Six ABERDEEN ARTISTS Commissioned to Make New Works…

The famous ‘Darwin’s Arch’ located on the islands protected as a UNESCO World Hertiage Site, has collapsed due to natural erosion. The rock formation was considered a top dive site and tourist attraction of the islands, named after the English biologist Charles Darwin.

The Galapagos Islands, is made up of 234 islands, inlets and rocks and is renowned globally for its unique diversity of plants and wildlife. It is from here that Darwin was inspired for his theory of evolution.

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Due to be launched in July, the (European Union) EU’s digital Health Travel Passport will see Greece welcome its use before the launch to attract foreign travellers in a bid to save its summer tourism season following two negative summer seasons due to the pandemic. More than a dozen EU countries, including France and Spain, have agreed to test the system before a launch on 1st July. The certificate shows if a person has received the vaccine, had a recent negative test or had immunity based on recovery.

The free certificate will take the form of a QR code on a smartphone or paper, letting authorities determine the status of a visitor based on records in their home EU country. Tourism in Greece represents a 5th of its economy and saw just 7 million tourists and UK£3.44 billion in revenues in 2020, down from a record 33 million visitors and UK£15.45 billion in revenues in 2019. It expects tourist arrivals to reach half the levels welcomed in 2019.

Sailing, Greece

SIX ABERDEEN ARTISTS COMMISSIONED TO MAKE NEW WORKS FOR ABERDEEN ART GALLERY

Six local creative practitioners have been awarded commissions to create new works for Aberdeen Art Gallery’s collection. The commissions celebrate Aberdeen Art Gallery’s success as a joint winner of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2020.

The 2020 prize money of UK£200,000 was split equally between the 5 joint winners. Aberdeen Art Gallery’s share is supporting a series of small-scale ‘micro-commissions’, open to creative practitioners of any discipline living in AB postcode areas. This includes visual artists, craft-makers, musicians, writers, sound artists, poets and filmmakers.

In a year when protesters made their voices heard around the world, particularly in support of the Black Lives Matter movement against racial injustice, the micro-commissions are an example of how Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums is addressing lack of representation and diversity in its collection. As the name suggests, micro-commissions are for small-scale work, produced quickly in response to the collection, creating new works that relate to existing objects and themes or that highlight gaps within the collection. Proposals were invited that say

There were over 50 submissions in this second round of awards. Two projects will each receive UK£3,000 and four projects that will each receive UK£850.

Councillor Marie Boulton, Aberdeen City Council’s culture spokesperson, said: “I’m thrilled to welcome a second group of creatives into the micro-commissions programme which has been made possible by Aberdeen Art Gallery’s Art Fund Museum of the Year prize money. “With over 50 excellent applications, the breadth and diversity of the creative sector in Aberdeen made the role of the selection panel even harder in Round 2.

“We are all really looking forward to seeing the next projects develop and offer new perspectives on the historic collection. With themes ranging from self-identity to climate change and neuro-diversity, to our sense of place in Aberdeen, the commissioned artists will explore the collection and the buildings in creative and inspiring ways.

“Public engagement is an important element of these commissions and we hope that, Covid-19 restrictions permitting, there will be an opportunity to share the work created through a programme of talks, events, performances, workshops and displays.” The selected creative practitioners / projects are: Lynne Hocking-Mennie (UK£850) Lynne is a handweaver and scientist who combines ancestry research, genetic data and material explorations to create handwoven textile objects that explore heritage, connection to place and identity. Much of her work explores her family's connection to the weaving trade in north-east Scotland over at least seven generations. Lynne will create work embedded in ancestral weaving practices that supports exploration of the interconnected relationships between class, means of production and global-local consumption of woven fabrics created in Scotland.

Juliet Macleod (UK£3,000) Juliet Macleod makes contemporary wheelthrown porcelain inspired by the sea. This commission will enable her to make a piece addressing how climate change is affecting our coasts as coastal communities make up 41% of the total Scottish population. Macleod plans to use abstract mark making, brushwork and colours that are in response to sea-related works in the Gallery collection – those of Frances Walker and Joan Eardley in particular.

Lynne Hocking-Mennie

Juliet Macleod

Kimberley Petrie

Joe Stollery

Joshua Macpherson (UK£850) Joshua Macpherson is a painter and illustrator working out of Fraserburgh. Perception, memory, and shared narratives are common themes of his work. His micro-commission project will reflect on the worker of the North Sea fishing industry, many of whom have been offering their labour to this community while isolated from their homes and families.

Joshua Macpherson

Kimberley Petrie (UK£850) Kimberley Petrie is a writer and spoken word artist from Aberdeen. She is absolutely thrilled to be one of the recipients of an Aberdeen Art Gallery microcommission, saying that the Gallery has always had a special place in her heart since her Grandma took her there as a child. She will create three new pieces in response to her favourite artwork, ‘Flood in the Highlands’ by Edwin Landseer.

Florence Reekie (UK£3,000) Florence Reekie is a self-taught realist painter who is inspired by societal relationships with clothing and fabric. Reekie will use the micro-commission opportunity to discover more about Aberdeen’s rich history in textiles. Using the AAGM collection to research the subject further, she will also develop ideas around fashion pollution, garment workers and throw-away culture.

Florence Reekie

Joe Stollery (UK£850) Joe Stollery is a composer currently studying for a PhD in Music at the University of Aberdeen. His project for the Art Gallery will be to take a certain number of exhibits and create short musical interpretations of them for a small chamber group. The project acts not only as a means to express the composer’s general interest in engaging with other artistic media, but also aims to highlight and reflect upon his day-to-day experiences as a high-functioning autist.