Devon Open Studio

Climate Conversation Goes on Display in the English Riviera

Works and artefacts from the UK coastline Time and Tide Bell Project are to go on display this month at Artizan Collective Gallery.

The project, which was first conceived in 2008 by Marcus Vergette (artist, sculptor, bell-maker), now includes 7 completed and 6 in progress bells along the UK coastline with one destined soon for Brixham. The bells are public artworks, gifted to reinforce connections in local communities, between different parts of the country, between the land and the sea, and between ourselves and our environment.

As part of Devon Open Studios this September, castings from the project will be supported by a curated exhibition of works by climate artists in Artizan Collective Gallery’s “Above and Below” exhibition. The exhibited artworks, responding to themes of interconnectedness, coastal communities, our fragile work, and floods, ruins, and erosion, call communities to action in a collective response to the threats facing our coastlines and wider environment.

An example of one of the coastal bells will be on display. The bells toll at high tides, as a reminder of the material and intangible relationships we have with each other and the world around us, and in doing so draw our attention to the fragility of our environment and the impact we inevitably have through our irrevocable connection to it.

Alongside this are works from 18 other artists including the installation “A Walk Through the Submarine Forest” by Jan Allison Edwards which takes 250 moulded seaweed forms cast from marine waste ranging from bottle caps to traffic cones and creates in immersive piece in suspension that captures the “invasive species” that pollutes our waters. Visitors can “take a walk” through the work, at once awe-inspiring and devastating.

The exhibition is in association with the Time and Tide Bell project and in partnership with Prof Corinna Wagner (University of Exeter), with support from the UK Climate Resilience Programme and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

Devon Open Studios runs from 10th – 25th September and Above and Below can be viewed at Artizan Collective Gallery, Fleet Walk until October 16th. There is a launch event at Artizan Collective Gallery on September 9th, 18:00-20:00 that all are welcome to attend, www.art-hub.co.uk/events-1/abovebelow22pv.For more information on the event and what’s happening across Torbay, visit www.artizangallery.co.uk/dos.

Enquiries to jacobbrandon@artizangallery.co.uk 07762921571

About Devon Open Studios
If you are an art lover looking for creative and interesting people and places, then a cornucopia of art will be waiting for you across Devon again this September. Over 300 resident artists and crafts people will open their studios to show and sell their individual artworks to the public. Explore a diverse range of venues from potter’s studios in meadows to medieval barns, sinuous sculpture gardens or garrets by the sea. These hidden havens reveal fascinating work in every medium that allows the opportunity to purchase unique and affordable art, directly from the artist.

Venture out on self guided art tours using our free full colour event guide or just by spontaneously following the yellow arrows scattered about the countryside. Meet the artists, participate in workshops and events, or simply create your own journey of discovery in this most spectacular landscape.

In Torbay, there are 18 venues to enjoy and 37 artists to meet, with events workshops and functions for all audiences.

For more information on Devon Open Studios and events and venues taking place in Torbay, visit www.artizangallery.co.uk/dos

 


 

// Where we are //
We’re opposite Banx Café near Starbucks and Animal on the high street just a few minutes walk from the harbour!

Unit 5
74 Fleet Street
Fleet Walk Shopping Centre
Torquay
TQ2 5EB

// Other Events in the Programme //
Devon Open Studios Launch Venue: https://www.facebook.com/events/476161216287788/
Devon Open Studios Launch Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1419904938167963/
Devon Open Studios at Artizan: https://www.facebook.com/events/2128816127421217/
Meet the Artists | Devon Open Studios at Artizan: https://www.facebook.com/events/2227157714058393/

Gifts . Clothing . Children

OPENING TIMES FROM 5th September
Monday 6 – 8 PM
Tuesday 6 – 8 PM
Wednesday 6 – 8 PM
Thursday 6 – 8 PM
Friday 6 – 8 PM
Saturday 6 – 8 PM
Sunday 6 – 8 PM