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A Fine Line 25th-28th November

Exhibiting daily, 3pm to 7pm.

I am a traditional stone engraver/ stone mason (qualifying in level 3 at the city of bath college 2009) by trade.

While working on putting together this exhibition, chosing pieces to go into it which have apersonal meaning to me, the phrase sprang to mind that its a fine line between art and a fair few things (fill in the blank).

A fine line is also what I have been trying to achieve in much of my work recently, drawing and re-drawing lines to find the prefectly balanced position of strings of points which are the units of which letters and figures are created to become aesthetically pleasing aka fine.

I am exhibiting amongst other things a floor carved in Portland whitbed limestone, photographs and paintings and a lettered ball finial hand carved in Bath stone.

I hope you enjoy them.

I last exhibited my work in Bath in walcot chapel in April 2009.

for more information go to my website: FinAlexander HomePage

Somali Youth Project 11th-19th November

SDG presents: Somali Culture

Bristol’s second largest ethnic group is Somalian. Many are refugees, or have come from traumatic experiences. There is a clear lack of understanding for Somali culture within the city and this exhibition aims to raise awareness as well as educate Bristolians about these people. The exhibit is hosted by local non-profit organisation; Somali development group, whom work with young Somali’s at risk of offending.

The exhibit will feature a bit about what we do and why we’re needed, as well as a display of photography, and media created by Somali youth, with a focus on the similarities our homelands share and thing could learn from each others differences. There are big issues affecting many Somali people which can have very negative effects on their behaviour. We want to encourage the public to ask themselves how they can make a step towards better social integration to such a different culture, and to think differently about how we view and treat other ethnic minorities. Rather to embrace their interesting perspectives on life, and humble ourselves with more respect for the many struggles they often face, than to create obstacles in their paths.

BURNING CANDY! Some Raw Business. 5Nov2009 Bonfire Night till 9th Nov

SOME RAW BUSINESS : Feat - Cept,Cyclops,Dscreet,Gold Peg,LL Brainwash,Rowdy,Sweet Toof and Tek 33

The Emporium
37 Stokes Croft
Bristol
BS1 3PY

Opening Night - Nov 5th, 6- 10 pm then daily 12 - 7pm till Nov 9th

This Bonfire night Burning Candy, the UK's foremost Savant Garde autistic spectrum graffiti crew, come together to set aflame and pay respect to the memory of Guido Fawkes.....the guy with the right idea.

Expect fireworks, sweet stuff and some jazzy painting.

If you like looking at slightly creepy artwork, or you've ever admired that enormous skull, tooth, crocodile combo atop Westmoreland house, come along.
Bring some sparklers!!!

BC, or Burning Candy, or Before Chrome comprises old school writers, lovers, fighters, anthropologists, ice cream rocking queens, Royal Acedemicians, film makers and anarcho croc rockers.

Born in bombed out East London, BC has spread across the world, from Sweden to Bombay and from Paris to Bangkok, bringing a new, colourful and free visual aesthetic to the world of graffiti.

Collected by Saatchi, hung in the Tate modern, still smashing the streets. 2009 BC

BURNING CANDY

FARMYARDEEZ

SPRADIO

THE WALL (StokesCroft)

CYCLOPS

SWEETTOOF

Wednesday 28th October from 7pm BETTY BRUISER

Nightshift #4

Work in Progress

On Wednesday 28^th October from 7pm I will be presenting two very different pieces of work in progress at the Emporium

Pink Roses for Love

A durational piece exploring grief, iconography and the vulnerable Body in performance. This piece will run for two hours during which the audience can come and go as they wish

Betty Bruiser in ‘Organ Donor Betty’

Needle lovin’ Betty invites you to join her at her bedside as she Gets Sick! This organ donor gets messy as Betty loses her heart to her audience and seeks Medical Attention.

The pieces will be shown later this year at separate events and exist in an as yet unfinished state. I have chosen to present them together as they represent an important duality in my performance investigations at the moment. Both pieces use piercing the skin as metaphor.

This is a free event but due to limited space please email me at lgclarke@hotmail.com

if you would like to attend.

The Emporium is a not-for-profit organisation and an ongoing community based project.

www.lizclarke.blogspot.com

www.emporium37.blogspot.com

BYO!!

Star and Ceinwen exhibit from Fri 16th-21st of Oct!

This will be the first time Star and Ceinwen Birrell will show their work together after ten years of working within the same creative community. The work showing has been created separately, but is bound together by common influences and processes; such as craft, DIY culture and with a sense of ritualising everyday experiences.

(During the private view) There will be a performance by The Becoming Animal who are Star and Stray, which is a two piece musical and visual conglomeration, whose musical set up is concerned with experimental cathartic experiences.

Friday 16th Oct opening night 7pm
Open Daily: 10.30-4.30pm from Saturday 17th until Wednesday 21st Oct


(Ceinwen Birrel, 2009)

(Star, 2009)

GREAT BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES from 26th of Sept till 8th of Oct. Opens Friday 25th of Sept 6pm

Milk, K148, Dora and Amour bring their all female collective,
Great Birds of the British Isles to Bristol.

Following their debut London Exhibition, showcasing soft
summer designs spilling around the light infused gallery.
The Great Birds are now plotting an electric show with
Dynamic forms, Sensual ladies and Striking photography
seeping from wall to floor, canvas to print.

Their Graffiti backgrounds are kept apparent whilst their
femininity flows throughout.

The combination of the two create an epic approach to
Gallery design.

The clouds are parting, the Birds are coming.

GREAT BIRDS MYSPACE

The ''Great Birds of the British isles'' is an exciting collaboration of Bristol's underground female artists, featuring works by Dora, Milk, Amour and K148.

Milk has worked alongside some of the top graffiti artists to date, and is one of the most prominent female artists on the scene. Blending bold letter forms and solid colours with organic patterns and solitary characters, she creams together a feast for many an eye with a fresh feminine style on an ample scale.
www.321milk.com

Dora has broken into the Bristol art scene within the last few years and is one of the new and few female faces amongst the urban art scene. She brings a fresh feminine style, her distinctive ladies and stylish patterns take on the boy heavy walls of the streets and galleries and bring a refreshing look to contemporary urban art.
www.okdora.com

Amour's inspiration is mostly drawn from nature she uses abstract overlays to create tension and contrast. She works on all scales, with preference for large scale screen prints usually on silk. Amour has recently collaborated with Ponk and other well known Bristol Graffiti artists, her imagery often stemming from urban inspirations.
www.aimeeamour.blogspot.com

K148 ''Must dissolve and combine an alchemy of the mind i swear those pieces floated their way onto the walls hardly resting on the masonry at all'' k148 has been on the scene capturing and collating some of Bristol's finest moments with effortless beauty she is one of the most exciting female photographers around.
www.k148.co.uk

Emporium @ the Emporium 14th-19th Sept!

Emporium @ the Emporium

14th – 19th of September 2009

Doors open 12-7pm daily
37 Stokes Croft, Bristol, BS1 3PY
FREE

It’s a year since the Emporium collective opened and began running this reclaimed space. Having sat derelict for over 25 years it is now a not-for-profit community gallery.

To celebrate this and as part of Bristol Co-Mutiny, the instigators are now putting on their own show, alongside guest artists, including: Andy Council, Tim Floyd, Reginald Falcon, Studio Amour, Sam Marsh, Lulu, Wendy Wainwright, Gary Powell, Mike Powell, Lucy Cavendish, Sven Zimviction, Rowdy, Tom Groves and Billy Macrae.

People for Places – the squat estate agency – have also promised a team of super-friendly housing advisors whose installation will display just some of their extensive Bristolian portfolio of empty buildings.

Expect a multi-medium show, with paint, sculpture, video, photography and print.

Contact: emporium37@googlemail.com
Website: EMPORIUM SITE
Info on Co-Mutiny: COMUTINY SITE


Lulu

Tom Groves

(Displaced Bank Manager, Rowdy 2009)



(Gotharaptor, Andy Council)


(Tyrannogothus, Andy Council)


Part of Bristol Co-Mutiny

People for Places during Co-Mutiny

As part of Co-Mutiny and the Emporium at the Emporium Exhibition, People for Places have been invited to install part of their huge estate agency in the space.

Obviously due to the massive pressures of timeframes, workschedules, micro-management, macro-economics, and other superfluous office related activities they cannot offer a complete service, BUT THEY WILL BE THERE WITH A SMILE TO CATER FOR YOUR (SELF-)HOUSING NEEDS!

People for Places: Housing for people, not for profit.



For info On Co-Mutiny!:

Co-Mutiny Site

Bristol Solidarity with Calais FILM AND INFO NIGHT Thursday 20th of August 7.30PM!

Info sharing night on the situation of migrants and resistance to the border regime in Calais.
Thursday 20th of August, 7.30pm.

In Calais, France just 20 miles from this island, around 1500 people live in makeshift refugee camps known as “the jungle”, they are there because of the UK border regime.

“The jungles” and squats around Calais are self organised communities that have existed since the closure of Sangatte, the official refugee camp, in 2002.

The residents of these camps face brutal daily gas and baton attacks by the police. At the request of the UK Border Agency, the French government has pledged to destroy “the jungle” by Christmas.

People from Bristol “with papers” went to the No Border solidarity camp in June and have been involved in ongoing monitoring and drawing attention to the humanitarian crisis that has been created in Calais. Solidarity demonstrations and direct actions have taken place in both Bristol, Calais and elsewhere.

Bristol NoBorders is working closely with both humanitarian and political groups and invites you to help create an effective transnational resistance.

You are invited to a film and experience sharing night
20th August at 19.30 at the Emporium, 37 Stokes Croft, Bristol.

http://calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com

Anecdotes opens Friday 7th of August

Anecdotes: : Adventures in the Sky, on Land and Under Seas

PAINTING • DRAWING • DIGITAL ART • PHOTOGRAPHY
Tom Groves, Olia Karamenova, Tom Stuart and John Weall

Private View: 7pm 7th August

Open as usual: 11am-7pm, 8-16th August

This exhibition is a celebration of the works of four artists who met, grew and matured artistically in Bristol. Having formed a close friendship and greatly influenced each others work during the development of our practice, this will be a flourish of fictional fun.

The Emporium gallery has exhibited a variety of local artists since it opened its doors in December 2008. The attraction of the place is not only the works, but the idea behind the gallery and the actual space too. Set up in a disused building, the simple décor and the non-profit nature of all the exhibitions held within reflect the vibrancy of the Bristol area and arts scene.

We hope that in turn our exhibition captures this vibrancy and shows something of the fun side to Bristol arts; we would like to invite you to our private view on the 7th of August 2009 at 7pm.

MERLIN 28th-July-6th of August

BIG ISSUE photography exhibition opens Thursday 23rd July

THE BIG ISSUE EXHIBIT
23rd – 26th August 2009

The Big Issue exists to offer homeless and vulnerably housed people the opportunity to earn a legitimate income. We produce a weekly entertainment and current affairs magazine which vendors buy from us for 75p and sell to the public for £1.50. We believe in offering ‘a hand up, not a hand out’, but we also recognise that earning an income is the first step on the journey away from homelessness.

The Big Issue Foundation is a registered charity which exists to link vendors with the vital support which will help them address the issues which have led to their homelessness. The Foundation works exclusively with vendors, offering support, advice and referrals.

This exhibition of our Bristol vendors’ work was made possible by funding from the The Big Issue Foundation and volunteers dontating their time. We believe that photography as a form of art therapy is extremely beneficial for our vendor support programme and can offer respite from day to day life on the streets.

The photos that you see here are the culmination of a months work by the staff and vendors at The Big Issue. For some of our vendors it was the first time that methods of photographic self-representation had been used. The final work is expressive of both the pain and humour that goes with life on the street.

For further information about the work please contact Darren Williams on
0117 942 8538.

This exhibition was put on with thanks to:

Photographique,
Daniel Buzzo,
The Emporium crew
and The Big Issue vendors and volunteers.

Fri 3rd - Sat 11th JULY. Sam Marsh: WE ALL WANT THE SWAMP

www.samarsh.com

Drawing on, recycling and developing past and present imagery, from modern media to B-Movies, music and much literature these works are half amusing social comment, half material homage but all painting.

The work gains its identity when the interaction between these sources and my brush work comes together in my working space. Self imposed limitations such as working in series of 8 or more at a time, on set sizes, allows me to realise one vision into lots of outcomes. This partly pays homage to the format of a book but more importantly allows me a freedom to be spontaneous and immediate with the decisions I make in the painting process believing that the first solution is more often the right one.

Reacting to a starting point, such as a collaged image from a magazine or the relationship between two colours, the painting process evolves with more traditional devises in mind such as the history of image making in painting and the drive to exploit the potential painting will always enjoy. Today there is a huge amount of readily available imagery and information and so young curious artists can feel under great pressure to take in as much as they can and attempt to make fresh sense of it all. This is best realised in my work through the use of collage in the painting process as an element of both picture aesthetic and a means to add content.

145 - Briefing for a Descent into Hell: open doors Sat 13th of June (continues until 27th of June)

145

Briefing for a Descent into Hell

June 13-27 Emporium, Bristol

The title for this show is taken from the Doris Lessing book ‘Briefing for a Descent into Hell’, as this seems to fit with the shows original theme of Babylon and the Garden of Eden, which can be interpreted in many ways, for instance; original sin, death, religion, love, the search for meaning, purpose and happiness.

Please come along to the opening on Saturday the 13^th & submit any work you like for the show,

There will be live music and makings going on all day and into the night on the 13^th, and also there will be other events planned for during the opening period (tbc)

Below, for those who do not know us is a blurb about us and what we do.

We are an ever expanding collective of artists based in Bristol, Leeds, Manchester and London that work under the moniker 145. We believe that art should be about collaboration and community rather than the search for audience and applause, and our work echoes this ethos.

Our exhibitions are site specific, and encourage interactivity and involvement from our audience; they are open to anyone to come along and get involved in, we hope to encourage skill sharing and participation amongst all audience members. Our shows are a combination of paintings, drawings, writing, sculpture, makings. We are a not for profit collective.

For more information please visit- http://145collective.blogspot.com/

Stokes Croft Exhibition opens this Friday the 5th of June at 6pm

'1001 Nights' from Studio Amour opens Friday 15th of May

Desire Breeds Creation. 24th April - 7th of May!

Desire Breeds Creation brings together work from a group of artists using the media of stone, textile, paint and iron to explore the nether regions of creation.
Opening night Friday the 24th of April 7pm-9pm.

Featuring the work of:
Petrus Hedger
Star
Alice Watkins
Lilleth C Green

Open 11 - 7 daily
April 24 - May 7
The Emporium, Stokes Croft, Bristol

The 'Stokes Croft Herbarium' 11th-18th April

The ‘Stokes Croft Herbarium’ exhibition mingles together plant specimens with works of art that draw their influence from the plant kingdom -creating the impression of a botanical garden/art gallery hybrid.

Featuring artwork by:
Andy Council
Chris 'Cavetroll' Drury
Evie Wonder
Nicky Cornwell
Tim Floyd

Living and preserved plants will be displayed alongside sculpture, installation, two dimensional pieces and images drawn directly onto the venues walls. There will also be information about local community allotments and gardening projects and a small 'library' of books to browse through.

Events scheduled to coincide with the exhibition include a day of live doodling on one of the venue's walls, an urban wild food walk around the Stokes Croft area, foraged food preparation and a screening of the four 'Global Gardener' Permaculture documentaries presented by Bill Mollison.

What's on/when?

Exhibition opening times:

11am-6pm daily from 11th-18th April.

Events and so on:
(All events are free and will take place in or start from the Emporium)

Tues 7th April: Live illustration. -11am til 3pm

A few days before the show opens Andy Council and Tim Floyd will be doodling/painting directly onto one of the Emporium's inside walls. The door will be open and inquisitive types are welcome to wander in and watch the images taking shape.

(Good) Friday 10th April: Opening night -7pm-9pm

There'll be home-made nettle beer, a box or two of plonk and a bit of music at the exhibition's preview.

(Easter) Sunday 12th April: Screening of the Global Gardener documentaries. 7pm-9pm

Four half-hour films presented by Bill Mollison that show how wastelands in various bioregions have been resurected and turned into productive food forests using permaculture principles.

Mon 13th/Tues 14th/Weds 15th/Thurs 16th April: Foraged food preparation. -1pm-2pm

Evie Wonder will be using common wild plants and a wood burning 'rocket stove' to prepare snacks and herbal brews for visitors to munch/sup on.
With Dandelions on Monday,
Stinging Nettles Tuesday,
Wild Cress Wednesday,
and Cleavers Thursday.

Saturday 18th April: Urban wild walk. -4pm-5.30pm

Mr B. Green will lead a circular walk around Stokes Croft pointing out edible, medicinal and useful plants along the way.

Open 11-6 daily.
For more info, please see:
http://stokescroftherbarium.blogspot.com

Stock @ The Emporium (26th Feb-14th Mar)

'STOCK' is a photography exhibition by Uk-based photographers Ollie Harrop and Billy Macrae, documenting two communities that exist on the fringes of society in London.

Location: The Emporium, 37 Stokes Croft, BS1 3PY

The doors will be open at 6pm on Thursday the 26th of Feb.
The show will run daily from the 27th of Feb until the 13th of March.

http://www.stock-show.blogspot.com/

Info:

‘All that Glitters is Gold’…

Is an ongoing documentary project focussing on a community located in a block of Victorian houses situated in the heart of New Cross, London. The block is owned by Goldsmiths College, who over the last decade have turned a blind eye to a group of artists, fashion designers and activists occupying the buildings, setting up cafés, studios and shops. Eviction of the block has been muted for over a year now, and as it stands, Goldsmiths will be demolishing the buildings in October 2009.

I decided to begin shooting the project as soon as I heard the news that Goldsmiths were pushing to evict the community in late 2007. Eight years ago I was studying at the college, and in my spare time would help organise parties in the buildings and socialise with some of the inhabitants. Pransgta costumiers had been trading for 3 years by then, and by 2004 the community had grown to over 30 inhabitants. Numerous cafes, three clothes shops, and countless gigs and parties have occurred there over the last decade. In its various incarnations, the block has been an influential though controversial part of New Cross.

Goldsmiths College have been trying to obtain planning permission to turn the buildings into campus studios, gallery space and a café for a number of years. The creativity that expresses itself in the spaces has therefore always felt temporary, both due to the fear of eviction and the unpredictable nature of a community in flux. Café Crema and Prangsta are still trading, albeit now as official tenants of the college, and they stand to move on at the end of 2009. Rubbish and Nasty closed down this summer, due to fire and safety worries, and another designer has since moved into a separate shop front.

I sensed the community was about to fragment, and had a strong urge to record the process from the inside in a positive manner before the situation became more complicated. The project represents my personal view of what has occurred there, focussing on how the space reflects the raw creativity of its inhabitants.

Ollie Harrop, 2009
http://www.ollieharrop.com

‘Moments of Protest’ …

Is an ongoing project my Billy Macrae, which takes as its subject matter the activist community in London.

Inspired by meetings with Activists in Asia, Billy Macrae returned from a long journey in 2007 with the urge to turn his camera upon his fellow Londoners. The project is an attempt to explore what motivates people in the capital to get involved with activism in their spare time.

“Why do people take to the streets in passionate protest, in a city whose citizens have everything they could ask for?”

Billy Macrae, 2009
http://www.billymacrae.blogpost.com

The Emporium - A free radical community space

http://emporium37.blogspot.com