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

Magpie exhibit still Going, Lulu's Exhibit opens on Fri 13th Feb.

The Magpie exhibition is still up and running, open from mid afternoon till around 10pm every week day so get on down!

On Friday the 13th of February a new exhibition will be opening from Lulu!

LuLu Exhibition
Friday 13th Feb
7-30 til Late
The Emporium 37 Stokes Croft BS1 3PY

Open onwards: 14th Feb - 20th Feb 10.00 - 1pm 2 - 8pm

LuLu, in association with Fourth Wall Creations and Avalaan is exhibiting her surreal and fantastical sculpture and artwork. Live eerie music from Sarah Joy and other acoustic sets as well as grime, dubstep and breakbeat sets from Smokelife, DJ Whatnot and Trufflehunter, LuLu's first Bristol based exhibition will be a mash of eerie tunes and mysterious artwork.

LuLu's eclectic and Surreal mix of sculpture, painting and drawing reflects extracts from a self written story, contact her directly through her website www.lulucreate.com or avalaan at www.art.avalaan.com

Fourth Wall Creations is a collective of artists, all working together to create fully immersive installations and spaces for exhibitions, festivals, public and urban art regeneration projects; specialising in community engagement and sustainability.

www.lulucreate.com and www.fourthwallcreations.com

Magpie and TAA present An Exhibition of Abstract SurrEalism and ScuLPturE: 23rd of Jan-11th Feb

The Emporium hosts an exhibition of Abstract Surrealism and Sculpture from the Magpie Collective and T.A.A. Crew.

Artists include: Gavin Thomas and Larry Jansen.

Fri 23rd of Jan until Wednesday 11th of Feb 2009.
Open most evenings from 5pm.

Get on down for the opening night: Friday the 23rd of January 2009.
A night of poetry and music from the darkerside.
With Kev dA poet, Captain Grimace, tHe ToURisT and Music from DefaZed.
8pm till late.

Donations gratefully received.

Welcome!

Welcome to The Emporium blog!

First of all thankyou to everyone who came to the opening exhibition 'The Waiting Rooms' at The Emporium this weekend. It was great to have so many different people come down and have a look. Watch this space for more work from those artists!

WE ARE NOW OPEN!

This means YOU can come and use this new community space TOO! We welcome all kinds of proposals for exhibitions, meetings, workshops etc.
Just email: emporium37@gmail.com or if youre not computer inclined, just drop your proposal in to: The Emporium, 37 Stokes Croft, Bristol, BS1 3PY

This also means that you can get involved! If you have a skill, energy, or materials to share please get in touch and we can make The Emporium even better for more people.

FOR ALL WHO WANT TO GET INVOLVED, PLEASE READ BELOW


Thanks for visiting the Emporium! If you would like to use the space for an exhibition/performance/meeting/film night etc, please read the following information, and then send a proposal to us at emporium37@gmail.com. Please make sure that your proposal for use of the space fulfils the requirements below, as its important that we are clear what you want to do, and that you know how the Emporium works and what you're up to.

Your proposal should be specific; ie it should include a brief description of why you want the space, what the form of your work is and any themes that you are addressing. It should include images of the actual work you wish to exhibit (not just a link to your website, as this doesn't give us a clear idea of the show), and how you are thinking of using the physical space of the gallery; ie will the work be wall-based, sculptural, projected... If you want to use the space for a performance that you don't have images/footage of, please send us a detailed description and any images/footage of previous work you've done. You should also give us an idea of the desired duration and dates of the show; we can't guarantee you'll get the exact dates you ask for, but we will try. Try to give your email a good title; not just 'please can we have an exhibition, but something a little more intriguing…

Your proposal will be sent out to the members of the Emporium, who will each read it carefully and look at your images/info and come to a decision whether they personally think the show should go ahead. If the majority of members like the idea, you get the space. Simple....

We will endeavour to respond to your proposal within a month and let you know whether you've got the space. If you desperately want to have a show in less than a month, send it anyway and we'll do our best. This applies especially to one-night shows and performances, as these can sometimes be fitted in between other, longer exhibitions. Once a decision has been made, we can work out dates between us, and put you in contact with the people who will be using the space before and after you so that you can organise a smooth changeover.

The Emporium is a horizontally organised space; by using the the space you become part of an on-going community-based project. You have complete autonomy over your own show. This means that you organise it; you do the promotion and publicity (we will send out a flyer to our mailing list if you provide us with one), you get the keys, you man the space for the duration and you do your own clean up; you effectively 'own' the space for the duration of your show. Whilst the Emporium collective will always be available to answer any questions, we cannot run your show for you, or help you create/man/clean the space! You will need to communicate with the shows before and after you about any wall-based work; whether you need to paint it out etc. The idea is that the space can grow and evolve organically, but if the following show needs white walls, you will need to be considerate of this.

The Emporium is a not-for-profit organisation; we do not ask for a fee for the use of the space, although we do accept donations to help us out with running costs. If you sell any work as a result of your exhibition, we ask for a donation of 15% towards running and maintainance costs of the space, the same applies to donations given on the door or within the space. Please be honest about this. We would like to avoid all involvement with the iniquity of the fiscal world, but that's quite hard to achieve, so we make a collaborative compromise; i.e. it's up to you! You should be aware that although the space is free to use, you will almost certainly need a bit of cash to put on a show, as you will need to promote it, you may wish to have an opening night bar etc. These are costs that we cannot help you with, so you will need to consider carefully if you are able to cover them.

Remember that once you have become involved in the Emporium, you can always come back and help with making it more functional and beautiful; the garden needs work, the plumbing really needs work, and the roof needs a bit of love. We are not a normal gallery, we are an autonomous arts and community space; that means we like it when artists and people from the community get involved, rather than just disappearing after their show!

If you've already sent in a proposal and feel that it doesn't cover some of the points above, do not fear. Just send us the relevant bits if its just a few small things, or rework what you've sent already if it needs more work, and email it to us.

Thanks! and good luck with your proposal.
Love
The Emporium


Just email: emporium37@gmail.com or if you're not computer inclined, drop your proposal in to: The Emporium, 37 Stokes Croft, Bristol, BS1 3PY