As Convention House enters the next phase of its continual development, it prepares to house the next generation of artists and their collaborators with thanks to the Weston Culture Fund.
The Garfield Weston Foundation has funded a total of £25 million to arts organisations to help “…continue to support the sector, its activity and its people so that existing and new audiences continue to be inspired by our world-class culture”. The awarded funding has enabled Convention House to commission 17 artists and collectives to experiment, investigate, collaborate and create. Programming includes:
- Artist residencies at Convention House
Four artist residencies will be taking place at Convention House. With over 80 applications from across the country, we are excited to announce that artists: Adam Peacock, Vicky Clarke, Armelle Skatulski and Soorin Shin will spend time exploring their practices and having an influence on Convention House as it continues to develop further. Visit each of our four artist’s profiles and learn more about their practice, their intentions during the residency, and why they applied! What happens next is up to the artists, so stay tuned on social media, @eaststreetarts, for all the latest updates on the residencies and discover the irony behind the name of a building that houses creatives renowned for defying convention.
- Seed commissions
Three seed commissions will allow artists/collectives: Flea Collective, CA Ryan and Sarah Francis to work on their ideas as initial explorations. This will enable dedicated time to learn and discover the next steps in their artistic practice.
- Virtual residencies
Four virtual residencies have been commissioned in collaboration with Vital Capacity, “…an accessible, purpose-built digital residency space, that supports artists”. Ellis Lewis Dragstra, Aileen Ye, Estabrak and Saverio Cantoni are the four artists in residence to be supported online.
- Technology and equipment facilitators
Six artists comprise a team of technology and equipment facilitators, appointed by strength of their specialist knowledge to support Matt Collins (Convention House Technician) in creating a dynamic making and learning space for artists and the local community. All of which contributes to the expansion of our technical support with: 3D printing, digital design, virtual reality, electronics, ceramics, printing and more. Facilitators include: Paul Millhouse-Smith, Jonathan Lang, Ian Oliver, Pamela Crowe, Jonathan Keep and Josef Stoger.
