Comments Off on Fifteen Artists Announced For Exeter Contemporary Open 2019
Works by Amanda Benson, Harriet Bowman, Iain Andrews, (left to right)
Fifteen Artists Announced For Exeter Contemporary Open 2019
This September Exeter Contemporary Open returns as we present a significant showcase of emerging and established contemporary visual artists from across the UK. Established in 2006, Exeter Contemporary Open has come to be recognised as one of the UK’s most prominent contemporary arts competitions.
This year marks the return of the exhibition, which took a break in 2018 whilst our gallery spaces underwent a significant refurbishment.
This years exhibition includes a shortlist of fifteen artists, selected from hundreds of submissions by a panel of industry specialists – critic and curator Sacha Craddock, artist and 2006 Turner Prize nominee Mark Titchner and Phoenix Gallery Curator Matt Burrows.
Regular visitors to our galleries will recognise Sara Berman’s practice from the latest Phoenix Gallery exhibition, Hospital Rooms. Michael Calver is a previous Café Gallery exhibitor, whilst John Lawrence, Mahali O’Hare and Molly Thomson have all had work featured in previous Exeter Contemporary Open exhibitions.
A special awards ceremony will be held at the exhibition preview on Thu 19 Sep where two prizes will be announced: the Overall Award winner (£1000) and an Additional Award winner (£500). Over the course of the exhibition, visitors will be invited to vote for their favourite work, and the Audience Choice Award winner will receive £200, announced in its final week.
Exeter Contemporary Open is kindly sponsored by Haines Watts Chartered Accountants.
The exhibition will run from Fri 20 Sep – Sun 10 Nov.
Entry to Exeter Phoenix’s gallery spaces is free. Find our more about the exhibition by visiting www.exetercontemporaryopen.com.
WANT TO ATTEND THE EXHIBITION PREVIEW?
Log in or create an account here and tick the ‘Art Exhibitions and Events’ preference.
Comments Off on Come As You Are 2019 – Call For Submissions
Come As You Are 2019 – Call For Submissions
We are looking for adventurous performances addressing attitudes towards and understanding of gender. We’re on the lookout for local & South West artists to commission new work for the Come As You Are scratch night (Sun 17 Nov 2019), and also to perform fully formed pieces of work as part of the main festival programme (Sat 16 & Sun 17 Nov 2019).
Get ready to celebrate and interrogate issues regarding gender, from cis to trans, binary to beyond as Come As You Are Festival returns to Exeter Phoenix this November.
After the success of last year’s festival, Come As You Are returns to Exeter for a festival of trans, non-binary and gender queer theatre. With the dizzying pace at which our understanding of gender is developing, expect a weekend of performances, workshops and discussions from gender anarchists with more questions than answers.
The festival is presented in collaboration with Camden Peoples Theatre who have been celebrating gender diversity with Come As You Are since 2017.
Successful applicants for the Scratch Night will be commissioned £150 and prior to the festival will be invited to share their ideas and any excerpts of what they might be performing for the Come As You Are scratch night, at an LGBTQ+ open mic night hosted by Natalie McGrath (Playwright, Creative Project Lead, & Co-Director of Dreadnought South West) at Exeter Phoenix on Sun 1 Sep.
They will also receive a mentoring session and be offered a workshop about digital presence & Social Media Marketing using Facebook Live. This opportunity is funded by Arts Council England South West as part of Natalie’s ongoing current work as an LGBTQ+ identifying artist to develop more LGBTQ+ focused work in the city of Exeter. This includes Queering RAMM with Dr Jana Funke from the Re-Thinking Sexology Project at Exeter University and an ongoing collaboration with Exeter Phoenix.
All performances (scratch or developed) should fit with the themes of the festival. We particularly encourage applicants from trans, non-binary and gender-queer artists, but we’re interested in hearing from anyone.
We are looking for performances exploring themes directly relevant to the festival, under either category (please specify on the online form what development stage you’re in):
SCRATCH PERFORMANCES
In-development or short performances
Extracts of longer shows still in development
(All performances/sharings should be no more than 20 minutes long.)
FULL LENGTH PERFORMANCES
We are looking to programme fully developed shows from South West artists, but are open to receiving applications from further afield.
Please note the festival is primarily concerned with gender, not sexuality.
Wuh oh!! It looks like 12 dinosaurs have escaped Jurassic Park and have found themselves lost throughout Exeter. It’s now your job to hunt them down in this jurassic-geocaching task that could see you win some amazing prizes that will enhance your Big Screen In The Park 2019 experience!
Once you discover a dinosaur, take a picture with it and tag us in a post (On Instagram, Twitteror Facebook) along with the hashtag#BigScreenInThePark to be entered into the competition.
(Please leave the dinosaurs where you find them. Our expert dinosaur-keepers will round them all up in due course once the competition is over)
Exeter’s favourite outdoor cinema event Big Screen In The Park returns to Northernhay Gardens for two weekends of movie magic under the stars between 1 – 3 and 8 – 10 of August.
Comments Off on Guest Blog: My Week Of Work Experience
Guest blog: My Week Of Work Experience
Earlier this month, we were joined by student Evie who was completing a week of work experience. Was a week spent working in a busy arts centre what she expected? Here is what she had to say about her time with us…
“During my five days working at Exeter Phoenix, I have experienced many different things that go on throughout each day and seen all the different departments such as the art galleries, theatre and gig spaces, the box office, marketing office, the digital space and more. Throughout the week, I took part in things such as learning and completing tasks in these different departments and I have enjoyed the dynamic of the whole building and the vibrant atmosphere. Before I came here I was particularly interested in music, art and performance but I had little knowledge of what actually goes on behind the scenes.
On my first day, I got a welcoming tour of the building and saw all the different areas and got an idea of what sort of stuff I would be doing throughout the week. I then went on to do some marketing work in the office helping out with promoting different films shown in Studio 74 in the upcoming weeks. In the afternoon, I got an insight of what its like to set up before a concert / performance, helping out with the lighting, sound, seating and more.
On Tuesday, I spent my morning working with the Freefall+ group which is a creative group who meet weekly and explore different events going on at Exeter Phoenix, and help make many different artworks and paintings etc that are used as decoration in different events going on here. After lunch I came back to do some box office work, learning about how tickets are sold, what it’s like to talk to the public, and the typical phone calls and questions the box office receive daily.
On Wednesday I had a look around the art galleries and learnt about the Hospital Rooms projects and then gave feedback about the artwork. In the afternoon I helped come up with some interview questions for the writers of shows coming up at Exeter Fringe Festival, to help Exeter Phoenix and ticket buyers learn more about the shows.
Coming to the end of the week I spent Thursday morning walking around the building leaning about the safety precautions and things that need to be checked regularly in the building such as fire exits and signs. I spent Thursday afternoon doing digital work, helping set up the cinema, and putting posters up. I also sat in a meeting and experienced what sort of things are discussed and heard different ideas.
Overall I have had a really positive experience here at Exeter Phoenix and have learnt a lot about different roles and the typical working day here. There are so many exciting events going on all the time and a range of activities and workshops to get involved in as well as a cinema and concerts with all different ages considered.”
From all the team at Exeter Phoenix, we would like to say a big thank you to Evie for all your hard work during your time with us!
An Interview with Richard Chappell: The Independent Choreographer behind Still Touch and Silence Between Waves
Ahead of our one off performance of Richard Chappell Dance’s double-bill of Still Touch and Silence Between Waves we had the chance to speak to the choreographer behind the dance company. We chat, inspiration, interdisciplinary artistry and the importance of the sea in Chappell’s work.
Silence Between Waves, the first work in the program is a collaboration with three dancers from Singapore. How did this creation come about?
For the last four years I have taught at institutions and created commissioned works quite regularly in Singapore. It’s been a joy to get to know the varied and diverse dance scene there and this is the first time I have been able to work on an independent creation in the country and bring it to the UK.
The work was originally created for Eyeview’s Extraordinary Festival in Torbay and co produced by Dance in Devon. It explores both Torbay and Singapore’s relation to the sea, which is a close topic for me.
Still Touch, the second work in the show questions the relationship between three dancers and three sculptures – where did the idea for the show come from?
The idea came from the sculptor Anna Gillespie‘s beautiful representation of the body. We discussed in depth at the start of our collaboration how the subtle body languages of her sculptures let watchers relate their own emotional states to the figures and see themselves in the works. We realised quickly that that was a similar affect to what I strived for audiences to see in the dancers I work with, but in very different ways.
The idea of three sculptures came about because we wanted to give the audience the chance to relate themselves to the work in different ways equally, as well as put equal focus on static sculpture and movement within the piece.
This is your first interdisciplinary work – what have you found different or enjoyed particularly about working in this way?
It’s been wonderful! I didn’t feel confident enough in my own practice until around nine months ago to undertake this kind of collaboration. I felt I needed to really eloquently know what I wanted from dance at the moment before bringing another artist’s voice and a complex visual element into my work.
It’s a joy now though to work with Anna and I’m discovering new things every day that we’re in the studio or when we’re in dialogue with each other. She works very sculpturally with the dancers and I work very choreographically with her sculptures.
You brought your previous show At the end we begin to us last March. Does this show carry any of the same themes?
I think all my works feel a bit like a continuum – one work starts where the last left off. At the end we begin was a special work for me as it was my first full length creation. Still Touch is my second and is very much a a sequel.
I’m working with the same group of close collaborators including dramaturg Neus Gil Cortés and Composer Samuel Hall for both creations in this show. Each dancer has toured At the end we begin in the past for around year each so that history is in their bodies and connections of the group are really present.
Who have you found the piece appeals to?
This programme is perhaps my most open work to date for new audiences. With Anna’s collaboration, we hope to really open a new experience to visual arts enthusiasts who perhaps haven’t seen much dance before. The double bill is also performed by six wonderfully talented dancers from five different countries.
Ultimately though both these works are about human connection in different ways and the relationships between the individual cast members. The cast connect with each other and sometimes explore what it feels like to be alone. I hope people who can understand a feeling of loneliness and people who want to celebrate wholehearted relationships will embrace this work.
What have been some of your favourite moments in the rehearsal room for this show?
The dancers in both casts have really pushed themselves. With Still Touch, the work explores some particularly raw and intimate feelings and the dancers have really opened themselves up to these. The sculptures are also heavy and they have really worked hard to connect physically with them.
With Silence Between Waves, the cliffs we rehearsed on were tough and the groups energy has been constant. It’s very much them that make up my favourite moments.
You established your dance company at a very early stage in your career. What advice would you give to someone thinking about starting out in the world of dance?
Just do it and don’t think to much. Follow your gut and the advice of others more experienced than you. Be open and happy that your practice will change and grow and universally treat people with the empathy and support that you’d want to receive as a young artist.
I think the best gratitude you can show for support people have offered you is to do the same for another choreographer when you have more time making behind you.
Richard Chappell Dance’s double bill takes place at Exeter Phoenix on Thu 20 June. Find out more about the performance and book tickets here >>
Love adventure? Looking for the perfect day out for you and your dad, role model, or adventuring buddy?
This Father’s Day, as part of our Pursuits Of Happiness film season, we’re hosting a special screening ofThe Yukon Assignment (Sun 16 Jun | 4pm | £8.50 (£5) ). The film follows British adventurer Chris Lucas and his father Niall on a breathtaking mission for survival in their attempt to canoe 500 miles across one of the most remote rivers in Canada.
What’s more, thanks to our lovely friends at Jubel Beer, we’re offering the first 30 people to book a free bottle of Jubel Beer to enjoy during the film.
Pursuits Of Happiness continues until Tue 30 Jul with a season of documentaries, features, shorts and talks which explore the fine line between hobby and obsession. Find out more here >>
Over the weekend, Exeter Phoenix hosted Bloom – a festival of free, fun and inclusive wellbeing activities and events to mark Mental Health Awareness Week.
The event attracted visitors, services and mental health professionals from across the region who took part in a whole host of activity to celebrate wellbeing, encourage open conversations, and provide a judgement-free space to encourage awareness of issues around mental health.
The weekend was supported by The Wellcome Centre for Cultures And Environments of Health, who opened the weekend with a discussion about the work they do and how the community can get involved. You can find out more about their world-leading research centre here >>
Music and poetry filled the Café Bar, where an interactive installation also encouraged people to add thoughts about wellbeing to a tree. Upstairs, Jump Fall Flyhosted lively circus skills workshops and encouraged anyone and everyone to try something new and have fun. Ripple Effect – whose work enables people facing multiple disadvantages to develop personal skills whilst helping others in their community – ran a drama workshop, focusing on the transformative power of creativity.
Saturday’s activity concluded with a script-in-hand reading of Documental Theatre’s Cracking, a new play by Cally Hayes about about love, loss and parenthood.
Sunday’s activity saw a group of walkers depart from Exeter Phoenix for Mental Health Mates’ third Exeter walk, providing a safe space for people to walk and talk about their problems without fear or judgement. Dance classes, board games, poetry writing workshops, wellbeing workshop and story sharing also took place throughout the day. The festival came to a close with a moving, supportive and inclusive open mic session which saw members of the community recite poems, share stories and sing.
The team from Exeter Phoenix who organised the event said ‘It was wonderful to see the community come together, listen, and share ideas about mental health and wellbeing. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part and contributed to the festival.’
Comments Off on Exeter Phoenix Reveals Plans For Five Brand New FilmsTop row: Louisa Fielden, Tommy Gillard, Joe Auborn Bottom row: Jordan Thomas, Phil Spencer
Exeter Phoenix Reveals Plans For Five Brand New Films
Today
Exeter Phoenix revealed the recipients of the 2019 Film Commissions. Ideas for
new short films were invited from filmmakers across the South West before the
five final filmmakers were selected. Between them, the five successful
filmmakers have been awarded a share of over £10,000 worth of support to turn
these ideas into a reality.
The awards span three categories. Two Short Film Commissions have been awarded which will see the creation of a new film from Louisa Fielden, creator of the viral-smash short film People You May Know and a new film from Tommy Gillard exploring 21st century homosociality. In the Micro Film category, commissions have been awarded to Jordan Thomas, who will be creating Exeter Phoenix’s first commissioned film presented entirely in British Sign Language, and Phil Spencer who will draw on his experiences in Afghanistan to create an intimate exploration of how PTSD can manifest itself in veterans. Finally, the South West Documentary Commission has been awarded to Joe Auborn whose documentary follows the reintroduction of Eurasian wolves to the Finnish archipelago of Åland.
SHORT FILM CATEGORY WINNERS
Louisa
Fielden for Patrick
Tommy
Gillard for Shuttlecock
MICRO FILM CATEGORY WINNERS
Jordan Thomas for Flicker
Phil Spencer for House Hunting
SOUTH WEST DOCUMENTARY CATEGORY WINNER
Joe
Auborn for Åland
Speaking about the announcement Luke
Hagan, Digital Coordinator at Exeter Phoenix said ‘We are really excited to be able to announce this years film commission
line-up. We have a fantastic selection of up and coming filmmakers, with
diverse stories and unique voices, and we’re thrilled to be able to help them
develop their ideas and showcase the incredible talent we have here in the
South West.’
These
commissions demonstrate both the wealth of talent within the region’s
filmmakers and Exeter Phoenix’s Exeter Phoenix’s commitment to supporting
emerging filmmakers and artists as they develop their careers and present new
work for international festival entry. Many of Exeter Phoenix’s previous
commission winners have gone on to win awards gaining recognition within the
industry and some are now developing feature length work.
The films will be completed over the
coming year, and audiences will have a chance to see them at a special commission
premiere screening which will take place at Exeter Phoenix’s Two Short Nights
Film Festival in November.
For more information on our commission schemes and how Exeter Phoenix can help get filmmaking projects off the ground, visit https://www.exeterphoenix.org.uk/creative-hub. Alongside annual commissioning opportunities the city centre arts venue also provides an extensive range of support, from practical training in software and equipment use, kit and room hire and a platform for screenings at Exeter Phoenix’s bespoke independent cinema Studio 74.
Comments Off on ¡Viva! Spanish & Latin American Festival comes to Exeter Phoenix
¡Viva! Spanish & Latin American Festival comes to Exeter Phoenix
After
a 10-year hiatus, the ¡Viva! Tour of UK cinemas is back, with
the support of the BFI, awarding funds from The National Lottery.
The
UK’s largest and most popular celebration of Spanish and Latin American culture
which celebrates 25 years of cross-border creativity,
collaborations and partnerships in 2019 will be bringing the best new cinema from
Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin America to cinemas nationwide.
Presented
by HOME Manchester and reflecting HOME’s 2019 theme Celebrating Women
in Global Cinema,
the touring films will all foreground female creative talent in the roles of
director, writer, producer or star.
¡Viva!’s film programme is curated by Rachel Hayward, HOME’s Head of
Film, Jessie Gibbs, ¡Viva! Festival Coordinator, and Andy Willis, Professor of
Film Studies at the University of Salford and HOME’s Senior Visiting Curator:
Film.
Rachel Hayward comments: ‘At a time in history when the issue of borders is predominant, we welcome our 25th annual celebration of cross-border creativity and partnerships. For a quarter of a century, we have been honoured to bring the best new film and creative work from Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin America to UK audiences, and we look forward to continuing to do so over the next 25 years! ¡Disfrutad el festival!’
To see all the films we’re screening as part of ¡Viva! head here >>
This season is brought to Exeter Phoenix with the support of Arts and Culture at University of Exeter. Presented by HOME, Manchester, with the support of the BFI, awarding funds from The National Lottery.
In 2018 Birds’ Eye View launched the BFI-backed RECLAIM THE FRAME project – a mission to bring to bring ever-greater audiences to films by women to offer a wider perspective of the world. Birds’ Eye View is a charity whose focus for the last 16 years has been on raising the commercial and cultural impact of films by written or directed by womxn – demonstrating how varied the female gaze can be and celebrating the difference.
After a successful 2018 pilot, working in 5 cities and in 6 cinemas, RECLAIM THE FRAME is coming to Exeter, partnering with the Exeter Phoenix from May 2019 with monthly film events until March 2020. Kicking off with the glorious new British musical WILD ROSE on Wed 8 May at 6.30pm.
About Wild Rose
Diamond-in-the-rough Rose-Lynn Harlan (Jessie Buckley) is fresh out of prison and determined to make it as Country star. But her long suffering mother (Julie Walters), who has raised Rose-Lynn’s two children in her absence, thinks her dream is pie in the sky and demands she put family first. Forced to take a dead end job, she soon discovers a silver lining: her new employer (Sophie Okonedo) has become her biggest fan and wants to help her realise her ambition. With her self- belief restored, however, she begins to discover who she really is and that there is a different path to success.
Written by award winning writer Nicole Taylor (BAFTA for Best Writer for Three Girls and nominated for The C-Word), Wild Rose is a funny, sad, tender and uplifting story that will sweep along even the most hardened movie cynic: in her break-out role, star-in-the-making Buckley is utterly irresistible.
Following the screening, Mia Bays the director of Birds’ Eye View and a producer of Oscar-winning and BAFTA nominated films such as Scott Walker – 30 Century Man and Six Shooter will host an A&Q – a conversation with the audience about the film, that flips the usual Q&A format on its’ head. Special guest speakers to be announced.
After the panel, poet and filmmaker Be Manzini will share poems reflecting on the themes of ‘Wild Rose’ and we will then host a workshop with Be called ‘Harnessing Your Authentic Voice’, plus drinks and signup session for the Reclaim The Frame Exeter chapter (free tickets, free films to watch, goodie bags etc).
About Reclaim The Frame
But why wait until then to claim your free tickets, when you can get involved in the Reclaim the Frame project now by signing up as an Influencer. Find out more here.
To find out more about Birds Eye View, the Reclaim The Frame project and their mission, click here.
Comments Off on Saturday Mornings & Sexual Ambiguity
A Behind The Scenes Statement From Doozy’s Director Richard Squires
Richard Squires is a London-based visual artist and academic who works predominantly with film, drawing and animation. His work is shown internationally in galleries, broadcast and at film festivals. He shares with us some insights into how Doozy came about ahead of our screening on Tue 30 Apr.
Growing up in the UK in the 1970s, Hanna-Barbera cartoons were my Saturday morning essential viewing.
The characters I prized most were the villains; sneaky men with exaggerated features who tiptoed across the
screen, masterminding evil plans that sought to profit from or avenge the regular characters. The crazy
laughter of these scoundrels was a palpable expression of their wickedness; a signifier of their mental
derangement and at times their laughter reverberated with a sexual ambiguity that only made them more
fascinating to me. Consider Cesar Romero who imbued the Joker, in the 1960s Batman TV series, with a
persistent, demonic cackle that resonated with camp sensibility. Or Robert Helpmann who portrayed the
Child Catcher in the 1968 musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with his maniacal laughter and dainty jig.
I became aware of the actor Paul Lynde through his occasional appearances on exported American sitcoms
such as Bewitched or The Munsters. Lynde had originally gained notoriety in musicals and as a character
actor in U.S. television shows. He wanted to be a leading man and complained of being continually typecast
in supporting roles as the snarky persona he had created. By the late 1960s, he was a TV regular on the
game show Hollywood Squares but, as his career faltered, his alcoholic escapades led to a string of public
arrests.
A frequently under-appreciated aspect of Lynde’s work was his voicing of a series of cartoon villains for the
Hanna-Barbera studios in the late 1960s. He animated the Hooded Claw, Mildew Wolf and Claude Pertwee
with astounding facility and charisma, exploiting his existing TV persona and using his persona to insinuate
affiliation to some hidden world whose depravity normal folks could only imagine. The studio’s wily casting of
Lynde exposes the blurred line between actor and character identities and points to the entangled histories
of representations of sexual ambiguity and criminality.
Exploring this obscured history of Lynde’s casting as the cartoon villains, DOOZY consults a panel of specialists on animation, voice, masculinity and criminality; visits Lynde’s hometown of Mount Vernon, Ohio where the actor is fondly remembered by locals and employs its own cartoon villain by the name of ‘Clovis’.
You can find out more about our screening of Doozy on Tue 30 Apr here >>
After the screening director Richard Squires will be in conversation with Dr Benedict Morrison, whose current research explores Queer cinema and television and the relationship between film form and character expression.
Comments Off on WELCOMING THE NATIONAL THEATRE & ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY TO OUR PROGRAMME
WELCOMING THE NATIONAL THEATRE & ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY TO OUR PROGRAMME
This summer, we are delighted to be widening our activity to include events from the National Theatre Live and Royal Shakespeare Company Live. At two special introductory events, we will be broadcasting live performances of Small Island and Measure For Measure into our cinema space, Studio 74. Tickets are £12, or £10 for concessions/students.
Speaking about the
addition to the programme, our Naomi Turner (Live Programme Co-Ordinator) said
‘We’re
really excited to welcome the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company to
our programme of activity, and proud to be doing so at an affordable ticket
price. The cost of travelling to London can be prohibitive in itself, and
that’s before you add London theatre prices on top of that. With tickets
available from £10, we’re proud to be providing the opportunity to experience
top-end culture at an affordable and accessible price.’
Jonas Hawkins, Digital & Film Manager, said ‘When we opened Studio 74, our aim was to provide Exeter with an innovative, multi-purpose screening space full of exciting activity. The addition of these live theatre events will complement our existing programme of independent cinema, documentary and new release films, as well as add to our eclectic and varied theatre and performance programme.’
If you haven’t experienced
live-broadcast theatre before, we invite you to take your place in the best
seat in the house.
National Theatre Live: Small Island
Thu 27 Jun | 7pm | £12 (£10) | Studio 74
Andrea Levy’s Orange Prize-winning novel Small Island comes to life in an
epic new theatre adaptation. Experience the play in cinemas, filmed live on
stage as part of National Theatre Live’s 10th birthday.
Small Island embarks on a journey from Jamaica to Britain, through the
Second World War to 1948 – the year the HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury.
The play follows three intricately connected
stories. Hortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert dreams
of becoming a lawyer, and Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. Hope
and humanity meet stubborn reality as the play traces the tangled history of
Jamaica and the UK.
A company of 40 actors take to the stage of the
National Theatre in this timely and moving story.
When a young novice nun is compromised by a corrupt official, who offers to
save her brother from execution in return for sex, she has no idea where to
turn for help. When she threatens to expose him, he tells her that no one would
believe her.
Shakespeare wrote this play in the early 1600s, yet it remains astonishingly
resonant today. Artistic Director Gregory Doran directs this new production.
Comments Off on See more of what you love with our dance offer!
Our programme is bursting at the seams with exciting events, performances, workshops and gigs. We want to make it easier for you to enjoy more of what you love!
Love dance? We have two stunning contemporary dance performances coming up. First up, Edge Dance Company bring us a powerfully vibrant triple bill of new works from the postgraduate company of London Contemporary Dance School. Later in June, critically acclaimed choreographer Richard Chappell presents a double bill of work combining his unique approach to ballet, improvisation, floor work and visual arts with a cast of exceptional European and Singaporean dancers.
Take advantage of promocode LOVEDANCE and get tickets for both these brilliant shows for just £16! (Usual price £12 (£10) per show.) You can use this promo code online, over the phone, or in person at our box office.
Join us this summer for more of what makes you happy.
Comments Off on Artists invited to apply for Exeter Contemporary Open 2019
EXETER CONTEMPORARY OPEN 2019
Established in 2006, our Exeter Contemporary Open has come to be recognised as one of the UK’s most prominent regional contemporary arts competitions, culminating in an annual exhibition in our main gallery. Exeter Contemporary Open provides an important national platform for contemporary visual art, with an emphasis on supporting emerging talent alongside more established artists many of whom have gone on to receive significant national and international acclaim.
Applications are now open for 2019’s exhibition, which will run from 20 Sep – 10 Nov. This opportunity is open to all contemporary artists working in any medium who live in the UK. The deadline for applications is Mon 17 Jun and the shortlisted artists will be announced in July. This year’s panel will include critic and curator Sacha Craddock and artist and 2006 Turner Prize nominee Mark Titchner as well as our own Phoenix Curator, Matt Burrows.
A special awards ceremony will be held at the exhibition preview on Thu 19 Sep, where two prizes will be announced: the Overall Award winner (£1000) and an Additional Award winner (£500). Over the course of the exhibition, visitors will be invited to vote for their favourite work, and the Audience Choice Award winner will receive £200, announced in its final week.
Past winner Paul Merrick has said ‘For me, the best part of these things is when I arrive at a preview and am really able to connect with the other exhibitors, and the people behind making the show happen. It’s all about having conversations and making connections which go on to influence my work and might lead to future collaborations.’
2019 will see the exhibition return to Exeter Phoenix having taken break in 2018 while the gallery spaces were significantly refurbished with the support of Arts Council England and the Foyle Foundation.
Exeter Contemporary Open is kindly sponsored by Haines Watts Chartered Accountants.
After many successful years as ‘Exeter Phoenix’ we have decided to re-launch ourselves with a more befitting mascot and icon to grace our building. From June, we intend on moving forwards as ‘Exeter Pigeon’ with a brand new statue above our entry way.
Speaking about the rebrand, Exeter Phoenix’s director said: ‘We wanted an animal that tied us more closely to the city. Head over to the Cathedral Green, and you can spy hundreds of pigeons, but not a single phoenix. We wanted our building to better represent Exeter’s true landscape.’
The rebrand has been inspired by Mary Of Exeter, the city’s war hero pigeon, who flew many military missions with the National Pigeon Service during the Second World War, carrying important messages across the English Channel and back to her loft in Exeter’s West Street. Our building partners, Double Elephant Print Workshop and Freefall are currently working on a Heritage Lottery Fund project which will culminate in a film and exhibition about Mary Of Exeter. You can learn more about the project with these upcoming animation sessions over Easter.
But to succeed in our Exeter Pigeon rebrand, we need your help. We’re currently accepting donations to aid in the production of the bespoke pigeon statue and brand new signage. Find out more about our crowd funding campaign for the rebrand here >>
One day isn’t enough to celebrate International women’s day at Exeter Phoenix! You can expect a whole host of great films to mark female achievements on and off the screen at Studio 74 as well as a multitude of female led exhibitions. Read on as we share some highlights as part of this monumental day of celebration in this blog post.
We recently played host to a sold out screening of SHEXTREME, a fun cinematic celebration of active women in adventure sports. An equally energising screening of MAIDEN is on the way on Thursday – which will feature a special satellite Q&A with sailor Tracy Edwards – and the opening of KINDERGARTEN TEACHER happens this Friday – starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and directed by Sara Colangelo. With screenings like these, we’re happy that Studio 74 is able to share in this celebration (at least in a cinematic sense!) and let female filmmakers and creatives share their stories.
But our commitment to the importance of female representation and agency doesn’t stop there. We joined the F-Rating movement in 2017, which was established by Bath Film Festival to champion films made by and featuring women. Since then, we’ve regularly programmed films featuring women in prominent acting, writing and directing roles.
Our film programmer Claire shared her reasons for adopting the F-rating system and its importance; ‘We believe that the stories we see on screen need to be told by a broad spectrum of people who represent our diverse culture. The F-Rating is applied to all films which are directed by/or written by a woman and it allows audiences to vote with their seat, making informed choices about the films they choose to see. F-rated empowers women in all areas of the film industry and is one step in creating much needed change. Exeter Phoenix is proud to support F-rated.‘ See our current F-rated films on offer here.
Alongside these great film screenings we are also hosting Occupy The Airwaves from Dreadnought SW who will be producing another 16 hours of women’s voices speaking and singing on the radio this Friday for International Women’s Day 2019 in collaboration with Phonic FM, Exeter’s community radio station who we are lucky enough to have based right here in our building.
Dreadnought SW are also exhibiting in our Walkway Gallery with a unique textile banner created by a group of women survivors of domestic violence. The banner and documents that process the creation of the piece can be seen in our Walkway Gallery until Sun Mar 10.
Our other gallery spaces are also currently featuring work by female artists. Jacqui Hallum’s Phoenix Gallery exhibition explores ideas around discontinuity and impermanence through abstract paintings and ornate Berber rugs. Over in Gallery333, Lily Myers’ micro-installation explores ideas around domesticity, play, labor and consumption. These exhibitions both run until Sun 21 Apr.
Comments Off on A Season Of Japanese Films Comes To Studio 74
A Season Of Japanese Films Comes To Studio 74
This March, we are excited to welcome back The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme for a series of six screenings offering you the chance to experience Japan through cinema.
What’s more, we’re offering a pre-film dining experience, so you can enjoy a specially prepared Japanese meal plus your cinema ticket for just £15. We will also be joined by director Yukiko Mishima for a special Q&A after the screening of her film Dear Etranger.
This year’s season, People Still Call It Love, focuses on passion, affection and destruction in Japanese cinema. From comedy to tear jerking stories and sometimes embracing more complicated emotions, love is explored in a variety of cinematic narratives and voices, reflecting the time and society in which the feeling exists. But to what extent can this emotion affect human behaviour and does Japanese cinema explore love in a way no other country can?
Three Stories Of Love and Good Stripes offer a glimpse into the microcosm of relationships in Japanese society. Born Bone Born is a humorous exploration of an indigenous tradition on the island of Okinawa. Her Love Boils Bathwater and Dear Etranger explore the difficulties in created a united family. Finally, in a spectacular live-action adaptation of Ryohei Saigan’s bestselling manga series, Destiny: The Tale Of Kamakura sees a mystery writer embark on an epic journey to find his missing bride.
An Interview with Estelle Buckridge from Mothers Who Make
If you listen to The Guilty Feminist podcast, you may have heard of Mothers Who Make already. If not, here’s a brief summary of the growing national initiative!
Mothers Who Make aims to support mothers who are artists & makers, in any discipline and at any stage of their personal or professional making. It was started by Matilda Leyser (Improbable Theatre) in London in 2014 and has rapidly spread across the country.
Every kind of maker is welcome- professional and/or passionate – writers, painters, performers, musicians, bakers, crafters, architects, historians along with every kind of mother – biological, adoptive, step, surrogate, foster, grand, great grand, to be.
We sat down with Estelle Buckridge from Mothers Who Make’s Exeter Hub to learn more.
How did you get involved in Mothers Who Make?
I moved to Exeter in 2017 when 7 1/2 months pregnant. A friend from Bristol had told me about the MWM group who met at Bristol Old Vic and I signed up for updates about that and vowed to go. Then baby came along and the thought of driving all the way to Bristol with a newborn was too overwhelming. Fast forward 7 months and I met Katie Villa who was making the show WILD, all about birth.
I got talking to her and told her I was new to the city and struggling with trying to return to making after having my baby and she introduced me to Lizzy, who was just starting to look into starting up the Exeter Hub with Holly. The rest is history!
What sort of things do the group get up to at sessions?
Before I ever went to the sessions I imagined sort of networking with other creative mums but it is so much more than that. It is peer support: a place for each woman to be heard. We run sessions as a circle where every woman in the room gets a voice. We usually talk around a topic or provocation which could be about mothering, making or both. We are hoping to be able to run occasional making workshops too for mothers to do with their children.
What would you say to somebody thinking about joining the group?
Any kind of maker and any kind of mother is welcome, with or without your children. The diversity of experience in the group (of both mothering and making) is what makes it so extraordinary. This is a space where your dual roles of mother and maker are both honoured.
For many, this is a valuable slot of time within the month where they can take time for themselves to think about their roles as mother/maker and to spend it in the company of others.
Have there been any stand out moments for you on your Mothers Who Make journey?
Filming an interview for the promotional video for the MWM website last summer in the corridors of the Exeter Phoenix with my one year old tugging at the microphone cable.
BBC Spotlight having to re-record an interview with Lizzy during a session in the Theatre as they couldn’t hear over the children playing enthusiastically with a squeaky toy I’d foolishly brought in (sorry Lizzy).
Meeting so many other wonderful creative women and being humbled by their stories.
You can hear more about Mothers Who Make on the Creativity episode of The Guilty Feminist (Episode 132) here >>
You can find out more about Mothers Who Make’s Exeter Hub here >>
Exeter’s favourite outdoor cinema event returns to Northernhay Gardens for two weekends of movie magic under the stars. For the first time ever, Big Screen In The Park will be spanning two weekends to bring you the very best outdoor cinema experience. This year we really do have it all – mythical monsters, beauty pageants, dinosaurs, rock stars, adventure …And The Time Warp.
Alongside the six feature films, audiences can also expect bars, picnics, street food and plenty of on-site entertainment.
Don’t miss out on this rare opportunity to enjoy the magic of the movies on a huge 10 metre screen, with the stunning illuminated backdrop of our beautiful Cathedral city.
Tickets cost £7 in advance or £8 on the gate (if available) and can be purchased from bigscreeninthepark.co.uk or by calling Exeter Phoenix’s box office on 01392 667080. Gates and bars will open from 7pm with films starting around 9pm.
Big Screen In The Park is supported by Princesshay Exeter and St Austell Brewery.
To keep up to date with all Big Screen In The Park news register your interest on the Facebook event here >>
An Interview with Jason Barker: Director of ‘A Deal With The Universe’
Ahead of our special screening of A Deal With The Universe – an intimate autobiographical documentary all about pregnancy, gender identity and new found parenthood – we had the chance to speak with Jason Barker, director of the film.
Why did you decide to document your pregnancy?
Actually I didn’t. When I first started documenting my partner and I trying to have a baby, I was documenting an IVF cycle using my eggs, fertilised and put into her uterus. I didn’t plan on being the pregnant one. I wanted to document the IVF process though because I thought a trans man coming off testosterone for any reason wasn’t something I’d seen represented and, at the time, I thought it might make an interesting short film.
Was this your first foray into filmmaking?
No. My previous films have all been made in a similar way though, where I’ve documented a lot of things going on in mine and my friends lives and then cut them into a film afterwards. The first film I made was in 1997 and was about non-binary identities, although we didn’t have that language at the time.
Will you continue to make films?
Yes, I have a commission to make a film on a similar subject to A Deal with the Universe. It’s going to be a road movie, a trip around the UK meeting pregnant men. I’ve also been writing more and have recently co-written a radio play for BBC Radio 4 called Chopsticks and I’m working on some film scripts at present.
Who did you think would watch the film when documenting the process?
When I began filming, the Thomas Beattie story hadn’t become an international sensation so I had no idea if anyone would be interested or not. As a former programmer of BFI Flare I know there is an appetite in the LGBT community for seeing our lives on screen. The queer films that inspired me were Tarnation and also a film called Orchids, My Intersex Adventure. Both very personal, autobiographical films.
What has the response been like?
I am glad people have found the film funny! It was supposed to be a funny film despite it’s themes of cancer, death and infertility! Audiences have been really lovely and supportive of the film. I think people appreciate the rawness of it. It looks very rough, filmed on a domestic camcorder, but there’s an intimacy and honesty that people can get into.
What do you want the audience to take away from A Deal with the Universe?
I can imagine if I was a partner, family member or friend of a person transitioning, I might think their life would be very bleak if I believed what I read or saw on the telly. I’d like people to take from the film that trans people can be loved, be in loving long-term relationships and that there is life after transition! These things seem so basic but I don’t know that we see enough of trans people’s lives outside of before and after photos and surgical wards.
Did the making of the film influence your experience of pregnancy?
Well, as you’ll see in the film there were times I filmed and times that I didn’t. I sometimes felt that the camera was hexing us and would stop filming altogether. I think being the filmmaker and the subject meant that I had the power to just stop filming when it didn’t feel right. I could imagine if someone else was making this film about me, they’d have wanted certain ‘money shots’.
Have you been in contact with other transgender parents since making the film?
After the film’s premier I was contacted by someone who was pregnant with her trans partner’s baby and she said the film had inspired them to tell members of her family who hadn’t always been supportive. I’m in contact online with lots of trans masculine people who are/have been or want to be pregnant and they’ve been very supportive of the film. The general feeling is that the more we get our stories out there, the less stigma there will be about this.
A Deal With The Universe will be screened at Exeter Phoenix on Tue 12 February and will feature a post-screening Q&A with director Jason Barker. Find out more about the screening and book tickets here >>
The Shy Manifesto: From Cursed Child To Shy Teenager
‘Do you really need to come out of your shell?‘ asks actor Theo Ancient. In a world where fame and lusting for the spotlight is worshipped, this is the dilemma explored by new play The Shy Manifesto, currently taking the tale of bashful teenager Callum around the UK.
Paradoxically, Ancient, who stars in the one-man show about introversion and limelight dodging, recently played the lead role in arguably the most high profile play in the world, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The Shy Manifesto however will take Ancient in a different direction; its tour takes place in far more intimate venues and there’s not a wand in sight.
Written by Michael Ross, The Shy Manifesto tells the story of Callum, a 17-year-old who believes that shyness should be celebrated rather than apologised for and overcome. He shares his thoughts about famous shy people, how the world sees him and how friends and family have tried to help, before delving into the story of a party from the night before. As that tale unravels, the audience is left to decide whether there’s hope for him and his future? ‘It’s a coming of age story that explores our insecurities and growing up as an introvert‘ says Ancient.
When he’s not playing the son of wizarding legends or taking new shows on tour, Ancient runs drama groups and works with children and young people. ‘As an actor who now has a few credits‘, he explains, ‘I feel a responsibility to give back the experiences I had when I was growing up and hopefully inspire a new generation‘.
‘As an actor‘, Ancient says, ‘we put ourselves in a position of vulnerability every time we go on stage. You never get used to that. There are all sorts of self-doubts that creep in while you’re performing, so to have an output for those thoughts and feelings, no matter how rational or irrational they are, is really important‘.
But what can the audience discover at the theatre that they can’t by watching a Netflix show or an Iplayer boxset? ‘At the heart of all those things‘, says Ancient, ‘is a story. As humans, we haven’t lost any sense of wanting a good story. What’s wonderful about coming to the theatre is you’re coming to a space where everyone is live in front of you. People around you are breathing with you. The performers on stage have beating hearts as well. And there’s a communal feeling. You’re not experiencing this on your own; you’re experiencing it with a community of people. You’re all coming together to hear this story, which is a tradition that’s happened for thousands of years‘.
‘I hope people will come along to the theatre and fall in love with Callum and his story‘, Ancient concludes. ‘I hope they will go on a rollercoaster with him and leave feeling elated, excited, full of questions and debate. And, hopefully, inspired‘.
The Shy Manifesto will be at Exeter Phoenix on Sun 10 February. Find out more about the show and book tickets here >>
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