Turn a vacant space into a creative place!

We were just sent a press release which we thought would be of interest:

Art in empty spaces: turning vacant spaces into creative places

Arts Council England’s £500,000 initiative to help artists turn vacant high street shops into artistic and vibrant places is now open for applications.

From today artists are able to apply for grants to support artistic activity that will transform empty retail units into creative spaces - anything from an art gallery to recording studios or family arts workshops - which the whole community can enjoy.

The programme, Art in Empty Spaces, which was announced in April, will run in partnership with the Department for Communities and Local Government’s scheme Looking After Our Town Centres, which will invest £3 million to reinvigorate ailing town centres during the recession.

Art in Empty Spaces is funded with an additional £500,000 of National Lottery funds available through Arts Council England’s Grants for the arts programme. This extra money will be set aside from the core Grants for the arts funds and used specifically for artistic activity in vacant premises in town centres.

The money is intended to enable artists to connect their work with even more people in fresh and imaginative ways, despite the current tough economic climate. Priority will be given to projects where the activity begins within three months of a grant being awarded.

The role the arts can play in economic regeneration can already be seen across the country, where the innovative use of empty shops is already helping to prevent high street decline.

For example, in Chester, Roam the Rows uses the high street as its setting for the annual Chester Performs festival, which brings a mix of arts events and installations to the historic city centre. Artists take over both empty and occupied shops and public spaces to create new and stimulating experiences for shoppers and passers-by.

Alan Davey, Chief Executive, Arts Council England said: “The arts offer escape and comfort in tough times and they have the power to play a key role in our recovery from recession.

“Art in empty spaces is a wonderful way for artists to connect with even more people in unexpected places and to turn the depressing sight of another empty shop into an encounter with something different.”

More information about the scheme and how to apply can be found at www.artscouncil.org.uk/artinemptyspaces.

Online competition winners...

Congratulations to Pam Henk from Wolverhampton, Stephen Hills from Hither Green and Fiona Wright from Southport - all three were selected from the hundreds of you who entered our recent A&C Black competition online.

All three winners will be receiving copies of Colin Gale's Practical Printmaking and Pete Smithson's Installing Exhibitions - A Practical Guide direct from the publishers soon.

If you missed out, you can order copies of those titles - or plenty of other great art books - direct from the A&C Black website by clicking here or else try your hand at entering our latest online competition - click here to be taken to our online entry form and details.

A very satisfied art tutor...

Over the past year, we have been teaming up with the Field Studies Council and a number of high-profile art suppliers and tutors to offer a range of exclusive art workshops - and Bob Hughes certainly enjoyed hosting the Chroma-sponsored event at Preston Montford last weekend. 

"The atmosphere and camaraderie of the group was very pleasant, which also made it a pleasure for me to teach them," he said. "We spent quite a bit of time discovering how to mix colours using the Atelier Interactive acrylics... I showed the group various exercises including my usual colour swatch exercise and also watercolour exercises on wet-in-wet."

You can read Bob's full account of the weekend on his excellent art blog here. And if you missed out on the weekend, there are still a few places left on the last of this year's workshops too - click here for more information or call 0845 345 4071 to book a place.

Design our official Christmas Card

While we are as scared as anyone that there have been mince pies in the shops for the past month, there is unfortunately no escaping the fact that as the nights draw in, talk will sooner or later turn to Christmas. 

One positive aspect of this prolonged festive period is the Artists & Illustrators Christmas Card competition. We are after your most imaginative and eye-catching artworks to use on our official 2009 Christmas card, which will be sent out to all manner of high-profile artists and major art institutions and suppliers. The winning artist will also receive 100 cards for their own use, printed up professionally on high-quality card by the lovely people at The Postcard Company Ltd. (where the design will also go on sale!).

To enter, all you have to do is paint or draw a wintry or festive scene. It could be comical, serious, religious - whatever you like, in any medium. When it is complete, simply email a hi-res jpeg of the work to:   2009@artistsandillustrators.co.uk   

Be sure to include you name, address and daytime contact number with the image too. And you must be quick - the closing date is just two weeks away. All entries must be with us by 28 October 2009. Good luck!

Meeting Boo Ritson...

Admittedly, I wasn’t really sure what to expect when meeting Boo Ritson, but one thing I certainly wasn’t prepared for (thanks to her gloriously conspicuous works achieved by slathering household paint over human beings and photographing the results) was how understated she is. 

She was wearing grey. She is small and slight and pretty. She spoke in a fitting low, quiet voice, that she later told me was a symptom of the pneumonia she was suffering from, typically, in the run up to her current show, Back-Roads Journeys. 

I had been geared-up to do a bit of jostling for her time and attention on the eve of the exhibition, which divides into two parts that run simultaneously at separate Mayfair galleries, however Ritson couldn’t have been more welcoming and relaxed. 

I was given a personal tour of The Gas Station, and more importantly, told the story of the characters found there. Meeting her gave substance to her style; now I know that what lies beneath the paint is more than just flesh and bones, I can barely wait to go to The Diner on Saturday... 

Back-Roads Journeys runs in two parts until 21 November, with The Diner at Alan Cristea and The Gas Station at Poppy Sebire. Look out for my interview with Ritson in a forthcoming issue of Artists & Illustrators...

- Martha Alexander, Staff Writer 

Editor's Note... Society of Graphic Art

What do you think of as drawing? For me, it’s line work in pen or pencil; perhaps with shading, perhaps without. But visit the annual exhibition of the Society of Graphic Fine Art and you will have your preconceptions challenged.

The society was started in 1919 to “foster good draughtsmanship” and its annual show now features a lot more than just line work: from watercolours to linocuts – even collages. But what is evident with all the works currently on the two floors of the Menier Gallery is the breadth of talent and imagination of its members.

At the prizegiving ceremony last night, Royal Academician Norman Ackroyd enthused about the various images on display, chatting with each winner about their technique. In a line of continuity, he said that he currently uses the etching press once owned by Sir Frank Brangwyn, an early president of the society.

As well as a treat to see the excellent work in the show, it was an opportunity for me to chat to several members who have made invaluable contributions to Artists & Illustrators over the past three years. And, in these days when movies, constructions and noises all compete as art, it was very nice to realise that drawing is alive and well.

The 88th Annual Open Exhibition runs at the Menier Gallery, 51 Southwark Street, London SE1 until Saturday.

- Lynn Parr, editor

New student competition from Chroma

The art suppliers Chroma have announced a new online student art competition, with huge cash prizes to be won and the chance to improve your chances of making a splash in the competitive international art world. 

The Chroma Student Art Competition 2009-2010 is open to students enrolled in a tertiary (or higher education) art course with a duration of at least one year. Students must be a resident of either the USA, Canada, UK, New Zealand or Australia.

Click here to head to the Artists & Illustrators website to find out how to enter and more importantly... what you can win!