The sketch book contains 48 pages of sketches (nice).  The artists thought process has been focussed on ‘movement’.

The drawings range from intricate layers to slightly aggressive, and the ‘randoms’ the artist referred to were almost archigramic.

We cant wait to see the end result.

For more images from the book please click here

The project space has been generously sponsored by The Mailbox

Many thanks to EC-Arts intern Sarah Noakes for assisting Matt. For more images please click here

EC-Arts absolutely love the Papergirl concept, we wholeheartedly support it.

It fits with our objectives to:

utilise public space, commission artists to create interventions, experience,

encourage participation & accessible art.

How lovely.

We very much look forward to welcoming Papergirl Birmingham into the

48SHEET project space, and to work with PGB to plan some cycling routes

for distribution and a 48SHEET tour in April 2012!

For more information about Papergirl Birmingham and how to get involved click here

Flyer designed by the super talented Claire Hartley.

The Mailbox have very generously 

sponsored the new 48SHEET project space in kind. 

The space will be an extension of the project – a gallery of the project. 

48SHEET artists will utilise the space throughout April 2012.

We will invite people to get involved, more information to follow in shortly.

During the trip to China we also visited the Guangdong Museum of Art, Gaungzhou to meet with the museum Director Dr. Luo Yiping to discuss the 48SHEET project and the very exciting Fourth Guangzhou Triennial.

48SHEET will be the first international project to feature as part of the triennial.  During our visit we were treated to a special tour of the wonderful museum building and a private view of the incredible Light and Shadow of Ink-Chinese Painting Exhibition by Chen Zhengming.  EC-Arts were honoured to meet Dr. Luo Yiping, the Research & Curatorial Department  and museum staff.

Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou

Public art lighting installation

Guangzhou architectural cityscape

Next stop was Shanghai to identify potential billboards to utilise, they are very different in China than the traditional 48SHEET UK billboards.  They are big mutlifaceted structures, sporadically spaced rather than clustered with a huge concentration on the freeway between the airport and city, as opposed to suburbs or arterial roads (below image).

Whilst in Shanghai we visited AIVA, Academy of International Visual Arts to meet with Dr Joshua Jiang Director of AIVA and Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD) who very kindly arranged most of our trip and Laura Leng, AIVA Dean.  Claire Farrell, EC-Arts delivered a lecture to the students about EC-Arts and 48SHEET on behalf of BIAD.

It was a pleasure to meet the the very talented staff at the Academy, including Rachel Marsden a freelance curator, researcher and arts writer in the field of contemporary Chinese and South Asian art.  Rachel is also a PhD Candidate (BIAD), and curatorial assistant to Dr Joshua Jiang and Jonathan Watkins as part of the Guanzhou Triennial. And Lisa Juen, Head of Jewellery at AIVA, a designer and artist who has recently launched the very exciting PROONK , and course leaders Edward Liao and Zhang Hong.

Whilst at AIVA we had the chance to look at the students work, all very impressive.   In particular, Lao Zhen’s innovative work stood out, the Product Design student has created paper out of grapefruit rind for his pre-MA assessment.   Lao Zhen explained that he was inspired by the Chinese tradition of paper making (an artform that is passed on from generation to generation) and the desire to create unique paper for calligraphy (Lao Zhens father is a calligraphist).  Lao Zhen’s concept is very exciting with numerous possible directions to explore, we very much look forward to watching his progression.  For more information about AiVA students work please visit Rachel Marsden words 

Lao Zhen’s unique paper created from grapefruit rind

Lao Zhen talking through his process with Claire Farrell, EC-Arts and AIVA course leaders Edward Liao and Zhang Hong.

Above images by Rachel Marsden

The highlight of the trip was meeting artist Xu Zhen (MadeIn Company). MadeIn artists’ collective was founded by Chinese artist Xu Zhen in Shanghai 2009.  Xu Zhen is one of the most renowned conceptual artists to have emerged from China since the 1990s.  We are absolutely delighted that MadeIn Company will produce work for 48SHEET to be exhibited across 30 billboards (of 100) in April 2012,  co curated by Dr Joshua Jiang and Jonathan Watkins (Director of the Ikon Gallery) who are both also co curators of the Fourth Guangzhou Triennial. 

MadeIn Company, image taken from 48SHEET 2011 project space UNITB

During our trip to Guangzhou we also visited Guangzhou School for the blind and met with the Headmaster Mr Lau, Assistant Head Wendy Wangli and the schools very talented art teachers.  We were amazed with the high standard of work produced by the pupils.  Guangzhou School have had a longstanding successful partnership with Calthorpe School  based in Birmingham; the two headmasters Mr Lau and Graham Hardy have nurtured several international projects between the schools since 2006.  EC-Arts will work with the two schools on future projects involving regional artists within the context of visual art cultural exchange.

The trip was very successful and could not have happened without the support from The British Council; we were fortunate to see some amazing cities, meet some incredible people, artists, creatives and as a result we have been inspired to explore a number of concepts for potential projects in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing to link with Birmingham. Watch this space.

48SHEET has been sponsored by the Arts Council England and JCDecaux, for more information about the project click here

THERE DOESNT SEEM TO BE AN OVERALL MAP IN EXISTENCE IDENTIFYING BIRMINGHAM’S SPLENDID, QUIRKY, BRILLIANT, AND SUPER CULTURAL OFFERINGS.  IN KEEPING WITH 2012 48SHEET OVERARCHING THEME CULTURAL CURIOSITY,  WE THOUGHT WE MIGHT EXPLORE INTEGRATING THE SAID OFFERINGS WITHIN THE MAP.

WE WERE THINKING ABOUT >>>>>

ARTIST LED SPACES, GALLERIES, ARTS ORGS  (NAMES AND ADDRESSES PLEASE)

ODDITIES – INTERESTING - THINGS SUCH AS THE POLYTHENE EXPRESS DRIVE THROUGH (PETE ASHTON INTRODUCED US TO THIS DIGBETH PHENOMENON – THANKS PETE) 

ALTERNATIVE TRADITIONAL PUBLIC ART TRAIL – FROM ANTHONY GORMLEY IRON MAN, GRAFFITI, STREET ART, TO SAM UNDERWOOD’S SONIC GRAFFITI…

WE WOULD BE MOST GRATEFUL IF YOU WOULD BE KIND ENOUGH TO EMAIL INFO@EC-ARTS.COM WITH ANY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ABOVE AND WE WILL ENDEAVOUR TO INCLUDE AS MUCH AS WE POSSIBLY CAN WITHIN ONE MAP.

HELEN SWEETING EXHIBITION 14 – 19 NOVEMBER

10AM – 4PM DAILY

ARTIST TALK THURSDAY 17 NOVEMBER FROM 6PM

PLEASE RSVP TO INFO@EC-ARTS.COM

THE ARTIST HAS RECENTLY BEEN COMMISSIONED

FOR 48SHEET. 

 FOR MORE INFORMATION & IMAGES

PLEASE  VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

You are invited to join artist Baptist Coelho (Mumbai) at UnitB, Park Street, Digbeth (opposite Selfridges) on Wednesday 9th November at 6pm.The artist will talk about his approach to participation and previous projects including Air(travel) South Korea – Gwanju, 2010.

Baptist Coelho frequently merges personal research with collaborations from various cultures, geographies and histories. His work begins to take the form of human shaped media landscapes which often contend with history, the environment, conflict emotions and randomness. As a part of his practice Cohelho incorporates installations, video, sound, photography, found objects, site specific work and public art projects.

Baptist has recently been commissioned by EC-Arts for 48SHEET and is currently Artist-in-Residence at the Delfina Foundation in London.

48SHEET will transform Birmingham into a unique urban gallery utilising up to 100 billboards for visual art by regional, national and international artists throughout April 2012.  For directions to UnitB please CLICK HERE 

@48SHEET_

@EC_Arts 

For regular updates through Facebook or subscribe to events please go to contact for more links.

]]> http://www.ec-arts.com/2011/11/baptist-coehlo-artist-talk/feed/ 0