AirSpace Gallery - The Site is the Question and Yarden developments

The Gallery has been a hive of activity this week, as the "The Site is The Question" exhibition install got underway and the AirSpace Yarden project continued apace.

"The Site is the Question" is a presentation of a cross-disciplinary workshop and investigation of the Spode Factory Site that happened in September 2012. Entitled, "Resurrecting the Obsolete: Exploring the Site Specific and Associated Histories of Post- Industry" the workshop was lead by Adjunct Professor Neil Brownsword and Associate Professor Anne Helen Mydland in collaboration with the other members of the KHiB ( Bergen Academy of Art and Design, Norway) staff. 

The workshop lasted for 10 days, and 33 staff and students from  KHiB, The Royal Academy of Art Copenhagen, Muthesius Kunsthochschule Kiel, Sheffield Hallam Univerisity, University of Nottingham Trent and invited alumni/artists from KHiB, explored the Spode site's histories, industrial space and infrastructure.


Contributing artists are: Neil Brownsword, Anne Helen Mydland, Richard Launder, Øyvind Suul, Sabine Popp, Tøne Saastad, Johan Sandborg, Duncan Higgins, Rita Marhaug, Heidi Nicolaisen, Steven Dixon, Bjarte Bjørkum, Karen Harsbo, Kerstin Abrahams, Andrew Burton, Danica Maier, Traci Kelly, Toril Redalen, Caroline Slotte, Corrina Thornton, Anne Stinessen, Numi Thorvarsson, Erne Elinbjørg Skuladottir, Camila Holm Birkeland, Karin Blomgren, Sofie Knudsen Jansson, Margrethe Kolstad Brekke, Chloe Brown, Andrew Brown, Gwen Heeney

Click here to read the blog of the original workshop project

The install is being led by contributing artist, Corrina Thornton,  and she described the show at AirSpace  as a 3-D open sketchbook of the workshop findings, containing photographs, film, sculpture, sound installation and ceramic ware.  Watching the install, it is clear that the collaborative nature of this project is a central principle. Each of the contributors has been given a space to show some of their findings, and over the course, not only of the install, but the 2 week show, the exhibition will grow as new content is constantly added. It is a rare thing to get the chance to see the inner workings of artistic projects - the tests and reasonings and working processes which go into such a wide-ranging and exhaustive site specific project. 







"The Site is The Question" opens this Thursday 14th March at 6pm and runs until March 30th. 






The Yarden

Meanwhile, the AirSpace Yarden is about 5 weeks from its grand opening, and despite the wintry turn in the weather, building and developing has been continuing. This weekend, some finishing touches were applied to the 24 foot long raised planting bed, which is now just awaiting the addition of some compost, ready for the  bird-friendly planting.

We have also extended the yard's stage area, envisioned as a literal platform for future performances and events, and have enough timber ready for the addition of a bespoke pergola, to ensure that events will not be deterred by  the inevitable inclement British weather. Other developments include a specially designed seating area, combined with more vertical planting and bird-feeding platforms.

We have put a call out for submissions to respond to the AirSpace Bird Yarden, asking artists to create works which respond to the landscaping scheme of the Bird Yarden. These could be wildlife habitats or perching posts for birds, Yarden ornaments, signage, or other avian friendly interventions.

Successful applicants need to complete and install the work before April 17th. Click Here for full details.