SCHOOL OF ARTS NEWS
In this issue:
April / May 2013 Welcome to the latest edition of the School of Arts newsletter in which you can read about news and events from staff and students within the School. @OBUarts
Fine Art Foundation Art & Design Music & Sonic Art Publishing Film Studies Research News in General Alumni University-wide & External Events
p.2 p.3 p.5 p.6 p.7 p.8 p.9 p.10 p.11
www.facebook.com/brookes.arts
Message from Alison Honour, Head of School This month's Arts Newsletter is full of great news and achievements from staff and students - congratulations to all. I would like to give particular thanks to Arts students who took the time to nominate staff for the Student Union Teaching Awards. Staff were touched by your nominations, of which the School received 12 (more information enclosed) and Leander Reeves, Senior Lecturer in Publishing won the award for the 'Best Module'. Congratulations to all those staff for being recognised for their excellent teaching and thank you, for your positive contribution to student experience. This month we welcome Emma Day, our new Marketing Officer. Emma will be leading for marketing on all activities involving the School of Arts, including UG open days, updating of brochures and will also be involved in the Arts alumni newsletter. Emma says she’s looking forward to getting to know everyone and getting stuck in to work within the School of Arts. You can contact her on eday@brookes.ac.uk. From the end of April, Diane Chung will be Student Support Coordinator for Arts whilst Bethanie Cunnick is on a six-month secondment with the Appeals, Complaints and Conduct Office. Diane has been working as an SSC since September 2012 and has been based at Wheatley since November. She will now be situated in G.43 of the Richard Hamilton Building (where Bethanie used to be) and her hours are afternoons from 1pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. You can also contact her on dchung@brookes.ac.uk. Welcome to Diane and good luck to Bethanie for her secondment! We also welcome five new Early Career Research posts including: Louis Bayman (Film Studies) Felicity Ford (Music) Hugo Shirley (Music) Isabella Streffen (Fine Art) Emma Webster (Music). These posts were supported through the University's Research Excellence Framework enhancement scheme and will be with the School of Arts for the next 9 - 12 months and will make a positive contribution to the School's REF and culture of research. 'You Said We Did' In response to students' feedback this semester we have made the following changes:
• • • • • • • • •
Fixed the hot water tap in the MA Interdisciplinary Arts studio Commissioned a full report on the quality and efficiency of lighting in the Richard Hamilton Building Requested that the water fountain is cleaned more regularly Organised a meeting to discuss how we can improve the use and distribution of space in the Richard Hamilton Building for all Arts students Sink traps have been ordered and will be fitted on all sinks in Fine Art studios in the summer to assist with waste problems £255K of Capital bid funding has been submitted and approved subject to Head of Finance sign off. This will be used to purchase new equipment for Film and Music. A new ventilation hood will be purchased for the 3D workshop to undertake more resin casting. Desk spaces have been located for PHD students in the Buckley Building. A new Art materials shop is now open and running successfully.
I look forward to celebrating your achievements at student Film Screenings, the Fine Art Degree Show and Music performances before the end of the semester and of course seeing you all at the Graduation ceremony! Best wishes Alison
Alison Honour Head of the School of Arts Faculty of Technology, Design and Environment
FINE ART
Believe it or not, spring is around the corner, as is our degree show at Oxford Brookes University. Please save the date in your diaries for BA³ Private view | 10 May 2013 at the newly opened Glass Tank at 6pm Exhibition continues 11 to 17 May from 10am – 6pm daily Richard Hamilton Building and Glass Tank gallery The show contains a diverse array of art by 34 artists who come from Oxford and the UK as well as the Arctic Circle and a Caribbean island. Exploring physical touch, our experience of landscape, or the merging of science and art: BA³ is a collection of works dealing with the relationship of a contemporary human to their surroundings. On behalf of all the artists, I would like to say that we very much look forward to seeing you there. Mita Vaghela Chair of the Degree Show www.bacubed.co.uk | BAcubed.tumblr.com | @BAcubed | Facebook.com/BAcubed Work from two of the featured artists is shown here: Sophie Lamb: Compositional study with interlaced hands, 2012. drypoint. Sophie Lamb's work deals with the 'fleeting and awkwardly beautiful like a teenager’s shoulders, or a greyhound’s ear'. Her etchings and drawings have an affinity to the aesthetic movements of nineteenth century Europe including the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, the Symbolists, the Vienna Secession, to an older tradition of art which does not seek to shock or to make witty comments on itself. 'The work discusses the shortcomings of human contact. Jaclyn McRae: 'Using the dialogue between attraction and repulsion, Jaclyn explores our perception of the body in a clinical setting versus its actuality.Fascinated by the abstract functions produced by the human brain, she examines the neurological aspects of emotions, reasoning and perception. Her work seeks to bring the ever present, yet unseen to consciousness, and questions our knowledge of what we accept as truth.
MOA Outreach Programme Matthew Girling, Fine Art UG student writes: Myself and three other second year students recently took part in a two day education outreach program run by Modern Art Oxford in collaboration with Oxford Brookes and Henry Box school in Witney. We spent the first day interpreting and discussing the Hans Josephsohn exhibition in preparation for the second day when we worked with a group of Year 12’s from Henry Box school, helping them engage with the work and encouraging interesting dialogue as well directing a creative workshop in response to the exhibition. The sessions were really beneficial for me and hopefully also for the sixth form students. I have some aspirations to be involved in art education in the future and it really got me to think hard about the way we communicate and interact with one another in the art world. Shown here is one of the ‘thank you’ cards sent to the group by Henry Box students.
2
The tripods have landed.... Ray Lee's latest work Chorus received its full scale premiere in Newbury market place at the end of April. Fifteen giant metal tripods with rotating arms sang out a chorus of electronic drones to the assembled crowds. Next stop for Chorus is Marseilles, then Zagreb before coming to Winchester for the first weekend of July.
Ray Lee’s work Chorus performed in Newbury market last month
FOUNDATION ART & DESIGN Final Show The Oxford Brookes Art Foundation Students' Final Show will preview on Friday May 31st. The private view will start at 6pm and everyone is welcome to come along and see what we have to offer this year. So far the work is ranging from Architectural Fashion pieces made from Aluminium and perspex to ceramics pieces based on the seven deadly sins. Our students are ambitious with their ideas and experimental with process. We pride ourselves on the professional finish and presentation of all our students' work and we invite you to come and join us as we celebrate their success this year. Students have been accepted on to the most prestigious courses throughout the UK for Art and Design disciplines and it is testament to their hard work and enthusiasm for their subject that we are able to proudly promote their achievements. The exhibition continues from Saturday 1st June Saturday 8th June. We look forward to seeing you there.
3
Oxford Fashion Week Students from the Oxford Brookes Art and Design Foundation Course collaborated with Anne Veck and her team for a recent fashion shoot for our Oxford Fashion Week collection. Inspired by a Tribal theme, Anne created amazing hair designs that really transformed the look of our collection and resulted in some terrific images for our Look Book. The two students involved, Jasmine Smith and Paige Richardson, had an amazing experience working with the team and I felt they learnt a great deal working within a professional environment. Anne was supportive and directional with her expertise and really made a difference to the outcome of the shoot. The students have both secured fantastic places at University going on to study on the BA Honours in Fashion Imaging at the University of the Creative Arts in Epsom.
Thanks must go to Anne Veck and her creative flair combined with her professional attitude and direction. Without her advice and fantastic ability to imagine the wonderful hair designs she developed, the shoot would never have been so successful. Thank you Anne. Lucy Turner, Course Leader, Foundation Art & Design
4
MUSIC AND SONIC ARTS Propaganda: Power and Persuasion "Third-year student Rachel Arnold, who has just completed an interdisciplinary dissertation in Music and History comparing the use of the radio in 1930s Britain and Nazi Germany, has been asked by the British Library to contribute a few blog posts for the upcoming exhibition on propaganda. The exhibition Propaganda: Power and th th Persuasion will open on 17 May and run until 17 September, accompanied by a number of events and public presentations. Rachel's dissertation has mined a new set of data by comparing actual radio programmes of the time on a daily basis, thus finding out, amongst other things, that in both countries light music and dance music were favourites with audiences, that classical music was used to assert cultural superiority, and that radio broadcasts with popular performers boosted the morale of soldiers and the home front. As curator John Kaye expressed it, "these seem like fairly obscure and under-used primary resources", which should find an interested readership. The blog posts have started going up at http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/socialscience/, where Rachel's post(s) will join them later in the year."
Music UG Applicant Day The Music Department recently hosted an Applicant Day for September’s prospective students to give them an idea of what the department and the School have to offer. It was well attended by applicants and enthusiastically run by current students and staff from Music. You can get a taste of the day from this short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kmTYFT4gIs&feature=youtu.be
Success for Benjamin Hulett in the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2013 Tenor Benjamin Hulett (currently studying on the MA in Music) is celebrating his recent success in the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2013, which were announced in April. He is a soloist on the Chandos label's release of Handel's Alceste performed by the Early Opera Company and conducted by Christian Curnyn, which was named winner in the 'Opera' category. A YouTube video clip of Ben accepting the award can be accessed via the BBC Music Magazine website, www.classical-music.com.
Mastering the Mix: A Student-led Symposium on Interdisciplinarity in Musicology and Compositional Practice th
Wednesday 5 June, 2013 | Oxford Brookes University, Richard Hamilton Building Oxford Brookes University Music Department is delighted to invite both undergraduate and postgraduate students th of the arts to a one-day student-led symposium on Wednesday 5 June, 2013. The day will feature presentations from current postgraduate students from both Brookes and elsewhere exploring the broad theme of interdisciplinarity in musicology and compositional practice. The symposium should provide a great opportunity for students of music and other humanities/arts subjects to hear about the wide range of research topics that are currently being pursued by postgraduate students of music. The day will be concluded by a round table discussion featuring academics from each of Brookes’ music research units: OBERTO (Oxford Brookes: Exploring Research Trends in Opera), PMRU (Popular Music Research Unit), and SARU (Sonic Art Research Unit). We hope that the discussion will round off the day with a suitably broad range of perspectives on the theme of interdisciplinarity. A full programme of the presentations will be published nearer the time. The event is free of charge. If you are interested in attending the event, please email Thomas May with subject line ‘Brookes Music Symposium’ on: th.j.may@gmail.com
Alexandra Wilson’s paper to be presented at Amercian Musicological Society Dr Alexandra Wilson (Reader in Music) has had a paper accepted for the 79th annual meeting of the American Musicological Society, to be held in Pittsburgh in November 2013. The AMS is the most prestigious conference in the musicological calendar and this year only 200 proposals were accepted from over 700 submissions. Alexandra's paper will explore the use of operatic music in period film. 5
PUBLISHING Publishing distance learning MA in development Publishing are starting work on a MOOC. Yes, another acronym! (Massive Open Online Course). We will be developing material from the forth coming distance learning MA in publishing (which is searching for a new name to distinguish itself from the campus based course). The main focus of our MOOC will be topics in marketing and digital publishing and we will be using it as a taster session for students who we hope will then move on to undertake the full distance learning programme. The purpose for us is to develop and assess the processes in delivering this content with communities of learners providing support for each other. Please contact Sally Hughes (shughes@brookes.ac.uk) if you want to hear more.
Angus Phillips receives Santander Research Scholarship Congratulations to Angus Phillips, Director of the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies, who has been awarded a £5,000 research scholarship by Santander Universities UK. He received the award on 4 March 2013 from Professor Janet Beer, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University and Luis Juste, Director of Santander Universities UK. Left: Janet Beer, Constantine Sandis, Angus Phillips and Luis Juste
London Book Fair 2013 Students and staff from the Centre (OICPS) were busy throughout the London Book Fair, held at Earls Court from the 15th to 17th April 2013. We had our own stand from which we marketed our degree programmes, staff publications, research and consultancy, and our July summer school. Over 40 students helped out with the running of the Fair, including manning the seminar rooms, the literary café, and the translation centre; and two students helped on the Frankfurt Book Fair stand. We ran four well-attended seminars on film adaptation, children’s publishing, ebook typography and the gamification of books. You will be able to listen to our podcast of the latter event. At our stand reception on the Tuesday evening, attended by over 150 people, we met up with friends of the Centre and alumni working at the fair. Pictures of the OICPS cake, which had a design by Chris Jennings, were tweeted round the fair before it was divided up – the cake disappeared very quickly!
Publishing or Processing – a Questionnaire MA Publishing student Ruth Bradley is currently working on her dissertation on the subject of Open Access. The working title for the dissertation is “Publishing or Processing: What role should publishers play in an Open Access journals publishing environment?” and the aim is to try and compare perspectives of publishers and academics/researchers to determine what role publishers should play in Open Access publishing. To do this she will be speaking to people from traditional journals publishing houses as well as using a questionnaire to try and determine what value publishers add to the journals publishing process and whether they are still needed in an Open Access environment. The questionnaire asks academics and researchers to explain the publishing process as they understand it, discuss how this is changing with the introduction of Open Access and the role they think publishers should play. It also gives them the option to take part in a focus group on the same topic. The questionnaire should take no longer than half an hour to complete and if you would like to take part, the link is here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7HBJWWN All answers will only be used for the dissertation and not published externally, although Ruth says she would be happy to circulate a summary of the findings and/or copies of the final report to any concerned or interested parties.
6
International Publishing Summer School 2013 We are delighted to announce the provisional timetable for the International Publishing Summer School. As you can see, we have a wonderful line-up of guest speakers from across the industry, and we are particularly pleased that Richard Charkin has agreed to be our after-dinner speaker at the main conference dinner. The programme addresses all the fundamental issues that are taxing our industry - from digital questions to managing change, whilst also examining core questions surrounding green publishing, sectoral publishing, finance, and how to work most effectively with the major players, such as Google. More information and booking details are available on line, or for more information contact Sue Miller sue.miller@brookes.ac.uk http://publishing.brookes.ac.uk/event/international_publishing_summer_school_2013
FILM STUDIES i-Festival ‘Insta Art’ exhibition review Film Studies student Dixie Chaio gives her critique on the i-Festival “Insta Art” Exhibition which ran in the Richard Hamilton Building last month: The exhibition had 11 individual pieces of art composed by pictures and videos. People could find some visual pleasures and inspirations created and pulled together from different corners around the world and were amazed by the effect and quality of photos taken by those small lenses on mobile phones. You could find things from some really pretty photos to a complicated series of stop-motion images to enjoy. The movie Life in a Day (2011), made from 80,000 clips, was a great idea to put into a film production. It's somehow like a documentary, but somehow like a feature film at some points of the movie. There are so many ideas, and concepts were shown from many perspectives of life; birth, death, struggle, fear, love, tragedy, joy, despair, etc. - almost every emotion that one could experience throughout life. You would be surprised by the differences and similarities of people's lives across countries, culture and races around the world. The Director makes good use of the changing music and pace to create the sense of several different movies within one film. The pictures below were taken by Dixie during the i-Festival.
Film Style and Aesthetics Dr Warren Buckland was recently invited to Masaryk University in the Czech Republic to give a series of lectures on one of his main research specialisms: Film Style and Aesthetics. The aim of the lecture series was to outline a series of methodological theories film studies scholars have developed over the previous 40 years, highlighting the specific type of knowledge each generates about film. These include: • • • • •
Theories of film style Textual analysis Narratology Auteur analysis; and Film poetics.
Topics under discussion included Hollywood style, European style, Ozu’s late style, Wes Anderson as auteur, and the ‘puzzle’ films of David Lynch. th
The series ran from April 15-18
More information can be found at: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2013/FAVz038
7
Vampires at the Museum Film Studies Senior Lecture Dr Lindsay Steenburg will be giving a talk on Vampires in the Cinema at the Museum of the History of Science on May th 17 .at 6pm. The talk is entitled Swooning over Cinematic Vampires: From German Expressionism to Twilight." and will be followed by a screening of Nosferatu, complete with live musical accompaniment. Right: A still from Nosferatu (1922) directed by F. W. Murnau,
RESEARCH Audible Forces OCM and SARU have developed a co-production entitled Audible Forces - an intricate landscape of musical installations powered by the wind. The project has been co-commissioned by Without Walls and Brighton Festival and will be touring throughout the Summer visiting: Brighton Festival | Sat 4th – 6th May | 12pm – 6pm Norfolk & Norwich Festival | 17th - 19th May Ageas Salisbury International Arts Festival | 25th - 26th May Stockton International Riverside Festival | 2nd - 4th Aug Greenwich + Docklands International Festival | 21st - 23rd June Mintfest | 10th - 12th August. The event features intriguing kinetic, sonic creations producing other-worldly sounds as nature’s unseen force breathes life into them. This captivating collection is inspired by sound artist and AHRC Fellow Max Eastley’s explorations into Aeolian (wind driven) instruments, from their mythology and curious history, to contemporary explorations of them. Six of the finest sound artists around today (Mark Anderson, Jony Easterby, Kathy Hinde, Dan Fox, Nathaniel Mann and Mike Blow) have joined Max and each created their own instruments that harness the wind. Their instruments form a unified experience made up of an ever changing sound world that captures the imagination. Details: http://www.ocmevents.org/ocm/events/audibleforces
Sound Diaries Symposium: How are we using field recordings to change the world? SARU, Oxford Brookes University | 3rd – 4th June 2013 Field recording practices have multiplied and diversified in response to the new possibilities presented by increasingly affordable recording gear, developments in software, and the constantly changing cultural landscape of the Internet. Field recordings can be shared on Facebook, burned onto CDs, linked to on Twitter, and added to playlists; at no time in history have so many ambient recordings detailing the sonic textures of everyday life been available to us for usage and contemplation. So who is listening to these recordings? What kinds of cultural practices are developing in relation to them? How are field recordings being used by different practitioners to explore ideas of place, specific cultural or historic contexts, and other contemporary issues? Put simply, how are we using (or how could we use) field recordings to change the world? This symposium will explore some of these questions, looking at recent projects by practitioners who are working with field recordings to explore social or cultural contexts. The mornings and early afternoons will be given to presentations by practitioners, and then there will be informal skills-sharing sessions, in which practitioners working with field recordings will share their practical experiences and answer questions from the floor over tea and coffee.
8
SARU performance at South Hill Park Arts Centre In early March Max Eastley and Paul Whitty from the SARU appeared at South Hill Park Arts Centre. Their performance was streamed live on the internet and is now available to view if you visit the Wire's website: http://thewire.co.uk/video/watch_max-eastley-and-paul-whitty
No Sir, I Won’t: Reconsidering the Legacy of Crass and Anarcho-punk th
Friday 28 June 2013 | Organised by Oxford Brookes’ Popular Music Research Unit (PMRU) in association with the Network of Punk Scholars (NPS). 30 years since legendary anarcho-punk group Crass released their highly challenging LP Yes Sir, I Will, this symposium will explore the impact and long-lasting legacy of Crass and anarcho-punk. Crass are widely perceived as ‘reluctant leaders’ of the anarcho-punk scene; an ironic title for self-proclaimed anarchists, of course. The central question, for this study day, is: “were Crass and anarcho-punk scene significantly effective politically or, alternatively, was the anarcho-punk scene surreptitiously more about clothes, music, image and ‘symbolic rebellion’ (to use Adorno’s term)?” Newspaper articles, journalist/fan publications and a growing body of scholarly work on Crass and the anarchopunk music scene has been keen to celebrate the fact that such groups sold many thousands of records (more than a million in total in Crass’s case, reportedly), contributed substantially to the rise of anarchistic strategies on the Left and the revitalization of CND in the UK, drew the attention of the UK establishment including the House of Commons and were eventually prosecuted under the Obscene Publications act. Within the study day, in addition to presentations from members of the Punk Network of Scholars and any other interested parties, an afternoon panel combines the views of Penny Rimbaud (the vociferous drummer of Crass), Sarah MacHenry (Crass fan, 1in12 member and ex-Witchknot/Curse of Eve drummer) and George McKay (author of Senseless Acts of Beauty discussing examples of correspondences he had with Crass in the early 1980s). The symposium will be free of charge and will run all day. A free lunch will be provided. However, spaces are limited and interest is expected to be high so it is recommended that you book a place early to avoid disappointment. Those interested in giving a paper or wanting to book a place should contact Dr. Pete Dale at Oxford Brookes University, pdale@brookes.ac.uk c/o School of Arts, Richard Hamilton Building, Headington Hill, OX3 0BP. Please do not hesitate to contact Pete if you are at all interested in this symposium event.
NEWS IN GENERAL Arts Staff commended in Student Union Teaching Awards Many congratulations to Arts staff who won, were shortlisted or nominated in the first annual Student Union Teaching Awards, nominated by Brookes students. Leander Reeves (left) was the overall winner in the Best Taught Module category for her module Magazine Publishing. Her Publishing colleague Beverley Tarquini was also shortlisted in this category for Rights Management. Caroline Davis (Publishing), Dai Griffiths (Music) and Paul Kilsby (Fine Art) were also shortlisted for Most Inspirational Lecturer. The full list of nominated Arts staff was: Tracey Warr - For service and dedication to good teaching Tracey Warr - Most Inspirational Lecturer Tiffany Black (Fine Art) - for service and dedication to good teaching Leander Reeves - Most Inspirational Lecturer Craig Prosser- most Inspirational Lecturer Jan Butler - most Inspirational Lecturer Jan Butler/Pete Dale - Best Taught Module (Nominated, Contemporary Musical Culture) Short listed: Paul Kilsby: Most Inspirational Lecturer (Shortlisted) Fine Art 'His lectures are so well structured into sub topics and he prepares inspiring slide shows to accompany his lecture to ensure understanding. I find theory can be one of the more boring modules of fine art but I have to say this semester I have looked forward to each one I know I can complete the assignments confidently thanks to his teaching.'
9
Dai Griffiths: Most Inspirational Lecturer (Shortlisted) Music 'A subject, that in most circumstances, would be unbelievably dull has become one of my favourite modules of the year due to his enthusiasm and passion for it all.' Beverley Tarquini: Best Taught Module (Shortlisted, Rights Management) Publishing 'With lots of visiting professionals from different backgrounds, and a great mix of lecture and interactive work (e.g. simulating a Rights Book Fair), the module is both fun and really effective. My favourite module so far!' Winner Leander Reeves: Best Taught Module (Winner, Magazine Publishing) Publishing 'This module is not only a positive learning experience in itself, but the less stressful, collaborative learning environment has also impacted positively on my approach to other modules in semester 2'
WOODSHED exhibition The Arts Staff Show WOODSHED was mentioned last month but we didn’t yet have pictures to show. We do now! Here’s a small selection of exhibiting staff and their art works:
Adrian Pawley Film & Video TS
Elaine Le Corre Printmaking TS
Stelios Manganis PG Research Assistant
Martha Cadle Short Course Manager
ALUMNI NEWS Brookes alumnus explores the ‘High Rise’ at the National Theatre Brookes alumnus, Peter Bobby will be exhibiting a solo show of photography and moving image at National Theatre in London from 3-30 June. The exhibition High Rise is a critique of high rise developments which have enjoyed a renewed interest and greatly increased in number in many of the world’s cities since the turn of the century. The show explores these environments and questions their relationship to the city below, addressing ideas of representation and spectatorship and the notions of power within the contemporary urban landscape. The show can also be seen at Cardiff and Bristol during summer/ autumn 2013 More information http://peterbobby.us6.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=7282d4171bbc32dcc7efc9da3&id=972a77fb5d&e=ac200413ab
Pictures taken from Peter Bobby’s website http://www.peterbobby.com
Peter is a Bristol based artist and lecturer whose work has been featured in a number of art/photography publications and journals. He speaks with great enthusiasm about his time at Oxford Brookes: 10
My year at Oxford Brookes, studying on the Foundation Course in Art and Design, was a genuinely fantastic and life changing experience. I'm greatly indebted to Alison Honour and Catherine Atherton for their considerable guidance and support both during, but more significantly since I left in 1995. Having worked on, and had dealings with, a number of Foundation courses over recent years, it's clear that the course at Oxford Brookes remains at the cutting edge of Foundation education in the UK and anyone who has had the privilege of being a part of this, will never forget the experience.
PLAYGROUND for MA Alumni Created by former MA students from the School of Arts PLAYGROUND is an artist-led platform dedicated to supporting the development and presentation of new work while introducing a space for meeting up, networking and collaboration between performing and visual artists in the region. Playground events take place from 7pm on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at the Old Fire Station in Oxford. At Playground you can find the freshest, crispiest and bravest locally grown art practices, from performance to illustration and from music to socially engaged work. See http://theplayground.org.uk/ for more info!
Ruins by Saad Qureshi at ArtEco
Brookes Fine Art graduate Saad Qureshi’s latest show "Ruins" is currently th at ArtEco Gallery in Wandsworth and runs until 18 May. www.saadqureshi.com and http://www.artecogallery.com/saad.html
UNIVERSITY-WIDE AND EXTERNAL EVENTS & NOTICES SoA work at Pegasus Festival this week As part of Pegasus Festival this week, there will be a screening of films from students in the School of Arts on Wednesday 8th May at 8pm. The screening is entitled Collected Vision and entry is only ÂŁ2 for Staff and students. It promises to be an interesting and thought provoking evening. There is also a music event earlier on the same evening, organised by the Sonic Art Research Unit, and an installation by PhD students Aya Kasai and research student Alex Allmont. Tickets can be booked from the Theatre at http://www.pegasustheatre.org.uk/showtype/festival/
11
Summer volunteering at the Glass Tank The Glass Tank gallery at Gipsy Lane campus is seeking volunteers to assist with the general running of the exhibition space throughout the summer period. This is an excellent opportunity for students to assist the Gallery Manager and Curator in delivering a dynamic exhibition programme. The experience will especially suit those interested in pursuing a career in arts management. Duties will include: • • • • • •
Basic curatorial research Exhibition installation Invigilation and general maintenance of the exhibition space Assistance in the marketing and promotion of the Glass Tank Events management, including private views General administrative duties.
We are seeking two students to be able to work two half days a week over the summer period (exact dates to be confirmed). If you are interested, please send your CV to: Dr Joanna S Walker, Gallery Manager and Exhibitions Curator Glass Tank, Oxford Brookes University, Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane, Oxford OX3 0BP Email: joannawalker@brookes.ac.uk | Tel: +44 (0)7717 806328 th
Closing date: Friday 24 May 2013
The Workshop Studios Details here of a studio show as part of Oxfordshire Artweeks which includes former Brookes tutor Jan Crombie, alumni Jane Wafer and Laura Degenhardt and current Fine Art student Ruth Simons: Oxfordshire Artweeks 2013, Site 27 | 38 St Mary’s Road, Oxford, OX4 1PY th
th
th
th
th
Sat 4 , Sun 5 , Thurs 9 , Sat 11 , Sun 12 May | Open 12-6pm (Thursday 12-8pm)
Painting, Print, Photography, Drawing, Sculpture and Installations Exhibiting artists: Jan Crombie, Laura Degenhardt, George O’Shaughnessy, Ruth Simons, Jane Wafer Guest artist: Miriam Kaab Curated by: Areej Kaoud www.theworkshopstudios.org.uk
SUSPENSE th
(Group Show opening on 11 May) Careful craftsmanship meets with reckless action to re-tell a story of transformation and disruption Curated by Brunel University's Beldam Gallery curator, George Mogg Featuring artists: Simon Finn (Melbourne, Australia) Dean Randazzo (Chicago, USA) Ruth Simons (UK) Jayne Wilton (UK) Exhibition continues until June 1st at: One Church Street Gallery, 1 Church Street, Great Missenden, Bucks, HP16 0AX http://www.onechurchstreet.com/
Plunge, roil and writhe, Ruth Simons
12
ARLIS/UK & Ireland In April Chris Fowler, Subject Librarian for Publishing and the Creative Arts, became Chair of ARLIS/UK & Ireland: the Art Libraries Society. ARLIS/ UK & Ireland was founded in 1969 as the professional organisation for people involved in providing library and information services and documenting resources in the visual arts. It has over 700 members worldwide and close links with other art libraries societies such as ARLIS/North America and ARLIS/ ANZ (Australia and New Zealand). Through the annual conference, workshops, visits and publications (including The Art Libraries Journal and the ARLIS News-sheet) the Society provides a forum for debate, discussion and the dissemination of best practice in the field of visual arts librarianship. Chris said “I am immensely honoured to have been elected Chair of ARLIS. The Society has been extremely important to me in my professional development as an art librarian, our support for new entrants to the profession is a particular strength of ARLIS. Previous Chairs have come from renowned institutions such as the Tate, the V&A and the Courtauld and I am very proud to see the name of Oxford Brookes University appear on that list.” Chris will serve as Chair for two years.
Shadows On the Wall – Re:Conception Theatre A ruler reflects upon his rise to power, whilst his aides conspire to take it from him: trust is broken, friendships are tested and the truth left butchered. Power comes at a price, but who is willing to pay it? Shadows on the Wall is a story of power struggles, both political and personal: the effects that power can have on a person, their ideals and their relationships; and the lengths, means and methods we are capable of going to in order to obtain and maintain power over others.
May 25th, 8.30pm | May 27th, 5.30pm | June 7th, 5.30pm Tickets £8 (£7) The Old Fire Station, George Street, Oxford | 01865 263980 www.reconceptiontheatre.com/shadowsonthewall | http://oxfordfringe.org/ Russell Anderson Director, Re:Conception Theatre russell@reconceptiontheatre.com www.reconceptiontheatre.com
Help Brookes Radio win a night for all of us students with DJ sets from The Maccabees and Hot Chip, and win Jose Cuervo tequila and prizes from Spotify while you’re at it! Brookes Radio has teamed up with Spotify and Jose Cuervo Tequila to offer you the chance to win a load of prizes, and all you have to do is vote! For the chance for Brookes to win the ultimate campus night out with DJ sets from the MACABEES and HOT CHIP go to www.voteforourplaylist.com and vote for BROOKES RADIO. By voting you can also win some great prizes from Spotify like festival tickets, tablets, and clothes vouchers. Remember to like us on Facebook and stay tuned to BrookesRadio.com to be in with the chance of winning bottles of Jose Cuervo.
Keep tuned, and keep voting. Who’s IN? 13
Aesthetica Short Film Festival – call for short films Calling all budding filmmakers, artists and designers! An exciting opportunity has arrived with Aesthetica Arts and Culture magazine for the Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2013. It is an amazing way to get your work recognised and if you win you will receive £750! As well as many other prizes and goodies, whilst a People’s Choice Winner will receive £250! th
th
The event will be screened across York from 7 to 10 November 2013, displaying over 200 short films alongside worldwide audiences and established filmmakers, creating a great opportunity to connect with this part of the industry. So if you have a short film you have been working on or are in the midst of making, or even just have a passion for film and want to give it a go then apply now. This is a fantastic opportunity to get recognised for your work and style of art so get your name out there! Aesthetica are accepting applications now with the submissions deadline on the 31 May 2013. Entry costs £15 and finalists will have their work promoted in the ASFF sampler DVD which will be distributed with the December 2013 issue of the magazine as well as featured in an editorial in the magazine. For more information and how to apply, visit www.asff.co.uk. For further information about the magazine, visit the website www.aestheticamagazine.com.
DRAW IT! for Channel 4 Victory Television are seeking digital artists to participate in Channel 4’s Draw It!, a new game show based on the popular smartphone app Draw Something. For anyone unfamiliar with the game, it is essentially a digital version of Pictionary. Contestants and celebrities will have to guess what your picture is, as it ‘draws’ onscreen. You can participate from home, as long as you have access to Draw Something via smartphone or iPad. Although there is no money involved, artists used in the show will be credited verbally or visually. If you are interested in this fun and exciting opportunity, please contact Emma Worgan on emma_worgan@victorytelevision.com or 020 7406 3049.
The Library of Lost Books, Wolverhampton University Exhibition: Bessant Gallery, Ground Floor, School of Art & Design th rd 25 April to 23 May 2013 weekdays daily between 10am-4pm Curators Talk: Lecture Theatre Wednesday 22
nd
May 2013 2pm
The Exhibition and Curators Talk are free events. Visitors must book for the Curators Talk as spaces are limited. Large groups (more than 10) are asked to inform us beforehand that they will be visiting the Exhibition. The Library of Lost Books is an on-going art project that questions our use of books in the digital age. Artists and their audiences are invited to examine their personal and cultural beliefs in books as objects and repositories of knowledge; explored through their re-working. The Library sends old, discarded library books to UK artists to be re-made into works of art. The scope of work corroborates the exhibition as both aesthetic and educational in the possibilities it demonstrates, and draws heavily upon the related traditions of 'altered books' and 'artist's books'. The Library of Lost Books Exhibition successfully explores contemporary notions of these concepts. More details can be found at www.thelibraryoflostbooks.blogspot.com
NEXT ISSUE The next issue of this newsletter will be distributed during Induction Week in September. If you would like to have th an entry included, please email Sarah Jex on sjex@brookes.ac.uk by Thursday 12 September.
14