Dates: Thursday 14 December, 2.15 – 4.15PM
Booking: Limited spaces, book here
Artists: Frank Abbott & Mr X, Michelle Baharier & Chris Lewis-Jones, Courtney & Roger Suckling, Fatma Durmush & Jo Wheeler
Being Present, Bethlem Gallery (2023). Photo by Ben McDade
During the Covid-19 pandemic and spanning various lockdowns Primary and Bethlem Gallery collaborated on a remote artist-to-artist support programme. Artist Meets, saw artists from both organisation paired based on their shared interests or approaches to art production. The programme created a space for artists navigating varying levels of isolation and living in different areas of the country to connect.
Being Present | Sharing Event comes following an exhibition of the same title, which took place at Bethlem Gallery from 1 February – 13 May 2023. The group show provided an opportunity for pairs to celebrate the artwork and partnerships that they have created together over a 2-year period and reflect on what it means to be present in the act of collaborating.
During the event, participating artists will share creative outcomes alongside discussing their experiences of connecting and developing new work together during a global pandemic. We will also be joined by dance artist and academic Anna Macdonald who will share a text in response to the project and informed by her research into responsiveness. We invite the audience to share in a wider conversation around collaborative practice.
“I am going to be interested to see if Being Present speaks beyond the restrictions and opportunities of online collaboration and gives us something more to consider about the sensitivities of the artists involved and their capacity to generate a space of understanding.”
Event Schedule:
2.15 - 2.25pm: Introduction with Colette Griffin, Artist Development Curator, Primary & Sophie Leighton, Director, Bethlem Gallery.
2.25 - 2.45pm: Collaborators Frank Abbott and Mr X will share their work and thoughts on their collaboration.
2.45 - 3.05pm: Collaborators Roger Suckling and Courtney share their work and thoughts on their collaboration.
3.05 - 3.25pm: Michelle Baharier share their work and thoughts on their collaboration with Chris Lewis-Jones.
3.25 - 3.35pm: Tea break (refreshments will be provided).
3.35 - 3.55pm: Fatma Durmush and Jo Wheeler will join us remotely to share their work and thoughts on their collaboration.
3.55 - 4.15pm: Anna MacDonald will share a text in response to the project and informed by her research into responsiveness.
4.15 - 4.30pm: informal discussion / Q&A.
Access:
This event will take place in our ground-floor gallery space which has level access. The event will be audio recorded, video recorded and photo documented. The audio recording will be made available after via SoundCloud and hosted on Primary’s website. If you would like more information about connecting with the event remotely via Zoom please contact admin@weareprimary.org.
Please email admin@weareprimary.org or call 0115 924 4493 with any access inquiries.
Bethlem Gallery:
Bethlem Gallery is a visual arts organisation in south-east London. Established in 1997 at Bethlem Royal Hospital, London, and working across South London and the UK, we support the professional development and socially engaged practice of the artists we work with. We bridge communities, aiming to make art an everyday practice and mental health an everyday conversation.
