August 2021
Cove Park reopened on 3 May this year and since then we have welcomed over 65 makers, designers, visual artists, writers, poets, translators, choreographers, dancers, and filmmakers. The last three months have shown just how important the residencies we offer are, particularly during such a challenging time, providing the opportunity to reflect, focus and reconnect with individual and collaborative practices, and share ideas and experiences.
This month sees several new funded residencies: woodturner Darren Appiagyei and artist/maker Maiko Tsutsumi; writers Tim Craven, Sean Wai Keung, and Patrick Langley; visual artists Juliana Capes, Anthea Hamilton, Cameron Morgan, and Corin Sworn; and video and dance artist Monika Smekot. Cameron's residency has been developed in partnership with Project Ability and Monika's with The Work Room. We are grateful to both organisations. Our independently funded programme welcomes interdisciplinary artist Felicity Barrow, and writers Michael Donkor, Laurence Estanove, and Amna Saleem.
In Ghana and in Scotland Cove Park's Future By Design programme is bringing together architects, engineers, landscape designers and environmentalists to work on two major projects: the development of a site within a children's park in Accra and the commission of a new Outdoor Classroom for Cove Park. Scroll down to read more about this innovative project.
We are also pleased, below, to share the news of our current and former residents and to introduce a series of Artist Profiles, featuring this month the Dundee-based artist Rhona Jack. Read on too for news of the Cove Park/Luminate/Taipei Artist Village project, our Associates Programme, and the appointment of three new Trustees, joining our Board this month.
Image: Rhona Jack, July 2021 (photography, Alan Dimmick)
Cove Park / Luminate / Taipei Artist Village
Announcement of Artists
We are pleased to share an update on a project developed by Cove Park, Luminate, Scotland's creative ageing organisation, and the residency Taipei Artist Village, Taiwan. The project's aim is to develop new ways to support older artists through residency opportunities.
In June this year an open call for applications led to the appointment of three visual artists based in Scotland and three based in Taiwan, all aged 50+. The artists are now participating in a series of online discussions with the aim of understanding the perceptions, barriers and needs of older artists wishing to take part in residency opportunities.
We are delighted to announce the appointed artists: in Scotland, Alison F Bell, Su Grierson, and Frank McElhinney; in Taiwan, Tang Huang-Chen, Julie Chou, and Leo Liu. We look forward to working with the artists and to the ongoing discussions, which will directly inform Cove Park's future programme, with our partners.
Image: Su Grierson, Photography, projection, performance created during Magnetic North Rough Mix in Response to Sonia Allori’s sound work ‘Dada’s Women', Edinburgh.
Future By Design
In our June Newsletter we reported on the progress being made by the Future By Design team in Ghana and the design of a landscape installation developed in response to flooding conditions in the southwest corner of Accra’s largest public green space, Efua Sutherland Children’s Park. Working with agro-waste designer Mae-ling Lokko, a team of young people connected to the interdisciplinary Ashesi Entrepreneurship Centre in Ghana and volunteers, have now completed an extensive planing programme and, thanks to rain over the past week, rice and other plants are beginning to grow!
Meanwhile here in Scotland, the architect Tom Morton has arrived on site at Cove Park to begin work for a new Outdoor Classroom, a semi-open gridshell construction employing sustainable materials. Activity on site this week involves students from the Mackintosh School of Architecture (Glasgow School of Art) working with Catherine Browne (ERZ Landscape Architects) and local farmer David Paterson to prepare the land for the terraforming. The Classroom will be launched on site in mid-September - watch this space for more!
Future By Design is funded by and developed in collaboration with British Council Architecture Design Fashion. We are grateful to Arts & Business Scotland for their support of the forthcoming events programme connected to Future By Design, and to The Maple Trust and YouthLink Scotland for our related programme of onsite workshops for children, young people and their carers.
Image: Above, planting at Efua Sutherland Children’s Park, Accra, Ghana (image courtesy of Mae-ling Lokko); below, work begins on site at Cove Park, 18 August, 2021, with Catherine Browne and Tom Morton.
Artist Profile: Rhona Jack
In 2020, to mark Cove Park's 20th anniversary year, we launched a series of Artist Profiles, sharing the work of our former residents and highlighting the artists' own news: readings, exhibitions, projects or events. We are pleased to continue this series during 2021 and to focus in particular on those artists connected to the Crisis Residency Programme, a series of residencies designed, during an acutely difficult and challenging time, to support those in the early stages of establishing their careers. The first artist in this current series is Rhona Jack.
We were very pleased to host visual artist Rhona Jack at Cove Park for a one-month residency. Based in Dundee, Rhona graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in 2017 and she is a Committee Member of the city’s artist run initiative GENERATORprojects. To read more about Rona's residency, and her forthcoming projects, please visit our Artist Profile page.
The Crisis Residency Programme is supported by Freelands Foundation.
Image: Rhona Jack, Cove Park, July 2021 (photography, Alan Dimmick)
Cove Park Associates
In June 2021 Cove Park held its first Cove Park Associates meeting, bringing together online our alumni with the team to explore how we can continue to support artists beyond the term of their first residencies at Cove Park. We are grateful to everyone who took part and shared so many helpful ideas with us.
Responding to the suggestions we received at this meeting, we are currently finalising plans for the Associates Programme and the various opportunities and resources it will offer. Fundraising for the programme is underway and full details will be announced in our September Newsletter and via social media. If you would like to know more, please get in touch via our Associates email directly.
Image: Audrey Osler, Independently Funded Residency, July 2021
Introducing Cove Park's New Trustees
Following a call for applications earlier this year, we are pleased to announce the appointment of three new Trustees: Sumit Paul-Choudhury, Ana Botella Díez del Corral, and Brian Lochrie. Collectively, the Trustees bring wonderful new expertise to our Board, particularly in the areas of technology and communication, cultural strategy and institutional change, and property management and community development. We look forward to working with Sumit, Ana and Brian.
Image: The Jacobs Building, July 2021 (photography, Alan Dimmick)
Saturday Studios Return to Cove Park!
Our regular series of Saturday Studio workshops begin again on Saturday 21 August. These free events introduce new creative projects and techniques, reflecting the work of the artists leading each workshop. The first event in the new series, 'Mould Making & Casting with Pewter', will be led by jeweller Stephanie Cheong. A morning session, running from 10.30am - 12.30pm, is open to young people aged 12-17; an afternoon session, from 2.00pm - 4.00pm, is open to family groups and suitable for children aged 5+.
To find out more and to book your free place, please visit our Eventbrite page.
Image: Participants in the Cyanotype Workshop, August 2021.
