Art and About

One of the wonderful outcomes of attending and speaking at conferences is the meeting of like-minds, the chance to listen to the ideas and stories of others, to see and hear about their arts practice and to put faces to the names you have only managed to read about.

Last week I caught up with several people I met at the Cultural Threads symposium the week before including Dr Lycia Trouton, a conceptual installation artist I first met in Canberra when she exhibited the Linen Memorial at Craft ACT. It was great to re-connect over a meal and get to know one another a little more.
I also managed to have lunch with Dr Sarah Rhodes, a designer, jeweller and consultant who is currently working at the University of London.  Sarah gave a wonderful presentation at the conference and her chapter in the Cultural Threads book explores the question of ownership in contemporary textile imagery in Southern Africa. She is currently working at the University of the Arts London, London College of Fashion, but also has a range of jewellery she has designed selling in TopShop, Whistles and House of Fraser.
On Sunday afternoon I took the bus to Peckham to visit the Studio of another artist in the Cultural Threads book, Francoise Dupre.

Francoise Dupre in her studio with recently finished work

Francoise was looking particularly happy because she had just finished the work she was standing behind.  Her studio is in a large building complex called SPACE studios in Peckham. SPACE is a leading visual arts organisation providing creative workspace, advocacy, support and promotion of innovation.   They run 18 artist studio buildings across 7 London boroughs, supporting 700 artists with studios and another 700 with professional development. And....there is no time limit on the studio lease!! Amazing.

We then went out for a great Indian meal nearby and during our conversation Francoise told me that she had done an arts residency in Darwin several years ago and had visited both Maningrida and the Tiwi Islands as part of her research.

Earlier in the day I took myself on a public art walk down Brick Lane, so to finish this post off I have some eye candy here for you, just a select few of the hundreds of street art to be found up the streets and alleys criss-crossing Brick Lane.

Book Launch and Symposium

On Saturday morning I was up bright and early (well ...up early anyway...London is dark and cold at that time of the morning!) to attend the 'Cultural Threads :Transnational textiles today'  symposium and book launch.

Forecourt of CSM, Granary Square, King's Cross

Central St Martin's is just near King's Cross station and it was buzzing with people even though it was an early Saturday morning, where there were several conferences happening.

Jessica Hemmings opening the symposium

There was a good attendance and an impressive panel of speakers including Christine Checinska, Godfried Donkor, Françoisé Dupre, Helen Jennings, Toril Johannessen, Jasleen Kaur, Sarat Maharaj, Sarah Rhodes & of course myself!

Delivering my talk 'Walking with Darwin'

I would like to formally thank the ACT Government and artsACT for their support towards my trip to speak at the symposium, because it was a wonderful opportunity to meet so many academics and practitioners from Europe.

The start of my talk

There were lively panel discussions at the end of each session and all the talks were recorded so that Jessica can make them available in the future.

Panel: Christine Chechinska, Sarat Maharaj and Helen Jennings

There were two speakers who were not represented in the book, Godfried Donkor and Toril Johannessen, who gave wonderful presentations about their work and we all managed to have a wonderful catch-up afterwards over a celebratory drink. 

Myself, Jessica Hemmings and Lycia Trouton catching up over a drink

It was weird speaking at a conference where the only person I knew was Jessica, however after my presentation I was virtually mobbed and made a huge number of contacts and acquaintances which I am following up on this week - in fact my final week has shrunk considerably and now I am pressured to fit everything in! However thanks to the internet we can all remain in touch in the future.

Once again, thanks to artsACT for making this trip and opportunity possible. And of course a big thank you to Jessica Hemmings for not only including me in her book but for organising the launch and symposium with her wonderful team of helpers on the day.