AREA GUIDE > NEW CULTURE EDITION

For the third year in a row we have teamed up with New Art West Midlands to present a special culture edition of Area Guide.

Featuring a wealth of new graduate talent New Art WM chooses the best of the graduate shows to present 4 unique curated exhibitions of work that focuses on cross-art forms. This year the exhibitions, which start this month, will take place at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, mac birmingham, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and Herbert Museum & Art Gallery, Coventry.

This edition also features upcoming exhibitions, festivals and cultural events taking place from now until May.

Read the edition online here or pick up an issue at the venues mentioned above.

West Midland Degree Shows 2015

It is a busy time for 3rd year undergrads at the moment as they work hard to present their final year degree shows and hope to get noticed. Always an excellent place to pick up and find new and exciting talent, here are a selection that are open to the public across the West Midlands…

New Art WM Annuale, 20 March – 15 April

New Art WM Annuale is a new project which showcases artists living and working in the West Midlands and encourages people to become buyers of contemporary art. While the UK’s art market thrives in the capital it isn’t as obvious in some of the regions.

Several past initiatives in the West Midlands have proved popular but the irregularity of selling exhibitions and art fairs in the region, alongside the lack of contemporary selling galleries, prohibits the continued sale of works to the public.

Compton Verney exhibitions in 2015

In mid-March the award winning art gallery of Compton Verney will re-open it gates to the public. Throughout the year, the stunning grounds of the 18th century country mansion will be the venue for some promising exhibitions.

This year, Compton Verney has the honour to be partner of the National Gallery’s masterpiece tour 2015. In the first half of the year the exhibition Canaletto: Celebrating Britain shows a collection of paintings and drawings, which the Venetian painter created during his long-term stay in Britain between 1746 and 1755. The exhibition will be accompanied by Canaletto’s masterpiece A Regatta on the Grand Canal, which is a loan from the National Gallery.

Will Shannon: The Closet Craftsman at mac – 14 Feb–19 April

Multi-talented artist Will Shannon’s exhibition ‘The Closet Craftsman’ launches the Craftspace Curates season at mac. Combining the role of designer, maker, manufacturer and architect Shannon creates alternative and mobile workspaces.

Resonating with the city’s heritage as a place for trade and making things the exhibition includes the newly commissioned ‘Market Factory’ piece. Shannon subverts the idea of a traditional market stall and re-imagines it as a space in which to fuse making and selling. Using only simple hand tools Shannon goes back to basics using traditional joinery techniques and hand skills to craft beautiful limited edition chairs for sale.

AK Dolven – Please Return, 4 February – 19 April – Ikon Gallery

Please Return is the latest exhibition by Norwegian artist AK Dolven at Ikon. Through a combination of painting, photography, film and sound Dolven’s work represents the natural forces that surround us. Her choice of subject matter is similar to the renowned nineteenth century painter and fellow Norwegian Peder Balke (1804 – 87) whom Dolven identifies with whose work she has chosen to include in the exhibition alongside her own.

Area Culture Guide – New Art West Midlands Special Edition

Welcome to the all new edition of Area Culture Guide with a special focus on this year’s New Art West Midlands.

It is PACKED with culture, exhibitions, interviews and listing for upcoming events around the West Mids.

They’ll be on the streets from Monday and also available extensively at:

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
Herbert Museum and Art Gallery
Wolverhampton Museum and Area Gallery
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

In the meantime you can read the digital edition here.

Grayson Perry Tapestries @BM_AG

Following the BAFTA award-winning Channel 4 series ‘All in the Best Possible Taste with Grayson Perry’ BM&G is the first Midlands venue to display the series of six tapestries that were produced alongside the programme.

Area – New Art West Midlands Special Edition

To celebrate the fine artistic talent of the region for this edition we teamed up with New Art West Midlands to showcase some of the fine works on display until May. Take a look at the digital edition here or pick up your copy in the usual spaces as well as at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

 

PHOTOREALISM: 50 Years of Hyperrealistic painting

30 November – 30 March 2014
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

Think you’re gazing at a photograph? No, that’s actually a painting! Take a look at everyday life from a new perspective because the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery are showcasing Europe’s first large scale retrospective dedicated to Photorealism.