349pp Swedish Waterways with a Taste of Denmark Sailing on the Bolette next September, take in the sights of the 30,000 islands, skerries and rocks that make up the Stockholm archipelago. This cruise offers a mix of natural world and

city culture, taking in Stockholm, home to the world’s first national city park and the World Heritage Site of Drottningholm Palace. It also sails to Copenhagen and the lesser-known but no less beautiful Skagen and Trelleborg. While sailing, Arts Society Accredited Guest Lecturer Karin Fernald will give a series of talks.

Prices for a twin room start at £1,399pp The Uncrowded Baltic A cruise that turns its back on the crowds, visiting stunning cities in quiet off-peak season. A highlight will be time in magical St Petersburg, founded in 1703 by Peter the Great and still a centre for the best in Russian culture.

It’s home to The Hermitage, filled with three million treasures, only a few of which can be on show in its 360 rooms. This trip also sails to sites such as Estonia’s Tallinn, and Riga, capital of Latvia.

Prices for a twin room start at £1,699pp

FIND OUT MORE

For more information, contact Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ reservations team on 0800 0355 116, quoting code ‘AFN0001’; 8.30am-6pm, Mon-Fri; 9am-5pm, Sat; fredolsencruises.com/group-travel/the-arts-society-cruises

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STUDY DAYS

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SPECIAL COURSES Upcoming Study Days, courses and events from The Arts Society

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A virtual tour of Shakespeare’s London 13 NOV, 10.30AM (55 MINS)

SUBS ART PRODUCTION

Walk led by actor Lance Pierson Follow in Shakespeare’s footsteps and see where he lived, wrote and acted.

‘Visit’ the original site of the Globe and its sister – the Blackfriars Theatre – and the spot where we believe Othello, King Lear and Macbeth were written, and see monuments that London has erected to the Bard.

Details of this Zoom event available nearer to the time.

E: Andrea Gabb – andrea. gabb@btinternet.com T: 01306 885 534 WESSEX

Zoom guided tours of London, with accredited Blue Badge guides 30 OCT The City of London; 22 JAN 2021 The East End; 26 FEB 2021

The River Thames All £5 per household _

Zoom session on wines from Portugal ‘The art of winemaking’ 27 NOV

£5 per household _

Zoom tasting of wines from Portugal

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FISH SALE ON A CORNISH BEACH, 1885. STANHOPE ALEXANDER FORBES RA (1857–1947) © PLYMOUTH CITY MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY (THE BOX)

4 DEC

Three bottles delivered to your door (costs on request; 10% of proceeds to The Arts Society) E: Maggie Watts maggiewatts136 @gmail.com SUSSEX

Music and art 1450– 1800: what does that painting sound like?

1 MAR 2021, 10AM–3PM

WESSEX

THE NEWLYN SCHOOL 17–18 FEB 2021, 10.15AM–3PM

Tutor: Catherine Wallace

Explore the art and artists of the Newlyn School.

It’s possible this course could be repeated in March (see theartssociety-wessex.org).

Market Lavington Community Hall, Wiltshire £30 (tea/coffee, lunch and a glass of wine) E: Julie Price – j_m_price@btinternet.com T: 01380 816510

Wat Xieng Thong temple, Luang Prabang

Tutor: Adam Busiakiewicz The connections between music and art, illustrated with live music and imagery.

The Ark, Mount Lane, Turners Hill, West Sussex £35 (coffee and lunch with wine and coffee) or £20 (coffee on arrival) E: sussexarea@ theartssociety.org T: 01903 742610

WEST SURREY

A LITTLE PARADISE: LAOS – FROM HISTORIC BUDDHIST TEMPLES TO MODERN SILK 20 MAR 2021, 10.30AM–1.30PM

Tutor: Denise Heywood

Two lectures covering the architecture, shrines and UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Laos, and exploring the French legacy and fusion of East and West.

The Clockhouse, Chapel Lane, Milford, Surrey £20 (refreshments) E: Geraldine Corbett – wsasid1@gmail.com T: 01344 455679

The sublime to the ridiculous: Hogarth, Reynolds and Gillray 29 MAR 2021, 10AM–3PM

Tutor: Linda Smith A study of three artists, their lives, works and perceptions of Georgian society and politics.

The Ark (as before) £35 (coffee and lunch with wine and coffee) or £20 (coffee on arrival) E: sussexarea@ theartssociety.org T: 01903 742610

described himself as a ‘poet in sound’ and who tore up the rule book of classical music. With illustrations and music.

Little Baddow Memorial Hall, Little Baddow, Chelmsford £35 (coffee and lunch with soft drinks) E: Megan Bashir meganbashir @btinternet.com T: 01277 374314 SOUTH WEST

From Holbein to Hockney: a history of British portrait painting

ESSEX

Beethoven at 250 and a half!

23 APR 2021, 10AM–3.30PM

19 APR 2021, 10AM–2.30PM

Tutor: Sandy Burnett The life and work of the brilliant composer, who

Tutor: Valerie Woodgate Portrait painting has been more prolific in Britain than anywhere else in Europe.

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Study Days, 2

Upcoming Study Days, courses and events from The Arts Society

SUBS ART

Explore the reasons and consider how artists reveal information about their sitters and the social and political circumstances in which they were painted.

Buckfast Abbey Conference Centre, Buckfastleigh, Devon £39 (coffee and buffet lunch) E: Sarah Merchant sarah.swstudydays @gmail.com T: 01398 341973 _

Decoding Art – a guide to art history

PRODUCTION

Tutors for all of the below: Geri Parlby and Jeni Fraser 1 AND 15 FEB, 1, 15 AND 29 MAR 2021, 10.30AM–3.30PM

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Plymouth: venue to be confirmed £130 (full course) E: lorettelogie @btinternet.com 18 AND 25 FEB, 4, 11 AND 18 MAR 2021 10.30AM–3.30PM

Museum of Somerset, Castle Green, Taunton £130 (full course) E: yatesdavid135 @gmail.com Thank you for supporting Arts Society activity during Covid-19. Please be aware that cancellation or postponement is possible, according to government advice.

These events are a taster of those on offer: book the latest on our Society and Area sites. For more, see theartssociety.org/ study-days-and-courses or call 020 7430 0730

30 APR, 7, 14, 21 AND 28 MAY 2021, 10.30AM–3.30PM

Exeter Library, Castle Street, Exeter £130 (full course) E: ridge.farm @btconnect.com HAMPSHIRE AND ISLE OF WIGHT The following three Study Days and the boxed event (right) are Jean

Bolton Memorial Study Day Courses. See box for attendance, price and contact details.

Travel broadens the mind: the travels of artists and patrons from the 17th to the early 19th centuries 13 NOV, 10.30AM–3PM

Tutor: Clare Ford-Wille The lure of travel and its impact upon artists and their patrons from the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries. _

The Renaissance: trade, travel and artistic exchange 20 NOV, 10.30AM–3PM

Tutor: Paula Nuttall How regional artistic styles and techniques were shaped by artistic cross-currents across Renaissance Europe, enabled by travels of merchants, princes, diplomats and artists. _

Russia’s artistic journey to Europe 4 DEC, 10.30AM–3PM

Tutor: Rosamund Bartlett How the arts travelled to Russia in the 18th century; how Russian artists discovered their own country in the 19th century; and the cultural exchange with the European avant-garde in the 20th century. _ Three-lecture spring course

The Romanovs – tyrants and martyrs of Imperial Russia

© CATHERINE ABEL/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES

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BEYOND THE GRAND TOUR: VICTORIAN ADVENTURERS TO ART DECO FASHIONISTA 27 NOV, 10.30AM–3PM

Tutor: Professor Anne Anderson

With railways and ocean liners, Victorian travellers became more adventurous. Explore the advent of Cooks tours, grand-scale souvenir hunting and the later Art Deco opulence in hotels and on liners.

Via Zoom and available for a limited period afterwards to pre-subscribed attendees. £12 E: hiowsd1@gmail.com T: 07906 572851

From Samarkand to the Taj Mahal: Central Asia and the Great Mughals 19 MAR 2021, 10.30AM–3PM

Tutor: Sue Rollin _

The Phoenix at the Fall of Empire

26 FEB 2021, 10.30AM–3PM

16 APR 2021

Tutor: Douglas Skeggs

Tutor: Anne Haworth

The Discovery Centre, Jewry St, Winchester £30 (limited numbers; pre-booked lunch at additional cost) or £15 (via Zoom) Additional information: theartssocietyhantsiow area.org.uk E: hiowsd2@gmail.com T: 07906 572851

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YOUR SOCIETIES

News and highlights from Member Societies

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Our 2021 membership cards carry the winning work from our lockdown Isolation Art competition – Brewing, a self-portrait

by Abigail McGourlay.

Abigail, a final year Fine Art student at Leeds University, first had her work spotted by The Arts Society Sheffield in 2017. That led to a painting being shown at the 2018 RBA Rising Stars in London.

‘The RBA Rising Stars Competition gives students something to aim for, the chance to gain confidence and an opportunity to promote themselves in a challenging artistic and commercial environment,’ says Denise Hall, Arts Volunteering representative for the Society.

‘Standing out in the art world is difficult,’ responds Abigail. ‘To have my work exhibited at the Mall Galleries was amazing. To then win The Arts Society’s Isolation Art competition has been honestly lifechanging. When Denise alerted me to the competition I set to work immediately. The competition gave me focus and order within a chaotic and uncertain time. My success, in turn, has helped me see that the medium of painting is set to be a huge part of my career. Brewing has become a symbol of my lockdown experience – and it has made me happy to be able to share that experience with so many people. Winning the competition has led to me being interviewed on radio shows, including BBC Woman’s Hour, filming for BBC Look North, and talking about my work to magazines and blogs. I have never felt more a part of the arts community than I do now – and that is all thanks to The Arts Society. I’m very excited about the future.’

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The Arts Society Chichester is supporting a project to create a permanent artwork and share skills across generations.

The Weald & Downland Living Museum – home to 50 rescued buildings and a teaching programme for traditional trades and crafts – is marking its 50th anniversary. A patchwork is being made inspired by the buildings and the surrounding landscape – with older people teaching younger people sewing skills, and guiding them on how to take an artistic concept and make it reality. Pictured is Chichester Chairman Susie Jardine with actor Hugh Bonneville, campaign ambassador for the anniversary.

NEW NAME, FRESH FOCUS

‘With a new name – Arts Volunteering – there is now renewed focus within The Arts Society on the work and impact of Societies in and on their local communities,’ says Head of Arts Volunteering Cherry-Anne Russell. ‘We have widened the original Young Arts remit to embrace all the arts, offering lifelong learning and access to the arts for all. Societies have long worked across the spectrum, providing arts experiences to meet local needs, giving help, expertise and funding where it most benefits local communities. We remain determined to ensure that every child can access and benefit from a full arts education, often through experiences outside and beyond the limits of a school curriculum. Many Societies also appreciate that access to the arts is not simply of benefit to the young. They are engaging with organisations to support those whose circumstances make it difficult for them to take part in local arts and cultural offerings. In this time of Covid-19, there is urgent need for Societies to provide accessible arts initiatives to support their communities.

Never has our work and funding been more relevant or essential.’

Societies News, 1

MAYFLOWER LINKS

Two Societies have connections to this year’s 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower from England to America. The Arts Society South Devon has worked with Plymouth City Council to create a Children’s Trail of Discovery around the Barbican in Plymouth (pictured). Find the trail online at mayflower400uk.org and theartssocietysouthdevon.org.uk. The Arts Society Dukeries also has a Mayflower connection; its town trail has a question relating to one of the Pilgrim Fathers, who lived in Scrooby.

HIP-HOP AND CHISWICK Woodbridge Park Education Service provides for children and young people who cannot attend mainstream school. With a grant from The Arts Society Chiswick, it ran a two-day workshop in hip-hop with Toby G, of Street Factory CIC (pictured, centre). ‘It took our pupils away from the day-to-day to a special place,’ head of service Ian Berryman says. ‘It is always amazing to see them smile, laugh and be children – they deserve a childhood and the best education, just like everyone else.’ Chiswick has also bought the school a keyboard and lightbox.

I

t was in March that one of our lecturers first told me about the online meeting and webinar tool Zoom. I admit, I wasn’t sure what to do with the information.

Months on, however, Zoom is part of our lives and will stay so; FROM OUR at least until it is safe CHIEF EXECUTIVE to go back to normal Winter 2020 Arts Society activity.

I mention Zoom for three reasons.

Firstly, while some Societies are already meeting in a Covid-19-safe manner, many will hold lectures online for now. We know that watching live lectures on screen is not the same as doing so in the company of others, but we have been working hard to bring you the quality of talks you are accustomed to. So if you haven’t tried a Zoom talk hosted by your own, or a nearby, Society, please do so. Hopefully we’ll soon be able to watch such lectures together.

Secondly, I hope you will join me in thanking and congratulating committees on how they have adapted to new circumstances. Summer usually means time off for them: not so this year. In a display of commitment, passion and curiosity, thousands of committee volunteers attended Zoom training and seminars to learn how to put on an online lecture programme in the 2020/21 season.

They needed no incentive to invest this time and effort on their Members’ behalf; now, the greatest motivation for them will be your attendance at Zoom lectures. Please support your committee.

Thirdly, Zoom has enabled great communication between Societies, Areas and the centre. For example, we were the first out of dozens of charities to hold a virtual ceremony for the Marsh Awards. Such online efforts will continue until the time is right to resume our usual face-toface activity. Until then, be assured that all our Societies are eager to return to such times – and thank you for supporting your Society during this period.

Florian Schweizer Stay in touch at connected.theartssociety.org

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YOUR SOCIETIES

News and highlights from Member Societies

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YOUNG ARTISTS IN BRADFORD

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When Dr Virginija Knowles of the Young Masters Visual Art School (YMVAS) in Bradford (which works to provide art teaching to children) received a donation from The Arts Society Saltaire she discovered that,

as a charity, YMVAS could also qualify for an Arts Society grant. The school has now received £3,000 from us, which has made it possible to extend its work, offering the Trinity College Silver Arts Award, a Level 2 award equivalent

OUR UNSUNG HERO

Thank you for all your nominations for your Arts Society ‘Unsung Hero’. The Arts Society East Grinstead has nominated its membership secretary, former aeronautical engineer and helicopter pilot Ray White (left). During this time of Covid-19, says Jenny Williams, ‘Ray has produced wonderful weekly newsletters giving us great information and suggestions for what to see (and hear) online.’ Ray’s weekly entertainments guide goes to over 300 recipients within the Society, who eagerly await its Friday arrival.

‘Ray spends hours trawling through all available options, selecting a variety of art exhibitions, interviews, virtual tours, lectures, operas, concerts, musical items and local events, always interspersed with humorous offerings,’ says Penny Macfarlane. ‘The choice is amazing – something for all tastes.’

Look out for more ‘Unsung Heroes’ at theartssociety.org

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to GCSE, to 20 students aged 14 to 16.

The Sunday morning Silver course started last year, continuing by Zoom during lockdown and since then in a socially distanced way. Sixteen students have now completed the course.

HODSON’S CHOICE Laurence W Hodson (1864–1933) was a Wolverhampton brewer, art collector and friend of William Morris. He was also the owner of nearby Compton Hall which, in 1895, was decorated

by Morris & Co. The hall is now a hospice and the subject of a project

by Arts Societies in Wolverhampton and Wrekin. They have been researching Hodson’s life and collections, making a record of the hall’s Morris & Co rooms, indexing part of Hodson’s art collection and producing information boards. It is hoped that this project will highlight Hodson’s contribution to the arts in Wolverhampton.

Societies News, 2 IN BRIEF The Arts Society Wrekin has created a ‘Lockdown Gallery’ on its site showing Members’ works due to have been in an Ironbridge exhibition.

New works are added, with space for art by Members’ children and grandchildren. Pictured is Robert Cox’s lime wood sculpture. _

The Arts Society Worcester is supporting local charity Severn Arts with a young poets project, enabling the printing and online version of A Collection of Poems by Worcestershire’s Young Poets 2020. _

The Arts Society Ashford has donated £300 to St Eanswythe’s Primary School, an underfunded school with a lowincome-family catchment area. The funds have gone towards much-needed art materials. _

ONE TO WATCH Another link with The Arts Society Sheffield: Amber Stephen – jewellery, materials and design student at Hallam Sheffield University – has won the 2019-2020 Silver Bursary, which the Society runs. Each winning piece is chosen by a representative of Museums Sheffield and becomes part of Museums Sheffield Designated Metalwork Collection. Amber was awarded the bursary of £400 for her intriguing silver vessel called Grub Grinder – a serving piece suitable for use in 2074, by which time it is thought we will be eating more insects. See it in the foyer of the Millennium Gallery, Sheffield (museums-sheffield.org.uk).

Share your news! The deadline for our next issue is 15 December.

Send to magazine@theartssociety.org. Only a selection can be featured and the editor reserves the right to edit content.

Heritage Volunteers from The Arts Society Solihull are working on multiple fabric projects for the National Trust’s Packwood House in Warwickshire.

Among the pieces made are cushions for the seat in the oriel window (pictured) in the Great Hall, to a pattern taken from a tapestry hanging in the timberframed Tudor property, and chair covers, reproducing original patterns and colours.

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From temples to talks

With 7,000 years of cultural history, Malta is a vibrant location for The Arts Society Malta, which this autumn marks its fifth anniversary.

We discover what has been happening since 2015

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The sunny Mediterranean archipelago of Malta has a fascinating past. In the Neolithic period its people raised beautiful temples to goddesses. The Phoenicians then came to its shores, as did the Carthaginians and the Romans.

In AD 60 history tells us that St Paul was shipwrecked here, and stayed to bring the new faith of Christianity. With an eye on the strategic importance of Malta, the Arabs, too, came, conquered and left their mark. Later the Sovereign Order of St John of Jerusalem ruled from 1530 to 1798. It was during that

time that artists such as Caravaggio arrived, commissioned to work on special sites. Napoleon took Malta from the Knights, until the British blockaded the islands from the French, taking them back in 1799, and staying until Malta’s independence in 1964.

With such a rich mix of culture and art, Malta was an ideal site for one of our Societies to launch – and The Arts Society Malta did so in October 2015.

As with our 385 Societies across the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, its Members seek to broaden

their knowledge of the arts, past, present and global. And, again, as with all Societies, it also works to support the arts within its community. Among the projects in the first five years have been the ‘adoption’ of precious early19th-century booklets in need of conservation, enabling experts to carry out vital work on them. This was followed by a collaboration with the Malta School of Art, supporting students on a printing workshop, spurred by those booklets. That, in turn, led to an exhibition. A national and important collection of historic photographs, in need of preservation, has also been the subject of donations from the Society. These covered the costs of preservation material.

The Arts Society Malta enjoys the support of Blevins Franks, specialist tax and financial advice provider to British expatriates across Europe. The Blevins Franks Group company knows Malta well, as it is based there itself.

It has worked for over 40 years in tax, estate planning, pensions and investment management and prides itself on offering a holistic approach to financial planning. Its sponsorship of lectures for The Arts Society Malta makes a rich variety of talks possible.

If you’re keen to discover more about those – and the Society itself – just go to theartssociety.org/malta

‘AMONG THE PROJECTS IN THE FIRST FIVE YEARS HAVE BEEN THE “ADOPTION” OF PRECIOUS EARLY-19THCENTURY BOOKLETS’

FIND OUT MORE

Discover how Blevins Franks can help you at blevinsfranks.com; and for information on its book Retiring to Europe, see retiringtoeurope.com For more on The Arts Society’s overseas Societies, see theartssociety.org Blevins Franks Financial Management Limited (BFFM) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, reference number 179731. Where advice is provided outside the UK, via the Insurance Mediation Directive from Malta, the regulatory system differs in some respects from that of the UK. Blevins Franks Trustees Limited is authorised and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority for the administration of trusts and companies. Blevins Franks Tax Limited provides taxation advice; its advisers are fully qualified tax specialists.

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ADVERTORIAL

Special Offers, 1

F O R YO U VERSION

SPECIAL OFFERS

BENEFITS, DISCOUNTS AND TREATS FOR MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS OF THE ARTS SOCIETY

15% DISCOUNT ON

ART PRODUCTION CLIENT

Readers may recall our feature on Laura Woodhouse (autumn 2018), the hugely talented young woven-textile designer.

Laura was a recipient of The Arts Society Greater London Area Award, which enabled her to have a studio at Cockpit Arts for a year. Known for her intricate patterns and use of natural hues, she creates fine works that range from cushions and rugs to garments and wall hangings, on a loom in her Hackney studio. Laura is offering members 20% discount on her textiles until 24 December – perfect for some Christmas shopping. Use the code ‘ArtsSociety20’ at wovenbylaura.com 20% OFF

A VISIT TO THE MUSEUM OF BRANDS We love this quirky museum, where over 150 years of packaging, brands, commercial art and toys are on display. Remember the taste of Spangles, spot original Meccano sets and recall your favourite jingles as you tour the Time Tunnel. Enjoy, too, one of London’s best-kept secrets – a beautiful (award-winning) courtyard garden. You can also pick up a free walking trail worksheet at reception and explore the vibrant neighbourhood of Portobello Road. Members are offered 20% off admission; just present your membership card at the entrance.

Valid until 31 January 2021. Call 020 7243 9611.

Museum of Brands, Notting Hill, London; museumofbrands.com

A ROYAL SCHOOL OF NEEDLEWORK COURSE Have you ever wanted to learn – or refine – your hand embroidery techniques? The Royal School of Needlework, in partnership with David and Charles, is now offering online courses, so you can do so from home. In July it launched its eighth self-paced course called ‘Next Steps: Goldwork and Silk Shading’ with tutor Chrissie Juno Mann. This follows six ‘Introduction’ courses across a variety of techniques, and the course ‘Next Steps: Contemporary Crewelwork’. The tutors use marketleading online learning technologies with HD video instruction and step-by-step written and photographic guides. The courses also include an exclusive kit of materials. Members can take advantage of the special 15% one-time-use-only offer, using the code ‘ArtsSociety15’ until 22 December. Go to rsnonlinecourses.com 20% OFF

THE SIXTEEN’S RECORDINGS For more than 40 years Harry Christophers and The Sixteen have been at the forefront of choral music, performing works from Renaissance masterpieces to new pieces by contemporary composers. They are offering a 20% discount to Arts Society Members on all CDs, DVDs and downloads purchased from thesixteenshop.com. Just enter the code ‘TASM2020’ in the box marked ‘Discount’ at the checkout and click ‘Apply’. Offer runs until 31 December. See full terms and conditions online.

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BEAUTIFUL WOVEN TEXTILES

CRISTIAN BARNETT

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BOOKS VERSION

GOOD READS

Our pick of the season’s latest arts and culture titles

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Thomas Lawrence: Coming of Age Amina Wright

YOUNG POLAND: THE POLISH ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT, 1890–1918 SUBS

Edited by Julia Griffin and Andrzej Szczerski (Lund Humphries, £40)

ART PRODUCTION STANISŁAW WYSPIAŃSKI ROSES (1897), NATIONAL MUSEUM IN KRAKÓW

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This beautiful book, brought to publication by the William Morris Gallery and the National Museum in Kraków, lifts the lid on the story of Młoda Polska, or Young Poland. While other countries had their Art Nouveau, Vienna its Secession, and Britain its Arts and Crafts Movement, for Poland, around 1900, this was its emerging and unique arts moment.

It’s important to give context to this story.

There was a need to reassert national identity.

As the editors, art historians Julia Griffin and Professor Andrzej Szczerski, director of the National Museum in Kraków, explain: ‘Poland as political entity did not exist, having disappeared from the map of Europe in 1795.’

Political struggle to regain independence saw rigorous reprisals. As a result, note the two, ‘With the failure of military action, culture became an alternative vehicle for communicating political aspiration.’ As with other movements, Young Poland found joy in the sinuous forms and hues of nature, and the honest skills of the past.

This book answers questions on the movement’s making – examining the core figures, places and ideas behind it. Of those pioneers we learn of Stanisław Wyspiański, its foremost and, for many, most original artist, who was behind the outstanding decorative scheme of the Franciscan Church in Kraków (below). Key to mention, too, are Stanisław Witkiewicz and Karol Kłosowski, the latter the last of the Young Poland artists, who both championed traditional skills and endeavoured ‘to recreate the past in a distinct modern idiom’.

Discover how the movement applied to interiors and furniture, textiles and ceramics, paintings and even toys. Armed with this book, a visit to the autumn 2021 exhibition on Young Poland at the William Morris Gallery will be all the more illuminating.

(Philip Wilson, £18.99) Young Thomas Lawrence (1769–1830) was a boy genius. The son of a colourful innkeeper, his talent was first noticed in a scientific paper on ‘early genius in children’. A move to Bath saw him painting luminaries, and his reputation grew fast. Mentors included Sir Joshua Reynolds. This fascinating survey, by curator and Arts Society Lecturer Amina Wright, covers Lawrence’s first 25 years in detail. For a taster, see her online ‘Instant Expert’ for us at theartssociety.org

Spirit of Place: Artists, Writers and the British Landscape Susan Owens (Thames & Hudson, £25) A perfect book for a year when striking out from home has been curtailed.

Art historian, curator and Arts Society Lecturer Dr Susan Owens takes us on a journey through the panorama of our landscape through the eyes of artists and writers. From Bede to Barbara Hepworth, these are the people, she says, who ‘do not just describe our landscape; they make it too.

The pictures we see and the stories we read seep deeply into our minds…’.

Grinling Gibbons: Master Carver Paul Rabbitts (Shire Publications, £8.99) In 1769 writer and collector Horace Walpole met guests to his Thameside home, Strawberry Hill, sporting an extraordinary carved limewood cravat. This piece, in imitation of Venetian needlepoint lace, sang out with its maker’s flare for virtuoso realistic carvings. That man, Grinling Gibbons, was the king’s master carver. His work can still be seen in our greatest buildings, including Hampton Court Palace. This pocket book, by Arts Society Lecturer Paul Rabbitts, is a celebration of his unequalled talent.

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The Art That Made Me, 1

A SCULPTURE OF KŪ Growing up in coastal Massachusetts we were lucky to have an outstanding museum, now called the Peabody Essex, in nearby Salem. My father took me there once a week to be thrilled and enchanted by the collections of mostly maritime art and history. By far my favourite object was this over-six-foottall, early-19thcentury carving of the Hawaiian war god Kū, brought back to New England by a local sea captain.

It’s made of ulu (breadfruit) wood and its beauty makes the whole idea of ‘primitive’ art rather ridiculous.

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PAUL REVERE’S PORTRAIT The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is one of America’s greatest museums. In its collection is John Singleton Copley’s superb 1768 portrait of the revolutionary patriot and silversmith Paul Revere.

WOMAN AT A WINDOW, WAVING AT A GIRL BY JACOBUS VREL Vermeer’s Women: Secrets and Silence was one of the greatest exhibitions at the Fitzwilliam Museum and enabled me to discover the work of his contemporary Jacobus Vrel, who is usually described as ‘enigmatic’. I love the skill of this composition (c.1655), as well as the puzzle it poses: who is the woman, who is the child, why the window between them? It also inspires me with the revelation that art is a lifelong journey and there is always something new to discover.

THE ART THAT MADE ME

Our President, Loyd Grossman, reveals the art world treasures that have special meaning for him

THE BALL BY FÉLIX VALLOTTON I love the bold colours and simplified forms of the Nabi painters, a group that included Bonnard and Vuillard. This 1899 painting

by Vallotton, part of the collection at the Musée d’Orsay, is for me one of the most beautiful evocations of the fun, mystery and energy of childhood. It is both joyous and technically sophisticated, with its high point of view and flattened perspective, as in a Japanese print.

It is an icon of American painting. The honesty and determination with which Revere confronts the viewer, and the plain workman’s clothes he wears, rather than the smart dress of formal portraits, clearly show a new spirit, shunning the pomp and hierarchy of the Old World. Ironically, Copley finished his career in London and his son, also John, was to become Baron Lyndhurst and Lord High Chancellor.

The dome of Brunelleschi’s Pazzi Chapel

PAZZI CHAPEL, BASILICA DI SANTA CROCE There is no end of enthralling art and architecture in Florence. This modest chapel is an object lesson in how simple geometry transforms enclosed space into poetry. It seems that almost everything that there is to know about architecture could be learned from studying this building, or Brunelleschi’s similar Old Sacristy in the Basilica di Lorenzo. Mies van der Rohe may have said ‘less is more’, but Brunelleschi demonstrated it nearly 500 years earlier.

FÉLIX VALLOTTON (1865-1925), THE BALL © RMN-GRAND PALAIS (MUSÉE D’ORSAY)/HERVÉ LEWANDOWSKI

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COURTESY PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM; KANAKA MAOLI [NATIVE HAWAIIAN] ARTIST; GIFT OF JOHN T PRINCE, 1846, E12071

INFLUENCES

SEE • A retrospective of Jacobus Vrel’s work at the Alte Pinakothek, Munich (pinakothek.de) 19 October 2021– 23 January 2022, moving to Fondation Custodia, Paris (fondationcustodia.fr), dates to be confirmed • Loyd’s new book An Elephant in Rome: Bernini, the Pope and the making of the Eternal City, published

by Pallas Athene

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