Canal Walk

Inspired by the AND Festival artist residency opportunity, five of us went on a walk along Rochdale Canal last week. Starting out at Piccadilly Basin we walked along the canal for just over 3 hours stopping off for a picnic en route before getting the bus back to Piccadilly.

We mapped out the route beforehand and documented people, botanicals & buildings using video, photography and also recorded the route on a cycling GPS tracker. We considered how we could explore the life friendliness of the canal and how it might have a restorative impact on the people and immediate environment.

We wondered how we might transform and reveal its potential as an ecological 'edge' through foraging, sculpture, interactive work, archiving and film. We came up with an idea for exploring SLOW TRADE - how could the canal be considered as an ecology that is traded from one end of the canal to the other - influencing, interacting and gaining from connections with the dog walkers, cyclists, lovers, fishermen - that frequent it? The kind of thing that builds, balances and restores slowly over time.

The whole slideshow from the walk is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/squirrelnation/sets/72157629876322384/show/

A Slow Art Space

On April 28th, halfway through the two-week residency at the Chinese Arts Centre, we participated in International Slow Art Day (www.slowartday.com) with an interactive open studios event which attracted 88 visitors.

My personal residency project was making food slowly, that was shared with visitors on the day. The menu included 10-day sourdough, Amish Friendship Bread, tea eggs, cheese, radish seedleaves, and ginger beer. We prepared a handout explaining about Slow Art Day, listing the works, and inviting visitors to view or engage with them more slowly than they might normally. Most of the artists were present to facilitate the visitors' engagement with their pieces and to chat afterwards, not just about slow art but also to open up a wider dialogue about the benign potential of "slow" - giving ourselves, our projects and others space the time to germinate and grow organically, especially in the context of city living.

The works-in-progress exhibited by members of our Life Friendly Collective included: a rail of garments with questions about their origin sewn into them by Penny Skerrett, a long 'fluid manifesto' to which visitors were invited to contribute by Kate Bevan, a meditation and writing durational performance by Yan Preston, a video exploring the concept of 'life friendly' with gallery staff by Àgata Alcaniz, a curated 'library of changes' by James Brady, a collaborative story on the gallery wall initiated by Elizabeth Wewiora from a found photograph, a twitter-based project by Erinma Ochu involving a handmade postbox for 'small things', and cress haikus by Maya Chowdhry.

Over a snack of slow-made food, we chatted with many people about their experience of visiting the open studios event and spending a longer time than usual with each artist's work. The response was very positive, people felt the space was relaxing and that felt that they had literally slowed down as they spent time there. Some of the artworks invited participation, and people felt that the context of Slow Art Day made them more likely to spend time thinking and participating in the artworks. Although the works were contemporary and nontraditional, several people were keen to go and view paintings etc slowly by themselves after the experience. Two visitors even took away some of my slow-cake batter to make their own 10-day cakes! - Report written by Jessica Mautner for Slow Art Day International

Creating Regenerative Cities - 14th June - Photographer's Gallery

This lecture presents the notion that sustainability is not enough. Professor Girardet will suggest that in an urbanising world, cities need to engage in renewable energy development and in restoring the damaged ecosystems on whose health we ultimately depend. We can no longer depend on sustainable cities, the Professor will claim, but need to develop ones which actively regenerate.
Professor Herbert Girardet is an author, filmmaker and co-founder of the World Future Council. He is a recipient of a UN Global 500 Award ‘for outstanding environmental achievements’, an honorary fellow of Royal Institute of British Architects and a patron of the Soil Association.
This lecture forms part of a series curated by Edward Burtynsky to directly address issues arising within the exhibition.

For more information: http://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/3428/Prof-Herbert-Girardet-Creating-Regenerative-Cities/2045

Mini-Maker Fair - 28 & 29th July 2012 - call for makers

 Do you love making things and meeting people?  Do you enjoy sharing what you do?  Then come to the place where makers meet science and industry in the heart of the city: MOSI Maker Fair are looking for all sorts of people to create a community weekend event that brings together science, art, craft and engineering in a fun-filled tribute to the DIY spirit in everyone.

Kind of activities they are looking for but by no means exclusively:


■Music, Performance and Participation
■Textiles, Arts and Crafts – weave, felt, recycle or stitch it
■ How to cook or make interesting food
■Home Energy Monitoring
■Sustainability and upcycling
■Green Technology
■Radios, Vintage Computers and Game Systems
■Hands-on electronics
■Electric Vehicles
■Biology/Biotech and Chemistry Projects
■Food and drink Makers

Submission deadline: 15th June 2012. Apply here.

washing off the collective #mindmap mural

Artist Àgata Alcañiz takes responsibility for her artwork once her residency at the Chinese Arts Centre is finished and she washes it off.

"I thought I could remove the charcoal and leave the wall as I found it by just using water and old clothes but I could not."

"
As an artist and as a human being I like taking responsibility of my actions above all the ones affecting the environment more than to a human level, though with the time I've learned that these two are not separated. Said that, since a child I always have had a natural inclination to respect the natural world above humans.

That's why I have always considered what I do, how I use my time, and the things I use. In that respect I chose to do and have as little as I feel comfortable with. That's the only way I know by first hand I can be friendlier to the environment.



In my art practice my main concern is to raise awareness on the amount of waste, in a very broad sense, humans are generating, and how is affecting not only the natural world but also our health and lives.

I also like taking responsibility of the artwork I make or engage with. In that respect I always consider to have the less environmental impact as I can. 

Sometime, nonetheless I feel like just portraying how I perceive our contemporary times, and I do and use all the things our society does. See ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE_ HUMAN BIN for example. I portray what could be a main stream woman who goes to the hair dresser, has make-up and might like luxury apartments.


But even if I want to have less environmental impact, doesn't matter what I do, it always seems it has. That's why I prefer to do as little as possible and If I do something, focus on:

• planting trees
• designing systems that are sustainable like growing food or recycling humanure.
• encourage people to do and have less (children included), and if anything, use the most sustainable solutions.
  

When the Chinese Arts Centre asked to few artists how art practices could be friendlier I saw the complexity of such an issue and I opened the dialogue to people within the arts or whoever could have any views on the subject.

I also had clear that I would try to respond to it by having the less environmental impact as possible, so:

• I sourced charcoal made in England with local coppiced branches. 
• I invited people to be part of a collective #mindmap using this charcoal and write and draw on one of the centre's wall
• I washed it up just using water and old cloths.
  

I thought I could remove the charcoal and leave the wall as I found it but I could not. It will need a layer of white painting. I also encouraged people who could not come to the centre to leave their messages on twitter or by email so the process of making the collective #mindmap used computers, new phones and therefore electricity...


People says to me.. Àgata computers can be re-cycled. Yes, but once you bought them, they already had committed environmental crimes.


People says ... you should focus on small solutions. Yes but small solutions won't solve the major environmental and human crisis we are confronting.


Also it is obvious that what is friendly for you it is not frienly for me.


The act of making 'becoming life friendly' collective #mindmap shows the complexity of being life friendly."

'becoming life friendly' collective #mindmap finished!

Well, this is the final collective #mindmap in which artist Àgata Alcañiz explored how life friendly can the arts be? through the dialogue she established with the staff at the Chinese Arts Centre and other artists in residence. It was also grown by the general public who came to the residency space opening on Friday 4th and Saturday 5th of May or those who left their thoughts @lifefriendly or lifefriendly@wildmail.com

This seems just the beginning of such reflections.. Is this really the final mind-map?! No, it isn't. This mural was constantly photographed at real time so Pascal Venier could make a digital version on the net. Check it here and keep it growing.

collective #mindmap gets digital and on the web!

Àgata Alcañiz 'becoming life friendly' collective #mindmap has been digitalised and brought to internet by Dr. Pascal Venier for everyone to continue to add thoughts on how life friendly can the arts be?

See it here

Dr. Pascal Venier is Lecturer in French and International History at the University of Salford Manchester. He is also a freelance trainer and consultant in areas of personal productivity, mind mapping and social media.
  
@pascalvenier
http://www.pascalvenier.com

collective #mindmap growing organically on Saturday 5th May

first images of the collective #mindmap Friday 4th May

How life friendly the arts can be?
See first images of the collective mindmap that explores this dialogue and add to it by:

• coming at the chinese arts centre and leave your mark in the wall 
• tweet your views #life_friendly  
• or email at lifefriendly@wildmail.com

exploring the life friendly concept

For the first week, out of the two week residency, Àgata Alcañiz started a dialogue to find out how the Chinese Arts Centre, artist practices, and the art in general can be more life friendly.

The result of this research are a series of interviews in video format which capture those conversations with Nadine Andrews, who coined this concept, the staff working at the centre, and the other artists taking part of the residency.

An introduction to Reiki, with Sally

Saturday 5th May
11.30am - 2.30pm
Artists' Residency Space

Chinese Arts Centre is delighted to welcome Sally to the final Open Studio day of the Life Friendly project.

Based in Merseyside, Sally is a Level 3 practitioner of Reiki - the holistic healing therapy. She will be a guest in the artists' residency space offering informal Reiki tasters to anybody who would like one, as well as answering questions about Reiki practice.

Before coming along, if you would like to find out more about the art of Reiki, Sally recommends the UK Reiki Federation website as a good source of information www.reikifed.co.uk

This is a free event and no booking is required.

becoming life friendly - collective mind-map