Hannah Newell's poetic experience of a Figure Ground event.

Artist Hannah Newell participated in the Figure Ground event in Brighton and recorded her experience on her blog (link below.)She writes 'the ideas and work created at the Figure Ground event show the artists creating connections spontaneously with others and the space they find themselves within. That connection is left open for others to take forward. The freedom to 'play' in public space and invite others to do so is a positive demonstration of our ability to act and to have a sense of connected ownership of public space.'

http://www.altertopian.com/Site_3/The_Practice_of_Yea-Saying.html

amazing LV21

Just been down to discuss the mini-residency plans with Paivi and Gary at the LV21 Lightship. What a totally amazing place. Inspirational in so many ways - materials, textures, smells, acoustics, light.... exciting, rich spaces.... and so full of stories. The ship's restoration is work in progress and in advance of the arrival of 20 artists some bulkheads (walls to the non-nautical) are being removed and portholes reinstated. 

continuing this train of thought....

Figure Ground artist Jon Adams was the artist in residence for Southern Rail in 2008 as part of an arts program called Alternative Platforms. This image is of his installation in London Bridge station. For more information see http://www.disabilityartsonline.org.uk/Jon_Adams_profile

Meeting PLaCE

Figure Ground are really excited to be meeting PLaCE on the 7th May in Bristol. 
PLaCE is part of the University of the West of England and is "a creative, practice led, research centre that addresses issues of place, location, context and environment at the intersection of a multiplicity of disciplines and practices." 
http://www.uwe.ac.uk/sca/research/place/

trains of thought

Thinking happens differently on trains. Artist Dylan McGarry is part of the COPART festival in South Africa (21-30 November 2011) "which takes the form of a dynamic, interactive traveling festival. The festival located at train stations across the country, will have be an open forum space for different practioners to meet and interact and share their creative practices in sustainability. Participants and contributors will travel by train to each site. From Cape Town to COP17 in Durban, via Joburg, contributors will participate in a 10 day train trip where artists, activists & scientists will come together in a unique and innovative response to Climate Change, and will interact with the different communities of practice, offer new social learning processes for different practitioners, as well as interact with the  COP process in a very new way." 
http://www.copartist.org/?page_id=29

Our mini-residency featured on Creatabot

Lots of interest about our forthcoming events being generated by a posting on Creatabot, which is a social media website and online magazine for the creative community in the South East.
see : http://creatabot.co.uk/2011/02/16/mini-residency-on-a-lightship-available/

Textile artist's response to LV21

http://www.casholmes.blogspot.com/

Check out textile artist Cas Holmes' blog about her recent visit to LV21.... 

Great response to mini-residency invitation

We only posted our invitation on Tuesday and already we have had lots of requests for an application form. Getting excited about the events now - it is going to be amazing!

Some concepts arising from the Figure Ground meeting in Hackney on the 12 Feb 2011

Figure Ground - a state of mind . . . in plain sight . . . hidden but there if you look for it . . . Dis-monumentalism . . . inhabiting spaces in between things . . . spaces for unplanned interactions . . . earthy and connected . . . perceptual game . . . artist lead / initiated . . . doing it / making it / not just talking about it . . . finding your own brief . . . generating your own ideas . . . self sufficiency / independence . . . challenging the commissioning process . . . expanding the field of public art to the maximum . . . regaining public spaces . . . resilience in a time of change.

The Sky's the limit...

Figure Ground's first Visioning Day 29 Jan 2011

Figure Ground trip from Westminster pier to Greenwich on the Thames cruiser. Accompanied by a melancholy commentary from the captain, pointing out all the buildings that weren't there any more. Surrounded by tourists, sharing tea and ideas as the city slipped by from a new perspective. Discovering clay pipes and horse’s teeth whilst mud larking on the tidal river beach. Discovering common aspirations and enthusiasms whilst warming up in an old tavern.

Embarking

Contrasting commentaries

Starting our blog

Figure Ground Projects begin their new blog.