Plymouth Art Weekender
The following information was provided by the organisers of Plymouth Art Weekender and provides details of the three artist commissions. We are thrilled to be working alongside this wonderful team and look forward to attending the Weekender ourselves!
We are delighted to announce the three commissioned artists for Plymouth Art Weekender 2018!
This year the Weekender will take place on 28th, 29th and 30th September. Plymouth based Laura Denning who wowed audiences with her independent project Benthic Caress at last year’s Weekender, has been selected for our Local Engagement Commission. Laura’s practice combines collaboration, curation and, field notes; resulting in filmworks, soundwalks and other forms of ‘experimental geography’, as well as installations that audiences can take part in. For the Local Engagement Commission, Laura will be working with a series of professional vocalists and she hopes to collaborate with Plymouth’s deaf community to create a sign language choir.
Devon based Go Happen, who have previously developed intriguing journeying works for the Fal River Festival, Inland Art Festival and Stockholm International Fringe Festival, will take on the Open Brief. Go Happen develop expeditions and platforms for new stories. These are participatory and research happenings, exploring adventure and human perception. In 2018 sailors will set off from Plymouth as well as Falmouth and Les Sables-d’Olonne, France to sail solo and without technology around the world celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Sunday Times Golden Globe race. For this new commission they will be focusing on the journey of Bernard Moitessier, who departed from Plymouth in 1968 on the same race, 50 years before.
Cornwall based Bridgette Ashton has been selected for The History Commission, in partnership with The Box, Plymouth. Bridgette is best known for her work with caves, follies and grottoes including the poetic and poignant Lost Cave Requiem, which commemorated the demolished Porth Banqueting Hall Cavern, a concert venue up until the 1920s that hosted up to 1000 visitors at candlelit performances in a cave by the sea. Bridgette has a multifaceted practice encompassing sculpture, print, drawing, installation and publications and previously developed commissions for b-side Festival and Inland Art Festival. Her recent exhibition Only The World Remains in South London featured a series of multi-disciplinary works reimagining histories, fragments and stories linked to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. For the Weekender she will be working with The Box to develop new work inspired by the discovery of Plymouth’s Cattedown Caves and their connection to the destruction and further reconstruction of Plymouth.
Plymouth Art Weekender is an ambitious three day event that takes place annually across the city. The Weekender confidently celebrates Plymouth, its people and the visual arts, promoting the city as an exciting contemporary art destination. The Weekender showcases a wide and diverse range of activity for all ages including a large array of events and exhibitions throughout the city by artists working in Plymouth and further afield. This year Plymouth Art Weekender will run alongside the launch of The Atlantic Project, a new international festival of contemporary art, taking place in public contexts and outdoor locations across Plymouth, from 28 September- 21st October 2018.