Plymouth Arts Centre to showcase promising local graduate in upcoming exhibition
A recent fine art graduate from Plymouth University will benefit from a potential springboard to promote their work this summer at Plymouth Arts Centre.
Plymouth Arts Centre has invited Hand in Glove to stage its annual PLATFORM exhibition at the centre in Looe Street, offering a fantastic opportunity for a promising local graduate.
The PLATFORM exhibition – which is being sponsored by Midas Group, one of the UK’s largest independent construction companies – involves the Hand in Glove directors visiting degree shows around the region and seeking out the work of compelling new artists they feel could benefit from being re-represented in new surroundings. These artists are then given the opportunity to exhibit their work in a different gallery setting with additional support and advice.
Hand in Glove is a nomadic group of artists and curators founded in 2009, which organises events and exhibitions across the South West. It is currently delivering a 12-month programme of projects funded by Arts Council England aiming to bring emerging artists to the fore.
Hand in Glove said: “Working with Plymouth Arts Centre and Midas Group gives us a curatorial opportunity that we haven’t had for PLATFORM before.
"In previous years we have had a real frustration in finding excellent work that we couldn’t show as part of a large group show. At Plymouth Arts Centre we are focusing in on one student to present a great piece of work that will dominate the space and really speak to the loyal community of visitors, staff and volunteers.
“Selecting from the Plymouth University and Plymouth College of Art degree shows was not an easy task and there were quite a few artists on our shortlist but Rachael Gomery’s installation We Are Therefore I Am really stood out. Her work is ambitious and affecting and she promises to be an artist worth watching in the future.”
The Midas Group became the first ever corporate sponsor of Plymouth Arts Centre last month, in addition to sponsoring the PLATFORM exhibition. Midas is heavily committed to supporting arts development in the South West, and is currently building a £3.75million new Performing Arts Building on the Plymouth University campus which will benefit the entire community.
Mike O’Neill, divisional director for Midas Construction in Devon and Cornwall, said: “Having worked on a number of major cultural projects across Devon and Cornwall we continue to be enthusiastic about encouraging the arts across the South West region.
"We are delighted to be sponsoring the PLATFORM exhibition, which will provide such a vital showcase for new and emerging artists.”
“Arts graduates can find it very hard to get their work seen after they leave college, and events like this are a fantastic way of promoting their talents.”
A previous success story from the PLATFORM 2012 exhibition is Newport photographic arts graduate Josephine Sowden, who has since been shortlisted for the Aesthetica Art Prize, included in the Catlin Guide and selected for this year’s Bloomberg New Contemporaries exhibition at the ICA in London.
The PLATFORM exhibition will run at Plymouth Arts Centre from Saturday 10 August until Sunday 22 September, and will feature an installation by artist Rachael Gomery titled We Are Therefore I Am.
The gallery at Plymouth Arts Centre is open between 10am and 8.30pm from Tuesday to Saturday, and from 4pm to 8.30pm on Sunday. Visit www.plymouthartscentre.org for more details, or call the box office on 01752 206114.
