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Edinburgh’s Telford College launches Artist In Residence Programme

The Art & Design Team at Edinburgh’s Telford College are delighted to launch an innovative Artist in Residence programme with the announcement of our first participant, Stephanie Cairns.

The Artist in Residence programme (AIRetc…) is an innovative scheme which provides recently graduated / professional artist and designers with a dedicated studio space within the Art & Design dept as well as access to specialist resources and facilities.

Stephanie, a former student on the Art & Design Foundation and HND courses here at Telford, graduated in July from Edinburgh College of Arts Sculpture School with 1st Class Honours and will start her 12 week residency with us immediately. As well as giving Stephanie the opportunity to interact with learners in the studios she will also develop a new body of work for an up coming show at the National Gallery of Modern Art in January.

Talking about the opportunity Stephanie said “I am delighted to have been invited to be  Telfords first ever Artist In Residence and I am looking forward to the opportunity to  develop and share my work and practice in a creative and supportive environment.

The motivational and inspirational tutoring I received at Telford while studying instilled a strong work ethic, which allowed me to achieve my goals, and I hope that my time here will help do the same for others.”

Although such schemes already exist at primary, secondary and HE education levels this is the first of its kind in the Scottish FE sector and will allow learners and lecturers alike to observe and interact with current practioners.

Art & Design Curriculum Manager, Colette Woods, said: “This is a very exciting development for the team and our learners. It will provide an opportunity for learners to have direct access to and contact with professional contemporary practitioners who are developing new bodies of work as well as offering recent graduates the chance to gain valuable experience of working in a dynamic, professional learning and teaching environment.”

The AIRetc… programme is open to practicing Artists who have previously studied Art & Design at Edinburgh’s Telford College. The selection and support of the artists in residence will be undertaken by the AIRetc.. committee which is made up of a cross section of staff from the Art & Design team.

As part of the programme AIR participants will publish regular blog postings at www.airetc.wordpress.com.

Telford’s Partners, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop Receives £3m Arts Investment

Edinburgh’s Telford College’s are delighted to hear that its partners at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop have heard yesterday, 26 October 2010, that they have won a £3M Arts Funding Prize from the Scottish Community Foundation.

The anonymous donor funding the prize has given the Scottish Community Foundation – a charity that specialises in supporting philanthropic giving – the green light to award £3M to the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop to create a world class research and production facility at its Newhaven site.

Telford’s Fine Art Curriculum Leader and Board Member of Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, Alan Holligan said:
“Edinburgh’s Telford College has had a long relationship with the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop so we are therefore delighted to hear of this generous investment to develop in north Edinburgh a state-of-the-art sculpture centre. There is nothing like this currently anywhere else in the UK and it will give our learners the opportunity to continue to develop their industry knowledge and skills in a creative environment alongside professional artists and creative and cultural entrepreneurs.”
The Creative Laboratories will provide a mix of indoor and open-air workspaces around a central courtyard. Together with the sculpture centre, the Laboratories will create a vibrant cultural hub of benefit to the whole city. The addition of viewing areas and a café will open up the space to visitors. The primary purpose of the competition was to fund a building of exceptional architectural and cultural merit within the City of Edinburgh, which will enable residents and visitors to the city to experience or participate in the arts.
Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop’s Creative Laboratories beat off stiff competition for the prize from the Scottish Book Trust and Edinburgh College of Art. Designed by Sutherland Hussey Architects, the Creative Laboratories will be a unique new building situated alongside Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop’s new £5m sculpture centre.
Director of Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, Irene Kernan, said:
“This is an amazing opportunity for Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop which will enable us to fulfill our ambitions to create a world class sculpture centre in the city. The Arts Funding Prize represents a major investment in future generations of artists and will be a major resource for our local community in Newhaven as well as the city as a whole.
“The partnerships Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop has with Telford has been hugely successful and the Creative Laboratories will now allow us to expand our partnership and to further develop interdisciplinary practices and provide graduates with the stepping stones to a career in the arts.”
Professor Bill Scott Chair of the Board of Directors at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop said:
“The working partnership with Telford and Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop demonstrates collaboration at its best – Edinburgh’s Telford College was the first college to really connect with Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop and the development now of the Creative Laboratories will offer huge learning experiences to students.”
Chair of the Judging Panel, Bob Benson said:
“The panel felt Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop’s proposal offered the most inspiring combination of exciting architecture and cultural impact. Its Newhaven location will expand the artistic geography of the city, and create a unique cultural venue in this part of Edinburgh.
“Along with offering our wholehearted congratulations to the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, the panel would also like to commend the Scottish Community Foundation for the smooth running of this award. It ensured the best projects were put forward for this prize and enabled the donor to make a high profile contribution to Edinburgh’s cultural landscape while preserving their anonymity.”
The Centre is expected to open in 2013.

Art e-Facts 80: David Shrigley, An important message about the arts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6rYDaORe3k

Glasgow based artist David Shrigley has made a short animated film in support of the ‘Save the Arts’ campaign.

The Save the Arts campaign is organised by the London branch of the Turning Point Network, a national consortium of over 2,000 arts organisations and artists dedicated to working together and finding new ways to support the arts in the UK.

The aim of the Save the Arts campaign is to encourage people to sign a petition which will be sent to the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt. It points out that it has taken 50 years to create a vibrant arts culture in Britain that is the envy of the world and appeals to the government not to slash arts funding and risk destroying this long-term achievement and the social and economic benefits it brings to all. Source: http://savethearts-uk.blogspot.com/

Find out more, and sign the petition, at savethearts.org.uk


Budget cuts would devastate the arts, warn theatre and gallery directors: The Guardian

Job losses, widespread closures and damage to audiences and Britain’s reputation would follow, say leading figures

Leading figures in the art world have pleaded yesterday with the government “cut us but don’t kill us” and warned of dire consequences for audiences at home and Britain’s reputation abroad if threatened cuts of 25% are pushed through.

The Arts Council has warned that such cuts over the next four years would mean dropping at least 200 arts organisations out of more than 800 they fund, with the loss of thousands of jobs.

Read the rest of this article from the Guardian here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/jul/15/arts-cuts-budget-letter


This article was published on guardian.co.uk at 13.46 BST on Thursday 15 July 2010. A version appeared on p11 of the Main section section of the Guardian on Friday 16 July 2010. It was last modified at 17.25 BST on Thursday 15 July 2010.

In an era of austerity, reasons to fund the arts: Article from The Art Newspaper

Culture is a social language that we would be dumb without
It is 70 years since a British government last had to take the arts seriously. In December 1939, in a world darkened by war, winter and blackout, a small group of civil servants and educators met to discuss the crisis in the arts. Great museums and galleries were empty, their contents packed off to safety from bombing. The theatres were shut, orchestras about to disband. The committee agreed that it was essential “to show publicly and unmistakably that the Government cares about the cultural life of the country. This country is supposed to be fighting for civilisation.”

The rest of this article can be read by clicking here: The Art Newspaper

The writer is professor of cultural policy and leadership studies at City University London