News

Major new residency and bursary for Tower Hamlets artist

23.07.2010

Acme Studios, in partnership the Swan Foundation, is offering a 12-month residency to an artist who will develop a project or projects centred on Bow Cross, E3 in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The selected artist will receive a bursary of £10,000 and £10,000 towards project costs.

The application process is currently open until 5pm Friday 10 September 2010. For further information and to complete the online application process, please visit: www.acme.org.uk/bowcross.php

Major new residency and bursary for Tower Hamlets artist

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Galleria Open Studios 19 & 20 June 2010

15.06.2010

This weekend sees 20 artists open their studios at Acme Studios’ Galleria building in Peckham, SE15. All of the purpose-built studios are wheelchair accessible and will be open from 11am to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday. The event is part of the Camberwell Arts Festival 2010, for more information visit: www.camberwellarts.org.uk/2010/galleria

Bryen & Langley start creating 30 new studios in Deptford

14.06.2010

Work is underway at Acme’s Childers Street building in Deptford, SE8 to create 30 new self-contained studios on the empty ground floor. Bryen & Langley have been appointed by Acme as they have a proven track record of converting existing buildings including the extensive renovation of Toynbee Hall in Whitechapel. The studios are due to be completed in September 2010 and are part of Acme’s current development programme which will create 94 new studios over the next two years. For more information see the Press Release below:

Bryen & Langley start creating 30 new studios in Deptford

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Acme artist selected for WASPS residency in Fife

08.06.2010

Acme Studios’ tenant Maggie Lill has been selected for a month-long residency at The Steeple studio development in Newburgh, Fife. The residency is a result of a long-standing relationship between Acme and WASPS, the major artists' studios provider in Scotland which has led to the development of a residency exchange programme. The residency provides a studio and flat in a converted Town Hall which also includes studios for local artists and an exhibition space. Maggie explains, ‘This residency will enable me to have the opportunity of quality time for focussed work to develop my art practice and work towards producing a new body of work.’ For more information see Other Projects

Anthony Whishaw (RA, Hon RWA) at 80

02.06.2010

To celebrate Anthony Whishaw’s 80th birthday and his 30 year association with Acme Studios, an exhibition of paintings chosen from the last three decades will be shown at his studio in Bethnal Green from 11 June – 27 June. Anthony exhibited at the Acme Gallery in 1978 and has had a studio at Acme’s Robinson Road studios since it opened in1982. For more information, please see below or visit www.anthonywhishaw.com:

Anthony Whishaw (RA, Hon RWA) at 80

Anthony Whishaw Information Sheet with picture.pdf

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‘Contort Yourself’ at the Acme Project Space

27.05.2010

Bringing together the work of three UK based artists in the Acme Project Space, ‘Contort Yourself’ is curated by students in the first year of MA Curating Contemporary Art (Inspire), Royal College of Art. The exhibition will present video works by artists David Blandy and Harold Offeh, alongside a new sound commission by Jan Hendrickse, the Acme Tower Hamlets Studio Residency Holder. ‘Contort Yourself’ and its accompanying programme of events will explore the idea of an ‘authentic’ self-realisation, and critique processes of identity formation and re-formation. For more information see www.contortyourself.org

‘Contort Yourself’ at the Acme Project Space

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Studio Residency in Southwark Programme 3 (2010 - 12)

05.05.2010

Acme Studios and Southwark Council are offering a rent-free studio for 18 months plus a grant of £10,000 to an artist living or working in Southwark. The residency (starting in October 2010) is based at Acme’s new-build at The Galleria, Sumner Road, London SE15. For more information and to complete the online application process please visit: www.acme.org.uk/southwark.php
 

Purpose-built studios in West London now open

23.04.2010

Acme has opened 12 affordable artists’ studios as part of a major mixed-use housing development in Harrow Road, NW10. The purpose-built studios were built in partnership with Catalyst Housing Group and were part-funded by Arts Council England Grants for the arts – capital programme. The studios are fully occupied by local artists and provide high-quality, secure space in an area with few affordable studios. Located on the border of the London Boroughs of Brent and Hammersmith & Fulham, the new development will provide artists with a permanent resource in West London. For more information, please see Press Release below:

Purpose-built studios in West London now open

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Artists’ studios at the Royal Opera House Production Park

29.03.2010

Artists in East London and the East of England are being offered an opportunity to become part of a new creative community in the Thames Gateway. A study is underway to assess potential interest in a purpose-built, artists’ studio building as part of a new £60million cultural centre in Thurrock, Essex, less than 30 minutes by train from London.

The study is being carried out by Acme Studios on behalf of Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation, in partnership with Arts Council England, East. Artists can register an interest in taking a studio or comment on and influence the final outcome of the project itself. The closing date for comments is Friday 30 April. Details are available at www.acme.org.uk/thurrock.php

 

Artists’ studios at the Royal Opera House Production Park

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Artists’ Studios at Snape Maltings

04.03.2010

Aldeburgh Music is exploring the possibility of creating affordable artists’ studios and work/live space at their internationally renowned site at Snape Maltings, Suffolk. Acme Studios is advising Aldeburgh Music on the design and specification of space for artists and is undertaking a demand study to help determine if such a development is feasible. Artists and organisations based in Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk are being asked to complete a short questionnaire on their potential interest in this exciting project. For more information and to download a questionnaire, please visit www.acme.org.uk/snape.php

Pioneering Fine Art Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP)

16.02.2010

Acme Studios and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, University of the Arts London, have secured one of the first Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) in Fine Art practice. The two-year, part government-funded programme encourages collaboration between businesses and universities in the UK and will review the changing role of the artists’ studio within contemporary art practice, through an extensive programme of studio visits and interviews.

The project is set to begin in Spring 2010 and will result in new design specifications for artists’ studios which will help ensure that Acme continues to provide and manage studios which meet the changing needs of artists. An Artists’ Studios Research and Development Associate will be employed by the university and jointly supported by an academic and Acme supervisor and will be based with Acme full-time.

For more information, please see the Press Release below.

Pioneering Fine Art Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP)

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Artists selected for Fire Station Work/Live Programme Four (2010-2015) announced

09.02.2010

Acme Studios’ residency programme at our converted Fire Station building in Poplar, London E14 is one of the most supportive schemes for professional artists in the UK.

The 12 residencies offer a significant practical and financial breathing space which allows artists to focus on the development of their professional practice. Consistent with our support of artists across our range of programmes, no obligations are placed on the artists allowing them to pursue their own professional agendas. Since it was established in 1997, over forty artists have benefited from this support. It is gratifying to see how these artists were able to maximise the
benefits of this ‘breathing space’ to challenge and develop their own practice, with many going on to secure national and international reputations.

Programme Four (2010-2015), which was launched in September, will provide low-cost combined working and living units for 12 selected
artists for five years includeing a two-and-a-half- year bursary (a rent-free work/live unit plus a grant of £5,000/year) specifically for a disabled or deaf artist.

Over 100 artists applied to the new programme, which was open to artists aged 23 or over from across the UK. The selection panel members this time were artist and educator Cath Hawes, artist Gayle Chong Kwan, and Acme’s Chief Executive Jonathan Harvey. Twenty-one artists were shortlisted and interviewed and we are delighted to announce that the following have been awarded residencies and will be moving into the Fire Station in April:

Briony Anderson, Gemma Anderson, Kate Atkin, Jonathan Baldock, George Charman, Melanie Clifford, Susan Corke, Robin Footitt, Haroon Mirza, Matthew Noel-Tod, David Osbaldeston and Emma Smith.

Jarman Award 2009 winner Lindsay Seers took part in the first Fire Station Programme (1997-2001). She recently spoke to Acme’s Julia
Lancaster about her experience and her career to date. The interview can be listened to at: www.acme.org.uk/firestationworklive.php

WASPS artist at the Fire Station

05.01.2010

Acme Studios and the major artists' studios provider in Scotland, WASPS have been looking at ways they can work in partnership to directly benefit artists. A short-term opportunity arose in one of Acme’s work/live units at the Fire Station in Poplar, E14. Moray Hilary was selected by WASPS to spend two months rent-free in the unit in January and February 2010. Moray is at an exciting stage of his career; over the past year he has moved from working predominantly with paint into developing sculptural and installation works on an ambitious scale. Recently, Moray has also been collaborating with a performance artist to create a new dialogue with his work. Spending time in London, based at the Fire Station is a unique opportunity for him to meet new artists, make connections with galleries and other arts professionals and embark on a period of research that will help inform his current and future work.

Chelsea Arts Club Trust support graduate award

04.01.2010

The value of the next Chelsea Studio Award will be greatly enhanced as a result of a grant from Chelsea Arts Club Trust, who encourage art and design education, and provide help and support for artists and designers. The Chelsea Studio Award was initiated by two second-year students at Chelsea College of Art and Design and provides a fine art graduate with a rent-free Acme studio for six months. The contribution from Chelsea Arts Club Trust, means the next award holder will also receive a cash bursary and professional mentoring. With the support of Chelsea College of Art, the role of organising the award will be taken on by a second year student, offering invaluable experience of working with professional arts bodies. Acme is delighted that an initial idea from two art students has been embraced and developed by their college and now supported by a charitable trust to create a valuable award which provides a supportive bridge between leaving college and entering the world of professional practice.