REFLECTOR

Launch of a new professional development programme and residency for emerging artists from diverse backgrounds, supported by Art Fund’s Reimagine programme.

GRAIN Projects and The New Art Gallery Walsall are delighted to announce the launch of REFLECTOR, a programme for and led by diverse artists, designed to empower artists and create new opportunities for collaboration and career development.

The programme will be holistic, based on need and will include mentoring, masterclasses, gallery tours, portfolio reviews, networking and bursaries to create new work. The activities will provide opportunities for participants to take their career and creativity to the next level, learning directly from inspiring artists, mentors, projects and events. Participants will also receive support in developing CVs, statements, portfolios and creating new work for exhibition.

As part of REFLECTOR, the organisations will provide an inclusive Professional Development Residency that is open to emerging artists, curators and producers working with photography, that contributes to their career development, skills, knowledge and opportunities for the future. The programme will be of the highest quality building on GRAIN and The New Art Gallery Walsall’s excellent work over the last eight years, supporting and developing artists through activities that include masterclasses, mentoring, internships, bursaries, residencies, portfolio reviews and advice sessions.

Up to 20 participants will be recruited to take part in the 10-month programme via a national Open Call Applications will open in September 2023 and will be promoted widely. All the participants will be awarded a £1000 bursary to support their involvement.

REFLECTOR is a partnership between GRAIN Projects and The New Art Gallery Walsall, supported by Art Fund’s Reimagine programme.



by Annabel Clarke

Picturing Walsall PhotoWalks

Grab your camera or phone and snap what is special, unusual or unique about Walsall’s high streets for a chance to be exhibited in an outdoor exhibition in Walsall town centre. Competition closes on Sunday 20 August 2023.

Historic England and GRAIN Projects are inviting local people to look at Walsall’s high streets as never before, capturing and celebrating the history and experiences of the places and people on the high street. Three winning photographs will be exhibited in Walsall this summer and seven runners up will be featured on Historic England’s website. 

Submit your photographs of Walsall, with the location and date taken by email to applications@GRAINPhotographyHub.co.uk by 20 August.

Associated workshops

Attend free workshop’s with professional photographers in Walsall to create images to submit to the competition.

Saturday 12 August, 11am – 1pm
With Stephen Burke. Meet in front of The New Art Gallery Walsall

Wednesday 16 August, 11 am – 1pm
With Anand Chhabra. Meet in front of The New Art Gallery Walsall

Saturday 19 August, 11 am – 1pm
With Tom Hicks. Meet in front of The New Art Gallery Walsall

To register a place, email – applications@GRAINPhotographyHub.co.uk



by Annabel Clarke

Open call for artist: Studio residency and Legacy artwork commission with The Bumblebee Conservation Trust supported by the National Heritage Lottery Fund

The New Art Gallery Walsall is delighted to collaborate with The Bumblebee Conservation Trust to offer one West Midlands-based artist the opportunity of studio space to support the creation of a legacy artwork, which is being commissioned by the Trust as part of Bee Inspired, a 2-year project taking place across the Black Country and Greater Birmingham. This initiative will connect diverse audiences and deliver lasting change within communities by empowering local people to care about bumblebees and initiate positive actions to help grow native populations in urban habitats.

Key information

Submissions open week commencing: 29 May 2023
Submissions close: 26 June 2023, 9am
Shortlisting week commencing: 26 June 2023
Selected artist advised: 30 June 2023
Unsuccessful applicants advised: 30 June 2023
Announcement of selected artist: 3 July 2023
Please note: for capacity reasons, we are unable to engage in feedback to unsuccessful applicants.


Residency: 11 July – 24 September 2023


Deadline for final commission design: 11 August 2023
Bee Safari: 2 August 2023
Open studio event: 19 August 2023
Installation and launch of Legacy artwork commission: Spring 2024 TBC

The successful artist will receive:

  • Use of a fully-equipped artist studio in The New Art Gallery Walsall for the duration of the residency period, for research and making
  • Curatorial support while in residence
  • Support with access costs, if appropriate
  • Access to technical advice during the residency
  • A £4000 fee
  • £5,300 materials budget (this includes any weatherproofing, maintenance and install costs)
  • Online exposure via TNAGW and BBCT platforms


by Annabel Clarke

Outside In & The New Art Gallery Walsall announce 3 year creative partnership

Outside In and The New Art Gallery Walsall have announced a three-year, creative partnership to support the arts and creative industries in the West Midlands. The chief aims of the collaboration are to champion and support artists facing significant barriers to the art world and to provide them with exciting opportunities and a space in which to create and exhibit new work.   

The partnership springs from a shared commitment to support inclusion in the arts and to find and support artists in the Black Country and the West Midlands currently excluded due to health, disability, social circumstance, or isolation.  It will enable a number of initiatives and collaborative projects designed to build stronger communities and create new audiences including a dedicated outreach programme, residencies and events. In addition, the partners are delighted to announce that The New Art Gallery Walsall will be the host venue for 2025’s Outside In National Open exhibition. 

The New Art Gallery Walsall’s Director, Stephen Snoddy said:

“The New Art Gallery Walsall has over many years supported artists ‘on the ground’ in the West Midlands region through our residency and mentoring programme. Our partnership with Outside In will grow and diversify and create further opportunities for those artists who have additional barriers, with an aspiration of opening up connections for their work and careers.” 

Marc Steene, Director of Outside In, comments:

“Our new partnership with The New Art Gallery Walsall will enable the further establishment of Outside In in the Midlands. Our association with respected arts organisations, such as The New Art Gallery Walsall, provides important validation and a vital opportunity for artists who have been, for too long, overlooked and not included in all that the arts can offer.” 

José Sunshine-Okoro, Outside In’s Programme Manager for the Midlands, further adds:  

“This is an excellent opportunity to continue to develop access to artists facing barriers and support them to engage with the arts sector. Working with The New Art Gallery Walsall over the last three years has offered Outside In artists’ bursaries, residences, developed their studio practice and enabled them access to opportunities to interact with curators.  The New Art Gallery Walsall encourages diversity in its practices and this partnership will continue to grow our organisations and in turn support exposure of local artists within the cultural sector to increase their national profile.” 



by Annabel Clarke

Senior Communications & Marketing Executive Post – Ref: SS03022

Grade: G7, £27,514 – £31,895

Here at Walsall Council we are doing things differently and we have an ambition to transform the marketing approach. Tens of millions of pounds have been secured to transform Walsall and the promotion of the arts and our culture is an important part of that transformation.

We need an ambitious Senior Communications and Marketing Executive to showcase and promote our prestigious New Art Gallery. You will also support the marketing of other visitor destinations including The Arena and the Leather Museum.

Walsall’s New Art Gallery opened in 2000 and has remained a landmark venue for visual arts regionally, nationally and internationally. Hosting a vibrant artistic programme, the Gallery is also home to the renowned Garman Ryan Collection, celebrating the 50th year of the bequest in 2023 and a significant collection of contemporary art works.

If you have a passion for arts and events marketing, delivering compelling marketing campaigns and a desire to do things differently, we’d like to hear from you.

The Candidate:

This role requires a creative thinker who is comfortable with generating ideas and ensuring they are delivered brilliantly.  The successful candidate will have proven experience in working on varied campaigns across the full marketing mix:

To view Job Description, Employee Specification and apply:

Key Responsibilities include:

  • Supporting the planning and delivery of campaigns and communications for the New Art Gallery and the other visitor destinations in Walsall
  • Developing engaging content for the venue’s social media accounts and its website and contributing to the community management of these accounts
  • Supporting events, launches and campaigns and communicating these to relevant audiences both regionally and nationally
  • Evaluating the success of campaigns and communications, capturing this and sharing these learnings
  • Collaborate with communications and marketing colleagues from partner organisations in the area and nationally
  • Support Walsall Council’s wider Communications, Marketing and Brand team with idea generation, campaign planning and sharing evaluations
  • Work with Print and Design colleagues to design the production of communication and marketing materials and ensure that work requests from internal colleagues are delivered on time
  • Support the wider Communications, Marketing and Brand team goals and help raise the profile of marketing within the organisation

We can offer a range of benefits including hybrid working and opportunities to develop within a team of marketing and communications specialists.

Location Walsall/ hybrid working

About the Walsall Visitor Destinations:

The New Art Gallery Walsall opened in 2000 in the heart of Walsall town centre. Since then it has remained a landmark venue for the visual arts regionally, nationally and internationally. The impressive and award-winning building provides a truly outstanding place for visitors to enjoy, discover, learn from and participate in the visual arts. The New Art Gallery Walsall

Walsall Arena hosts a programme of live events, comedy, dance, film and pantomimes. It has 7,000 square feet; state of the art lighting, video and sound systems; 600 seats and a standing capacity of 1,000. Walsall Arena

The Leather Museum in the Town Centre is an important part of Walsall’s heritage and focuses on the history and lives of those who worked in the leather trade.  Walsall Leather Museum

Closing Date: Midnight, Sunday 23 October 2022.

View: Information for Applicants

View: Job Description and Employee Specification

This post is covered by the Government’s Code of Practice on the English Language Fluency Duty for public sector workers.  The post holder will be required to communicate verbally with customers and provide advice and/or information in accurate spoken English.



by Chris Wilkinson

The New Art Gallery Walsall acquires works by West Midlands’ artists for Twenty Twenty Collection

 

Following an open call, which received 220 submissions, The New Art Gallery Walsall has acquired 33 works by 31 West Midlands-based artists, to create the new Twenty Twenty Collection. This closed, capsule collection represents the significant events of the past 12 months, and commemorates this important historical moment which has impacted on everyone’s lives.

 

The works, spanning a variety of media from collage and photography to drawings and paintings, respond to world events over the last tumultuous year; from the pandemic and lockdown, to the Black Lives Matter movement and Brexit.

 

The chosen artists’ work will be profiled on the Gallery’s website and social media channels during this year, and be exhibited at the Gallery in a dedicated exhibition in our Community Gallery in early 2022. This will coincide with a solo exhibition by Keith Piper (whose work Surveillance: Tagging the Other, was also acquired with funding from Contemporary Art Society, in response to the events of last year) and the British Art Show taking place in Wolverhampton, bringing significant attention to the region, and further increasing the profile of West Midlands artists.

 

In addition, over the last year the Gallery has supported 5 artists through remote residencies. A work produced from each of the 2020 ‘Stay At Home’ residencies is being acquired, including a sufra (or prayer mat) made by Birmingham-based artist Farwa Moledina. We are currently working with national charity Outside In, which supports artists who face significant barriers in participating in the arts, through disability or social circumstance, on providing two residencies to artists they support. The Gallery remains committed to continuing to support West Midlands’ artists, creatives and freelancers during this difficult period.

 

Director, Stephen Snoddy said, “It is important for The New Art Gallery Walsall to acquire this collection to leave a legacy for future generations to document the events of the past year and also at the same time support artists in the West Midlands during this very difficult time.”

 

 

Sherrie Edgar, Isolation Series 11, 18 April 2020, photograph (image courtesy the artist)

 

“Isolation Series is a reflection of people’s thoughts and experiences during the first lockdown. My approach was to reconnect with others, capturing the essence of how we coped during a difficult time. To be selected as part of this call out means this work can help others to identify and understand what we went through.” – Sherrie Edgar.

 

Adele Mary Reed, Instant Dreamscapes in Isolation, Easter Day, 12 April 2020, instant photograph (series of 32, image courtesy the artist)

 

“It means a great deal to me that NAGW have acquired my body of work around cycling, solitariness and spatial exploration locally. There was a very particular feeling in the air at the start of the pandemic which felt very meaningful to capture somehow, and for the work to now be part of the permanent Twenty Twenty Collection is a perfect conclusion. As a mother of a young child during lockdown, partaking in daily exercise and finding space in the city was absolutely crucial to my mental wellbeing and creative thought and I hope this resonates with people who view the work.” – Adele Mary Reed.

 

 

 

Rachel Magdeburg, Expired, 2020, Acrylic on Ipad insert card (image courtesy the artist)

 

“It is hard to express how delighted I am that my painting will be part of this new collection. I have long since admired the exhibition programme at the NAGW and its rich collections, and the space and building are truly inspirational.

 

My painting Expired was initially triggered by the wrangles of the Brexit debate, but also became more and more about travel and the complexities of this during the pandemic.” – Rachel Magdeburg.

 

 

 

Vincent Louis Stokes, A Family under Lockdown, 2021, pencil on paper (image courtesy the artist)

 

“As a visual artist and resident of Walsall, to have my work belong to such a prestigious and renowned institution is truly a great honour. These past twelve months have been incredibly arduous and wearing, though through art I believe we all have the opportunity to escape, if only for a moment, and discover a world of comfort, solace and intrigue.” – Vincent Louis Stokes.

 

 

The Twenty Twenty Collection Artists

Adele Mary Reed

Alex Billingham

Andrew Roberts

Bailey Nock

Charlotte Moore

Corinne

Cristina Celestini

Crow Dillon-Parkin

Edgington

Helen Grundy

Jessica Ladkin

Joanne Masding

Laura Onions

Lindsay Pritchard

Lucy Fiona Morrison

Mark Murphy

Matt Greenhill

Michele Harris

Neil McNaught

Paul Newman

Rachel Magdeburg

Rupi Dhillon

Ruth Spencer

Ryan Christopher

Sally Butcher

Sally Claire Payen

Sherrie Edgar

Sinéad Patching

Sophia Moffa

Vincent Louis Stokes

Yasmin Agilah-Hood

 



by Chris Wilkinson

We are open!

Wednesday – Saturday: 11am – 4pm

Sunday: 12 noon – 4pm

(Closed: Monday & Tuesday)

 

We are delighted to announce a further reopening of The New Art Gallery Walsall.

 

Our Floor 3 galleries are open with 20:20 – Twenty Years of Collecting Contemporary Art. Celebrating our 20th year, it brings together works of contemporary art collected since 2000, from artists who have featured in our past exhibitions and Studio programmes.

 

Also open:

 

  • The Ground Floor Community Gallery, sponsored by HomeServe, with 20 for 2020, 20 works of art representing each year of the Gallery’s history. The exhibition includes works by Gavin Turk, Christopher Le Brun, Soheila Sokhanvari and Jane & Louise Wilson amongst many others.
  • The renowned Garman Ryan Collection on the 1st and 2nd floors, with Sarah Taylor Silverwood’s exhibition Kathleen and Sally Series.
  • Our spacious shop, stocking a wide range of books, as well as gifts, gallery souvenirs, art supplies, greeting cards and stationary.

 

We will be operating a revised opening schedule, with the Gallery open initially from Wednesday to Saturday, 11am-4pm and on Sundays 12-4pm.

 

 

Your safety is our priority

 

We’re committed to making your visit safe. We are following health and safety advice with additional measures and standards also in place. Please note a few changes before you plan your visit:

 

  • There is no need to book before you visit. On entry we kindly request visitors provide their details in accordance with NHS Track and Trace.
  • Hand sanitiser will be available on entry and at stations positioned across the building.
  • Please observe Government guidelines on face coverings, and adhere to social distancing throughout the Gallery.
  • As usual, our informed and friendly team will be on hand to ensure you have a great visit. They will also regularly sanitise frequently touched areas such as door handles and lift buttons.
  • Toilets will be available on request and cleaned frequently throughout the day.
  • We look forward to welcoming you back when you are ready.

 

 



by Hannah Anderson

We are open!

Wednesday – Saturday: 11am – 4pm

Sunday: 12 noon – 4pm

(Closed: Monday & Tuesday)

 

Following recent Government announcements easing lockdown, we are delighted to announce a phased reopening of The New Art Gallery Walsall over the coming weeks.

 

The first phase will start on Wednesday 5 August with the following open for visitors:

 

  • The Ground Floor Community Gallery, sponsored by HomeServe, with 20 for 2020, 20 works of art representing each year of the Gallery’s history. The exhibition includes works by Gavin Turk, Christopher Le Brun, Soheila Sokhanvari and Jane & Louise Wilson amongst many others.
  • The renowned Garman Ryan Collection on the 1st and 2nd floors, with Sarah Taylor Silverwood’s exhibition Kathleen and Sally Series.
  • Our spacious shop, stocking a wide range of books, as well as gifts, gallery souvenirs, art supplies, greeting cards and stationary.

 

We will be operating a revised opening schedule, with the Gallery open initially from Wednesday to Saturday, 11am-4pm and on Sundays 12-4pm.

 

Your safety is our priority


We’re committed to making your visit safe. We are following health and safety advice with additional measures and standards also in place. Please note a few changes before you plan your visit:

    • There is no need to book before you visit. On entry we kindly request visitors provide their details in accordance with NHS Track and Trace.
    • Hand sanitiser will be available on entry and at stations positioned across the building.
    • Please observe Government guidelines on face coverings, and adhere to social distancing throughout the Gallery.
    • As usual, our informed and friendly team will be on hand to ensure you have a great visit. They will also regularly sanitise frequently touched areas such as door handles and lift buttons.
    • Toilets will be available on request and cleaned frequently throughout the day.

We look forward to welcoming you back when you are ready.

 

 



by Hannah Anderson

Culture Secretary visits The New Art Gallery

 

 

 

We were very pleased to welcome Oliver Dowden CBE, the new Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, to The New Art Gallery Walsall on his recent visit to the West Midlands on 27th February.

 

He really enjoyed his time here, and said on his official Twitter account @OliverDowden, “Delighted to make my first gallery visit @DCMS the @newartgallery in Walsall. Its Epstein collection is amazing but the collection of local people engaging with art in their community was even better. Art should be for everyone and it certainly is here.” 

 

 



by Hannah Anderson

Arty Party!

 

 

 

We were 20 on 20th February! As another part of the 20th birthday celebrations for The New Art Gallery Walsall, a fun Arty Party for all the family was held at the Gallery on Saturday 22nd. There were party games to play and free creative workshops including card and badge making to take part in, as well as face painting, music and of course a delicious birthday cake! Yum!

 



by Hannah Anderson

  • 1
  • 2