Getting a Taste of Open Studios - The Forum Becomes a Showcase for Local Artists

Anyone passing through The Forum in Norwich this week cannot have helped noticing the art exhibition running in the main atrium. Not that there is anything particularly unusual about that. The Forum hosts several art exhibitions over the course of the year. But what marks out this one as a little bit special is that it is a Taster Exhibition, a introductory showcase intended to stimulate interest in the annual Norfolk and Norwich Open Studios programme, which runs this year from 27th May to 11th June. Along with five other 'taster' exhibitions being staged throughout the county, the exhibition in The Forum acts as an easily accessible appetiser to the main programme which opens at the end of next month.

As well as having a look around the exhibition, I spent a few hours there as a volunteer invigilator on Tuesday, got to speak to a number of artists, and even bought a painting.

The first thing that strikes you as you walk around the exhibition is the wonderful diversity of the works on display. As well as the usual paintings, photographs and ceramics there are textiles, sculptures and items of jewellery and bespoke lighting, and a huge variety of materials and subjects used. Almost every item on show is for sale, and although some of the pieces would set you back several thousands of pounds there are many items available for considerably less. The painting that I selected cost little more than a framed print from a high street store, yet I now own a unique piece of art.

Over the course of my afternoon I met photographer Howard, whose archive of digital and film prints of famous musicians is now being raided to produce a collection of limited prints. His image of blues legend B.B.King, taken in 2009, captures the essence of the guitarist during a live performance in London.

Ceramicist Michelle is exhibiting a beautiful stoneware vase inspired by the images sent back from the International Space Station during British astronaut Tim Peake's mission last year. She sees Open Studios not only as an opportunity to display her work via the Taster Exhibition in Norwich, but also to attract visitors to her studio in Oby, near Great Yarmouth.

Everyone will have their own favourite pieces, and I have to admit that mine is a large seascape, 'Fresh Sea Breeze', by North Norfolk artist Tracey Ross. Perhaps too expensive for my limited budget, but her work always seems to perfectly capture the light and colours of the Norfolk coastline.

So, what next? Well, hang on to your Open Studios brochure and set aside some time in late May or early June to plan a trip to some of your favourite artists' studios. Do not feel intimidated or pressured into purchasing at each and every stop. The artists are not expecting to make a sale from every single visitor, although many will have a range of affordable items and cards or prints that you may well be tempted by. And if you do feel inclined to spend some hard-earned cash on a painting or vase, then you can feel satisfied in purchasing a unique piece of art, and also by supporting a local artist. Pick up a selection of the special 'Art Trail' flyers - where a group of studios exist in close proximity a special route has been devised to enable you visit several within a short distance of each other. Throw in some nice weather, possibly a pub lunch, and you have all the ingredients for a lovely day out.

Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios Central Taster Exhibition runs until Sunday April 30th at The Forum in Millenium Plain, Norwich.

Norfolk & Norwich Open Studios, in association with Wex Photographic, runs from Saturday May 27th until Sunday June 11th. Check the main programme brochure for individual studios' opening times.

www.nnopenstudios.org.uk

Getting Down with Anthony Gormley - Another Time at the UEA

Art made a few headlines in Norwich last week when three figures from Anthony Gormley's 'Another Time' series were unveiled on the campus of the University of East Anglia in Norwich. The renowned artist was there in person on Saturday, but a controversy was already stirring about the siting of two of the three figures. One stares out towards the lake from the roof of the Biology building, overlooking the UEA's distinctive ziggurat halls of residence. Another can be seen six floors up on the roof of the library building, a lone figure silhouetted against the skyline. Meanwhile, 'Another Time IV' stands in its naked glory at the top of the stairwell to the library, still visible to some of those studying at their desks and computer terminals.

Gormley was forced to defend the siting of the first two figures from accusations of insensitivity raised by organisations associated with mental health who felt that the sight of lone figures on roof tops could be distressing or create disturbing association with suicidal thought. Perhaps his comments at the unveiling that they may help to open up debate on the pressures facing students inadvertently poured more fuel onto an already festering fire, and causing even the Bishop of Norwich to contribute to the discussion.

So, rather than come to a conclusion based solely on media coverage, I decided to visit the campus yesterday, and see the statues for myself. I have been a fan of Gormley's work for some time, ever since first stopping off on a journey to Newcastle to get an up close and personal communion with the Angel of The North, at the side of the A1 near Gateshead. Admittedly, I sometimes find the nude castings taken from his own body in 1995, then recreated in cast iron in 2007, as rather narcissistic, potentially bordering on exhibitionism by proxy. However, when placed in situ they are tranformed into a statement of purpose that is often quite beautiful. And this, having seen the three figures at the UEA, was genuinely the artist's desire.

I approached the main campus from the path that runs alongside the lake, and the first figure that you see is 'Another Time VII', spotted atop the junction of two of the four blocks that form the zig-zagging backbone of the main campus buildings. It appears to be staring out, away from the concrete concentrate of intellectual pursuit towards the wide open spaces of the world beyond. Even when approaching along the elevated walkway to get a closer view there is little that suggests of pressure or desperation in the figure.

Similarly with 'Another Time IV', much more accessible and approachable on the library walkway, yet inherently close to the seat of learning that is the library. Life size, and unashamedly imposing in its nakedness, one does wonder just how many drunken 'dicks-out-for-a-selfie' this particular Gormley is liable to inspire over the course of an academic year. But it still has a statement to make, and this is unmistakably about removing oneself from the intensity of pressure and being able to look towards the bigger picture.

Which is why I have my reservations about 'Another Time II'. I have never had to deal with a 'jumper', or been in a position where I could have intervened in a potential suicide situation, but even so I have to say that, looking up from the library to see a solitary figure positioned perilously close to the edge of the roof is always going to be somewhat unsettling. In contrast to the figure on the Biology building which looks out with optimism for the world and life, this one appears pensive, and in stark relief to the angular lines of the structure on which it stands. It is silent and introspective, thinking of what?

I believe Gormley knew exactly what he was doing in selecting these three sites. Like many artists, he feels he has a mission to communicate with his audience, and wanted the three figures to represent a narrative theme, just as he did when he placed his figures for 'Another Place' in the path of the tide on Crosby beach, or 'Stay' in the Avon River in the centre of Christchurch. He chose the UEA as a location because he was impressed with Sir Denys Lasdun's iconic architecture, and in so doing perhaps failed to consider the sensitivities of a population of young and impressionable students. Provoking a debate, which is what he is now trying to claim to be doing, is an honourable sentiment, but it does tend to come across as a knee-jerk reaction to the students' concerns rather than a planned and pre-meditated intent.

We will all have an opinion, but it is the students that will have to constantly pass these figures on their way to and from the library over the course of three years (the statues are on a 'long loan' from the artist to the Sainsbury Centre). As those who have completed an undergraduate degree course will testify, those three years can be an emotional roller-coaster of a ride. Let us hope that 'Another Time' will be seen by them as a providential opportunity to share their feelings rather than propagate dark thoughts in the recesses of their still impressionable minds.

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts website - www.scva.ac.uk/

www.facebook.com/sainsburycentre

www.antonygormley.com/

Getting Ready for Summer, with Quarantine and Norfolk and Norwich Festival

Quarantine present 'Summer. Spring. Autumn. Winter.' at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival - May 13th and May 14th, The Space, Roundtree Way, Norwich.

I have always loved May. And not just because when I was working full-time it meant two Bank Holiday Mondays. In fact, as anyone who works in pharmacy will tell you, we end up doing exactly the same amount of work in those weeks, but in one day less and with twice the stress. No, the reason I love May is that it truly acknowledges that Summer is on its way. The days are longer, the air is warmer and life somehow just seems more wholesome and special.

Four years ago I walked out on my job as manager of a community pharmacy, and for the first three or four months I simply concentrated on getting my head together. Then, at a friend's suggestion, I decided to volunteer to become a part of the 120 strong stewarding team that assembles each year to assist the smooth running of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival (NNF). It is an annual arts extravaganza that can trace its beginnings way back to 1772 when it was suggested as a fund-raiser for the original Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. It is now one of the largest annual arts festivals in the country.

During that first year, what I thought would be a standard stewarding and signposting duty turned into an almost life-changing experience. Not only did I throw myself enthusiastically into every shift that I was initially offered, but I ended up doing extra shifts, and attending as many of the shows and performances as possible. It sowed the seeds not only for my return in future years, but for other festival duties, and led to my becoming an all-year-round member of the volunteer front-of-house team at Norwich Arts Centre, and also a writer for Outline, the local listing and review publication. How I ever found time to hold down a full-time job is now a mystery to me.

Whilst many of the volunteer team at NNF are happy to work behind the scenes as driver or runners, or to watch the performances from the sidelines whilst doubling up as stewards, I am always on the look out for opportunities to become more involved with the shows and projects themselves. In my first year, back in 2014, I helped out with the construction of a giant model of St Peter Mancroft church tower made entirely out of cardboard boxes. 'The People's Tower', designed by French artist Olivier Grossetete, was finally assembled underneath the canopy of The Forum in Millenium Plain, before being ceremoniously demolished in front of a huge audience.

2014 - The People's Tower

In 2015 I became a 'firefighter' in theatre company Periplum's outdoor interpretation of the Ray Bradbury book Fahrenheit 451, a spectacular show complete with music and pyrotechnics and performed by the river on a redevelopment site behind St James Court.  I also helped create chaos on the streets of Norwich as part of French company X-TNT's 'De-Driving Code', a slightly anarchic interpretation of our own Highway Code as well as an antidote to rules in general.

2015 - Fahrenheit 451

2015 - 'The De-Driving Code'

Last year, 2016, did not throw any opportunities in my direction to participate in productions, so I threw myself instead into seeing as many shows as possible, in between my stewarding duties. The highlight was undoubtedly festival director William Galinsky's production of William Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', performed in the historic Hippodrome Circus at Great Yarmouth, a show which I was able to see not once, but twice, having been charged with escorting audiences in coaches on the trip from Norwich.

2016 - The Tempest

And so to 2017. The volunteer rotas have been released, and I am really excited about being programmed to steward a selection of events, including Theatre Fragile's 'We Meet In Paradise'; IOU's 'Rear View', a moving (literally) show which is part-viewed from the back of a specially-converted double decker bus; and the jazz concert at St Andrews Hall from the Brad Mehldau Trio. I will also be present for both days of the free 'Garden Party' entertainment which is once again taking place in Chapelfield Gardens. 

And I have made sure of my place at the unique chance to see musical legends Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson on stage together at the Theatre Royal. Yes, I have actually bought a ticket for that one! Wild horses were not going to drag me away from the chance of seeing two of my all-time musical heroes perform live in Norwich.

And then there was the small matter of  'Summer. Autumn. Winter. Spring.' This is an epic 7-hour production from acclaimed Manchester theatre group Quarantine. Performed as a quartet of four seasons, it looks in turn at Life in the now, reflections on Life, preparation for Death itself, and finally the potential of New Life. The call-out for 50 volunteers to come forward and participate in 'Summer' was accompanied by a search for 15 willing women in the various stages of pregnancy prepared to be involved in 'Spring'. Obviously I was ruled out of the latter, but being on stage with a whole bunch of strangers for an hour and a half during 'Summer', without any idea of what to expect, kind of appealed to me, so I threw my name into the hat.

We had our first proper rehearsal on Saturday morning. Just as the shops in Castle Mall were beginning to buzz with customers, the volunteer cast members for 'Summer' were assembling in an empty shop unit within the mall. A couple of people I recognised from previous NNF campaigns, but the rest were, to me, completely new faces. Not that I needed to worry. Richard Gregory and Renny O'Shea, Quarantine's two artistic directors, together with Sonia and Kate from the company, and Tanner and Becky from the festival team, made us all feel very welcome and, once the formal introductions were completed, we all began the important process of the rest of us getting to know one another.

And that seems to be an important factor in being part of the cast for 'Summer'. For the production to work successfully we will, over the next couple of weeks, need to learn about each other in a way that will allow us to function as a cohesive unit, yet leave us with the freedom to behave and perform as individuals. Part of this familiarisation process involves us just chatting informally, including over food - each rehearsal provides the chance for us all to eat together. Richard then leads us in a series of basic non-verbal floor routines that begin to get us accustomed to behaving as a team - one in particular reminded me of the manner in which a murmuration of starlings will form, and change leader, direction, and shape as they amass and swarm in the evening sky.

We have another three rehearsals this week, and then another three in Castle Mall before heading over to The Space, in Roundtree Way for final preparations and then performances on May 10th, 13th and 14th. I do believe that, as I write this, it may still not be too late to apply to join the cast of either 'Spring' or 'Summer'. Anybody interested should get in contact 'asap' with rose@nnfestival.org.uk. Otherwise, put the dates in your diary and buy a ticket to come and see what will surely be an extraordinary piece of work about living, dying and our relationship with time.

To buy tickets go to http://www.nnfestival.org.uk/festival/performance/summer.-autumn.-winter.-spring , or telephone the box office on 01603 766400.

'Summer' - photo from The Stage