PRESS RELEASE

Bolton neo:artists welcome Stockholm artists in International Exchange Exhibition

Preview: Saturday 29 September 2018 2-4pm at neo:gallery23, The Market Place, Bolton BL1 2AL.  Opening by Matthew Watson, Collections Access Officer of Bolton Museum and Art Gallery

A group of artists from the thriving artist-led organization neo: artists in Bolton, is hosting the second part of an International Exchange Exhibition with Studio44, a group of Swedish artists, based in Stockholm.

The exchange was the inspiration of Bethan Hamilton, a member of neo: artists who were living in Stockholm and based at Studio44 in the city center.  The selected artists from both groups were excited by the opportunity of collaborating in a dynamic sharing of creative ideas, research, and practical artworks.  They were invited to explore the question: What does it mean to live in a post-industrial northern town or city in this tumultuous time? How, as artists and European citizens, do they interact with the physical environment and what impact does this have on the larger world?

Exhibition Co-ordinator and University of Bolton Fine Art alumni, Maggie Hargreaves, says:

It’s been a pleasure and privilege to co-ordinate Corduroy Part 2; I have been able to call on skills within the group, such as curating, catalog design, and fund-raising.  We have organized an itinerary of activities for our Swedish colleagues leading up to the exhibition, including a printmaking workshop at neo:studios and a visit to the Manchester Science Museum.  I’m looking forward to welcoming the artists to Bolton so we can present the final works of our creative collaboration in the impressive contemporary art setting of neo:gallery23.

In November 2017 the first part of Corduroy took place at two venues in Stockholm; six of the artists from Bolton flew out with their artworks to take part in the exhibition. Steph Shipley, who graduated in Fine Art from the University of Bolton in 2015, recalls:

It was terrific to meet my collaborator, Geraldine Hudson, in Stockholm; we had held lengthy discussions online, but it was something else to meet in person and to present our spoken word performance together.  We share interests in analogue photography and printmaking and plan another simultaneous event at our respective research sites in Bolton and Stockholm.

The exhibition promises some intriguing new works and draws from personal and universal concerns about identity, the environment, consumerism, language, and place in relation to the questions posed.  It considers the past, present, and future through historic art practices such as oil painting, drawing, printmaking, and embroidery to modern-day video, digital photography, installation, and performance.

Corduroy Part 2 will take place in the prestigious neo: gallery23 in Market Place in Bolton.  The exhibition which will be opened on 29 September 2018 by Matthew Watson, Collections Access Officer of Bolton Museum and Art Gallery, will include a series of Artists’ Talks.