The Centre for British Photography will focus on innovative photographic approaches to landscape and the environment in its six new exhibitions and displays opening this June. From a lightbox composite work of Helen Sear to an immersive exhibition of photographs by Mandy Barker, the Centre will encourage visitors to reconsider the world around them and our impact on the landscape.
James Hyman, Director of the Centre for British Photography said: “Following our hugely successful launch in January, we have decided to give over all three floors of the Centre to stage six inter-connected exhibitions on the themes of landscape and the environment. In an era obsessed with celebrity, documentary and reportage, we are taking a stand to bring attention to brilliant conceptual work by a diverse group of photographers that engages with our relationship to the natural world.
“The works on display will give pause for thought. From John Blakemore’s communion with nature to the plastic pollutants amassed by Mandy Barker, there will be plenty for visitors to consider in this striking group of shows. We are also delighted to be exhibiting environmental work in our windows as a result of our open call. Part of our mission is to platform emerging photographers and to give them prominence in our central London space, so we are delighted that this open call will allow less well- known photographers to show their images alongside those of award-winning photographers.”
The ground floor exhibition, Landscape Trauma, will present works that consider our impact on the land and the way that the past is ever present in all landscapes. And on the lower ground floor, there will be an immersive exhibition by Mandy Barker, Plastic Soup, that will show the many tonnes of plastic debris polluting our oceans and was created to raise awareness of marine plastic pollution.
In the mezzanine galleries there will be three interconnected ‘In Focus’ displays of work by John Blakemore, Jermaine Francis and Helen Sear. In each of these, the photographer uses multi-layered images to engage with our complex relationship with the natural world.
There will also be a display of work from a recent open call, with the work of six photographers going on display in the Centre’s foyer and windows.
LANDSCAPE TRAUMA AND ENVIRONMENT FOCUS FOR 6 NEW EXHIBITIONS
8 June 2023 – 24 September 2023
The Centre for British Photography
49 Jermyn Street
London SW1Y 6LX
Opening Hours
Wednesday to Friday: 11am – 6pm Saturday and Sunday: 11am – 4pm
www.britishphotography.org
Instagram: @centre_for_british_photography
From borrowed exhibit space in a house to the bespoke walls of its own gallery, Palo Alto’s Gallery House has built a solid foundation in the Peninsula arts community.
Much as in an actual house, the residents — or members, in this case — may change over time, but the character and “good bones” of Gallery House remain. The cooperative gallery, founded in Palo Alto in 1958, is marking its 65th anniversary this month and will celebrate the occasion with a June 9 reception that also highlights its current show featuring works in a variety of media by the 30 artists who are members of the gallery.
Just in the last two decades, Gallery House has withstood the encroachment of online art sales, a major move across town, a recession and a pandemic. And throughout its history, each member has contributed in their own way to making Gallery House a home for art in Palo Alto.
Mixed-media artist Theresa Robinson has been a member since 1979.
“It had a feeling right from the start of being a real gallery — a center for art — but of course, we also wanted to appeal to people to buy art,” Robinson said. “There was a sense of quality and people who were really serious about what they were doing.”
The cooperative was co-founded by the late Edith Sommers and the late Estelle Grunewald, and as its name suggests, its first location was in a house. In its early days, the gallery counted among its patrons novelist and environmentalist Wallace Stegner and William Hewlett.
Robinson and clay artist Barbara Brown, who also joined in 1979, are the gallery’s longest serving members, and a number of others can count their years of membership in decades, though Gallery House has members who have joined more recently.
As press materials for the gallery’s 50th anniversary noted, not long after Brown joined, she launched the effort to host regular receptions at the gallery, which still continue to this day, very much in the gallery’s cooperative spirit.
In 2000, Gallery House moved from its longtime space on Ramona Street in downtown Palo Alto to its current space at 320 S. California Ave., Palo Alto. The gallery shares a building with Printers Cafe and Moods Wine Bar.
A pandemic pivot
A glance around the space instantly reveals art in a broad range of media: paintings, photographs, mixed-media art, sculpture, jewelry and ceramics, in both vibrant hues and striking monochromatic palettes. Sleek, minimalist ceramics share space with swirling wire sculptures and playful pieces that nod to folk art.
Due to the nature of its format, the gallery has always featured works in a variety of media, though Robinson noted that over time, there has been a move toward more abstract works.
“We’ve evolved at the same time with the basic truth of what we do without picking up on a trend,” Robinson said.
One major change that the gallery did make in response to the times was a renovation of the interior layout due to the pandemic.
“Our whole way of exhibiting has changed,” said Sydell Lewis, a painter and digital printmaker who’s belonged to Gallery House since 2000.
The pandemic not only spurred a renovation that brought more display space to the gallery, but also brought a major shift in how members’ works are shown. Additional walls were installed to provide extra display space in the large area, and the gallery switched from showing members’ works all mixed together “salon style,” to a format in which each artist has their own dedicated space.
Early in the pandemic, the switch allowed for a staggered schedule for hanging art, to ensure that just a few people were in the gallery at any one time. Though the need for a socially distanced art-hanging has waned, Gallery House kept the new exhibit format.
“People like it (and) the artists like hanging like this. Because we each get our space, we can have quite a few pictures on the wall at any one time,” said painter Trevlyn Williams, who joined the gallery in 2002.
In it together
What hasn’t changed in its long lifetime is Gallery House’s co-op format and community spirit.
From paying the rent to reception-planning, steering the gallery as board members to developing marketing strategies, member artists run every element of the operation.
“I’ve just always found it to be a gallery space that works because we run the gallery, we make the decisions, which is a good and a bad thing, because it means responsibility, but it also means that it’s a shared responsibility as opposed to being in a gallery that’s owned by somebody else,” said Williams, who served as board chair from 2005 to 2008.
“The privately owned galleries take a bigger commission. We’re not looking to profit, as such, we’re just looking to maintain an operating budget. We can give more of the commission to the artists,” she added.
Members pay dues and a 30% commission on sales, which go toward rent and operational costs. They also are expected to share the work of running the gallery business, to volunteer, taking turns staffing the gallery, helping host receptions and other duties. Some members also take up posts that draw on professional areas of expertise outside of art, using knowledge of marketing to help with publicity, for example.
“People come to the gallery with different backgrounds. I’m a former chemist, we have a former Ph.D. biologist. And then we have lawyers. We have people who come in from other disciplines — they have always been artists, they’ve always loved to do this, but for some reason, this is their time. They bring in their backgrounds to help the gallery run,” said Lewis, who served as the gallery’s chair from 2008 through 2014.
“I think everybody contributes in a way that they can,” Williams said.
A jury of peers
The gallery’s members hail from around the Bay Area and a few points beyond, including Monterey County. Membership is juried, so that artists interested in joining must apply and submit some of their pieces for consideration in a process that has two stages of judging.
“The gallery has a reputation for being difficult to get into. And I think if you look at the work, you’ll see,” Lewis said.
Though it’s a welcoming space for art, it’s not the place for beginners, Walker noted.
“We are picky about the artists having a degree of accomplishment. You need to be proficient in your medium, your production and also your presentation,” she said.
That’s not to say that artists who join are required to stay in that one specific lane – whether it’s subject matter or an entirely different medium. The gallery encourages members to explore different media or techniques.
“We allow people to try to develop into other areas that are of interest. So one of the reasons we want to have strong artists is because if they’re going to deviate, we want to make sure you’re in the right,” Lewis said.
Some artists who juried into the gallery with one medium are now working in something else entirely. If an artist is making a significant shift, they may be asked to “re-jury,” as Lewis who had juried in as a painter, was asked to do when she began working in digital printmaking.
Robinson, a Saratoga resident, said that when she joined, just as the co-op had passed its 20th anniversary, Gallery House had already made a name in the art community that went beyond the Peninsula. She said it was an art teacher at West Valley College who suggested she apply.
Her work has always focused on figures, but Robinson said that she has worked in a variety of media, including printmaking, watercolors, drawing and etching. But her work at Gallery House has come to highlight mixed-media works. For a while, she said, she was even repurposing found materials from friends making home renovations to create pieces.
Williams continues to focus on painting, but has shifted her subject matter from cultural objects and wildlife that reflected her South African homeland to landscapes that take inspiration from the Bay Area.
Part of the community
Experiencing art in person can be pretty different than seeing it online — an option that Gallery House offered during the lockdown era in the absence of people being able to come in person. Lewis and Williams said that since then, visitors have been slow to return, which they attribute in part to several blocks of California Avenue (including the 300 block) continuing to be closed for outdoor dining. However, Lewis did note that she saw greater numbers come through the gallery during Silicon Valley Open Studios last month — at least 100 people in one afternoon.
Visitors’ presence is a necessary part of the equation that makes a special space like Gallery House work, from engaging with the artists, learning about their pieces, and yes, hopefully buying some, too.
“Art almost needs living people around it, you know, as an artist you need to have your work somewhere that people can actually see it and as an artist that feeds you,” Williams said.
From behind the scenes, what seems to have always made it all work are the artists of Gallery House. As Williams said, the gallery’s longevity shows that “the model works.”
Lewis compared Gallery House to her experiences working with a commercial gallery, to which she also still belongs. Though Gallery House’s artists do aim to sell works, there’s camaraderie and support — and a chance to forge meaningful connections with other artists and the public.
“I stayed here because not only do I want to be part of the business and doing this, but it’s because I have friends here. We have a community, which if you’re in a commercial gallery, you don’t. You go there once in a while and you bring your work, you take your work, and occasionally you’ll have a reception but you don’t connect with people. Whereas here, we do have a community, and I think that’s really important.”
As Robinson put it, “We are what we are: part of the community.”
Gallery House celebrates its 65th anniversary June 9, 5-7 p.m. at 320 S. California Ave., Palo Alto. The current exhibition, “On a Clear Day,” will be on view through June 25. For more information, visit galleryhouse.art.
Talented emerging artists who have persevered through the turbulent years of Covid are bursting onto the art scene with a plea to “let us in”, as the Lord Mayor of Leeds opens their degree show.
The university exhibition, which is free and open to the public until June 18, is a chance for the 49 students to showcase the work they have produced over the final year of their BA Fine Art degree.
Curated and staged by the students themselves – unusual for university degree shows – the title of the show ‘Can you let us in?’ asks the art world to help the up-and-coming creators bridge the gap from university study to life as professional artists.
It is also a playful reference to a regular message that appeared in the students’ group chat whenever someone had forgotten their access card for the shared studio space.
BA Fine Art student Molly Newham, part of the show’s organising committee, said:
“I can honestly say that ‘Can you let us in?’ is the final year Fine Art students at their best.
‘Can you let us in?’ is a loud knock on the doors of the wider art world
“This show represents a perseverance and resilience fostered over the last three years. From physically being locked out of our building and holed up in halls in our first few years due to pandemic lockdowns to slowly and steadily reclaiming the studios as our own.
“’Can you let us in?’ is a loud knock on the doors of the wider art world. The show acts as an amplifier, with us as the next generation of creative workers shouting ‘are you listening, this is important!’.”
The exhibition encompasses painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, sound and moving image installations, using materials that range from oil paint to a kinetic ice sculpture.
It was formally opened by Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Al Garthwaite at a private viewing on Wednesday, June 7, accompanied by her Lord Mayor’s Consort Catherine Mitchell who is herself a fine art graduate from the university.
Cllr Garthwaite said: “I am completely blown away by the excellence of the concepts, the imagination, the use of the media that have gone into making these art works. There is such a variety as well – from the paintings to the ice sculpture to the amazing ceramic forms, and the Amazon boxes which have been transformed to show the interior of student houses of Hyde Park.
“It genuinely gives me the most enormous pleasure to be able to formally open this show.”
BA Fine Art student Izzy Spriggs, the show’s director, said organising the show was “challenging yet hugely rewarding”. She thanked the technicians who gave their time to help and taught the students’ valuable skills they will use in their future careers.
Lecturer Dr Julia McKinlay, who led the module for the degree show, praised the students for their resilience through a disrupted three years at university.
They have risen to this challenge brilliantly and produced a wonderful exhibition full of exciting and challenging work
She said: “It has been a pleasure to work with this cohort of fine art students in their final year of undergraduate study. They have had an unprecedented university experience with dormitory lockdowns and a year working in isolation at the start of their degree.
“Despite this, they have thrown themselves into developing their studio practices and have produced their best work for this year’s degree show. There is a huge range of fantastic work to see ranging from printmaking to audio visual installations.”
She went on to explain that while many universities see degree shows curated by academic staff, the Leeds students run the entire endeavour themselves even managing the budget and arranging marketing campaigns.
“This is a huge collective endeavour but also an opportunity to learn what it takes and gain the skills to put on a public exhibition of this scale. All the while, producing their own work as artists in the exhibition,” Dr McKinlay added.
“They have risen to this challenge brilliantly and produced a wonderful exhibition full of exciting and challenging work.”
The students were also congratulated on their “complex and astute” work by Dr Joanne Crawford, Head of the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies. Dr Crawford said the show was a chance to reflect on the impact national and global events have had on our lives.
“This has been acutely evident in the arts sector where the gap between aspiration and reality becomes one increasingly difficult to cross, especially for the generation represented by the 49 final year artists asking ‘Can you let us in?’
“It is sometimes difficult not to be pessimistic in such changeable and often volatile times, but the hope, enthusiasm and sheer determination of this extremely talented group is reassuring. Through their artistic endeavours they are all are looking the future straight in the eye and demanding a say in how their world will be shaped and experienced.
“The range of art on display in this exhibition shows a complex and astute questioning of the status quo in the hope for something different. What impresses me the most though is that in doing this they demonstrate a real kindness; a call for collective action and real connectivity.”
We’re all about to be waist deep in the busy summer season, and for many of us, it’s also time to get waist de…
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Mary Dennis is WSCC’s Student of the Month.
(Photo Provided)
The Washington State Community College Student of the Month is an amateur photographer whose career pursuit was inspired by her picture-taking pastime.
Mary Dennis took her love of capturing images and turned it into a career, but with a twist. Radiology wasn’t the first career choice for the 26-year old.
As a new graduate from St. Marys High School, she was convinced the lucrative field of pharmacy would be a great career and moved away to go to college. That’s where she discovered that working in this profession wouldn’t give her the one-on-one engagements with people that she likes.
“It’s not all about the money. For me, it’s more about the personal approach,” Dennis said.
Not wanting to disappoint anyone, she attempted to push herself through the program. As a result, she found herself sinking into a depression.
Ultimately, for her mental well-being, she quit school and returned home. Dedicated to improving her health, she turned to her favorite hobby, photography, and things began to come into focus when she began working in sterile processing at a local hospital.
She was exposed to a wide array of professions, including radiology.
That’s when she realized that she could align her recreational activity with career pursuits and decided to earn a degree in radiology.
“It started with my passion for photography, but I wanted something beyond the surface. (Radiology) is like photography with your bones,” she said.
While making the decision was easy, it was still scary, however, fear can be motivating, she said.
“When you start saying ‘yes,’ it opens you up to new experiences and opportunities,” Dennis said.
She enrolled at Washington State and saw her future through a new lens.
“Working in radiology allows me to make those personal connections that I truly love, but it also allows me to utilize my critical thinking skills,” she said.
In the classroom and clinical rotations, her proclivity for her work is apparent to her instructors.
“Clinically, Mary has excellent patient care and always makes her patients feel comfortable. She takes pride in her images and has great attention to detail. Didactically, she has never wavered,” Aimee Pehipplis, Washington State Radiologic Technology Program director, said. “She excels in the classroom because she is an engaged student that listens, asks questions, and follows up for complete understanding. She is able to critically think through the many aspects of radiologic science.”
In July, Dennis will earn her associate degree in Radiologic Technology and plans to pursue additional certification to become a CT or MRI technologist.
Northwoods Dance Project showcases local dancers
PRESQUE ISLE, Wis. (WJFW) – Dancing requires constant movement meaning it’s hard to capture it in still images, but one Vilas County artist decided he was going to overcome that challenge. For the past 14 years Mark Schermeister has been photographing dance, his mission is to create art that showcases the beauty of the world around us.
“This is the exciting part of it we are really excited to be doing something different,” said Mark Schermeister.
Presque Isle Community Library is a place where people come to check out books but recently, they decided to spice up the building by hosting a photography exhibit called “The Northwoods Dance Project”.
“The Northwoods Dance Project is an initiative to promote and publicize dance in the Northwoods and additionally to promote the art form of dance imagery in particular,” said Mark.
Library Director Christal Schermeister-Simmons believes having these pieces in the library allows the community to experience something different.
“They have been really excited about this exhibit and it’s always great to see the local dancers and love seeing the young ones and the art and the youth having a fun time dancing,” said Christal Schermeister-Simmons.
The exhibit features 83 different photographs and showcases dancers like Tayden and Gabriella. They feel honored that they are able to share their passion with others.
“Pretty shocked I like to dance, but when I found out that I can do this it was really cool,” said Tayden Hodkinson.
“I’m beyond grateful that I get to share my love of dance with everybody in the Northwoods,” said Gabriella Hansen.
While this may a brand new exhibit, Mark Schermeister is just getting started.
“I love it, it’s a passion I can’t get enough of it and I’m looking forward to doing more,” said Mark Schermeister.
The photos will on display until June 30th, the next step is to showcase more dancers at libraries around the Northwoods.
Arts & Culture Community Phoenix Community Alliance Travel, Shopping & Leisure Uncategorized
Taylor Costello
June 7, 2023
In the summer, air conditioning is your friend! When air conditioning arrived in the Valley, this new luxury first appeared Downtown, mainly in commercial spaces, such as the Westward Ho in 1929 and the former Fox Theatre, located on Block 23, in 1931.
Eventually, air conditioning in the desert became commonplace, but more so a necessity to weather the summer months. Below are a few Phoenix Community Alliance Member art and culture institutions that will encourage you to get out of the house periodically but not break a sweat while you do!
On display through July 23, “MOVE: The Modern Cut of Geoffrey Beene” exhibition shows off the imaginative, expressive fashion designs of the titular designer. (Photos by Taylor Costello)
A great museum shares the same traits to protect its precious art and assets inside its walls against deterioration, such as a controlled environment and minimal direct sunlight.
A stable low humidity with cool overall temperature (between 65 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit) in their galleries make “MOVE: The Modern Cut of Geoffrey Beene,” a special exhibition on the imaginative, expressive fashion designs of the titular designer, a staple for generations to come!
MOVE: The Modern Cut of Geoffrey Beene is on display through July 23.
A collection of Heard Museum’s 400 Katsina Dolls, which belonged to Senator Barry Goldwater. (Photo Courtesy of Heard Museum’s Facebook)
The home of former Senator Barry Goldwater’s 400 Katsina dolls, the Heard Museum hosts countless permanent and rotating exhibits that tell the stories of the Indigenous people of the Southwest and elsewhere.
Exhibits to explore the different facets of culture include “He‘e Nalu | The Art and Legacy of Hawaiian Surfing” (Through July 16) and the ongoing “Substance of Stars,” an immersive examination of four Indigenous cultures and their spiritual values, told through commissioned artwork by native artists, like local muralist Thomas “Breeze” Marcus.
You can also find a large-scale mural by Breeze and muralist El Mac, at 111 W. Monroe Street.
The Arizona Science Center’s staff pose with their 10ft pair of functional scissors, made in-house, for the grand opening of ‘The Science of Guinness World Records’ in May. (Photo by Taylor Costello)
Literal big things are afoot at this Downtown institution! To kick off their latest exhibit, ‘The Science of Guinness World Records’ in May, the Arizona Science Center staff unveiled the largest* pair of functional scissors made in-house for the ribbon-cutting event. These scissors measured 10ft in length and weighed 93 lbs., which required six people, including Mayor Kate Gallego, to wield.
The exhibit delves into the sciences behind the unique record-breaking feats encompassing their books and allows patrons to break those records.
*-Hang tight, though, while they await confirmation from Guinness if their ginormous scissors are, in fact, going to break a world-record!
The Science of Guinness World Records is displayed through New Year’s Day 2024.
The Arizona Science Center also recently announced they will be offering summer camps to families at no cost this year due to a summer enrichment grant awarded by Governor Katie Hobbs. CAMP INNOVATION is intended to inspire, educate, and engage curious minds through hands-on science. To learn more and register, click here.
The focal point of the Children’s Museum of Phoenix is “The Climber,” constructed from 50 tons of steel and running through all three floors of the building. (Photo by Taylor Costello)
The 1913 Monroe School, where the Children’s Museum of Phoenix is located, once was the largest elementary school west of the Mississippi and housed a young Jackson Pollack as a student. In 2008, the historic building was revived using local bond funding to unleash creativity for new generations of children.
Highlights include a Noodle Forest (a collection of swimming noodles hanging from the ceiling), a children’s grocery store, their KIDchen, an enclosed outdoor playground, and hundreds of different spots to play centered around an ultimate indoor jungle gym called “The Climber,” constructed from 50 tons of steel.
The museum is for children up to age ten, but all ages are tempted to trek through “The Climber,” which runs through all three floors of the building.
Zazu West performing at the Nash during a Django Reinhardt-themed concert, pictured January 13, 2023. (Photo by Taylor Costello)
Jazz is alive at The Nash! Recognized as one of the “Great Jazz Venues in the World” by Downbeat Magazine, the venue has spent more than ten years keeping the spirit of jazz thriving through different ways of engagement.
The Nash, named after the renowned local jazz drummer Lewis Nash, gives a platform to a rotation of touring jazz musicians and vocalists while furthering the genre for generations to come. Teenage musicians can receive a crash course from Phoenix’s best musicians with educational programming from jam sessions, jazz camps, and workshops.
Ali Nervis (left) and Henry Dickerson (right) co-owners of Straw and Wool hat store in Downtown Phoenix are co-founders of the Archwood Exchange nonprofit that hosts the Buy Black Marketplace. (Photo: Contributed)
For more than six years, local nonprofit Archwood Exchange has acted as an incubator for new Black-Owned Businesses in the Greater Downtown area, supporting entrepreneurs as they grow their businesses. Successful businesses whose ventures evolved into storefronts include Stardust & Sage (a Botanical and aromatherapy shop) and The Diaspora Collective (authentic fashions and home décor designed by Black artisans).
Their Buy Black Marketplace activation gained a new physical anchor on Wexford Science + Technology’s seventh floor after being displaced from its former Roosevelt Street location.
The Buy Black Marketplace sets up shop twice a month, starting in July, from 12 PM to 4 PM. Check Archwood Exchange for a complete list of times.
The Churchill keeps their customers cool, and the summer at bay, using two evaporative cooling units, a misting system, and two 16 ft. diameter fans to circulate the air. (Photos Courtesy of The Churchill)
A different way to think of coolness! Under the arched roof in Roosevelt Row, 10 storefronts give visitors various ways to gather, shop and eat local. The Churchill is a collective for artisanal pop-ups to house operations under a 9,000-square-foot courtyard.
Made from a structure of enclosed repurposed shipping containers by LOCAL Studio, this communal space keeps the summer at bay using two evaporative cooling units, a misting system, and two 16 ft. diameter fans to circulate the air.
The Churchill’s Participating businesses include: The Brill Line, Infruition, So Far So Good, Cosas, Freak Brothers Pizza, State Forty Eight, Stoop Kid, Cayla Gray, Mod Co., and a Neighbor Market and Gourmet Pantry.
For More Summer Family-Friendly Programming & Classes Check Out: Herberger Theatre Center, Phoenix Center for the Arts, Valley Youth Theatre and Xico Art y Cultura.
Central air conditioning isn’t scarce, so luckily, this list isn’t a complete rundown of cool things to do Downtown in the months ahead. If you want a more exhaustive list of weekly events and occurrences, bookmark the Downtown Phoenix calendar or check out our weekly What’s Happening Guide!
