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April’s Dose of Creativity

There’s plenty to see this month, so we’ve made whittling down your options a whole lot simpler with our top 5 picks for April! Immerse yourself within a fusion of hip hop and spoken word, explore China’s digital realm and delve into two newly commissioned moving-image installations.

Elephant In The Room

Elephant In The Room, Lanre Malaolu

“Something’s wrong. Can’t get out of bed, can’t concentrate, can’t shake the mounting tension. Something unspoken is building up, leaking out, taking over…”

This explosive solo combines physical theatre, hip hop dance and spoken word. Created and performed by Emerge Performance winner Lanre Malaolu, he explores the mental health crisis and the phenomenon of toxic masculinity. This semi-autobiographical work confronts the stigma around mental health issues, questioning how race, class and culture can affect the way we choose to address them.

Showing times: Tues 2 – Sat 20 April 2019 @ 7.15pm
Trailer

Figure Study II: Joe Hill curates the Towner Collection

Figure Study II: Joe Hill curates the Towner Collection

The new Director, Joe Hill, curates a personal response to Towner’s renowned collection. His selection spans a period of one hundred years, focusing on the selection process itself – how it can further an individual’s understanding of place, perception and aspiration through its collections.

At the heart of this exhibition is the consideration of how this collection likely played a role in developing a new post-industrial identity for the area. It also demonstrates how public collections can manifest a sense of identity within a community.

Closing date: 2 June 2019
Opening times: Tuesday – Sunday: 10am – 5pm

COLLECTIONS: RELEVANCE AND VALUE

If the underlying themes of this exhibition are of interest to you, make sure to check out Joe Hill discuss the relevance of an expanding contemporary and historic art collection and the value Towner places on it. Friday 26 April @ 2pm

Chinternet Ugly

Ye Funa, Beauty + Save the Real World, CFCCA Chinternet Ugly installation shot, 2019. Photograph by Michael Pollard

This group exhibition at the CFCCA navigates the complexity of China’s online realm. Featuring works by six new media artists and five site-specific installations, the works pay tribute to the fleeting instances of humanity that can be found in an otherwise digital world of polished selfies and blemish correcting software.

Chinternet Ugly focuses on a younger generation of artists who have grown up immersed within mass technology. The work invites us to explore the contradictory nature of China’s digital sphere through the eyes of six engaging artists.

Closing date: 12 May 2019
Opening times: Tuesday – Sunday: 10am – 5pm

Drawing Distinctions

A selection of details from the drawings of the contributing London Group members

This experimental and collaborative exhibition includes drawings from the Faculty of the Art and Design Department, invited Alumni of the University of Wisconsin Stout Menomonie USA and The London Group artist collective.

Drawing Distinctions hopes to enlighten possibilities of drawing and its potential as a creative medium. Demonstrating international comparisons across a wide range of drawing practices will hopefully contribute to the debate of how to define the craft, educating the audience of its many guises and functions.

Exhibition dates: 3 -12 April 2019, 2-6 pm
Artists Talks: Friday 12th April, 6-8.30 pm

Going, Gone.

Webb-Ellis, For The First Baby Born in Space, 2019. Commissioned for Jerwood/FVU Awards 2019: Going, Gone.

Going, Gone premieres two newly commissioned moving-image installations by Webb-Ellis and Richard Whitby, the recipients of this sixth edition of the Jerwood FVU Awards.

These installations contribute to an ongoing dialogue surrounding urgent or timely concerns within moving image through the curatorial theme which changes each year. Artist duo Web-Ellis shines a light on the younger generation who have been stifled by dramatic political events unfolding around them whilst Richard Whitby alludes to a dystopian world fuelled with satire and symbolism.

Exhibition dates: 3 April – 2 June 2019
Opening times: Monday – Saturday: 10am – 5pm
Sunday: 12 – 5pm