Black Swan Arts Exhibition Archives 2023

John Berger suggests that art is:

‘an affirmation of the visible which surrounds us and which continually appears and disappears.’ Berger, J. (2020) Steps towards a small theory of the visible London: Penguin p80.

Thread, as cloth, surrounds us and accompanies us from the moment we’re born till the day we die. It’s like a second skin. Yet, precisely because of these close connections, it becomes almost invisible to us. Despite a recent upsurge in interest in craft and making, textiles is still almost invisible in the world of art too. In 1984, the feminist theorist, Rozsika Parker, wrote that cloth itself is a gendered material; in her book The Subversive Stitch, she analyses the gender divide between ‘high’ art and feminised craft. She proposed that cloth is a signifier of the private, and thus feminine, sphere. Rooted in craft techniques, work made with thread was then generally seen as ‘women’s work’, overlooked or disregarded by the contemporary art scene. Now, nearly 40 years later, it seems that thread is still barely visible as a medium in fine art.

Land, Loss and Womb explores feelings of eco-grief for our dwindling natural world. Summer’s practice looks at the importance of having access to wild spaces and the impacts new build developments are having on communities and the environment.

Summer Auty is a Frome based installation artist predominantly working with photography, print and text. Her practice explores the importance of people having access to wild spaces and undeveloped land, whilst investigating the impacts new builds are having on communities and the environment.

Lizbeth and Suzanne produce paintings with very different narratives, the images produced compliment the unique styles when in a shared exhibition.

Lizbeth produces images from memory of places and imagination. These give a minds eye view of the natural word around us. They are often landscapes worked with the movement of ever changing skies. Some may be seen as familiar places, and the viewer will often give their own interpretation of the paintings.Paintings are produced on canvas or wood blocks using some mixed mediums and oil paint.

Suzanne works with water based mixed media on recycled paper to explore a variety of narratives based on memory and experience.

Davies, Monaghan and Klein address themes such as loneliness and isolation experienced by many people alongside a sense of being captive in a world which neither acknowledges nor addresses individual struggle, and the creaking of institutions such as the health and judicial system. This contrasts with the occasional glimpse of joy, and a celebration of diversity and community. Although the subject matter is serious, the issues are dealt with in a tragi-comic way and the use of animation lends an air of absurdity to the characters.

‘I’m thinking of going home for a couple of days.’ Titles a collective of final year BA Fine Art, Central Saint Martin’s student-led exhibition.

Interlocked by their uncertainty and emerging artistry, this exhibition plays host to ideas of transition and discovery. Playing to clumsiness; ‘I’m thinking of going home for a couple of days.’ is a vessel for these artists to have a conversation with the work they make outside the art school walls.

Through thematic influences of English folk, family, tradition, and the unfamiliar, this multi-media exhibition is a exciting, messy, personal exploration. From traditional crafting practice to the use of video and sculptural installation these works are entirely individual and yet collectively felt.

I make undeniably thought-provoking work that has always initiated conversations with its audience. I want people to feel as comfortable with sculpture as most do with painting, and I try very hard to do this by making it attractive, dynamic and engaging.

I spent many years making large-scale public art, but since 2008 I have reduced the scale of my work and I like to show locally when I can.  I have spent the last 2 years or so since ‘Lock Down’ making a body of work that has flowed from me since that release and has a freedom borne of events prior to that time.

Frome, May, 2023 – is the second edition of Photo|Frome, an inclusive festival dedicated to showcasing and celebrating local, national, & international levels of photographic endeavour and filling the creative southwestern England community of Frome with photos – of which Black Swan Arts is one venue.

The 2023 theme, ‘Decolonising Environments’, explores the complex and often conflicting relationships between human communities, places, and the natural world. Encompassing a range of styles, subjects and genres, Photo|Frome invites photographers and audiences to contribute to discussions around the social and environmental impacts of long standing political, cultural, and economic ideas about our world.

Lotte was a double winner in the Black Swan Arts Open 2019 for her piece ‘Hyle’. She won the Long Gallery Solo Show prize chosen by the Programming Group and also the Postscript Prize for 3D work. Her work examines the relationship between place, time and material, with a particular focus on Somerset landscapes.

Her works are informed by small scale, historic industries that have shaped rural landscapes over the centuries.

Previous pieces centred on the peat moors of the Somerset Levels, exploring the indexical nature of peat as a living archive of land and people. More recently she has been working with the limestone landscapes of the Isle of Portland and the Mendip Hills.

At the beginning of 2023, Dramakarma, in association with Keyford Local History Group, produced The Last Matron and enjoyed a sell-out run of three performances at Rook Lane Chapel.

The play was about the Keyford Asylum and was inspired by a chance discovery in Frome Museum archives. This was the handwritten words of Emily Jane Barnes, the last matron of Keyford Asylum and Hospital.

Curated by Jayne Sadgrove, this Keyford Local History exhibition shares stories of the play, the Asylum & Hospital itself, and of the matrons, trustees, girls and old men who lived and worked there over its 150 year existence. From Diaries to Drama includes new research findings and interpretations, as well as a film from the theatre performance from Dramakarma.

Frome Art Society (FAS) springs into summer this April and May with its annual exhibition at the Black Swan Arts. The society has been privileged to exhibit at BSA’s vibrant Long Gallery for many years, –  always a very popular place for Frome Art Society members to show their work. This year is no exception, with over 90 entries being submitted, along with browser work and cards for sale.

Back in 1979, Charles Appleyard, Vera Appleyard and Charles Hopkins,  founded FAS to encourage local people to get involved in painting and drawing and the society remains a friendly and inclusive group where people of all abilities and experience are made welcome.

This year, accomplished local artist,  David A Parfitt,  will be performing the role of exhibition judge and selecting paintings  for the annual Vera Skinner Award and further awards of cash prizes of £200, £100 and £50.

‘6×6 COMMUNITY’ is a spin on our beloved 6×6 exhibition and will feature 6×6 inch pieces of artwork made by school & community groups from in and around Frome.

Each group has been paired with a local professional artist to create beautiful unique pieces of artwork which be for sale for £20 each, with the proceeds going to support the work of Cancer Counselling charity We Hear You (WHY).

All welcome, we’d love as many folks out as possible to support our community artists and WHY!

We are delighted to welcome back our Young Art Open for the eighth time. We are exhibiting over 150 original works of art. Each one has been produced by a young person between the ages of 5 and 19 years. The Black Swan Arts Young Open competition has grown to become the largest open-entry art event for young people in the South West.

Every year we are always impressed by the levels of excellence achieved by so many young artists, and 2023 is no exception. This year means so much to us because the last exhibition was due to open on the very first day of lockdown in 2020. One year later we carefully hosted a small number of household bubble visits, but the show was never able to open fully to the public.

To revisit the competition site, to view your entry, or to view our full competition details, terms and guidelines.

Collection of artwork: Sunday 16 April 2023, 3-5pm
Monday 17 April 2023 1-5pm
Tuesday 18 April 2023, 1-5pm

All Young Open enquires: exhibitions@blackswanarts.org.uk