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02 Jul

Exhibition -52 Cameras in 52 Weeks by Tony Kemplen

Artist: Tony Kemplen Exhibition Launch: Friday 25 June 2021, 5-8pm Exhibition Dates: 25 June – July 17 2021 Opening Times: Monday – Saturday, 11am-5pm   About the Exhibition Tony Kemplen has been collecting cameras for over 50 years and in 2010 he decided to use them. For a decade, he has used a different film camera each week of the year – 522 cameras in 10 years. 52 Cameras in 52 Weeks comprises a selection of these photographs and the corresponding cameras used to make them. The collection represents a wide range of cameras, techniques and subjects, and Kemplen’s approach to image-making is every bit as important as the technical aspects of the project. The cameras range in age from 10 to 100 years and in size from a large format Thornton Pickard Reflex down to a Minox sub-miniature spy camera. There are well known models which many visitors will have used as well as some esoteric cameras which they are unlikely to have seen before. Since 2011, Kemplen has also written a monthly column about the project for Amateur Photographer Magazine and a selection of these periodicals will be available to read in the space. Overall, this exhibition aims to bridge the gap between contemporary art and amateur photography.   About the Artist – Tony Kemplen Tony Kemplen has exhibited work in Babel at Ikon Gallery in 1999; Encyclopaedia Mundi in 2003 – an ambitious touring project shown in Leeds, Derby and Lancaster, which came to QUAD’s predecessor Q Arts; created work for Futuresonic, the
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Faces Of The Square

25th June 2021
  Karl Lagerfeld said, “What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”  And for me nothing tells the history of our past like being able to see the faces of those that were present at the time, quiet, framed, and immortalised in portraits. The residency in the Cabin, which runs to the 17th of July aims, as the square comes back to life following the covid restrictions, to document the faces of Osnabruck Square, both past and present, telling their stories of the square for the future. Week one of the Cabin residency with Artcore has got off to a real good start with number of people signing up already to have themselves, their shops and businesses photographed . Over the month the aim is to grow the collection and these will then be exhibited on the 16th and 17th of July. To find out more about the sample portraits below join us on these dates our first four are Linda, Lyn, Pauline, Namig and Dave.     Well, if week one got off to a good start week 2 has been even better. It has been really good to see how people are enthusiastically getting behind the months residency and wanting to take part and to date only one business has decided not to take part and
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Categories: Ray Gumbley
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7th June 2021
Cabin Fever Artist Residency Nicki Dennett A Reflection   I think it was the first day of the residency, everything was ‘colourful’. It was a sunny day, for once, the outside of the cabin had been sprayed with a multitude of coloured phrases by Dan Webber, it was open and there were people mingling around the cabin collecting their ‘Derby Witness’ books. Sitting alone in the cabin I sometimes felt I was on show to the passer-by, people would read the words around the cabin and look through the windows just out of curiosity. Fortunately, days soon became filled with bookings for the workshops.  All the participants who offered to create in the cabin and take part in my project stayed and made for at least two hours, often creating many pieces to choose from. A little display was soon up on the wall. As the lockdown eased cafes and bars opened up, creating a lively atmosphere around the cabin. It was exciting that so many people were happy sharing their story and creating artwork for my project. I am so grateful to all of you because without you there would be no project. so thankyou.   I would also like to thank the designers and staff at Artcore for all the help and support in putting the work together. Below is also a link to the book I created, with the help of artcore, displaying participants art they made in and for the cabin along with their stories. Nicki Dennett Artist Book https://artcoregallery.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Nicola-Dennett-Artist-Book.pdf Some of my own lockdown experience
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The Derby Witness – Cabin Fever Residency – Over and out…

5th June 2021
The Cabin Fever Residency ended with an open evening which, due to restrictions partially lifting, allowed members of the public to explore both the inside and outside of the space. We were also able to invite members of the public to write their initial reactions to the work, or their own lines documenting their experiences of Lockdown, on the walls inside the Cabin, which was something we had hoped to do at the start of the residency. Being a part of Cabin Fever has been a fantastic experience, it's given me time and space to develop the project and discuss and plan for the future of the work, the writers and team involved to see the lines in the same place for the first time, and given Derby and Derbyshire residences to re-examine the pandemic and explore 'The Derby Witness' in a new light. A huge thank you to everyone at Artcore Gallery and everyone who's supported The Derby Witness at Cabin Fever, the best of luck to the new artists working in the space, I look forward to see what you create in there! Over and out...
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Categories: Artist, Cabin Fever, Dan Webber
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Cabin Fever Residency Week 3 – Nicki Dennett

10th May 2021

It's been a busy few weeks at the cabin.

In-between running mini workshop sessions I have managed to find a little time for drawing the world outside o the cabin from inside the cabin. A few small tapestries have also materialised onto the board. The ebook is also underway with participants stories and I would like to thank all of you for your contributions. The aim of the project is to share our positive lockdown stories but it has also been about utilising the space as a mini creative hub where the public can come and create, maybe use materials that are new to them. So far we have created small works using  film, type, screen print, mono print, tapestry, collage and drawing. If anyone wants to visit, make and share their story please email me at nicola.dennett@btinternet.com and I will get you booked in. You can also email or post your contribution if you prefer.
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Categories: Artist, Cabin Fever, Nicki Dennett
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04 May

The Derby Witness – Cabin Fever Residency – Witness Poem

The following poem is inspired by the reactions of members of the public to ‘The Derby Witness’ at Artcore Gallery, presented as part of the Cabin Fever Residency, Spring 2021.

  Witness   I can smell cigarette smoke Hear voices I don’t recognise Mouths hidden behind stylish face coverings No more powder blue PPE as standard Now, we strut, fashionistas The streets are our runway Rocking our lockdown bods and comfy shoes At a respectable two-metre distance   I am blindsided by the sight of people Doing everyday things like they used to do before It seems normality has been restored In all it’s hideous, beautiful, mundane glory But there’s no pressure, Take your own time to step back into your spotlight We’ll wait     Consider this a reset A chance for humanity to not to repeat the mistakes of the past But to heal and repair and to learn what’s really important Weep when you need to Dance when you want to Hold those long distance closer than before Raise a glass to absent friends Maybe it’s not the end of the world, but just the beginning   A second coming of the roaring twenties Where we stand and roar together Our voices raised against injustice We come back stronger Like flowers from the soil, we too shall rise The heat of the sun on our faces As is for the first time   An ordinary life, after extraordinary days Never taking anything for granted again.  

D. Webber

4th May 2021

 
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Categories: Artist, Cabin Fever, Dan Webber
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28 Apr

The Derby Witness – Cabin Fever Residency – In Conversation with Dan Webber

Can you please introduce yourself and tell us about your involvement with The Derby Witness? “My name is Dan Webber, I’m an LGBTQ+ poet, performer and events coordinator based in Derby and I’m the curator of ‘The Derby Witness’, otherwise known as the guy with the spray paint!”   How did you come up with the idea for ‘The Derby Witness’? “Well, the work was originally commissioned as part of Derby Feste 2020 and my two inspirations for the piece were ‘The Witness’ by Jonathan Blow and ‘The Cloud of Witness’ as mentioned In Hebrews 12:1  which talks about this cloud of knowledge or experience which is built up by humanity as a whole.    I wanted to give people who maybe hadn’t had the chance to discuss their experiences of lockdown the opportunity to talk about it, and hopefully for people to realise that whatever they were going through that other people in their community might have been going through the same thing.  Lockdown was a once in a lifetime experience and even though every experience was different there was and is common ground between us.”   What line resonates with you most and why? “I purposely don’t have a favourite in the text but what resonates most with me is the stories behind the lines, which people were kind enough to share with us during the preparation for the work. Each line of text in the piece was submitted by a member of the public and the lines featured offer a glimpse or a snapshot
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Categories: Artist, Cabin Fever, Dan Webber
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