Creative Barnsley

Getting things refreshed!

2010-02-09T09:57:00.002Z

Well it's probably quite obvious that things are a tad out of date on the CB website currently. We are building a new site that will allow us to be more on the ball and keep content new and fresh ... and useful!

In the meantime follow us on Twitter @cr8tvebarnsley for the most up to date musings.

More coming soon!

HIVE and more...

2009-05-30T15:54:00.003+01:00

It's the last weekend of our Thresholds show by London based artist Ruth Solomons, and The Sprawl by Barnsley based artist John Ledger. Both these shows have proved tremendously popular and the sunny weather is the perfect time to visit HIVE Gallery where it's always chilled (in more ways that one...).

John Ledger's show offers the artists inner thought processes on the socio-economic struggles of life. His large scale biro drawings are intricate and engaging and his social commentary is a fresh and clear voice.

Ruth Solomon's stunning large scale paintings and drawings explore the outer limits of colour, line and shape; at once abstract but also strangely familiar. Her work evokes light and its reflection and refraction and is not to be missed.

The Gallery is open 12-4pm Sunday May 31s and is then closed until Saturday June 6th when we open our next exhibition, Art in Motion, which is a showcase of the 1930s work of filmmaking genius Len Lye and a selection of contemporary filmmakers including Airside, Mario Cavalli and Universal Everything.

HIVE Gallery update

2009-04-03T10:45:00.002+01:00

It's been a while since we last blogged...

In the meantime we have had two successful shows at HIVE in 2009 by Richard Bartle and Greg Cox, and delivered an innovative programme for young musicians called B:Come which offered a chance for the musicians to work with the incredibly talented Ensemble 360, and perform their own composition to open an Ensemble 360 concert.

HIVE Gallery is closed until April 18th to give us a couple of weeks to give the place a spring clean and touch up all those things you notice when you are sat in the gallery on a chilly January day. The adjacent CB HIVE studios remain open (subject to the residents artists being available) and The Clare White Gallery is also open on site at Elsecar Heritage Centre if you need your fix of art.

We will re-open on April 18th followed by a private view event on April 23rd at 7pm with a show of abstract canvasses by London based artist Ruth Solomons entitled 'Thresholds'. Ruth's work explores colour, shape and movement evoking reflections and water across a range of canvas sizes. Her work is available to purchase and is highly collectable.

Don't miss Revolutions: from gatefold to download, the art of the album cover at the newly reopened 'THE CIVIC' in Barnsley town centre. This exhibition explores over 80 years of album cover design and includes over 120 original covers and innovative packaging approaches including the first album cover, Alice Cooper's 'Schools Out' desk and a history of album art condensed onto an iPod. The Civic also has an exciting range of music, drama and family performances running across the Spring forming the backbone of the Springboard cultural programme. Visit the new Barnsley Live website to see what's on.

Also launched recently is the programme for a new performance of the English Mystery Plays at Monk Bretton Priory. Mystery plays are an integral part of England's literary, dramatic and social history and this amazing performance brings the format back to life. The Plays are to be performed outdoors at the Priory and boast a cast that includes highly acclaimed stage and screen actor Patrick Stewart, and Yorkshire comedian and actor Toby Foster. Visit www.englishmysteryplays.com for more information and how to book.

See you soon!

Last chance to see Peter Blake and the YBAs at HIVE

2008-11-22T12:50:00.003Z

HIVE Gallery's Peter Blake print exhibition 'Alphabet' ends this weekend after five weeks in Barnsley. Currently showing alongside Peter Blake are three Young Barnsley Artists: Richard Kitson, John Ledger and Bradley Sharp. Both shows are proving a hit with visitors from Barnsley and beyond. Don't miss out on seeing these two fantastic shows.

HIVE Gallery is open Thursday to Sunday 12-4pm and by appointment. HIVE will be closed for exhibition changeover from Monday 24th-Friday 28th November, reopening on Saturday 29th November with a weekend of festive fun to mark the start of our first Christmas selling show 'PRESENT'. There is a preview of the show on Friday 28th November at 7pm where there will be a 10% discount on all work. There will be a wide range of work for sale by local and national artists. Visit www.hivegallery.co.uk/whatson.htm for more information.

New show at HIVE Gallery - JET SET TRASH

2008-08-02T19:13:00.002+01:00

Open from today, HIVE Gallery's latest show 'JET SET TRASH' by north west based artist Vincent James brings the world of cartoons to 3 dimensional life. The centrepiece of the show is 'Battlepipes', exploding bagpipes suspended from the ceiling of the gallery and bringing the space to life.

For the first time, HIVE also has a video piece by the artist installed in our audio video room which adds a further dimension to this fantastic show.

Image: Battlepipes by Vincent James

Exploding Bagpipes Hit HIVE Gallery

2008-07-29T19:08:00.003+01:00

Starting from Saturday August 2nd HIVE Gallery, Creative Barnsley's new contemporary art space at Elsecar Heritage Centre, will host Vincent James' exciting exhibition 'Jet Set Trash'. The show includes a brand new work by the artist 'Battlepipes' which will be unveiled at the preview night on Friday August 1st 7pm. Please come along and enjoy a drink and preview of the show.

Vincent James makes sculptures, collages and animations based on objects appropriated from cartoons. In these works props from different cartoon worlds collide creating absurd and surreal interactions.

Objects originally only glimpsed in a few frames of a cartoon, become frozen in time, locked in three-dimensional space or trapped in endless loops of animation. James’ work is populated by forms that previously existed as background items or props in the narrative and are now free to star in new plots and scenarios.

In the Bad Kids catalogue, curator Dave Hancock writes, 'The Wyle E Vincent James plunders the stores of the Acme Company as he enlivens a series of cunning contraptions. Dislocating these objects from their original context, he constructs an almost surrealist world that explodes into new scenarios, leaving us to ponder a pluming vapour trail.' In this exhibition Vincent James will be showing Battlepipes a new large-scale sculpture in which a flying set of bagpipes spit out smoke and flames.

Jet Set Trash, 2008 (digital print, dimensions variable)

Last weekend of the Little Artists @ HIVE Gallery

2008-07-26T12:27:00.002+01:00

This weekend (Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th July) is the last weekend of the fantastic Little Artists show at Creative Barnsley's new HIVE Gallery space at Elsecar Heritage Centre. It's the last chance to see an eclectic and exciting range of artworks paying homage in Lego, Smurfs and Sindy doll toilet roll holders to leading lights in the contemporary art field such as Damien Hirst and Grayson Perry.

The Little Artists are John Cake and Darren Neave and their work examines cultural identity, branding and what it means to be a contemporary artist through adopting the concept of the figure of the artist as a logo, a brand name, a lifestyle choice. Their work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is highly sought after by collectors of contemporary art.

Image shown: Boing Boing it's the Little Artists (Enebriated Emin Enraged), courtesy Cake + Neave

Networking Event January 16th

2008-01-13T11:49:00.000Z

Creative Barnsley is hosting a networking event on Wednesday January 16th at the Digital Media Centre, County Way, Barnsley. The event will run from 7pm - 9pm and is focusing on digital imagery e.g. photography, film, design, digital art and illustration. Everyone is welcome - please tell a friend if you think it will benefit them.

We are also inviting attendees to supply images of their work for a showreel which will play through the evening and there are a limited number of slots for you to 'show and tell' work. Please contact Tracey on 01226 287420 or email tracey@creativebarnsley.co.uk to book a slot.

Our speakers include Louise Mor from art and built environment agency beam who will be discussing their commissioning process.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Chamber Music Concert November 16th

2007-10-31T13:16:00.000Z

Ensemble 360 are performing a range of concerts at the Emmanuel Church, Huddersfield Road, Barnsley. The next concert is Friday November 16th at 7.30pm. Tickets are £8 on the door or contact 01226 321511 for pre-booking. Click HERE to view the full concert programme for Barnsley

Ensemble 360 was formed in 2005 to take up residency in South Yorkshire with Music in the Round. The Ensemble brings together musicians from across the globe to form one versatile ensemble of eleven musicians; five wind players, a pianist, double bassist and the Elias String Quartet.

Ensemble 360 believes in their concerts being informal, friendly and relaxed occasions and, although they perform in many traditional chamber music venues, they perform ‘in the round’ wherever possible. Having an audience on all four sides brings with it an intimacy and immediacy between musician and audience that other layouts cannot match. It is from this ‘in the round’ format that they take their name, Ensemble 360.

The enthusiasm, drive and musicality of each of the performers has proved a success with audiences across the UK as they find themselves drawn into the performances both through the communicative and engrossing nature of their playing and through the personalities of the musicians themselves. Ensemble 360 has grown to be a strong team and a group of friends who share a passion for their work; a passion which radiates through each performance.

As the largest professional ensemble to be based in South Yorkshire, Ensemble 360 has established concert series in Barnsley and Rotherham. The Ensemble plugs an important gap in chamber music provision in South Yorkshire and are strong advocates for the region. They also bring other international artists to the region to perform in their annual 8-day May Festival in Sheffield.

New Art Gallery opens at Elsecar Heritage Centre

2007-10-31T12:23:00.000Z

The Clare White Gallery opened at Elsecar Heritage Centre on Friday October 26th. The gallery will specialise in selling Cornish artworks – paintings, prints, ceramics, jewellery and textiles - but here in the north!

Proprietor and life-long lover of all things Cornish Andy Pollard said: “Lots of people living up here love to holiday in Cornwall. We want to offer them a chance to see a range of high-quality Cornish art and craft products without having to drive a 700 mile round trip!

“We will regularly change our exhibitions and aim to attract art buyers in to Barnsley from across the north and eastern regions. We feel Barnsley is on the cusp of an artistic and cultural renaissance and are really excited about being a part of that.”

The gallery will also be the primary outlet for the work of accomplished St Ives water colourist Clare White (1903 – 1997) and is named in her honour. Andy has collected and studied her work since he was a teenager and has previously exhibited her paintings in Cornwall, Harrogate and South Yorkshire.

If you would like to join the Clare White Gallery mailing list please e-mail Steph Pollard on stephpollard@tiscali.co.uk

Andy and Steph would also like to invite all readers of this newsletter and friends to the gallery’s official launch evening on Thursday November 1st, 7pm – 9pm. Please rsvp to Steph if you can join them. Members of the local business community and media have also been invited to this event.

Networking in action!

2007-08-30T09:07:00.000+01:00

Creative Barnsley held a fantastic networking evening at the new Digital Media Centre last night. The exciting new building was unveiled to around 60 guests, and the evening included tours of the site, excellent speakers and a great opportunity for all members of the creative sector to meet each other and make new contacts.

Guests were able to enjoy impressive views and a lovely sunset from the 5th floor conference room, while listening to Cathy Doggett, head of the University Centre and Keith Evans, CIDA before getting down to the serious business of networking!

Creative Barnsley revealed its plans for more networking opportunities on a regular basis including sector specific networking events, plus we were able to give an update on progress with the studios and gallery space at Elsecar Heritage Centre which are due to open in the early Autumn.

All in it was a wonderful evening - guests commented that it was a very enjoyable evening in a great venue and a useful chance to meet others involved in creativity.

Outdoor Art Mart at Elsecar Heritage Centre

2007-08-06T14:44:00.000+01:00

At last the summer seems to have paid us a visit and with it comes the opportunity to hold an outdoor arts and crafts event at Elsecar Heritage Centre on bank holiday Monday 27th August. In conjunction with Sue Ryder Care, Creative Barnsley are hosting the event which is open to all artists and crafters. Cost for a stall is just £10 with £4 being donated to Sue Ryder Care. Everyone taking part will also have the opportunity to be involved in an art day at the Sue Ryder site in Hickleton as part of their Art Liberating Lives initiative.

We welcome artists and crafters from Barnsley and beyond to the event. The Elsecar site is always busy on a bank holiday (weather permitting!) and stall holders can expect a good stream of customers. We will also be advertising the event across the borough in the run up to it, and at related events across the same weekend.

In order to keep the costs down, you are invited to bring your own tables or stand. ALL SPACES MUST BE BOOKED IN ADVANCE. We can make some tables and railings available for hanging work but these will need to be booked in advance too.

Please contact tracey@creativebarnsley.co.uk as soon as possible to confirm your space for this event.

Watch this space for more information!

Tracey

Open Up Sheffield comes to Barnsley!

2007-04-05T00:21:00.000+01:00

Rather excitingly, the May bank holiday weekend and the weekend after will see the CB Hive site at Elsecar opening up as part of the Sheffield based Open Up open studio project. This is our first opportunity to showcase Barnsley artists and it promises to be a lot of fun.

CB Hive is the name we have given to our studio and gallery site which we are developing at Elsecar Heritage Centre. It's not going to be converted by the time the event comes around, but we really wanted to open it up as part of this yearly event to give the arts and crafts community a chance to show their work in an environment where they can also be on hand to talk to visitors or even demonstrate work. This is the essence of an open studio event, and lots of visitors do enjoy having a chance to talk to artists about their work ... and hopefully buy some of it!

As this is the first year we are doing this we are offering Barnsley based artists the chance to participate for free. You will be allocated space to hang/show work and all we ask is that you try and spend some time with your work across the weekends. You can show at both weekends or just one. We will be doing lots of promotion to ensure we get lots of visitors but Elsecar also has a great number of weekend visitors so we should get quite a few through the door. There is also lots of promotional material being circulated across Sheffield that includes a mention for us (yey!) and a bus is arranged to bring visitors from Sheffield on Sunday 6th May.

The more the merrier so if you are interested in showing, do email us and let us know. It is essential that we have your name in advance of the event. The dates are 5th, 6th, 7th, 12th & 13th May. If you want to know more about Open Up visit www.openupsheffield.co.uk and bookmark this blog to get regular updates.

That's all for now - speak to you soon
Tracey x

Update

2007-02-07T12:05:00.000Z

Just a quick post to say that the studios are on track and we hope to have things up and running in the next couple of months. We are developing a programme for the gallery and will be 'opening up' as part of Open Up Sheffield in May. Keep visiting the site for more information. Also opening up are the Open College of Arts in Redbrook and the Cooper Gallery.

Additionally, Barnsley Metropolitan Council are on the hunt for new Arts Officers - one for community arts and one for festivals and events. It's a great opportunity to be part of the team there - visit the job section at www.barnsley.gov.uk for more info.

Network event 22nd January

2007-01-13T19:00:00.000Z

There is a network event on January 22nd - 6.30pm start - at Aroma Cafe Bar in Eldon Arcade Barnsley. The event is in conjunction with Barnsley Arts Forum, and is an opportunity to network and socialise with other lovely creative people. We will also be announcing an exciting mini creative conference and circulating a schedule of networking events for 2007.

Be there or ... miss out on all the gossip ;o)

Studios and Gallery @Elsecar Heritage Centre

2007-01-13T18:58:00.000Z

Coming soon… brand new artists’ studios and contemporary gallery at Elsecar Heritage Centre.

Creative Barnsley is developing a suite of studio spaces and an exciting new contemporary gallery in the popular Elsecar Heritage Centre. The site already has a range of craft and antique focused makers and sellers and is well worth a visit.

You can download a registration of interest form on the website or drop us an email tracey@creativebarnsley.co.uk

The aim is for the studios and gallery to form the hub of an artistic community with regular events and twice yearly exhibitions of studio holders’ work. We will also be looking at developing further studios on the complex with additional facilities such as screen printing equipment, and suitable for a range of artistic practices.

It’s a really exciting time to be an artist in Barnsley!

Welcome to Creative Barnsley!

2007-01-13T18:57:00.000Z

Hello ... and welcome to Creative Barnsley.

Creative Barnsley is developing a creative network linking creative individuals, organisations and businesses in the Barnsley borough, enabling them to access new opportunities and business locally, regionally and nationally.

We are building a network of people who live, love and consume art and creativity.

This website and the network events will be chance to show off your own work, browse other people's, find out what's happening locally, regionally and nationally, indulge in creative gossip, catch up with old friends and make some new ones.

Artists studios and a contemporary gallery in Elsecar Heritage Centre will form a hub of creative activity that will link into the exciting new developments in the town centre. This blog will be updated with news and activities so keep an eye on it. We are developing a myspace site too so be sure to make us your friend!

Maybe it's a kind of movement, a collective perhaps, but it's a chance to see and be seen, hear and be heard, click and be clicked.

Bookmark us and stay tuned!