This year’s Diwali ‘Rivers of India’ event which took place at The New Art Gallery Walsall on Saturday

10 November was a huge success with people from across the local community coming to celebrate the annual festival of light.

 

The event this year was in memory of the people who lost their lives in the severe floods of Kerala in July and August this year which affected the southern Indian state of Kerala, due to unusually high rainfall during the monsoon season.

 

Sadly over 483 people died in what was the worst flood in Kerala in nearly a century. At least a million people were evacuated, mainly from all 14 districts of the state which were placed on red alert.

 

According to the Kerala government, one-sixth of the total population of Kerala had been directly affected by the floods and related incidents.

 

The Diwali event raised £130.00 on the day and will go to The West Midlands Kerala Cultural Association, which will then be sent to the Chief Minister of Kerala in India.

 

Diwali organiser, Surjit Rai said “Visitors to the event found this year’s theme ‘Rivers of India’ most interesting and the entertainment was culturally uplifting. However it was also a time of reflection and an opportunity to pay our respects to the memory of the people of Kerala who went through the tragic events in July”.

 

ENDS

 

The date for submissions has been extended to November 14th 2018 for the last remaining stalls! Download the application form below.

 

 

We are looking for fantastic designer-makers and artists to apply to take part in The New Art Gallery Walsall’s 2018 Local Makers’ Markets. Celebrating the wealth of talent in the region, and offering Christmas shoppers the chance to buy something unique, the Gallery will be hosting local makers during the first weekend of December.

 

We are looking for applications from a range of creative disciplines including, painting, sculpture, jewellery, photography, lighting, textiles, stone carving, fashion, glass, artisan foods and more.

If you already sell your products or are looking for the perfect opportunity to launch yourself into the creative market, we want to hear from you.

 

Local Makers Market

Celebrating the wealth of talent in the region and offering Christmas shoppers the chance to buy local bespoke and handmade products.

Join us at the Gallery on Saturday (1 December) for festive cheer and free mince pies and learn more about the makers with free demonstrations on the Sunday (2 December).

 

Saturday 1 December, 11am-5pm

Sunday 2 December, 12pm-4pm

 

How to apply for a stall:

To apply for a stall at the Makers Markets please download the application form below.

The date for submissions has been extended to November 14th 2018 for the last remaining stalls!

 

Makers Market Application Form 2018

 

For further information or enquiries please contact the Gallery on 01922 654400

Our new Autumn What’s On, October ’18 – January 2019 brochure is now available to pick up in the Gallery or download free below.  Sign up to our mailing list for free and receive regular Preview invitations and event information.

 

Tonight on BBC FOUR What Do Artists Do All Day? follows artist Mahtab Hussain on his latest photographic project featuring young British Asians.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bg2nsb

 

 

 

(bottom image)

Artist Andrew Tift was commissioned by the House of Lords to do the portrait below which features Lord Carrington in his ancestral home in Buckinghamshire.

 

Lord Carrington (b. 1919 – d. 2018)

The Times newspaper tribute to Lord Carrington

 

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Andrew Tift, Lord Carrington, 2014, Acrylic on canvas,
On loan from the House of Lords

 

Mark Essen

The Building as Material II

11 June – 26 August 2018

Artists’ Studio

 

To mark The New Art Gallery Walsall’s 18^th birthday in 2018, the Gallery invited proposals from West Midlands-based artists in response to the theme: The Building as Material.

 

Mark Essen, hyperbolic hypnotic hyperbole, 2018. Commissioned for 3-Phase, a partnership between Jerwood Charitable Foundation, WORKPLACE and Eastside Projects. Photo: John Mckenzie

 

Following this Open Call, Birmingham-based artist Mark Essen has been selected to develop a new body of work from the Artists’ Studio, taking terracotta, a clay-based ceramic material used in the building, as his point of departure. During his residency, Mark will explore the relationship of clay to Walsall, researching local buildings and the contemporary use of clay in Walsall-made ceramics as well as the history of brick making in the area. Mark will make various brick and tile designs, inviting the public inside the studio to explore his raw materials.

 

Mark Essen (b. Reigate, UK) studied at Birmingham City University before completing an MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art in 2014. He was selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2013 and has exhibited widely in the UK, including Workplace, Gateshead; Hauser & Wirth, Somerset; Tate St Ives, and Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge. In 2017, Mark set up Modern Clay, a socially-engaged ceramics studio in Birmingham, which aims to remove perceived boundaries between fine and applied arts and crafts.

 

www.markessen.org

 

“I find it hard to talk about the story of Esther. It’s a difficult thing”  Bob and Roberta Smith

 

Watch Bob and Roberta Smith fighting back the tears in his Objects of Obsession interview with the Royal Academy’s Tim Marlow about why he chose Jacob Epstein’s sculpture of his daughter Esther in the Gallery’s Garman Ryan Collection.

 

 

 

 

Other talks in the series

 

Cornelia Parker discusses Sketch of an Idea for Crazy Jane (1855) by Richard Dadd

at Bethlem Museum of the Mind (16 February 2018)

We are excited to be hosting a range of talented Local Makers, Crafters & Artists at our up-coming market on December 2nd & 3rd.

 

Here’s a taste of what’s in store!

 

 

 

Original contemporary prints and drawings by Daniella Turbin. 

 

Handmaid Crafts:

Wirework jewellery, accessories, cards and needle felted Christmas decorations by Jill Dind.

 

 

 

 

Natalie Brooks: Artist and Roly Poly Ponies:

Needle felted sculpture, cartoon ponies and Christmas decorations.

 

 

 

Mike Taylor:

Handmade wooden wares by Mike Taylor: Woodland Craftsman.

 

 

 

Urvashi Patel Art:

Watercolour art on cards, mugs, tote bags and accessories, as well as prints and originals.

 

 

Felti:

Felted home wares and accessories including brooches, pods, lamp shades and fairy lights created by Sarah Leigh.

 

 

 

Izzybird Bags by Elizabeth Whitehouse:

Handbags, corsages, greetings cards and ‘make your own’ kits.

 

 

Oimillie lamp work, glass and jewellery:

Lamp work beads and jewellery by Heather Pearce.

 

 

Fernandez Firecrafts:

Pyrography on wood, created by Jenny Fernandez.

 

 

Yvonne Thomas Felt Figures:

Mini felted figures. Personalised items also available by commission.

PLUS

 

Gerry Mahoney:

Feline based graphic illustrations.

 

John Sheldon:

Illustrations, drawings and glass painted artworks.

 

Claire Taylor:

Crocheted items created by Claire Taylor.

 

Mums Herd:

Children’s illustration and prints by Isabelle Blewitt.

 

 

This Christmas visit our bright and inspiring Gallery Shop to fulfil all your festive needs.

Come and explore our wide selection of Christmas cards, perfect gifts and quirky stocking fillers.

Discover our Quentin Blake and JMW Turner inspired products and books that complement our

current Exhibitions.

 

 

Ignite someone’s creative spark with our new range of artist materials and try-it-yourself guides.

Or dig deeper into their favourite topics, with our large collection of books on Walsall’s renowned

Garman Ryan Collection, Art, Architecture and Local History.

 

For that truly unique gift, why not start their Art Collection this Christmas with a Limited Edition

Artist Print, specially made for the Gallery and available exclusively through the Gallery Shop.

All purchases support the Gallery.

 

Christmas Opening Times:

Saturday 23 December, Open

Christmas Eve Sunday 24 December – Closed

Closed Monday 25 December – Closed

Closed Tuesday 26 December – Closed

Open Wednesday 27 December – Open

Closed Monday 1 January 2018 – Closed

 

Normal Opening hours: Tuesday –Saturday 10am to 5pm & Sunday 12noon-4pm