Harsh Light: ActionSpace with Sheryll Catto, Thompson Hall & Charlotte Hollinshead
Wednesday 30 September, 7 – 8:30pm
Online (via Zoom)
Free & open to all
Accompanied by BSL interpretation
* we are currently adding subtitles to the footage above, apologies for any inconvenience.
Bloc Projects is excited to announce a new series of webinars in September called Harsh Light, in which we will explore the changing role and work of the visual arts in unprecedented times.
The series feels through reverberations of different kinds in 2020: of pandemic, social insurrections, and arts sector strategy. Just weeks after Arts Council England (ACE) released its 10-year vision for “a country transformed by culture”, life as we knew it came to a halt in the UK. This has been accompanied by political movements worldwide, the most salient of which -- for the British art world(s), at least -- has been the Black Lives Matter movement. As we are living the throes of interlinking health and social crises, what do ACE’s four investment principles of inclusivity and relevance, ambition and quality, dynamism, and environmental responsibility now mean?
Harsh Light explores the discrepancies between arts sector frameworks and arts worker lives through conversation. In other words, how do practitioners feel about the art world(s) projected for us by ACE? And how do we, in fact, live out and imagine these worlds from our respective points of view?
ActionSpace artist Nnena Kalu with her sculptures in 2018
For the final webinar in September, we are delighted to invite Sheryll Catto (Co-Director), Thompson Hall (Artist) and Charlotte Hollinshead (Artist Facilitator) of ActionSpace.
ActionSpace is a London based visual arts organisation that supports artists with learning disabilities and creates innovative projects for people with learning disabilities to engage with the visual arts. They have previously worked with high profile cultural organisations such as the Royal Academy of Arts, Camden Arts Centre, The Museum of Everything, Outside In/Pallant House Gallery and The National Portrait Gallery and have helped to establish a place for artists with learning disabilities in the contemporary arts sector.
Thompson will be speaking with Sheryll, Charlotte and our Public Programme Coordinator Sunshine Wong about his practice and time with ActionSpace. Together, they will take a critical look at the art worlds' current aspirational thinking on “care” by exploring issues of / around / beyond disability as a overly generalised category in the arts.
About the speakers
Sheryll Catto
Sheryll Catto joined ActionSpace as Co-Director in 2008, having worked in the creative sector for over 25 years. She has a personal and professional interest in supporting the development of creative practices and was attracted to ActionSpace because of the organisation’s commitment to providing people with learning disabilities with the same opportunities as their peers in the contemporary visual arts sector.
Thompson Hall
Thompson Hall is an accomplished painter who uses a dynamic palette of bold colours to create vibrant artworks expressing his thoughts and feelings. Describing his work as more abstract than true to life, Thompson’s interpretation of the world around him is a window into his soul. He is a founding member of ActionSpace's North London Studio and has exhibited widely across the UK.
Charlotte Hollinshead
Charlotte Hollinshead has led the ActionSpace South London Studio for over 20 years. She supports artists with complex needs to develop their individual arts practice and delivers an extensive range of commissions, projects, events and exhibitions including Nnena Kalu’s solo exhibition for Studio Voltaire elsewhere earlier this year. Charlotte manages ActionSpace’s innovative participatory programme, including last year's TUBELINES at Tate Exchange where ActionSpace artists created ambitious, interactive installations, artworks and live art happenings that invited participants to create alongside them and share their creative processes. Charlotte also has her own inclusive participatory practice developing sculptural works and installations for outdoor public events.
The webinar will be recorded and available to view via our website following the event.
This event is free but booking is essential.
ActionSpace Artist Thompson Hall at work
Bloc Projects is proud to maintain a public programme that is free for everyone. However, attendees are encouraged to donate to the S2 Foodbank, who are carrying out essential work during this time. To donate either follow the link on our homepage or click the button below.
This programme of events has been generously supported by The Sheffield Town Trust