Contemporary Arts Festival puts York in the Spotlight - 21 December 2006
Issued by: Visit York/Brahm
Date: 21 December 2006
News Release
The historic street of Micklegate in York is set to be transformed with a ten-day festival of contemporary art that will combine history, creativity and technology to bring some of the most exciting new art ideas onto the street after dark.
Part of the Illuminating York programme, LUX is a mini festival of light taking place between 19 - 28 January, and will reveal and animate this historic street through after-dark artwork.
With a series of inspired public artworks created by graduate and undergraduate students of York St John University, the audience is invited to enjoy a diverse range of video art, textual projections and interactive light installations that will explore the heritage of Micklegate. The pieces will be projected onto the beautiful buildings of the street, illuminating the walkways and creating a lively and stimulating environment.
Steve Purcell, Dean at the Faculty of Arts for York St John University, explains: "We're really excited about the project. It will not only showcase York's rich historical offering, but also reveal this exciting contemporary cultural scene which is showing York in a different light. The students have displayed great talent, and their work really needs to be seen to be believed."
Artworks include:
- 'Offerings', a candlelit installation by Kate Sleight in the medieval church of St Martin Cum Gregory.
- 'Overheard' by Shelley Clarkson, a text based projection to create interactive illuminated environments in the Oxfam bookshop.
- 'Untitled II' by Meg Bolton will use photography and installation with light boxes, informed by Micklegate and the city.
- 'Unnoticed' by Alice Stevens, a piece exploring isolation using silhouettes, displayed in the Lilli Rose Flower Shop.
- 'All the better to.' by Laura Kavanagh plays with reversing the stereotypical roles in fairytale history. This will be displayed from the Ken Spelman Book Shop
- 'Regeneration' by Anneline Groves in the Holy Trinity Interior - an intricate image of broken glass slowly healing itself.
- 'August Hilliard and Friends' by Alasdair Beckett-King, a projection combining video and animation from Oxfam Homeware.
- 'Quest' by Arran Todd, a digital piece projected from the Sony Shop, using balloons to appeal to children and the child inside us.
In addition, there will be theatrical tours by York-based drama company 'For The Love of God', beginning at 6 and 7pm on January 19/20th at St Martin cum Gregory church, which will also play host to some contemporary dance performances on the 26/27th January, 6-7pm.
The LUX public art project is delivered by students and staff of York St John University Faculty of Arts and supported by Yorkshire Forward. It has been initiated by the York Tourism Partnership as part of Illuminating York, and is supported by the traders on Micklegate and the City Centre Churches Trust. It offers people the chance to see first-hand how contemporary culture compliments the historic offering in York, and is part of a campaign to promote the city as an ideal destination for a cultural short break.
All events are free and a leaflet including a map will be available from the first week in January from the Visitor Information Centres (telephone 01904 550099 or visit www.visityork.org for more information).
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For further information please contact Nina Hands (n.hands@brahm.com or Charlotte Hancock (c.hancock@brahm.com ) on 0113 2 200557.
Notes to Editors:
Leaflets on LUX, including a map, will be available from the first week in January from the VICs and other outlets and will be downloadable from www.renaissanceyork.org.uk
'Illuminating York' is part of a ten-year strategy by the York Tourism Partnership with investment from Yorkshire Forward to encourage greater use of the city in the evenings, to enhance the evening environment It is an ongoing project, which aims to use light and innovation to breathe new life into York's historic urban environment after dark whilst showcasing regional and international artists.
The York Area Tourism Partnership is the private-public partnership responsible for promoting and developing York as a visitor destination. The partners are City of York City Council, Visit York, York Hospitality association, Yorkshire Tourist Board and Yorkshire Forward.
York St John University is committed to developing and retaining a creative city by providing opportunities for current students and graduate artists, enabling collaboration in creative industries.
Student profiles
Laura Kavanagh
Age: 20
From: Whitson
Laura Kavanagh is studying Fine Art at York St John University. Her practice is usually photographically based and has included installation work. Her main influences are literature, nature, emotions and everyday life. She is driven to make pieces that remain in people's minds even after they have left the piece. She enjoys enabling people to see ordinary, mundane objects or places in a different light. "All the better to." plays with reversing the stereotypical roles in fairytale history.
Anneline Groves
Age: 27
From: Leeds
Anneline Groves is an undergraduate from York St John University. The work Anneline is presenting for the LUX project was produced in response to the disused Priory church on Micklegate, specifically the beautiful stained glass windows that alone remain intact inside this empty and decaying space. The piece, titled Regeneration, is a video projection on a large scale (several square meters), showing an intricate image of broken glass slowly healing itself. The work intends to convey a positive sense of regeneration, that will contribute to the celebration of Micklegate and its residents, and also provide a calm and contemplative space that will inspire the viewer to consider notions of time and history.
Alice Stevens
Age: 20
From: Barnsley
Alice's work is based on research into bullying in schools and the feelings experienced by those who are bullied. She is influenced by Rorschach ink blots and being able to pick out shapes and images from blots of ink. In this work, the figures are placed alone, heads bowed to reflect feeling of loneliness and isolation. This is a quiet, contemplative and intimate piece.
Arran Todd
Age: 25
From: York
Without wanting to categorise himself, Arran considers his most proficient work recently has been as a digital artist. Whilst he recognises that more traditional forms of art have social importance, he feels that as an artist he must relate to the time we are in and the real people who live in it. What intrigued him about this project was the location of the 'Micklegate run' and the juxtaposition of placing Art where it may not be considered to have a place. This work (Quest) appeals to children and the child inside us, in recognition that children, and their future, are the real and most important issues in the world today.
For The Love of God
Age: Vicky New - 21, Beth Wilcox - 22
For the Love of God are Victoria New and Beth Wilcox, a performance company who make intimate live work exploring life and death. Their most recent work, Five Intimate Acts, engaged its audience in a physical and emotional journey, using story telling, Bob Marley, Wellington Boots and Line Dancing, references the everyday in the extraordinary. For the Love of God will act as guides for LUX, enhancing the work with live light based performance interventions.
Alasdair Beckett-King
Age: 22
From: County Durham
The work will be a series of shadow-portraits depicting twelve immortal figures. The characters will appear as framed silhouettes appearing and disappearing for brief periods. These fleeting vignettes, these glimpses of narrative will be fitting for a work that can be appreciated out of sequence and in passing.
'August Hilliard & Friends' will be a projection combining video and animation, on a six minute loop.
Meg Boulton
Age: 22
From: Skipton
Meg has recently undertaken an M.A. in Art History at York University after graduating from York St John in 2005 with a BA in Fine Art and PGdip in Environment Art at Manchester. Her work explores liminal spaces, the domestic interior and archives. She also works within the narrative of the city, a context which informs and contextualises her work. Her work for LUX will use photography and installation with light boxes, informed by Micklegate and the city.
Kate Sleight
Age: 21
From: Yorkshire
Kate's work explores the relationship between audience and artwork specifically focusing on site. Her most recent site-specific installation could be seen in the Crypt of York Minster and comprised of 1000 wax bowls; 'Votive offerings for the viewer.the bowls are a blank canvas for the audience to project their thoughts onto or into. The very essence of the work relies on how the individual engages with the artefact in the space, the relationship between what is offered.'
The bowls are made of wax, a material deeply rooted in offerings and religious ceremony. The repetitive nature of the making process acted as a meditative time in which to contemplate and is reflected in the bowls.
Shelley Clarkson
Age: 21
From: Yorkshire
Shelley Clarkson uses text based projections to create interactive illuminated environments.
Her work for LUX explores Micklegate's 'forgotten history' and questions its current reputation as 'a binge drinking destination.' Through researching local archives Shelley will present a 'large scale interactive projection telling the history of Micklegate which will not only reflect but also juxtapose the current surroundings of the area.'