Quarterhouse, Folkestone

Following last year’s success, the ARTiculation 2013 South of England Regional Heat will once again take place at Quarterhouse on Wednesday 30 January, 3.30pm – 6.00pm. It will be one of the eight Regional Heats being held around the country, and this year will include participants from six schools
from across the South East, Astor College for the Arts, Brighton College, Folkestone School for Girls, The Marlowe Academy, The King’s School, Canterbury and Dover Girls Grammar School.

The ARTiculation Prize is an annual event designed to promote the appreciation and discussion of art. The competition seeks to engage students, regardless of background or experience, with art and to develop their confidence and ability to express their opinions, thoughts and conclusions. Each student is invited to deliver a ten minute presentation to an interested audience about a work of art, artefact or
architecture of their choice. Our adjudicator Victoria Pomery OBE, Director of Turner Contemporary, will have the hard task to assess each presentation as a whole, looking at content, structure and delivery.

One student from each of the eight Regional Heats will be selected to speak at the final, which is part of the ARTiculation Conference, at the University of Cambridge. This conference is open to all sixth form students and is designed to encourage debate and engagement with the arts.

Students this year have been encouraged to base their talks on the Creative Foundation’s collection of high calibre, contemporary art works which are situated in various locations in sunny Folkestone. It is free of charge, available to anyone of any age, fun to explore and open 365 days of the year (weather permitting!)

Experiencing this new way of looking at art outside the confines of a gallery or institutional setting encourages creative questioning, different ways of seeing, learning and thinking about contemporary art; helping to build confidence, communication skills and self-esteem.

Our learning and events programme nurtures sustainable relationships with often under-represented audiences, promoting inclusivity and equality.  We work with schools, colleges, universities, community groups and arts providers to embed the collection as a learning resource into the curriculum and the
cultural fabric of Folkestone.

The collection is to be renamed and re-launched in spring 2013, with exciting new learning packs, tours, audio guides, downloadable apps and merchandise. Stay tuned!

The ARTiculation Prize is generously supported by the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust, Gerard and Sarah Griffin and the Ernest Cook Trust. Laurence Kind Publishing has generously sponsored the
book prizes for the winner and two runners up in each of the regional heats.

Lewis Biggs stepped down as the Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Liverpool Biennial last July after ten years in the role, during which time the ten week Biennial Festival became one of the most exciting and best attended arts events in the country. Internationally recognised as ‘the UK’s Biennial’, the 2010 Festival attracted nearly one million visits by over 500,000 visitors.

Lewis Biggs was Director of Tate Liverpool 1990-2000, and has been commissioning art for public spaces in a regeneration context since co-curating ‘Artranspennine’ with Robert Hopper in 1998. For Liverpool Biennial, he brought Anthony Gormley’s Another Place to Crosby Beach in 2005, and in 2007 commissioned Turning the Place Over, from Folkestone Triennial 2008 artist Richard Wilson. These and other initiatives contributed to Liverpool’s programme as European Capital of Culture 2008.

Lewis Biggs is currently a Visiting Professor in Contemporary Art at Liverpool John Moores and Shanghai Universities, and an Honorary Professor at Glasgow University. He is a curator for the 2013 Aichi Triennale (Nagoya, Japan).

Mr Upton said “We are delighted to welcome Lewis to the Folkestone Triennial. He brings with him a wealth of experience and his enthusiasm for community engagement in place-making without compromising artistic integrity will be an exciting new direction for the Triennial.”

Image: Central Photography 2012

Sally Staples, head of KCC Arts Development Unit, said: “The shortlist reflects the exciting variety of works being commissioned in the public realm in recent years. Public art has evolved to include a spectrum of artworks from the permanent sculpture through to temporary interventions and pieces with which the audience can interact directly.”

“These public works of art play an important role in enhancing the urban, suburban and rural environment of Kent.

“They also have an important economic role. The shortlisted works – as well as installations such as Tracey Emin’s work in Margate and Cornelia Parker’s in Folkestone – reflect the effort that has gone into cultural led regeneration in East Kent. Turner Contemporary in Margate, the Folkestone Triennial and the Whitstable Biennale have all proved to be successful catalysts for change.”

For more information please visit www.libertykentpublicartaward.co.uk

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Booking essential as places limited

For details please visit http://abstractcritical.com/

The Folkestone Triennial is one of the most ambitious public art projects ever to be presented in the UK. 19 international artists have been invited to develop new works for Folkestone’s streets, squares, beaches and historic buildings to create a cutting-edge contemporary art exhibition in one of Britain’s best-loved seaside towns.

Projects include Folkestone’s answer to Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid, Cornelia Parker’s sculpture cast from a real life Folkestone resident; Martin Creed’s sound work for the town’s Leas Lift; Cristina Iglesias’ magical Martello tower passage, Hew Locke’s flotilla of model boats suspended from the roof of St Mary and St Eanswythe Church; A K Dolven’s Untuned Bell ringing out against the sea and sky; and Charles Avery’s mysterious sea monster.

Andrea Schlieker, curator of the 2011 Triennial, said: ‘We are delighted that the Triennial has had such an enthusiastic response from local, national and international visitors. The town is buzzing as people are taking advantage of the new High Speed train to Folkestone. Nowhere else in the UK can you explore a charming seaside town while experiencing new works in evocative surroundings by internationally celebrated artists.’

Folkestone Triennial 2011
Open 7 days a week
52 minutes from London St Pancras

What critics said about the Triennial and its works:
THE GUARDIAN: ‘magical’  ’exhilarating’  ****
THE TIMES: ‘enthralling’  ’a visit is a good chance to make some enchanting discoveries’  ****
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: ‘the works take you on an oblique Alice in Wonderland journey through the town’  ****
THE OBSERVER: ‘impossibly cheery and contemplative’  ’fascinatingly exquisite’   ’I adored it’

Enquiries:
★ www.folkestonetriennial.org.uk <http://www.folkestonetriennial.org.uk>
★Triennial Visitor Centre:

3-7 Tontine Street, Folkestone, Kent, CT20 1JT

Open daily from 10.30am – 5pm

Tel: 0845 202 0190
E: info@folkestonetriennial.org.uk