Fabric of Photography:Material Matters

Twelve experimental photographic artists exhibit their work in Oxford as part of Photo Oxford Festival due to open at Lower Gallery, The Old Fire Station, central Oxford, from the 15th of October until 13th of November. Each artist focuses on materiality within their practice. They are inspired by historical processes invented in the 19th Century, and work with the fundamental elements of the photographic medium: Light, Time and Material.

The exhibition brings together artists from Australia, France, Holland, Poland, Ukraine, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The artists explore the materiality of the photograph through experimentation within analogue photographic techniques to create unique contemporary art photography.

Today the immaterial existence or cloud-based imagery and material analogue existence of photography collide and represent a shift in focus within fine art experimental photography. The idea that analogue photography is obsolete is outdated; these artists embrace the beginnings of the medium, using it in the most creative and energetic way to generate unique photographic art. Here the light sensitivity, the process, the materiality of the photograph/object become the subject. These photographic artists are part of a movement that pushes the boundaries of photography as a medium.

These photographers are part of a movement that pushes the boundaries of photography as a medium. The idea that analogue photography is obsolete is outdated; a raft of artists embrace the beginnings of the medium, using it in the most creative and energetic way to generate unique photographic art that is at the forefront of the definition of fine art experimental photography.

Tokyo: Art & Photography

until 3 January 2022

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
“A thrilling encounter with one of the world’s great art capitals”
The Guardian

This exhibition is a celebration of one of the world’s most creative, dynamic and thrilling cities. Explore Japan’s capital city through the vibrant arts it has generated over 400 years.

It features a wide variety of artworks created in a metropolis that has constantly reinvented itself. Highlights include historic folding screens and iconic woodblock prints, video works, pop art, and contemporary photographs by Moriyama Daido and Ninagawa Mika.

With new commissions by contemporary artists, loans from Japan and treasures from the Ashmolean’s own collections, the show provides a fascinating insight into the development of Tokyo into one of the world’s most important cultural hotspots.

Catherine, Kiambé, Surya

15th October – 15th November 2021

‘Catherine, Kiambé, Surya’ is a body of work by French emerging artist Elisa Moris Vai. Her reading of two novels by Nobel Prize JMG Le Clézio, set in Mauritius, La Quarantaine (1995) and Révolutions (2003), led to her attachment to three female characters: Catherine, who comes from a French colonial family; Kiambé, a formerly enslaved woman who escaped; and Surya, the grand-daughter of an Indian indentured labourer.

Moris Vai’s work considers the ways in which their lives relate to those of the women who built Mauritius. Shooting with an analogue-based, medium-format camera, Moris Vai went to Mauritius to follow their paths.

Curated by British curator Pelumi Odubanjo, this exhibition is the first solo show of the artist and will propose an immersive design, allowing the viewers to step into the story, and imagine a visual storyboard of the lives of the women, revolutionaries, and activists who built Mauritius to this present day.

A text written by Dr Feyereisen, Senior Postdoc Fellow in Postcolonial and French studies (University of Ghent) will accompany the images.
Located at the Maison Française d’Oxford and supported by Fluxus Art Projects and TORCH as part of the Humanities Cultural Programme, this exhibition is the result of a vivid French and British cooperation.

Women, Memory, Transmission. Postcolonial perspectives from the Arts & Literature

18th October – All Day

Convened by artist Elisa Moris Vai and researcher Justine Feyereisen, the international and interdisciplinary Conference “Women, Memory & Transmission: Postcolonial Perspectives from the Arts and Literature” will explore what it means for women to transmit memories in postcolonial contexts. What strategies do women develop to tackle postcolonial issues? What are the issues to address and the struggles to lead to be heard and valued as tellers of History? What ethical and political issues does the reception of their works raise? The conference will bring together art-world figures and scholars in the fields of gender studies, memory studies, postcolonial studies, and Global South studies to adequately contribute to show how the Humanities can lead to a better awareness of the key social and political role of women in reinterpretation of colonial History as acts of resistance and empowerment. Together with Deborah Willis as the keynote speaker, the brilliant artists Ingrid Pollard, Erika Tan, Kama La Mackerel, Mohini Chandra, Heather Agyepong and Jasmine Togo Brisby will share their different practices with the audience. This event is supported by the Maison Française d’Oxford and TORCH, the Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities.

Online : Watch here (live stream)

Sign Symbol Sound

An online exhibition exploring language and creativity (4 September – 11 October 2021), Free exhibition.

Modern Art Oxford and Oxford Brookes University present Sign Symbol Sound, a collaborative art exhibition co-created by Modern Art Oxford volunteers. Celebrating works by people from across Oxfordshire, the exhibition asks us to celebrate and question where our languages come from, and how we can better communicate with one another and our environment.

Platform Graduate Award 2021

(23 September – 31 October 2021). Free exhibition

Discover three exhibitions by selected fine art graduates as part of Platform Graduate Award, led by the Contemporary Visual Arts Network (South East). Fetine Sel Tuzel (University of Reading), Bevan Hill & Will Griffiths (Oxford Brookes University) and Beth Simcock (Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford) will present their work across three consecutive solo exhibitions in Modern Art Oxford’s Creative Space.

More Info:
Fetine Sel Tuzel | Bevan Hill & Will Griffiths | Beth Simcock

Anish Kapoor: Painting

(2 October 2021 – 13 February 2022). Tickets £7.50, £5 concessions.

A unique exhibition of paintings by Anish Kapoor (b. 1954, Mumbai, India – lives and works in London, UK). Curated with the internationally celebrated artist, this show explores the paintings that are an integral part of Kapoor’s studio practice.

Making Space Safe: Nature, Journeys

(5-21 November 2021). Free exhibition.

The Making Space Safe artist collective present their first group exhibition at Modern Art Oxford. A series of drawings and paintings share stories of personal experiences, often represented through images found in nature. Making Space Safe is in association with Refugee Resource and Sanctuary Hosting, and led by Associate Artist, Mary Chamberlain.

concave 2021

25 September 21 – 12-6pm.

Join us for an open day at OVADA , there will be food, drinks, music, an exhibition and a chance to meet and chat with the staff and trustees A range of classes will begin in person again in October, details can be found on our website.

Twenty Twenty One

17 – 26 September 2021.

A selection of MFA Fine Art graduating artists work from 2020 and 2021 will be exhibiting their work to the public post lockdown.

The Hidden Noise: Tinnitus and Art

7 – 31 October 2021.

We are delighted to host an exhibition of work by commissioned artists Fern Thomas and Nina Thomas, who are set to transform OVADA’s warehouse into a multi-layered exploration of their shared experiences of tinnitus, created as part of a 2 year Arts and Humanities Research Council project.

HATCHED2021/WOMENCREATINGLANDSCAPES

4 – 6 November 2021.

2020-2021 has brought new challenges to all but a girl born today will systematically join the ranks of the 4 billion females worldwide whose reality is shaped by gender inequality in one form or another.

The HATCHED2021/WOMEN CREATING LANDSCAPES exhibition at OVADA brings together the practices of local and international lens-based artists. Collectively these artists voice the multiple aspects of gender inequalities: reproductive rights, gender-based violence, and trafficking. This work is shown alongside artists whose attention is closer to home. The tender look at motherhood, an exploration of complex family experiences. Personal and global they share an intimate female gaze.

The artists in HATCHED2021 aim to be part of the ongoing dialogue on equality, to communicate their concerns, and to make a positive difference. These works don’t stand alone, they are part of a bigger movement of women globally intent on being heard and seen. The exhibition at OVADA includes workshops, portfolio reviews and talks.

HATCHED is a creative platform promoting and sharing work addressing women’s issues and experiences that range from ‘The personal is political’ to Human Rights. HATCHED was set up in 2016 by Maga Esberg and has been part of the Oxford International Women’s Festival since then.

Dwelling: In This Space We Breathe by Khadija Saye

This Upper Gallery exhibition presents a series of nine silkscreen prints by artist Khadija Saye (1992-2017) exploring her fascination with the ‘migration of traditional Gambian spiritual practices’ that formed a part of her childhood experience growing up in London with Gambian parents. In the images, she uses ritual objects, such as amulets, beads and horns, to explore her connection to these spiritual practices as a member of the African diaspora, as well as how ‘trauma is embodied in the black experience’. Tragically, both Saye and her mother Mary Ajaoi Augustus Mendy were killed in the Grenfell Tower fire of 14 June 2017.
Widely regarded as a hugely talented and promising artist, her work gained more recognition when, shortly after her death, her photographs were exhibited in the Diaspora Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale, alongside artists such as Isaac Julien and Yinka Shonibare. Khadija Saye was an inspirational artist whose social and political awareness led her to support issues of social justice and educational opportunity. The Pitt Rivers Museum has acquired this set of prints as a permanent tribute to the artist and her values, and exhibits them here to bring them into conversation with many displays in the Museum that relate to the themes she explores.

Late Entry | Early Doors

New acquisitions and the ones which started the collection

Pembroke Art Gallery are delighted to welcome back visitors this Autumn. Having been closed to the public since March 2020, we are looking forward to visitors exploring and enjoying the Gallery and the Pembroke College JCR Art Collection once more.

This Autumn we are pleased to present ‘Late Entry | Early Doors – new acquisitions and the ones which started the collection’. Discover the first artworks which were purchased in the late 1940s and early 1950s for the collection, alongside our latest acquisitions. Featuring painting, photography, prints and mixed-media artwork, the exhibition showcases artworks by John Piper, John Minton, Robert Colquhoun, Robert MacBryde, Duncan Grant, Cecil Collins, Michael Ayrton, Peter Ibbetson, Victor Pasmore, Patrick Heron, Prunella Clough, and Percy Wyndham Lewis. Additionally, our new acquisitions include artworks by established artists: Chris Ofili, Lubaina Humid, Lina Iris Viktor, Silvia Rossi and Nadine Ijewere; and emerging artists: Mikela Henry-Lowe, Skai Campbell and Jade Pearl.

To initiated the Pembroke College JCR Art Fund Collection Antony Emery, founder of the collection, persuaded Sir Kenneth Clark, former director of the National Gallery, Slade Professor of Art at the Ruskin School of Art and devisor of the War Artist Scheme to take on the role of “Eminent Voluntary Buyer”. For our most recent acquisitions project we asked students from across Pembroke and the University of Oxford to join the committee on the selection panel, bringing their experiences, preference and interest in the visual arts to the gallery.

Late Entry | Early Doors is part of our continued commitment to acquiring new artwork for the collection, whilst championing artists; considering new ways of working and thinking; and readdressing imbalances in our collection to be more relevant to our students and the public.

Fourteen

Online for duration of the festival and in the gallery from Tuesday 9th November – Saturday 13th November

The North Wall’s ArtsLab programme exists to create opportunities for early-career artists and this year, for the first time, is supporting visual artists. A group of talented local female photographers have been working together to develop ideas and new work, facilitated by North Wall Propeller 2021 artist Philippa James. This exhibition uses the number 14 as its catalyst and is curated by the group to include one final work by each artist. More works by each artist can be seen in the online exhibition, live for the duration of Photo Oxford Festival 2021.

Philippa James is a photographer living and working in Oxford. Her work explores women, under–represented populations, and her local communities. Her major body of work, 100 Women Of Oxford, was exhibited at The North Wall during Photo Oxford Festival 2020.

Digital Exhibition available to view online 15 Oct – 15 Nov 2021

The Society of Wood Engravers - 83rd Annual Exhibition

29th September – 16th October

We welcome The Society of Wood Engravers back to The North Wall for their hugely popular annual exhibition. They present an entirely new selection of over one hundred relief prints.

ArtsLab: Fourteen

15th October – 15th November

The North Wall’s ArtsLab programme exists to create opportunities for early-career artists and this year, for the first time, is supporting visual artists. A group of talented local female photographers have been working together to develop ideas and new work, facilitated by North Wall Propeller 2021 artist Philippa James. This exhibition uses the number 14 as its catalyst and be seen online for the duration of Photo Oxford Festival 2021. Selected pieces will be exhibited in the gallery for a week from 9th – 13th November.

Heartlands

20th October – 6th November

Jon Rowland works in mixed-media using oils, acrylics and collage. Jon concentrates on colour and space, exposing the essence of ‘place’ and expressing the sentiments of this analysis. There’s a story to each of his paintings and, like any journey, there are unexpected outcomes.

ArtsLab: Fourteen

9th – 13th November

The North Wall’s ArtsLab programme exists to create opportunities for early-career artists and this year, for the first time, is supporting visual artists. A group of talented local female photographers have been working together to develop ideas and new work, facilitated by North Wall Propeller 2021 artist Philippa James. This exhibition uses the number 14 as its catalyst and is curated by the group to include one final work by each artist. More works by each artist can be seen in the online exhibition, live for the duration of Photo Oxford Festival 2021.

In Progress 4

17th – 27th November

This exhibition celebrates fantastic work from St. Edward’s Oxford‘s pupils across all year groups. Although primarily a platform for the Lower Sixth to showcase work produced on the Teddies Foundation Course, the exhibition also presents work from Year 9, GCSE and Upper Sixth students.

Outside

1st December 2021 – 4th January 2022

We welcome the printmakers Lizzie Wheeler, Sue Wheeler and Manja Scott to the gallery during December. These three printmakers share their appreciation of the natural world, working in five different print processes.