Bluecoat's Chief Executive Mary Cloake introduces our autumn-winter programme
posted 23 Oct 2019
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Incidental Meeting
- Thu, 21 Mar 2019
- 6.30 PM - 8.00 PM
This talk forms part of the new Incidental Futures programme in association with Flat Time House. It is part of a seven-city UK tour to explore the long term impact of the radical work of Artist Placement Group (1960-70s) established by Barbara Steveni in 1966.
In this context, the term ‘incidental’ refers to activities without a predetermined intention. The only item on the agenda of this incidental meetings is the unfinished business of Artist Placement Group and its commitment to placing artists beyond the worlds of art, thereby interrupting norms in law, health, industry, education, administration and more.
We are delighted that Liverpool-based artist Niamh Riordan of Fairland Collective will convene this incidental meeting. Riordan will draw on her own practice as an artist working with food and people to facilitate conversations around the resonances of APG to artists today.
Through a number of textural materials and reading exercises, the group will reimagine the figure of the incidental person, which Artist Placement Group advanced to expand the responsibilities of the artist and their role in society. A central focus of this reimagining will be the relation between placements and community arts. The group will also surface local practices based in Liverpool and nearby that share the interests of Artist Placement Group.
Curatorial support for this incidental meeting is provided by Marsha Bradfield, Beth Bramich and Polly Wright, who are all members of Incidental Unit, the current iteration of Artist Placement Group (2016 - ongoing). This incidental meeting is part of Incidental Futures, a public programme and UK tour that is supported by Arts Council England, The Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media (CREAM) of the University of Westminster Flat Time House and University of the Arts London. Incidental Futures is coordinated by Polly Wright and co-curated by Marsha Bradfield and Polly Wright.
Image by Motoko Fujita of Fairland Collective from a their One Pot Project commissioned by The Human Library, a collaborative arts programme in two library settings: Bootle and Crosby, which serves the communities of Waterloo, Seaforth & Litherland. Founded by Producer and Curator Maria Brewster, the project’s philosophy is that everyone has “gifts of the heart, the hand and the head” to offer their community, based on John McKnight’s theories of asset-based community development. The Human Library is organised by Sefton Libraries with funding from Arts Council England.
Biographies
Niamh Riordan is an artist, writer and arts producer based in Liverpool. As a member of Fairland Collective, she collaborates on projects which use cooking and meals to engage networks of people and communities. Recent/ongoing FLC work includes One Pot Project, Sefton Libraries, Dream of Kiwanosato (with Grizedale Arts), Japan, and Sponge School, Dublin. Niamh has published a number of food-focused short stories, most recently in Feast Journal. She is currently a co-producer and facilitator at the Human Library, a programme of artist-led workshops, skill shares and happenings in Sefton Libraries. She also collaborates regularly with Assemble/Granby Workshop on publications and offsite projects
Free, booking required