Dates:
4 Oct 2019 - 24 Nov 2019
People:
Betsy Bradley, Hira Butt, Sarah Byrne, Gemma Costin, Matías Serra Delmar, Anna Katarzyna Domejko, Andreana Fatta, Matt Gale, Amy Guo, Ewan Johnston, Navi Kaur, Shiyi Li, Mengxia Liu, Farwa Moledina, Tayyibah Mota, Laura Onions, Rosie Piercy, Ameera Sadiq, Georgia Tucker, Lily Wales.
Location:
Coventry
ICF partnered with New Art West Midlands and Coventry Biennial of Contemporary Art to select 20 recently-graduated artists to participate in the New Art West Midlands emerging artists exhibition as part of the 2019 Coventry Biennial
In autumn 2019 New Art West Midlands returned with a new model, working in collaboration with ICF and the Coventry Biennial of Contemporary Art to introduce an exciting group of artists across the city. From traditional arts venues to unexpected spaces and public places, the exhibition aimed to reach new audiences and show the value of creativity as Coventry moves closer to its tenure as UK City of Culture in 2021.
The selected artists were recent graduates from the West Midlands’ art schools and creative Higher Education programmes. The region has a rich offer and heritage when it comes to art education; New Art West Midlands is a partnership with leading local institutions to celebrate the talented individuals emerging from undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes.
Applications were received from over one hundred artists, representing recent graduates from Birmingham City University, Coventry University, University of Wolverhampton, University of Worcester, Staffordshire University and Hereford College of Arts.
The selection panel included ICF team members Adelaide Bannerman and Jessica Taylor, invited selector Cindy Sissokho, and Ryan Hughes, the founder and director of Coventry Biennial. ICF’s Diaspora Pavilion project model informed the direction of New Art West Midlands 2019 as a professional development programme.
Speaking about the selection and quality of submissions, Jessica Taylor commented: “International Curators Forum is thrilled to be partnering with New Art West Midlands, Coventry Biennial and Herbert Art Gallery on this important opportunity to support a cohort of recently-graduated emerging artists and a curator from the West Midlands.
“We are excited that the Diaspora Pavilion model has influenced the development of this programme, which champions diversity and the professional development of emerging practitioners in the region. The connections made and exposure gained by the 20 selected artists as a result of their inclusion in this Biennial stands to be of great importance during this moment of transition in their careers, and we look forward to working closely with some of the artists as they continue on in the programme alongside a selected curator in 2020.”
Highlights of the exhibition included new large-scale installations, sculpture, photography, video, paintings, drawings and digital artworks, exploring themes of cultural identity, technologies and the environment among others.
Sarah Byrne’s (University of Wolverhampton) work reflectes on experiences growing up in England as British girl with an Asian mother. Her projections use imagery from her mother’s old photo albums of childhood trips to the Philippines to question the events and exchanges that have contributed to a separation in her two national identities.
“I am a renegade botanist” declared Gemma Costin (Hereford College of Arts). Her travelling seedpod is a repurposed caravan that used to be called home, now transformed into a space to interrogate ideas of nature and biophilia.
Amy Guo (Staffordshire University) investigates the relationship between human and digital technologies, and considers the ways in which our social interactions with others are mediated through technology and the visibility of our digital selves.
Farwa Moledina’s (Birmingham City University) series of prints on paper and textile are concerned with re-appropriating and reclaiming Orientalist imagery of Muslim Women. In today’s postcolonial, globalised world, refugees, immigrants and persons of dual culture often find themselves caught between tradition, integration and redefinition of their complex identities.
Through film, photography and mixed media, Tayyibah Mota (Coventry University) considers the Hijab. Her work seeks to display the tradition within and opposition to this Muslim practice, whilst sharing personal experiences of some of the British Muslim women who wear them.
Rosie Piercy (University of Worcester) deals with the very current issue of tuition fees and the cost of education in Britain. Her sculpture ‘Forever in Debt’ consists of helium filled balloons highlighting the exact balance of her student loan as they slowly deflate.
Ryan Hughes, director of Coventry Biennial, commented: “We are really delighted by the work we have selected and are looking forward to bringing it to Coventry to share with audiences. The professional development focus of New Art West Midlands aligns strongly with our vision for a social and critically engaged biennial for the region. The unique and inclusive new model they have built will create deeply meaningful opportunities for these artists in the West Midlands and beyond.”
Six of the emerging artists who exhibited in the Biennial as part of this programme were later selected by Dr Sylvia Theuri, NAWM x ICF Curator in Residence at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry (2019 – 2020) to present new work in the exhibition Thirteen Ways of Looking alongside a cohort of established artists who are all leaders in their fields, reflecting the curatorial model used for ICF’s 2017 Diaspora Pavilion
ICF partnered with New Art West Midlands and Coventry Biennial of Contemporary Art to select 20 recently-graduated artists to participate in the New Art West Midlands emerging artists exhibition as part of the 2019 Coventry Biennial
In autumn 2019 New Art West Midlands returned with a new model, working in collaboration with ICF and the Coventry Biennial of Contemporary Art to introduce an exciting group of artists across the city. From traditional arts venues to unexpected spaces and public places, the exhibition aimed to reach new audiences and show the value of creativity as Coventry moves closer to its tenure as UK City of Culture in 2021.
The selected artists were recent graduates from the West Midlands’ art schools and creative Higher Education programmes. The region has a rich offer and heritage when it comes to art education; New Art West Midlands is a partnership with leading local institutions to celebrate the talented individuals emerging from undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes.
Applications were received from over one hundred artists, representing recent graduates from Birmingham City University, Coventry University, University of Wolverhampton, University of Worcester, Staffordshire University and Hereford College of Arts.
The selection panel included ICF team members Adelaide Bannerman and Jessica Taylor, invited selector Cindy Sissokho, and Ryan Hughes, the founder and director of Coventry Biennial. ICF’s Diaspora Pavilion project model informed the direction of New Art West Midlands 2019 as a professional development programme.
Speaking about the selection and quality of submissions, Jessica Taylor commented: “International Curators Forum is thrilled to be partnering with New Art West Midlands, Coventry Biennial and Herbert Art Gallery on this important opportunity to support a cohort of recently-graduated emerging artists and a curator from the West Midlands.
“We are excited that the Diaspora Pavilion model has influenced the development of this programme, which champions diversity and the professional development of emerging practitioners in the region. The connections made and exposure gained by the 20 selected artists as a result of their inclusion in this Biennial stands to be of great importance during this moment of transition in their careers, and we look forward to working closely with some of the artists as they continue on in the programme alongside a selected curator in 2020.”
Highlights of the exhibition included new large-scale installations, sculpture, photography, video, paintings, drawings and digital artworks, exploring themes of cultural identity, technologies and the environment among others.
Sarah Byrne’s (University of Wolverhampton) work reflectes on experiences growing up in England as British girl with an Asian mother. Her projections use imagery from her mother’s old photo albums of childhood trips to the Philippines to question the events and exchanges that have contributed to a separation in her two national identities.
“I am a renegade botanist” declared Gemma Costin (Hereford College of Arts). Her travelling seedpod is a repurposed caravan that used to be called home, now transformed into a space to interrogate ideas of nature and biophilia.
Amy Guo (Staffordshire University) investigates the relationship between human and digital technologies, and considers the ways in which our social interactions with others are mediated through technology and the visibility of our digital selves.
Farwa Moledina’s (Birmingham City University) series of prints on paper and textile are concerned with re-appropriating and reclaiming Orientalist imagery of Muslim Women. In today’s postcolonial, globalised world, refugees, immigrants and persons of dual culture often find themselves caught between tradition, integration and redefinition of their complex identities.
Through film, photography and mixed media, Tayyibah Mota (Coventry University) considers the Hijab. Her work seeks to display the tradition within and opposition to this Muslim practice, whilst sharing personal experiences of some of the British Muslim women who wear them.
Rosie Piercy (University of Worcester) deals with the very current issue of tuition fees and the cost of education in Britain. Her sculpture ‘Forever in Debt’ consists of helium filled balloons highlighting the exact balance of her student loan as they slowly deflate.
Ryan Hughes, director of Coventry Biennial, commented: “We are really delighted by the work we have selected and are looking forward to bringing it to Coventry to share with audiences. The professional development focus of New Art West Midlands aligns strongly with our vision for a social and critically engaged biennial for the region. The unique and inclusive new model they have built will create deeply meaningful opportunities for these artists in the West Midlands and beyond.”
Six of the emerging artists who exhibited in the Biennial as part of this programme were later selected by Dr Sylvia Theuri, NAWM x ICF Curator in Residence at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry (2019 – 2020) to present new work in the exhibition Thirteen Ways of Looking alongside a cohort of established artists who are all leaders in their fields, reflecting the curatorial model used for ICF’s 2017 Diaspora Pavilion
Dates:
4 Oct 2019 - 24 Nov 2019
Location:
Coventry
